I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Our own feelings are the underlying drive for everything us humans do. Great things can be accomplished, things that could benefit many in need. But humans are ultimately selfish creatures. We do things because they make us feel good, help us accomplish something, make us look good, etc. in some form or another. The people often seen as good and virtuous simply gain less, or their gain is less noticeable.
Ethics are more than that. Ethics aren't just "non-selfless", but they aren't just what you feel in your heart to be what's right and wrong either. Take Hitler for example. He believed he was doing the right thing. He was trying to create a pure world. His actions though, were very clearly unethical, immoral, and just plain wrong.
What ethics are goes beyond what I can explain. I'm not religious or spiritual and therefore don't believe they're determined by a higher power. There's no set rules of what's right and wrong, and different people have different ideas on what's moral/immoral. What's ethical is sometimes situational, sometimes not. So I can offer no good explanation to where ethics come from, why they differ and change, or even what they are.
What I generally believe to be ethical (or at least not unethical) often provides the greatest good for the greatest number, while avoiding being inhumane/cruel. In an individual's life, I believe what's ethical is determined by how it affects everyone, and everything, besides the individual. For both grand and personal ethics, the question must be asked, "do the costs outweigh the benefits?"
Controversial topics I personally believe aren't immoral/unethical:
-gay marriage
-abortion
-death penalty
-euthanasia
Ethics are more than that. Ethics aren't just "non-selfless", but they aren't just what you feel in your heart to be what's right and wrong either. Take Hitler for example. He believed he was doing the right thing. He was trying to create a pure world. His actions though, were very clearly unethical, immoral, and just plain wrong.
What ethics are goes beyond what I can explain. I'm not religious or spiritual and therefore don't believe they're determined by a higher power. There's no set rules of what's right and wrong, and different people have different ideas on what's moral/immoral. What's ethical is sometimes situational, sometimes not. So I can offer no good explanation to where ethics come from, why they differ and change, or even what they are.
What I generally believe to be ethical (or at least not unethical) often provides the greatest good for the greatest number, while avoiding being inhumane/cruel. In an individual's life, I believe what's ethical is determined by how it affects everyone, and everything, besides the individual. For both grand and personal ethics, the question must be asked, "do the costs outweigh the benefits?"
Controversial topics I personally believe aren't immoral/unethical:
-gay marriage
-abortion
-death penalty
-euthanasia
I really like how this post has a slightly controversial undertone to it. It makes it feel honest. You're not afraid to call out the driving force behind ethics that seems to be overseen alot of the time. Do you think that the self-gaining aspect of committing ethical acts is intentional, or just something that humans are naturally wired to do? Great Job on this post!
ReplyDeleteWhen you say that what is ethical is the choice/ action that coincides with the effects it has on the greatest number, would this be pertaining to only your ethical decisions, or do you believe that this should pertain to everyone else's ethical decisions as well? I couldn't agree more when you said that ethics is sometimes situational. I also can not give a good explanation as to where ethics come from and why they are the way there; as i truly believe nobody could give the true explanation to ethics. I also like how you used Hitler and WW2 because that is exactly the kind of controversy that ethics creates. It is true that what one person thinks is the right thing to do, is seen as completely wrong, immoral, unethical. I love this blog post!
ReplyDelete