Ethics

The question of "right and wrong" has fueled a debate between great philosophical minds for centuries.   What designates something as "right" and something else as "wrong"?   Is there a so-called ultimate moral principle that human beings should obey?   Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill present different philosophies regarding this fundamental issue, which inevitably beg to ask the question of what ultimately guides a person's moral choices.   Kant asserts that ethical decisions are based on a set of fundamental moral rules that determines what is morally right.   Mill, on the other hand, consents that a desire for happiness compels all actions and decisions.   In either case, however, one must consider both principles in the real world and test out which philosophy holds more validity in light of human nature.   It becomes obvious that Mill's moral principle is more appropriate for contemporary ethical concerns in that his method adapts to the innate habits of modern society.    
In discussing the issue of ethics, Immanuel Kant affirms that morality should be based solely on human rationality (Crisp 7).   He explains that ethics should be grounded on a set of fundamental principles that one derives through reason.   Kant believes that everyone has a moral obligation to follow certain duties, regardless of the consequences.   What, then, are the duties to which humans owe their obedience?   Kant asserts that one's duties are dictated by one ultimate moral principle that he refers to as the categorical imperative.   The categorical imperative is a command given from one's rational mind to the will that demands the unconditional necessity of an action.   Kant recognizes that there is only one categorical imperative and he defines it as, "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law".   Thus, according to Kant, any morally good action is one that every rational person would accept as a universal law.   An action is... [continues]

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