The author of the article “why study ethics” hits the nail on the head in many ways. Ethics are essential in any society, and according to the author, some situations may not allow us to exert moral blame on the people who do wrong. For instance, if we do not have a full understanding of the accurate interpretation of ethical judgments, we cannot entirely blame the people who engage in immoral deeds. Studying ethics is, therefore, vital as it helps us understand these judgments.
The first example the author uses to justify his arguments is that of people queuing at a bookstore. If a person cuts in the queue, people will possibly react angrily. If they do that, they are making a moral judgment founded on the ethics of queuing. That is, it is not right to cut in the queue as it reverses the entire reason for queuing. The person who cuts in a line violates all the implicit rules for forming the queue. The people may also argue that the ethics are relative to individuals. In this case, they cannot justify their angry reaction to the person who cuts in the line as the person is entitled to think about himself only. However, this has the potential for triggering confusion, and the people may not achieve their purpose for queuing. Such a situation shows that ethics are not relative to individuals as the actions of one person affect others, and we may not understand this without studying ethics.
The author also uses the example of the Nazi who perpetrates genocide on the Jews. He says that their deeds are not in line with the ethical values that promote the prosperity of all people. The writer also states that we may not generalize the blame to all the Nazis as some may have been coerced to kill or they were ignorant. Similarly, the author says that Galileo may not be the one to blame for not knowing that the sun is not at the center of the universe as he did not have access better technology.
As mentioned above, the author puts forward essential facts about ethics and the importance of understanding ethical systems. The arguments blend well with some of the points that we have covered in readings and class discussions. Ethics are essential in promoting peaceful coexistence among people, and that is what the author’s arguments tend to emphasize. Though I do not have anything to add to the discussions, I can say that the article adds a lot of meaning to the ethics realm.
