An Overview of Ethical Course.
Ethics refers to the socially acceptable knowledge of what is wrong and right. They serve as the moral compass and help people to live together harmoniously by creating order. In the ethical course there are theories such as:
- Relativism
This mainly aims at saying that views and opinions are all true with respect to the point of view. This theory has critics but it also has supporters who see this as a way of tolerating and accepting people as different as they come. An example of this is slavery. Those who practiced slavery believed that they were right to subject ‘beings of a lesser race’ to slavery.
- Skepticism
This theory suggests that we have no reason to believe in the morally right and wrong as own in social circles. It says that what we believe to be morally upright is untrue. An example is people who believe that there is no Greater Being who runs the universe and things just happened to be.
- Teleological ethics
This branch of ethics derives duties from what is morally right so as to bring about a something good at the end. A good example of this is Utilitarianism which is explained below.
- Utilitarianism
This theory is involved with actions and their consequences. An action is judged as good or bad with reference to the nature of its results, whether good or bad. An example is what to do with a law-breaker. Sending that person to jail will help turn that person into someone better and serve him as an example. The person is however human and needs to be treated with respect and humanity. There is also the option of taking the person to a rehabilitation center. This is aimed at promoting the greatest amount of good that can come from a decision.
- Divine command theory
This theory binds morality to theology and states that morality is somewhat bound to God and His commandments. An example of this is the death sentence. The law might sentence a person to death for committing a certain crime but this is wrong because it goes against God’s law which says ‘do not commit murder”.
Sexual morality.
Pre-marital sex is considered to be morally wrong. This is because, in the modern society there are various ways to prevent one from physical harm but rapture sex has psychological harm. Such as problems with being loyal and difficulty creating emotional attachment as a result of many premarital relations.
Extra-marital affairs are considered unethical. This is because there is cheating on one’s partner. This could break homes and lead to breaking the law (violence in fighting for a partner). It is also unsafe as one can contract a sexually transmitted disease and spread it to many innocent parties.
Sex between homosexuals is morally okay. This is because one is supposed to choose what he is comfortable with and in this case, the person is comfortable with a person of the same sex.
Fallacious reasoning used in media
- Appeal to ignorance occurs when one uses someone’s lack of knowledge in a given matter to show that their argument is correct. Failure to prove that something is true as used to show that it is actually false.
- Appeal to popular opinion which is when one uses the numbers of people supporting something to make claims that it is true. If many people bought a movie then it is considered a good movie.
- Begging the question is when one asks a question in such a way as to conclude a matter. An example is, “If the dog did not eat the steak, who did?’
- False dilemma occurs when one presents an argument in such a way that it has only two options to choose from. An example is, “if you do not swear by the bible, you are the culprit”
- Slippery slope is where one falsely magnifies the consequence of a certain action. An example is, “If gay marriages are legalized, there will be discontinuation of generations.”
