Ethics

Ethics is such a tough concept to grasp, if you ask me. Who defines what is ethical? What makes their definition the "right" one. Do the same ethics apply to every person, in every situation?

Honestly I don't think there is one solid right answer to those questions. Everyone has a different interpretation of what is right and what is wrong, mora and immoral, acceptable and innacceptable, and as such there is no single definition that would suffice for all of the world.

No, I am not speaking religiously here. I know that many Christians would point to the bible for advice on ethics, and how to properly live one's life. The problem with that is, not everyone reads the bible, the world is full of different faiths and beliefs, so again one definition will not suffice.

To completely and thoroughly discuss ethics would take a very long time, so what I am going to discuss right now are "scare tactics" because to me they demonstrate one very interesting double standard in the ethical world, and show a prime example as to why one golden rule does not work, and why interpretation is an important factor in ethical thinking.

I think "scare tactics" are an interesting dimension in the ethical world. On one hand, it's completely unethical to scare someone into making a decision that would benifit the person doing the scaring, but on another hand, it is considered completely ethical to scare someone in to making a decision that is considered to be for their wellbeing.

For example, if I were to say to someone, "Hey, give me your money or you'll die." Okay, so that was to the extreme and I promise I have never said that to anyone, but you see how it would be completely unethical to try and use something scary in order to get something that I want.

On the other hand, take the "Truth" commercials, where the people basically say "Hey, stop smoking or you'll die." Again, it's a tactic to scare someone into doing something, but in this case it is considered to be for the other person's own wellbeing, therefor it is accepted as ethical. Is that person going to die for sure if they keep smoking? No, not for sure. Is it a possibility? Yes, it sure is. So is that commercial 100% accurate? No, but again, it's considered to be ethical because it is designed to help others, not benefit the makers of the commercials directly.

Anyways, that's all for now.