Preview

Ethical Egoism and Sentiment: Examining Decision-Making in the Grey Area

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1301 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ethical Egoism and Sentiment: Examining Decision-Making in the Grey Area
Ethical Egosim and Sentiment: Examing Decision-Making in the Grey Area

If there were one particular ethical theory that would universally fit all situations, ethics would be an open/shut case. However, that simply isn’t how ethical theories work. While, some may have significantly more merit than others on a scale of universal application, there are some situations where relativism comes into play when deciphering which theory best suits a given situation. The relativism referred to here is of a personal nature. A person is the sum of their experiences and actions. Additionally, even if a person has a straight-pointing moral compass, these past life experiences, combined with their current situation, can weigh heavily in deciding the morality of a decision when approaching issues that lay in a gray area.

Take, for example, the story of an uneducated person from an underprivileged background, who’s only foreseeable chance at bettering their life is exceling in a specific sport they have a natural talent for. They have dedicate themselves to this sport and have trained tirelessly. Though they have the ability to place at a high rank, they have never been able to win a race that enabled them to make a name for them self and launch their career. They keep coming close to winning, but ultimately, always end up falling short by an inch. Suppose this person was going to be competing in a major event, which if won, would yield a large cash prize, and would launch them into the spotlight via an endorsement deal with a major sportswear company. Now, imagine that a sports trainer approaches the athlete with a tempting proposition. The trainer informs the athlete that he has a new performance supplement that will dramatically improve the athlete’s performance. The trainer tells the athlete that the supplement has been tested on animals and has, thus far, been proven safe. The trainer informs the athlete that the substance is not on the list of banned performance

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ethical relativism has two categories: subjectivism and conventionalism. Subjectivism is all about the individual, like it is everyone for themselves. This idea makes people like Hitler, Bundy, and members of the KKK (just to name a few) justified in their actions. With conventionalism it is all about the society or culture, but then it becomes a question of how many individuals it takes to make a society. If there are enough Hitler-like people then they can form their own culture with its own morals and anything goes again. Both of these views of ethical relativism seem to be going in circles allowing all behavior as acceptable.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethical relativism is a concept in which most simple minded individuals adhere to. According to definition in the chapter, ethical relativism is the normative theory that what is right is what the culture or individual says is right. Shaw argues that it is not very plausible to say that ethical relativism is determined by what a person thinks is right and wrong. He gives reason that it “collapses the distinction between thinking something is right and it’s actually being right.” Ethical relativism may be justified occasionally. William H. Shaw examines ethical relativism by providing comprehensive examples on why relativism is a weak method in gaining morals.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cultural Relativism Essay

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This premise of cultural relativism shows prefigure of moral relativism. Moral relativism can be generally grouped into three categories; (1) descriptive moral relativism, (2) normative moral relativism, and (3) meta-ethical moral relativism. Descriptive relativism, according to Frankena, is the idea ‘that the basic ethical beliefs of different people and societies are different and even conflicting’ [1973:109]. The second form of ethical relativism conceives the idea that ‘what is really right or good in the one case is not so in another. Such a normative principle seems to violate the requirements of consistency and universalization’[1973:109]. The last among the three reveals that ‘there is no objectively valid, rational way of justifying one against another; consequently, two conflicting basic…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ethical relativism is based on the theory that there are different solutions to every scenario. “Relativist morality is based on the assumption that standards of conduct are neither sacred nor etched in stone—different folks need different strokes” (Souryal, 2007, pg 20). Right and wrong is based on social a norm--such could be the case with situational ethics--which is a category of ethical relativism. At any rate, ethical relativism would mean that our morals have evolved, that they have changed over time and that they are not absolute. The relativism theory is meant to deal with every situation on a case by case basis because every action taken could be right or could be wrong. The juvenile…

    • 1753 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    ETHICAL (MORAL) RELATIVISM

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages

    This essay will examine and highlight major details about problems surrounding individual moral relativism and cultural moral relativism. It will reflect post-modern and modern methods of belief in order to exhibit its valuableness in ethical decision-making in overcoming problems (Owen, 2011). In particular, it argues that abstract theories of either individual or subjective moral relativism are fruitless for understanding humans. What's more, it tends to limit humans to egocentric people or hamper the development of distinctiveness through division and relativism.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethical relativism is based on society and also individual’s desires. With that being said ethical relativism varies from culture to culture and person to person. Does this mean that ethical relativism is any less of a valid theory than other theories? We shall find out in the next 3 pages. Joseph Ratzinger once said “having a clear faith based on the creed of the church is often labeled today as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself, be tossed and swept along by every wind of teaching, look like the only attitude acceptable and today’s standards (www.brainyquote.com).…

