Hello, I just had to jump in on this issue since I've been teaching a learning community the past few years with an ethics teacher (from the philosphy department). Anyway, I think it is very difficult (and my co-instructor would use much stronger language) to say that ethics are relative. If that's true, then genocide is okay if a country thinks it's okay. Do we actually want to go along with that? (It's apparent that we as part of a larger society don't -- at least not all the time.) Furthermore, how can a culture "grow" if ethics are relative? For instance, I think most of us would agree that America is a "better" country now that slavery has been abolished and minorities (including women) have been granted equal rights (although you could debate whether or not this has truly happened). If ethics are "relative", then America is no "better" now than it was when we had slaves and women were also considered property -- again, I think this is a counterintuitive conclusion.
On the other hand, it can be extremely difficult to decide when an action is wrong, and perhaps more importantly, why it's wrong. Again, based on what I've learned while co-teaching, there can be many whys depending on the ethical theory you subscribe to (utilitarianism, Kantianism, etc.) but almost all ethical theories have a few general no-nos, such as lying, cheating, murder, etc. Of course, some theories can justify these behaviors under certain circumstances (utilitarianism - if the payoffs outweigh the costs - but keep in mind you need to consider long-term possible consequences as well), and others can't (Kant). However, I think almost all ethicists would disagree with saying an action is right simply because an authority tells you it's right (unless it's God, and even then almost all ethical traditions say you need to think it through because is it REALLY God, how do you know, etc.). Just because we tend to follow orders from authorities doesn't mean that is the moral thing to do - which is the whole point behind prosecuting Nazi "drones" or the dishonorable discharge verdict in A Few Good Men :) Sorry if this is a little off topic in terms of psychology - but we have to go over and over some of these points in our learning community, so this thread touched a nerve .... Christine Grela Instructor of Psychology McHenry County College cgr...@mchenry.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
