Moral Minima
Moral Minima
In the article “Some Moral Minima,” Lee E. Goodman goes into depth in what he describes and defines to believe are four large acts of moral dilemma that are present in our society today. “(1) Genocide, politically induced famine, and germ warfare; (2) terrorism, hostage taking. And child warriors; (3) slavery, Polygamy, and incest; and (4) rape and female genital cutting.” (Goodman, 2010, pg 88) The four truths are described in detail and various ways when it comes to each cultures and society. I believe Goodman is correct with his theories behind universal moral requirements, and that they should be followed in every society and/or culture around the world. I also agree with his thoughts behind them as well. The article was very clear and left no room for grey areas but as history would show, and as it’s stated in the first chapter, “the view of ethical relativism regards values as determined by one’s own ethical standard, often those provided by one’s own culture and background. Rather than insisting that there are moral absolutes, moral claims must be interpreted in terms of how they reflect a person’s viewpoint; moral claims are then said to be “right in a given culture” or “wrong for a given society”. (Mosser, 2010)
The first moral dilemma, murder or genocide. Murder is the unlawful killing with the malice aforethought, of another human and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide. To me, genocide is murder. Genocide is a mass murder of many people. To be capable of harming so many people, you would have to be a selfish and sick minded individual. As Goodman stated “Murder is wrong because it destroys a human subject” (Goodman, 2010, p.88) “It used to be said, often enough, that rape is not a sexual crime but a power crime.” (Goodman, 2010.p92) How powerless you could leave a person then to take away their very feeling of safety. Rapists have this over their victims, the power, and the
In the article “Some Moral Minima,” Lee E. Goodman goes into depth in what he describes and defines to believe are four large acts of moral dilemma that are present in our society today. “(1) Genocide, politically induced famine, and germ warfare; (2) terrorism, hostage taking. And child warriors; (3) slavery, Polygamy, and incest; and (4) rape and female genital cutting.” (Goodman, 2010, pg 88) The four truths are described in detail and various ways when it comes to each cultures and society. I believe Goodman is correct with his theories behind universal moral requirements, and that they should be followed in every society and/or culture around the world. I also agree with his thoughts behind them as well. The article was very clear and left no room for grey areas but as history would show, and as it’s stated in the first chapter, “the view of ethical relativism regards values as determined by one’s own ethical standard, often those provided by one’s own culture and background. Rather than insisting that there are moral absolutes, moral claims must be interpreted in terms of how they reflect a person’s viewpoint; moral claims are then said to be “right in a given culture” or “wrong for a given society”. (Mosser, 2010)
The first moral dilemma, murder or genocide. Murder is the unlawful killing with the malice aforethought, of another human and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide. To me, genocide is murder. Genocide is a mass murder of many people. To be capable of harming so many people, you would have to be a selfish and sick minded individual. As Goodman stated “Murder is wrong because it destroys a human subject” (Goodman, 2010, p.88) “It used to be said, often enough, that rape is not a sexual crime but a power crime.” (Goodman, 2010.p92) How powerless you could leave a person then to take away their very feeling of safety. Rapists have this over their victims, the power, and the