The ethical issue that Antigone faced can be viewed through a multitude of philosophical perspectives, but only one theory provides the best lens. Antigone is faced with the moral dilemma of choosing to honor her dead brother, Polyneices, or to let him rot in the presence of scavenging animals. With the burying of Polyneices, Antigone would dishonor the government and put her life at stake, but also let Polyneices soul be at rest. When the situation is viewed through the Golden Rule, the morality of the situation is obvious. Since you “Do to others as you would have others do to you” the moral choice in this situation is for Antigone to risk her life and honor her brother (275). This should be true for all similar situations, and is not just
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Just like Martin Luther King Jr., Antigone stood up for what was right, regardless of whether it confined by the governmental standards. Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. knew that one must fight against the government if one wanted to change their society. Though rebellion is mostly viewed in a negative connotation, rebellion allows our societies to continuously change and advance. If it weren 't for Martin Luther King Jr.’s stand against racial discrimination by the government, colored citizens would have continued to have limited rights in our current society. Martin Luther King Jr. knew that his life was going to be at risk, but he knew that there was unjust in the community; a community he didn’t want his children to live in. Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. both believed that an action’s righteousness is not defined by the government but by the people themselves, that rebellion can cause good change, and that one must stand up for what is right, not for what is accepted. They wanted to do to others, what they would have wanted to be done to themselves, so they both stood for what they believed was …show more content…
This rule can sometimes be used to serve as the justified approach to a moral decision, and can aid users in choosing their decision. The inverse of the Golden Rule also stands true in many situations, which is, to not do onto others what others would not have done to you. In order to utilize the Golden Rule, one must place themselves into the shoes of the other, assuming what the other person might have done in the situation. This allows the theory to be one of the only theories that is universal and has no deviation based on opposing race, sex, social status, etc. between the action-giver and the action receiver. Antigone’s decision is justified by the Golden Rule because Antigone would have wanted someone to bury her, even if her last act had been “demeaning” in the minds of the powerful. Since her parents are not alive to bury and honor Polyneices, she believes that it is Ismene’s and her duty to bring peace to Polyneices’ soul, something she would have desired her siblings to do to her. She assumes that Polyneices’ would have also gone out of his to honor her, even if it came with the risk of death and rebelling against the powerful. Though this law may seem as the perfect lens for the situation, it is most definitely not. It is still the best lens, but like with all theories, the Golden Rule has some minor
Just like Martin Luther King Jr., Antigone stood up for what was right, regardless of whether it confined by the governmental standards. Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. knew that one must fight against the government if one wanted to change their society. Though rebellion is mostly viewed in a negative connotation, rebellion allows our societies to continuously change and advance. If it weren 't for Martin Luther King Jr.’s stand against racial discrimination by the government, colored citizens would have continued to have limited rights in our current society. Martin Luther King Jr. knew that his life was going to be at risk, but he knew that there was unjust in the community; a community he didn’t want his children to live in. Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. both believed that an action’s righteousness is not defined by the government but by the people themselves, that rebellion can cause good change, and that one must stand up for what is right, not for what is accepted. They wanted to do to others, what they would have wanted to be done to themselves, so they both stood for what they believed was …show more content…
This rule can sometimes be used to serve as the justified approach to a moral decision, and can aid users in choosing their decision. The inverse of the Golden Rule also stands true in many situations, which is, to not do onto others what others would not have done to you. In order to utilize the Golden Rule, one must place themselves into the shoes of the other, assuming what the other person might have done in the situation. This allows the theory to be one of the only theories that is universal and has no deviation based on opposing race, sex, social status, etc. between the action-giver and the action receiver. Antigone’s decision is justified by the Golden Rule because Antigone would have wanted someone to bury her, even if her last act had been “demeaning” in the minds of the powerful. Since her parents are not alive to bury and honor Polyneices, she believes that it is Ismene’s and her duty to bring peace to Polyneices’ soul, something she would have desired her siblings to do to her. She assumes that Polyneices’ would have also gone out of his to honor her, even if it came with the risk of death and rebelling against the powerful. Though this law may seem as the perfect lens for the situation, it is most definitely not. It is still the best lens, but like with all theories, the Golden Rule has some minor