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Relativity of ethics: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Good or evil.jpg|alt=Good or evil|thumb|Is this good or evil or both?]] | [[File:Good or evil.jpg|alt=Good or evil|thumb|Is this good or evil or both?]] | ||
'''What delineates good from bad? Are these notions fixed, or could an action deemed harmful for one be beneficial for another?''' Consider a scenario where a parent steals bread from a bakery to feed their starving child. This is obviously bad for the baker, however, it is good for the parent and child. This is the concept of moral ''relativism''''',''' where we use the words "''good"'' and "''bad"'' as common terms, but their meaning is actually relative to the individual at that point in time. | '''What delineates good from bad? Are these notions fixed, or could an action deemed harmful for one be beneficial for another?''' Consider a scenario where a parent steals bread from a bakery to feed their starving child. This is obviously bad for the baker, however, it is good for the parent and child. This is the concept of moral ''relativism''''',''' where we use the words "''good"'' and "''bad"'' as common terms, but their meaning is actually relative to the individual at that point in time. | ||
A quintessential example of this is Star Wars. In Episode IV, Luke Skywalker and the Rebels go out to defeat the Empire and blow up the Death Star, he's treated as a hero, however, flip the perspective... Imagine an Imperial officer coming to work on the Death Star simply to pay his mortgage and feed his newborn baby... It begs the question, is Luke doing ''good'' when he launched the proton torpedo blowing up the Death Star or was the Imperial officer doing bad when coming to work to feed his newborn child? Isn't the Star Wars Saga just a story about a group of heartless terrorists? ''Or a bunch freedom fighters?'' | A quintessential example of this is Star Wars. In Episode IV, Luke Skywalker and the Rebels go out to defeat the Empire and blow up the Death Star, he's treated as a hero, however, flip the perspective... Imagine an Imperial officer coming to work on the Death Star simply to pay his mortgage and feed his newborn baby... It begs the question, is Luke doing ''good'' when he launched the proton torpedo blowing up the Death Star or was the Imperial officer doing bad when coming to work to feed his newborn child? Isn't the Star Wars Saga just a story about a group of heartless terrorists? ''Or a bunch freedom fighters?'' | ||