Ethical Decisions
Making Ethical Decisions
Ethics is a philosophical characteristic that relates to the moralities of human beings and the moral principles that govern one 's behavior. Ethics are a person’s morals that govern their behavior, while the morals are the specific standards that cause them to (re)act. For example, being ethical could mean following certain laws of a society, or religious beliefs. The definition of what being ethical may be is subjective to what culture or society somebody is from. Ethics can also be defined as a person’s conscience in relation to the concepts of right versus wrong and good versus evil. In many cases in literature, and beyond, people’s ethics do not and have not always been utilized in the right place, at the right time, or in a way that would affect a situation positively. This could mean that if an unethical person reacts in an unethical manner, they could inflict damage and harm a society. Furthermore, these situations that are affected by one 's ethical decisions can impact loved ones and other people that may be involved. It is quite possible that ethics can also relate to one’s concern for moralistic behavior and attitude. This is shown very evident in Gabriel García Márquez’s novella, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, William Shakespeare’s play, Measure for Measure, through research published in academic journals, and through several events that have occurred over history.
One of the main themes of Chronicle of a Death Foretold is ethics in the context of honor and familial duty. From a familial duty standpoint, Angela was a character from the novel that had the ability to make a decision that was split between right and wrong. Specifically, Angela took part in premarital sex and therefore married as a non-virgin. In Columbia, at the time the novella is set in, the 1950s, premarital sex was seen as an unethical activity, and when someone acted in this manner, it was looked down upon. In doing this deed, Angela dishonored her
Ethics is a philosophical characteristic that relates to the moralities of human beings and the moral principles that govern one 's behavior. Ethics are a person’s morals that govern their behavior, while the morals are the specific standards that cause them to (re)act. For example, being ethical could mean following certain laws of a society, or religious beliefs. The definition of what being ethical may be is subjective to what culture or society somebody is from. Ethics can also be defined as a person’s conscience in relation to the concepts of right versus wrong and good versus evil. In many cases in literature, and beyond, people’s ethics do not and have not always been utilized in the right place, at the right time, or in a way that would affect a situation positively. This could mean that if an unethical person reacts in an unethical manner, they could inflict damage and harm a society. Furthermore, these situations that are affected by one 's ethical decisions can impact loved ones and other people that may be involved. It is quite possible that ethics can also relate to one’s concern for moralistic behavior and attitude. This is shown very evident in Gabriel García Márquez’s novella, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, William Shakespeare’s play, Measure for Measure, through research published in academic journals, and through several events that have occurred over history.
One of the main themes of Chronicle of a Death Foretold is ethics in the context of honor and familial duty. From a familial duty standpoint, Angela was a character from the novel that had the ability to make a decision that was split between right and wrong. Specifically, Angela took part in premarital sex and therefore married as a non-virgin. In Columbia, at the time the novella is set in, the 1950s, premarital sex was seen as an unethical activity, and when someone acted in this manner, it was looked down upon. In doing this deed, Angela dishonored her
Bibliography: Kagan, Shelly. Normative Ethics. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1998. Print. The author of this article first discusses normative ethics in a general, broad context; how one should live their life. In a more specific explanation, she goes onto explaining that in one’s life, normative ethics relates to whether or not the action’s that he or she takes are right or wrong. This relates to the text of Chronicle of a Death Foretold because in the story, there are many different actions that are taken by the characters which can be analyzed as either the morally right or wrong act which they did. Kerns, Peggy. "Sorting right from wrong: being ethical goes beyond just following the law." State Legislatures 37.2 (2011): 29. Academic OneFile. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. Though this source talks mostly about ethics in relation to law and legislature, it still has many points that can relate to the townspeople in Chronicle of a Death Foretold. In this source it lists the steps that one should take when they are faced with an ethical decision-making situation and knowing right versus wrong. Furthermore, it is stated in the column that one must be ethical to make a moral judgment, yet that is not always easy. Wallach, M.A., Kogan, N., &Bem, D.J. “Diffusion of responsibility and level of risk taking in groups.” Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. American Psychological Association, 1964. The authors in this source specifically talk about how the diffusion of responsibility is a direct cause of how a group will behave and how risky their behavior will be. For example, how a group of people will react to a certain situation that is occurring.