Running head: Ethical Theories and Ethical Issues Ethical Theories and Ethical Issues Frances Caine Ashford University 12 June 2017 1 Ethical Theories and Ethical Issues 2 Ethical Theories and Ethical Issues Deontological Ethics Deontology ethics stands for the reasoning that it is not the consequences of an action that makes it wrong. Rather, it is the motive of the individual carrying out the action. With respect to women’s equality (Waller, 2005). In many ways, the morality of women has been on the balance, especially in third world countries, but this has since seen a change with the modern times. Nonetheless, most feminists feel that the world has not yet fully embraced the capacities of a woman and instead it has eliminated women through religion and cultural beliefs. For instance, some tribes in Africa do not belief in a woman working at a white collar job and instead should remain at home to take care of the kids. The reasoning behind this is to ensure that the children get maximum attention from their mother even as the father goes out to fend for their basic needs. However, some of the cultures in the world has insinuated that there are a positions which women cannot take because, with a religious backing, they were meant to be occupied by the opposite gender. In this second example, deontological ethics show that the woman is oppressed by religion in a bid to segregate her from occupying some of “highly respected” seats in a nation simply because the culture there does not warrant it. This is despite the fact that other cultures or countries have women occupying such seats. A good example is having a woman president. Most countries and cultures have it engraved in them that it is nearly impossible for this to happen because it just does not seem natural. Ethical Theories and Ethical Issues 3 Virtue Ethics Virtue ethics promises a means to fill the gaps left by current legislated morality. In other words, virtue ethics allow the better part of morality to determine a set of actions that would follow when exposed under any circumstance (Green & Mews, 2011). In this case, we consider women equality and how they are affected by virtue ethics. As such, this form of ethical philosophy qualifies the ideology of a woman becoming productive economically, politically and socially but all these is dependent on the background of an individual. For instance, it is not considered a virtue to rape a woman but there are cultures that carry out female genital mutilation in the name of a rite of passage where a man would not marry a lady that did not go through it. In both cases, it would not seem appropriate for modern settings that a woman should go through female genital mutilation or being assaulted. This is because human morality informs us that raping a woman means going against her will and this action could lead her to even commit suicide. On the flip side, if the woman undergoes female genital mutilation so that a man is able to marry her, it so appears that the man has a greater agenda in this issue. This is despite the fact that it is the woman’s body being taken through such unacceptable procedures. As such, the woman loses the right to her own body. In general, virtue ethics stands for the right actions towards individuals as well as communities. Therefore, it is not right to against the will of the woman regardless of the benefits a man is expected to get through such actions. Ethical Egoism Lastly, let us focus on ethical egoism as a perspective towards women’s equality. Ethical egoism promotes the good of an individual as per the morality of that person. Therefore, it is Ethical Theories and Ethical Issues unacceptable to promote goodwill from another party other than the one directly associated with the context in question. Let us again use the example of rape on women. The fact that this act is against the goodwill of the woman also means that it does not align to her morality. To this end, ethical egoism points out that a woman’s will should prevail over that of all other interested parties. Within the confines of ethical egoism, there should be no case of rape or even female genital mutilation (Dowden & Fieser, 2017). In conclusion, deontological and virtual ethics stand for the right of an individual to prevail as opposed to that of interested party. However, the two begin to differ when the actions accepted by deontological theories are negative to other individuals despite favoring the motive of the one taking action. On the other hand, ethical egoism also supports both theories but then aligns more to deontological ethics as opposed to virtue philosophies. 4 Ethical Theories and Ethical Issues 5 References Dowden, B & Fieser. J. (2017). Egoism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Iep.utm.edu. Retrieved 7 June 2017, from http://www.iep.utm.edu/egoism/#SH2b Green, K., & Mews, C. J. (2011). Virtue ethics for women 1250-1500. New York: Springer Verlag. Waller, B. N. (2005). Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contemporary Issues. New York: Pearson Longman.
Purchase answer to see full attachment