Preliminary Theories

Ethical Relativism

• espouses the idea that each moral situation is unique and that no absolute universal truths apply

• moral situations are incomparable with others due to individual differences brought about by: cultural heritage,varied religious affiliations, different prevailing social norms and distinct individual preferences

• Ethical Relativism may be understood through Richard Burton's lines:

  There is no good, there is no bad
  these be the whims of mortal will;
  What makes me weal what call I good
  What harms and hurts I hold as ill.
  They change with space of time,
  Each vice has worn a virtue's crown.
  All good been banned as sin or crime.

• The above reiterates the idea that what we desire and consider good vary from time to time, from one social group to another.

• Relativism subscribes and principle “what may be morally right for you may not be morally right for another

  • e.g. It is a fact in the Phils. that there is very high computer literacy rate and therefore there is a high demand software and programs but the low income level of filipinos do not support that we can afford to buy licensed softwares. This explains why pirated or unlicensed copies of software are so in demand and that it proliferation has become popular, ordinary and socially acceptable.

• John Dewey asserted that human beings should be judge and be judged in the context of the complexities that characterize human life. This implies that you may have examine each ethical situation as a particular case rather thaan as a general one.
  

Ethical Absolutism

• Asserts that there should be fixed or rigid factors in evaluating actions. Fixed factors are universal, constant and there unchanging reasons for judging action as good or bad, right or wrong, just or unjust, among others.
  

• Absolutism simply argues that one must follow a consistent ethical standard, one that universal in nature. What is considers bad in one sense cannot be good in another.

• All actions must be black or white and never gray, at any given time.

Ethical Egoism, and Ethical Altruism

• According to Thomas Hobbes, what predisposed us to act in a certain way is determined by whether it is an object of aversion or object of desire.

  • Objects of desires and those that motivate one to pursue

  • Objects of aversion are those that motivate on to avoid.

• objects and actions have no intrinsic value rather the assessment of their moral value hinges on how they are categorized. Objects of desire are labeled good while object of aversion are considered evil

• Hobbes depicted human being as being completely and exclusively egoistic. They are preoccupied solely with seeking the satisfaction or pleasure that are considered morally good.

  • e.g. K fabricated stories about how P's program loopholes that would somehow create security problems on the intranet. Because of what K did, P was demoted to a lesser position. From the given situation what possibly prevented K from doing what she did might be: from an egoist point of view: his fear that sooner people will discovered that his stories are lies and she will be penalized, she will put high regard of himself and wants to project himself as a law abiding citizen. Both options point to K's interest

Altruism is the desire to promote the good and welfare of others.

• Egoist believe that pure altruism merely mask self-interest.

• According of Moritz Schlick, people have the tendency to lie about their motives in doing certain things

• He believe that “the cult of altruism is merely a particular form of egoism that regularly appears under certain psychological circumstances

• Various thinker have tried to debunk the egoists' theory and contend that altruism is feasible and realistic. Each one of us has a sense of fairness that rouses us to rationalize our selfish actions

• They contend that we would not have inventions such as computers if everyone in the world are egoistic

• Human instinct usually shadow our egoistic side, and rationality shadow our altruistic side