Ethics, in a sense, are one’s moral compass. They are objective and subjective preferences that affect how society, and each human being, determines what is considered to be morally correct. The significance of ethics can be found throughout personal decisions and behaviours, established social norms, and lastly, legal decisions. The significance of ethical thinking is found within these ideas.
Personal decisions are based around a single person’s ethical views about what is considered to be good. Peter singer stated that, “Without an independent standard, it would be pointless to say that God is good; this could only mean that God is approved of by God…it is impossible to give a satisfactory account of the origin of morality in terms of …show more content…
Legal decisions are commonly based around natural law and the idea that all humans have natural instincts that point them towards good choices. However, at times, this is not the case. There have been many wrongful imprisonments throughout history that reveal how unethical the law system can be. A prime example would be to take a look at America’s unethical racial profiling. When examining wrongfully convicted criminals in America, The Innocence Program found that, “Of these wrongfully convicted individuals, 70 percent are people of colour, and 63 percent are African-American. They spent an average of 13.5 years in prison, collectively a total of over 4,339 years. And 6 percent received a death sentence” (Love. D, 2015). This statistic certainly displays the extent of racial profiling in the legal system and this links to the importance of ethics. Christianity teaching tell us that God has a plan for us all, so does this mean that the law should not be making decisions about people’s fates? This is when the importance of ethics comes into place, particularly the contrast between Utilitarianism and Nihilism. Utilitarianism is about acting in a way that adds to the world’s overall happiness, whereas Nihilism preaches that all values are meaningless because nothing truly matters. It is questionable whether or not these contrasting views impact the law. The bible states that “With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbour, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered” (Proverbs 11:9) thus displaying that Christianity teaches that wrongful accusations are the act of a godless man. This teaches us that the law can be subjective and sometimes it is best to rely on our own views rather than those of the justice system. On the other end of the scale, however, the Law is what makes the world a safer and more ethical place. A quote
Personal decisions are based around a single person’s ethical views about what is considered to be good. Peter singer stated that, “Without an independent standard, it would be pointless to say that God is good; this could only mean that God is approved of by God…it is impossible to give a satisfactory account of the origin of morality in terms of …show more content…
Legal decisions are commonly based around natural law and the idea that all humans have natural instincts that point them towards good choices. However, at times, this is not the case. There have been many wrongful imprisonments throughout history that reveal how unethical the law system can be. A prime example would be to take a look at America’s unethical racial profiling. When examining wrongfully convicted criminals in America, The Innocence Program found that, “Of these wrongfully convicted individuals, 70 percent are people of colour, and 63 percent are African-American. They spent an average of 13.5 years in prison, collectively a total of over 4,339 years. And 6 percent received a death sentence” (Love. D, 2015). This statistic certainly displays the extent of racial profiling in the legal system and this links to the importance of ethics. Christianity teaching tell us that God has a plan for us all, so does this mean that the law should not be making decisions about people’s fates? This is when the importance of ethics comes into place, particularly the contrast between Utilitarianism and Nihilism. Utilitarianism is about acting in a way that adds to the world’s overall happiness, whereas Nihilism preaches that all values are meaningless because nothing truly matters. It is questionable whether or not these contrasting views impact the law. The bible states that “With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbour, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered” (Proverbs 11:9) thus displaying that Christianity teaches that wrongful accusations are the act of a godless man. This teaches us that the law can be subjective and sometimes it is best to rely on our own views rather than those of the justice system. On the other end of the scale, however, the Law is what makes the world a safer and more ethical place. A quote