The Aplication of Ethics

  1. Michael T
    Michael T
    We are all aware of the gulf between the lives of those of us in the Western world and those in the Third world. To use an analogy, we in the West might be seen as the guests on a five star cruise ship. We sail the seas enjoying all the benefits that life has to offer, sipping champagne and enjoying the caviar whilst dancing the night away in the best suits and gowns that money can buy. As the illuminated ship slips through the night we toss the occasional lifebelt into the foaming wake, before turning back to the warmth and security of our pleasant surroundings. In the cold darkness behind us, as the lights of the ship recede and the music fades, thousands of our fellow human beings are drowning.

    We feel better. Having taken the time out from our privileged lives to throw a token of concern towards those less fortunate than ourselves, we can rejoin the party we have enjoyed since birth. What more could we do? There is only so much caviar and champagne, and besides, who wants to share a cabin!

    But hold on! Couldn’t we demand that the Captain stop the ship? We could throw nets over the side and they could all clamber aboard. Yes, it would mean meagre rations for all, and very little champagne. Conditions would be much harder, the living less comfortable. But all could survive, and even though there is a little less room for dancing, isn’t it reassuring to know that the music is not just there to drown out the screams of the dying?

    How can we claim to be ethical? In the West, as a society, and as individuals, we allow the status quo to continue. Isn’t it the unpalatable truth that we are all, to a certain extent, guilty of not being willing to give up the advantages that being born in the right place and at the right time have given us? Isn’t it the case that, in truth, we would fight tooth and nail to avoid allowing the captain to stop the ship? Isn’t it more honest to admit that we would mutiny, rather than have to share our advantages on a more equal footing? Shouldn’t we just admit to ourselves that ethics are only skin-deep, and that human nature will always mean sailing by?

    Do you agree or disagree? How far are you willing to go in applying your ethical beliefs?
  2. Mr. Agnostic
    Mr. Agnostic
    I think ethics is not based on the individuals capacity to apply it on the way it has to be.......and we claim human nature is a paradox to almost anything ethical....i believe human nature and ethics is not different but is rather dependent on each other....
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