Justice Wolosin
Instructor Nalin Pant
ENG 101
19 October 2016
Is Morality Universal or Relative? Morality is the concept of what is distinguished as right and wrong. The way morality works is simple—those that follow the morally correct path receive positive re-enforcement such as praise and acceptance; those that follow the morally incorrect path receive negative re-enforcement such as name-calling or alienation. The origin of morality, however, is difficult to discern. There is a collective debate amongst people if moral actions are universal or relative, meaning morality differentiates between various cultures; I will reveal both arguments. The first topic I’d like to mention is the misconception that morality and ethics are one-in-the-same. …show more content…
Ethics are principles of right conduct.” (Grammarist). Because morality has the possibility to have multiple foundations or origins, such as religion or family background, it is more personal in nature. Ethics, on the other hand, do not allow as much room for interpretation. Ethics are created as more of an across-the-board, universal foundation for businesses and societies to maintain stability. Therefore, ethics are more objective in nature. To help differentiate between the two, I will provide a few examples. An example of morality would be the classic hypothetical scenario about finding a stray sum of money lying on the floor. If an individual found a crisp, $100 fall from someone’s bag and onto the floor and this person was unaware that he or she dropped it, would he or she turn it into the police, return it to whom it belongs or keep it for themselves? Because this question can be answered in multiple ways and depends upon what the individual was raised to believe is right and wrong, this is an example of morality. Another example of morality is speaking ill of your country’s head-of state. In the U.S., it is not considered immoral to speak ill of the president. However, in Iran, it is considered so immoral that one is expected to receive 74 lashes—in Thailand, up to 15 years in prison (Phelan 2014). …show more content…
If morality were universal, all countries would legalize gay marriage at the same time. We wouldn’t have one country in favor of gay marriage while another country still opposes it. “…whether an action is right or wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is practiced. The same action may be morally right in one society but be morally wrong in another.” (Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, S.J. and Meyer 1992). Furthermore, the members within a society would not have such contrasting views between one another. Once more, I note my previous example of the classic hypothetical $100 scenario. Because many of us would respond to that scenario differently, we are proven to have contrasting moral codes than one another. However, we, as individuals, have the power to change the minds of others. If one group felt it acceptable to return the money, they could attempt to persuade another group of the same. This then impacts the society on a mass level, in turn, changing what the society accepts as
Instructor Nalin Pant
ENG 101
19 October 2016
Is Morality Universal or Relative? Morality is the concept of what is distinguished as right and wrong. The way morality works is simple—those that follow the morally correct path receive positive re-enforcement such as praise and acceptance; those that follow the morally incorrect path receive negative re-enforcement such as name-calling or alienation. The origin of morality, however, is difficult to discern. There is a collective debate amongst people if moral actions are universal or relative, meaning morality differentiates between various cultures; I will reveal both arguments. The first topic I’d like to mention is the misconception that morality and ethics are one-in-the-same. …show more content…
Ethics are principles of right conduct.” (Grammarist). Because morality has the possibility to have multiple foundations or origins, such as religion or family background, it is more personal in nature. Ethics, on the other hand, do not allow as much room for interpretation. Ethics are created as more of an across-the-board, universal foundation for businesses and societies to maintain stability. Therefore, ethics are more objective in nature. To help differentiate between the two, I will provide a few examples. An example of morality would be the classic hypothetical scenario about finding a stray sum of money lying on the floor. If an individual found a crisp, $100 fall from someone’s bag and onto the floor and this person was unaware that he or she dropped it, would he or she turn it into the police, return it to whom it belongs or keep it for themselves? Because this question can be answered in multiple ways and depends upon what the individual was raised to believe is right and wrong, this is an example of morality. Another example of morality is speaking ill of your country’s head-of state. In the U.S., it is not considered immoral to speak ill of the president. However, in Iran, it is considered so immoral that one is expected to receive 74 lashes—in Thailand, up to 15 years in prison (Phelan 2014). …show more content…
If morality were universal, all countries would legalize gay marriage at the same time. We wouldn’t have one country in favor of gay marriage while another country still opposes it. “…whether an action is right or wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is practiced. The same action may be morally right in one society but be morally wrong in another.” (Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, S.J. and Meyer 1992). Furthermore, the members within a society would not have such contrasting views between one another. Once more, I note my previous example of the classic hypothetical $100 scenario. Because many of us would respond to that scenario differently, we are proven to have contrasting moral codes than one another. However, we, as individuals, have the power to change the minds of others. If one group felt it acceptable to return the money, they could attempt to persuade another group of the same. This then impacts the society on a mass level, in turn, changing what the society accepts as