Research Paper Example On Morality and Ethics

In The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex published in 1871, Charles Darwin wrote: “I fully … subscribe to the judgment of those writers who maintain that of all the differences between man and the lower animals the moral sense or conscience is by far the most important.” Morality is a crucial distinctive factor of mankind. Morality is important because it helps you not only to be law-abiding, but also to treat others in society with dignity and respect.

The words ‘morality’ and ‘ethics’ are often used interchangeably. It is necessary to understand the difference between the two.

Morality is the principles regarding the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.

Ethics is the philosophical study of Morality.

Moral theories

A moral theory elucidates the reason behind why an action is wrong. It aids in determining right and wrong conduct. Moreover, moral theories provide the framework upon which we think and discuss in a rational way, and so evaluate specific moral issues.

Classical Ethical Theories 

There are three main classical theories: Utilitarianism, Deontology, and Virtue Ethics.

Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is the most common form of consequentialism. Consequentialists believe that, morally, only the consequences, or outcomes of actions are of importance.  According to this interpretation, an act is deemed to be morally right exclusively on the basis of their consequences.

Although there are multiple variations of utilitarianism, the basic idea behind all of them is to, in some sense maximize utility. Classical utilitarians like Jeremy Bentham describe utility as the tendency to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good or happiness or to inhibit the occurrence of mischief, pain, evil or despair to the party whose interest is considered. Therefore, actions are morally right, in this perspective, if and only if they maximize pleasure or welfare or minimize suffering. 

This approach is occasionally called hedonistic utilitarianism.  For hedonistic utilitarians, the rightness of our actions are determined solely on the basis of consequences of pleasure or pain.

A number of utilitarian theories may take other goods into consideration. For instance, preference utilitarianism takes into account not just pleasures, but the satisfaction of any preference.

Utilitarianism can also be divided along other lines. Act utilitarianism claims that we must apply a utilitarian calculation to each and every individual action to determine the moral rightness or wrongness of every single action we plan to execute.

Rule-utilitarianism eases the burden that act-utilitarianism places on practical reasoning by establishing moral rules that bring about the best consequences when followed.

Deontology

The word ‘deontology’ has been derived from the Greek word for duty ‘deon’. Deontological theories base morality on certain duties, or obligations. The deontological view suggests that an action is right or wrong regardless of its effects and that some actions cannot be validated by their consequences. For the deontologist, the ends do not justify the means.

One of the most well-known formulation of deontological ethics is Immanuel Kant’s Kantianism. As per Kantian ethics, it is not the consequences of actions that make them right or wrong, but the motives of the person who performs the action. Good Will i.e., having the right intentions is the only thing that is good without qualification. Hence, actions are truly moral only if they have the right intention.

Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics takes its philosophical root in the work of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.   Virtue theories claim that ethics is about agents, not actions or consequences.  Living an ethical, or good life, then, consists in the possession of the right character traits and having the appropriate moral character.

Virtue ethics places emphasis on developing virtuous character traits and avoiding immoral character traits, or vices of character. In this form of ethics, a virtue is a trait that makes its possessor a good person, and a vice is one that makes its possessor a bad person. Character traits commonly regarded as virtues include courage, temperance, justice, wisdom, generosity, and good temper.

 This approach to normative ethics also emphasizes moral education.  Since traits of character are developed in youth, adults are responsible for instilling in their children the appropriate dispositions.

Other theories of Morality

There are multiple different theories of morality. Some of them are:

Ethics of care or relational ethics: This theory argues that morality arises out of the experiences of empathy and compassion. It emphasizes the significance of interdependence and relationships in achieving ethical goals.

Pragmatic ethics: This view argues that moral correctness evolves similarly to other kinds of knowledge—socially over the course of many lifetimes—and that norms, principles, and moral criteria are likely to be improved as a result of inquiry. 

 Role ethics: This theory is based on the concept of family roles.