Ethics The Element of Moral Philosophy by Rachels, Meditations ( Essay

Ethics The Element of Moral Philosophy by Rachels, Meditations ( Marcus Aurellius), A man For All Seasons (Bolt) - Essay Example Additionally, the origin of morals and moral behavior is relatively unknown; as is what components a person must consider when deciding whether his or her actions would be considered moral. Unlike many consequentialists, Kant asserts deontological, or "Duty Based" morals. Essentially, morals come directly from the will of the person taking action; that person will do the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do. This approach to ethics is the easiest to teach, the first people learn, and the most cut-and-dry approach to ethics and moral influence available. The Kantian approach to morality relies heavily on universal acceptance and implementation of "laws" such as whether or not a person should lie, steal, or murder. Clearly, to lie, steal, or murder is wrong; therefore a moral person will never lie, will never steal, and will never murder another person. The idea of "Universal Acceptance and Application of Laws" is known as the Categorical Imperative. Kant describes this Categorical Imperative as a personal choice: act in a manner that you would like to see become a universal law. This is somewhat akin to the "Golden Rule" - in a sense. In essence, this ideal asserts that while a person is deciding whether or not to do something (such as lie) to first consider whether or not that action should be done to him. To work with the example of lying: if a person does not believe that lying should be a universally accepted practice, then that person - through logic and reasoning - should not lie under any circumstances. Deontological ethics are rarely concerned with the outcome of an action - only the action itself is measured in terms of moral evaluation. Therefore, the Kantian approach to ethics is largely impartial and more objective than other views of moral behavior. As stated by Kant, there are no exceptions within this approach to ethics and morals. If it is wrong to lie, then at no time should a person lie. No matter the outcome of a situation, deontological ethics define a person as morally right if that person did not lie. For example, people seeking employment often have to write up resumes and/or fill out job applications. Some jobs require a certain amount of experience or training within the profession - or possible a particular personality - to consider an interviewee for employment. While filling out the application, duty-based ethics would require that a person be forthright with his or her information and personality traits - even if doing so may cost him or her employment. If the result of being honest results in the loss or foreclosure of the home, the act of being honest about his or her experiences on the job application is still measured as morally correct. The Kantian approach to ethics and morals is not without its flaws; some concepts simply cannot be categorized as "universal" and other should not. For example, if one persons morals infringes upon the rights or morals of another person. The use of contraceptives can be used as an example of this. If people were to universally stop the use of contraceptives, the world would become much more populated than it already is. Teen pregnancy would being to increase, and subsequently the number of abortions and adoptions would increase proportionally. However, if everyone universally began using