Today we make our decisions according to what society believes is right or wrong and what we are taught. Society believes lying can be wrong in most situations, but not in all situations.Right or Wrong? How many times must an individual be faced with those three words in a lifetime? What makes them choose one or the other? Is the right choice always necessarily the moral choice? Who decides what is right or wrong? These are all relevant questions in this struggling issue in life. Could the belief in karma be enough for one to lead a "good" moral existence? The finger is always pointed towards one's self interest and one's outcome of their decisions. In Thomas Nagel's paper, Right and Wrong, Nagel attempts to explain the differences and the thoughts behind right and wrong decisions. He makes references to personal benefits, religion, and punishments of decision-making. Nagel's paper truly defines thought processes as well as how human beings come to decide life choices and pathways for their futures.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Morality is a necessary character in interactions or organizations. Generally, the words “right” and “wrong” are antonym and the meanings are used to define the positive and negative even though we are taught not to judge what other people do. However, the ideas of black and white or right and wrong in morality are difficult to determine because we usually use our own measurement to judge others based on our beliefs, experiences and knowledge. In reality, there are not only black and white but the grey area also is existed where good people can do bad things and where bad people can do good things. According to Philip Zimbardo, psychologist and a professor at Stanford University, the line between bad and good isn’t fixed but it is movable and…
- 1423 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
In a subjective sense, what is “right” and what is “wrong” appear to be definite. Many abide by “the law of human nature,” with the notion that everyone follows and can distinguish a set of standards that revolve around morality. C.S Lewis discusses this distinction and refers to the law that “people thought that everyone knew it by nature and did not need to be taught it.” In other words, there is a ubiquitous standard of right and wrong that everyone understands and agrees upon. However, what happens when it extends beyond just simply right and wrong, when factors such as life and death contribute to the decision? Is this law still valid?…
- 920 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Is there a definite right and wrong, or is that categorization a decision for society to impose on itself? In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he addresses this question of ethics from the perspective of Huck, a growing boy sorting out his code of ethics for himself. Twain does an excellent job of making the reader feel sympathetic for Huck on multiple occasions throughout the novel with his use of a moral dilemma wherein Huck must reexamine himself and the conventions of the society in which he lives.…
- 532 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
There are two parts to the internal side, the judgement of the “best”, and the judgement of the conscience. The real reason from judgement of the best is what seems most attractive. Then the judgement of the conscience, which is what is right and what is wrong. The best scenario of how you described it was ‘Should I stay in bed today all wrapped up in my blankets, or go to work where I will get paid?’. Even though this is a simple question to answer, we all know it’s not the staying in bed option. You are always split between two choices, you know that choosing the right decision is always the best. Although there are a few moments when the “best” choice, is actually the correct one. If you really think about your choices you can see it is a constant battle between the one that looks the best and the one that is the best. It has usually become second nature to us, we do think about what seems the best, but really most of us will choose what truly the best decision…
- 484 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Through Moral Luck, Nagel discusses the problem of moral luck and the conflict that arises between the common practice and intuition that most of society believes in regarding morality. Throughout his essay, Nagel defines intuition and the phenomenon of moral luck and claims that, despite having this intuition, people often make moral judgments about people based on factors that are beyond their control (for example, a drunk driver who kills a child). Nagel claims that the problem of moral luck is due to the tension between a person’s intuitions and their moral standing. He also believes that one’s moral standing cannot be impacted by luck and the possibility that luck plays an important role in determining one’s moral standing. Nagel also suggests that the intuition is correct and resides at the very center of morality, but he also supports the argument that luck will inevitably effect a person’s moral standing. This conclusion leads him to believe that morality is a paradox and enigma.…
- 341 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
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 -
