Are Ethical Standards Universal?

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To What Extent are Ethical Standards Universal?
Ethics have been studied since ancient times and they are still arguing about today. In technical terms, the word "ethics" is derived from the Greek "ethos" meaning custom or habit (Google dictionary, 2016). Respected English philosopher John Locke once said, “There cannot any one moral Rule be proposed, whereof a Man may not justly demand a Reason” (St. John, J. A. 1843). His philosophies were that humans were innately good and have the ability to make their own decisions and that they should all have the freedom to do so. However, Locke highlights the idea that it is not possible to suggest one moral rule without being challenged. To have one universal standard of ethics is theoretically impossible
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Issues such as murder, theft, adultery, etc. are almost always considered unethical no matter where a person is from or what they believe in. Peace and nonviolence are also common themes across all religions. An example to explain how religions are similar is to one another in terms of Ethical standards is to look at The Ten Commandments of the Bible, the Ten Precepts of the Buddha and verses from the Bhagavad Gita. When analyzed and read, you can see that all of them clearly state a similar vitality of morals in the life of …show more content…
Having ethical standards in a community is what allows us to live a moral and purposeful life. Many schools, business, communities, and nations, has a strict code of ethics to control the behaviors of people. This could be in accordance to Thomas Hobbes’s philosophy, which stated that if humans we to be left to themselves, people would act on their impulses which tended to be evil in nature. Ethical standards can be shared through knowledge and faith. However, language and faith have a limit on who it can reach. By examining where our knowledge of right and wrong comes from, our ability to be individual thinkers as well as religion and culture, we can determine that ethical standards are not

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