Normative ethics principles and theories

Ethics

While all ethical theories appeal to me in some way, the one I relate to the most is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism suggests that the ethical decision should enhance as much happiness as possible. I appreciate this idea, which is why I believe I make more decisions using a utilitarian ethic than any other. With Kantian duty ethics, I struggle with the absolutism. I do not believe it is possible to have one principle govern every ethical decision that I make. For example, I do believe that sometimes it is acceptable to tell lies. I have told lies to make my parents or girlfriend feel good, and I do not think it hurt them. In fact, I believe that if they knew now which lies I told and when, they would not even be upset. I would never tell a lie that I could later not admit to, however, I relate to the Aristotle vision of virtue ethics in the sense that I do believe we should all strive to reach the highest possible moral character. When I tell white lies, I do not feel I am violating my essential moral character, which is dedicated to creating as much good as possible in the world.

Because I feel that the ends justify the means, utilitarianism appeals to me. Utilitarianism is the only one of the three ethical theories we are studying that takes into account the real essence of human nature, which is moral ambiguity. I do not believe that there can ever be any absolute rights and wrongs when it comes to making ethical decisions. Even killing a person is justified in self-defense. Yet some people believe that killing is categorically wrong no matter what else is going on: this would be the Kant notion of categorical imperative. I believe that a person who is genuinely hungry is not doing a bad thing by stealing a sandwich from a store. Some people who commit adultery do so because their relationship has deteriorated to the point at which there is nothing more they can do, whereas leaving the relationship might prove detrimental to the children. Therefore, I also do not believe there are absolute moral rules governing human behavior in any realm.

My worldviews also reflect a utilitarian ethic. For instance, I believe in the legalization of all drugs including but not limited to cannabis. This is because drugs of all sorts help people. If some drugs are made illegal, then their potential to help people is eliminated. Interestingly, as I muse on the subject of legalizing drugs, I realize that the duty ethic is also involved. We have a duty to make sure that the greatest number of people in the world is as happy as they possibly can be. Here, I can easily fuse Kant's duty ethics with Mill's utilitarian ethics.