Throughout the history of the human race, men and women have struggled with determining the difference between good and bad actions. For example, if you are walking through a crowded store and the person in front of you drops some money on the floor, you have to make a decision whether to pick it up and walk away or to return it to the person that dropped it. For most people, their morals, that have been passed down through generations of family or that have been learned from their religious studies, help them to make the decision to return the money to its rightful owner. There are seven major ethical systems, or morals, that are factors in determining one’s reactions in this type of situation.…
- 1088 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
For example I feel it is ok to wear whatever color I want to wear regardless of what someone else may think and that it is wrong for someone to take my life over the color I decide to wear. On the other hand a gang banger may think it is right to take my life simply because I am wearing what they consider the wrong color in their neighborhood. I can confidently say that it is wrong to harm a creation of God. So when it comes to right or wrong it is up to the individual on what they consider this to be, but we must be aware that our views on this may differ which is ok because that is was makes us…
- 888 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
An issue that has been highly controversial regarding honesty has been whether it is ever right to lie. Some people would argue that lying is not always morally wrong. From this perspective, telling a lie can be beneficial because the truth sometimes causes more damage than a lie would. To illustrate, a person might lie about how someone looks so that they are not offended. However, others argue that it is never morally right to lie. Stephanie Ericsson, who maintains this view, argues in her essay “The Ways We Lie” that “When someone lies, someone loses” (425). According to this view, a lie always leads to someone being negatively affected. Therefore, lying is wrong because it always results in someone being harmed. In sum, the issue is whether lying is moral or immoral.…
- 1327 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
What is right or wrong and where do we get our moral filter to distinguish the two? The Apostle Paul tells us that our conscience is our moral compass that has been written in our hearts by God. (Romans 2:15) Many people are…
- 481 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The Question of Morality is answered by the Hinduism Worldview as "that everything is god and god is everything, morality and ethics(in a practical sense) are how one should act toward itself" (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011). Hindu's believe you have to look within to figure out if something is moral or unmoral. It's also believed "Man's actions will return to him or her(karma), and it is up to the individual to determine what those actions should be and how they should be carried out" (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011).…
- 632 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Good, bad, right, wrong…how do we know? Ethics is the study of how we determine what is right or wrong, good or bad (Mosser, 2010). While there are many ethical views, I focused on the three classical approaches for this paper. Utilitarianism states when given a choice between two acts, the one that creates the greater happiness for the greatest number of people is the ethical choice. Deontology stems from obligation or duty. This view takes the position that one has a duty to choose the right or moral act. Virtue ethics focus on the character of the individual rather than the act. If the individual has the proper balance of virtuous characteristics, they are ethical. While all three approaches have merit and all three have weaknesses, I believe that the deontological approach is the most convincing ethical view. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss my view and an opposing view and explain why I have chosen my position.…
- 1068 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Human beings have an innate ethical sense that urges them to make predictable choices. Although most people believe their actions are guided by logic and reason, reason often acts only as a way to justify these choices. Ethics is a learned behavior, a behavior that starts from childhood. Every individual has choices in life. And everyone’s perception of right and wrong may not be the same. This discussion will be based on is ethics natural or learned behavior?…
- 482 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Morals, values, and ethics are one of the most important characteristics of a person. These features define who we are and what we believe in. Many different factors come in to play when determining a person`s morals, values, and ethics; childhood upbringing, later life experiences, family, friends, culture, religious beliefs, race, discussions with others, and many others that have an affect a person’s beliefs (Head, 2006). There are times when a person`s beliefs do not agree with someone else’s, which does not mean that one of these people is wrong, it means that we, as individuals, do not all think the same. As a whole, most people have a good sense of right and wrong, which is to say that for the most part most people have good morals, values, and ethics.…
- 2388 Words
- 10 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Stealing is wrong(period.!), but still that didn’t stop me from doing it. I didn’t take the time to realize the amount of trouble that I’m getting myself into just for this “somebody”. Stealing has never and will never have any excuses, explanations, or anything on it because when you get caught, you get caught that’s it end of story.…
- 296 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays