PHILOSOPHY OF MEDIA CENSORSHIP

QUESTION

TOPICS

1. How does one determine what one “ought to do?”
2. How do we determine what is morally right and wrong?
3. What’s the difference between a moral and non-moral issue?
4. Is sense of morality inherent in all individuals?
5. Is Socrates right when he says that evil and other negative actions are the result of ignorance?
6. Is acting morally requisite if a person is to reach his full potential?
7. Do universal moral principles exist? If so, what are these universal morals?
8. Is moral behaviour necessary for happiness?
9. Should reason be the sole basis for determining what actions are morally right or wrong?
10. Are a society’s values always rooted in morality? Are values necessarily based on universal morality?
11. Is every human action rooted in a self-serving motivation?
12. What is justice? How do we determine if something is “just.”
13. Is justice universal or is it a human social construct? Does justice exist outside human society?
14. Do the ends ever justify the means? What is an example of this?
15. Can “an eye for an eye” be morally justified?
16. Is there such a thing as a justified killing? Is all murder morally wrong?
17. Is capital punishment ever morally or ethically permissible? If so, when and on what grounds?
18. What types of crimes should be eligible for the death penalty? Why?
19. Should euthanasia be permitted in cases of terminally ill patients?
20. Can the killing of one conjoined twin be justified if it saves the life of the other conjoined twin?
21. A pregnant mother is in a coma. Is it permissible to deliver the baby if the procedure is likely to kill the mother? Who should decide?
22. Should abortion be permitted in cases where the mother’s life is at risk?
23. In what, if any, situation is abortion acceptable? Who should determine abortion regulations?
24. Is media censorship ever justified? If so, on what grounds?
25. Is there an argument that can justify killing an animal to eat meat when vegetarian options are readily available?
26. Is it unethical to test on animals, even if the testing helps save human lives?
27. What rights should be afforded to animals? On what basis?
28. Are needle exchange programs ethical? Does this promote drug use?
29. Is employee drug testing justified? What are the moral and ethical implications?
30. Is it a wealthy nation’s moral obligation to help poorer nations?
31. Should the wealthy be required to subsidize programs to aid the poor?
32. Is there a moral or ethical obligation to recycle, green-build and take other pro-environment actions?
33. What ethical obligation do people have when it comes to saving endangered species?
34. Is it ethical to take measures to preserve an endangered species, even if this negatively impacts other species?

SOLUTION

Do universal moral principles exist? If so, what are these universal morals?

Introduction

“Universal Morals” The term itself arises a question in everyone s mind. Is there any concept like moral principles in the universe? In general the common man understands that the religion or god decides the moral principles and not any human beings.  There is a common understanding that the values and morals prepared by man are temporary and not eternal. It varies from culture to culture and place to place. It is the man who attempts to change the moral principles. (Johnson,2004)
It is one of the very rich beliefs that the great holy books like Bible were written by the people highly inspired of ruled by the divine principles. Thus the values that we hold, based on the holy books are after all man defined or created by man, it is very difficult to believe the existence of the moral principles that provide guidance to the people all the time. In my opinion moral principles has been a process of development which developed over a period of time. And it is a matter debate about the existence of moral principles. If there would have been moral principles, there would have been equally among all religions around the world and no contradicts in the process of education to the masses.(Keith, 2003)

A lot of human being instinctively conventional about the survival of ethical correct and wrong but did not think about how or why it is available (angelfire.com)

Generally the moral principles can be divided into two relevant fields.

Subjectivism

Conventionalism

Subjectivism considers morality is a personal decision; morality lays eye of the viewer.” Conservative sees ethical existence with the help of social recognition that match with enlightening relativism.

These are the main assumption for moral relativism is discussed as follows:

1. Ethics which are correct for single individual may not be correct for another individual.

The statement is purely a subjectivism it has been argues in many forms that person himself determines what is correct and what is wrong for the individual. Most commonly any individual will go to assert it because the individual will act in a different manner and there no morals or a particular exists. For example: She is good and he is bad which a relative term is. In this example there is the difference between two people. Every one can be sure that having different views of right and wrong which do not lay any good foundation to grasp the there are hardly any standards to determine right and wrong.

The existence of ethical discrepancy will never exhibit the reality of the ethical relativism any more than difference of opinion over the particulars reveal the particular relativism concentrated to particular beliefs.  If I widely believed there is life on Mars and you do not subscribe to the idea that no such concept exists in the life. We should never predict that what I believe is true according to us and you consider is to be true in your concepts.  It’s sure that one of us is wrong anyway. If there were a couple of universal moral frame work common to all cultures and societies, faiths and philosophies, it will give a precious support for discussion in this regard.(Collero, n.d)

Here the writer is clearly explaining the difference between beliefs and original facts. The writer says even though people does not subscribe to the idea of moral truth, it does not mean it does not exists. Hence, it is important to create difference between beliefs and truth

2) Moral Codes varies form culture to culture, which is considered as a key to the morality

It is a form of conventionalist theory for moral relativism, which particularly can be termed as cultural relativism.  The key difference between cultural relativism and moral relativism is hard to find, Moreover, It does not you put in any of the categories the statement or the argument will be the same.

Cultural anthropologist William Graham Sumner trusts that morals are actually outcome from the culture, because of the following points.

• Every culture has its peculiar set of moral and values designed for them.
• The ethical values are created by the influences led by the natural environment of suffering and happiness as human being look to fulfill their basic needs and expectations. These morals generate a composite in the society as a whole.
• Every individual and the group believe that their moral values are right and other is wrong.

Beckwith and Koukl cite the example in their writings that how taking ones life has been not a good idea in each and every culture at every step of the history. The only matter that has seen the change is the concept of judgment. Hitler justified killings the Jews as he considered it was right for him to mill the subhuman. In many issues like this the ethical or moral differences in cultures highlights only a difference between perception of the matter and condition, and not any difference of opinion in the values. (Johnson, 2004)

It is important to identify the distinction between belief and truth. The belief of people is not crucial. Every individual believes and understand in different perspective about various things every time, but the matter is which concepts are true. In one of the theory example was cited about two individuals who had contradictory ideas about the life on Mars.  Both individuals cannot be correct.  Either there is life on Mars or there is no life in that planet.  Believes are different but only one can be considered as true.

Conclusion

We can conclude by saying that, deeply the issue for a universal moral code is focused, the philosophers will debate in a larger scale against the topic. (Adrian, Moral Principles)

In wide range of research, we have found that key ethical parameters depicts both positive and negative. The Universal Moral Code premeditated takes both the statements for the balance (Bishop, n.d)

Thus, the forceful statement against moral relativism originates from those who affirm that universal standards in terms of Moral exist even if it varies from culture to culture. Similarly, we can acknowledge that cultural variation in the ethical practices still have concept that some of the practices are ethically not correct (Velasquez et.al , 1992)

Based on the idea presented in the essay, relativism is not true and ruled out sustainably in ones life. One’s perspective on how to see this matter is very important and is complicated in affecting how an individual leads his life. Moral relativism will show the way to hindrances and create difference in opinion in individual lifestyle and society as whole.

References

1. Johnson 2004, Do Objective moral Standard exists in the world today?, Quodlibet  journal, volume 6, pp.3, July ,viewed on 8^th April , 2012

Do moral Standard exists today

http://www.quodlibet.net/articles/johnson-morality.shtml

2. Kent m. Keith, 2003, Universal Moral Code, viewed on April 9, 2012

http://www.universalmoralcode.com/code.html

3. Larry Collero, A frame work of Universal Principles and Ethics, Cross Roads Program Inc, viewed on April 9, 2012

http://www.ethics.ubc.ca/papers/invited/colero.html

4. Manuel Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S.J., and Michael J. Meyer 1992,

Ethical relativism, viewed on April, 8^th , 2012,

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ethicalrelativism.html

5. Adrian Bishop, Moral principle defined, viewed on April, 8^th, 2012,

http://www.themoralcompass.co.uk/moral_principles.htm

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