    • 916 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Psychological Egoism

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ethics is a requirement for human life. It is our means of deciding a course of action. Without it, our actions would be random and aimless. There would be no way to work towards a goal because there would be no way to pick between a limitless numbers of goals. Even with an ethical standard, we may be unable to pursue our goals with the possibility of success. To the degree which a rational ethical standard is taken, we are able to correctly organize our goals and actions to accomplish our most important values. Any flaw in our ethics will reduce our ability to be successful in our endeavors. Since psychology and morality are related, moral theories must be psychologically realistic which consequently includes behaviorally/motivationally realistic. This correlation between our cognitive processes and our resulting behavior are two variables of ethics that must be considered and thereby examined closely. While psychological egoism isn’t an ethical theory and rather discusses our motivation for certain behaviors, we still find the connection to this example and examples from previous chapters.…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethical Egoism

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There are a few reasons as to why I do not think an ethical egoist would agree with Socrates decision to stay and be executed. For example, egoists don’t care about the good cause, Gods cause, the cause of mankind, the cause of truth, of freedom, of humanity, and of justice, which will all Socrates does care about. Egoist believes that the only concern is themselves and that there is no meaning to good or bad.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Some people may argue that, “what’s right/moral in my eyes, may not be right/moral in your eyes”. This is considered individual moral relativism. Cultural moral relativism is putting culture at the top of relative ethical decision-making. (Argosy University, 2014). These two different moral relativisms differ in the fact that one is putting what you believe first and the other is putting your culture first.…

    • 534 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ethical Egoism

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I believe in Ethical Egoism and think it would be the best way for people to live. If everyone believed in Ethical Egoism, the world would probably have better people in my opinion. With Ethical Egoism, a person will be able to get ahead in their own life and provide a better life for him or his family. While being an ethical egoist you can still help others so the world won’t be a completely selfish world. And combined with the social contract, it keeps people and things in an order.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ethical Relativism is defined by Judith A. Boss in ´´ Analyzing Moral Issues´´ as, ´The theory that morality is created by people and that moral systems can be different for different people´´ (g2). So unlike the universal theory, ethical relativists believe that morals evolve as people progress. Moral or ethics change depending on what part of the globe someone is in. Many say that ethical relativism promotes distrust among cultures and people, since morals are not viewed as universal. People in general distrust those who have different ideologies. Relativist use one of these three main principles ethical subjectivism, cultural relativism, and divine command theory to support their arguments.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The origins of morality and what is defined as "good" or "bad", "unethical" or "moral" can easily boggle the mind. It is a topic that can be debated almost endlessly. There are many factors that must be taken into consideration to provide valid philosophies; yet there will still always be debatable elements. Two concepts of morality that are in direct opposition of each other are moral objectivism and moral relativism. Moral relativism can be subjective, in which morals are particular an individuals own beliefs; or, they can be conventional, in which morals are specific to a society and vary from culture to culture. On the other hand, moral objectivism does not leave room for opinions; it reasons that moral judgments are either true or false absolutely. These conflicting views create much cause for deliberation.…

    • 1595 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The challenges one faces when supporting the relativist position are complex and variable, as there is no fine line that is applicable to all situations as a whole. The reasoning behind this is due to different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, which often represent different morals, values, ethics, and belief systems. All of those attribute and further point to the subjectivity and controversial dilemmas faced by one who carries out the relativist position. As we have been educated to accept that in ethical relativism that there is no universal or absolute rules, therefore the consequences of one’s actions are not exactly identified and remain somewhat unknown.…

    • 564 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Ethical Egoism

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In this paper I’ll be discussing how ethical egoism can be applied to an ethical dilemma. The ethical dilemma that I have chosen is about whether I should testify in court knowing that I will help my innocent best friend but I would be incriminating myself. With this chosen dilemma I’ll explain how act-egoism can be applied to this scenario. The purpose of the paper is to see how ethical egoism can be used in a real life situation.…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this chapter, we discussed subjective ethical relativism, but what exactly does this mean? the authors defined subjective ethical relativism as the belief that an action is morally correct or not if it is accepted by the individual’s society.…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics