Why Is Hamlet Unethical

Ethics is the science and study of the ideal human character (Kidder). However, with everybody holding a different idea of right and wrong, how is it possible to lead an ethical life? In a world of cynics, spies, and once friends, Hamlet is faced with this exact dilemma. Should he exact revenge on his father's murderer or show clemency? Revenge is a major theme in Hamlet by William Shakespeare. In fact, does not revenge characterize the tragedy, and indeed the entirety of Hamlet's adult life? If ethics is defined in terms of what the virtuous person would do, than the virtuous person would not act from feelings of anger, and thus would not seek personal revenge. Revenge is an emotionally guided attempt to bring another down to his own level of unhappiness, which is in and of itself unethical. The act of revenge is inherently evil.
Trapped in his own grief, Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father. The former King of Denmark …show more content…
This has been a point of deliberation for centuries. Consequentialism is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act (or omission from acting) is one that will produce a good outcome, or consequence. In an extreme form, the idea of consequentialism is commonly encapsulated in the English saying, "the ends justify the means", meaning that if a goal is morally important enough, any method of achieving it is acceptable. (insert citation, edit). On the other hand, deontological ethics, a normative ethics position, holds firm that the morality of an action should be judged by adherence to a rule or rules (Alexander & Moore). Because of religious affiliations, Hamlet tends to be of the latter. Clearly, the outcome was