Ethics and News

Student’s Name

Institution

Ethics and News

Ethics is a philosophical inquiry into the moral language and principles about values. An action is moral when it is liable for approval and power while it is unethical when it is liable for disapproval or wrong or dangerous. It is crucial to clarify what is wrong and right and have a basis for the distinction. Three core areas of ethics are Value Theory, which defines what people consider a good life that people should pursue, Normative Ethics that deals with the function of identifying what is right and wrong and Metaethics dealing with the meaning of virtue. There are various ethical theories which authors use as ethical arguments. An ethical theory is an explanation justifying the basis of what is considered as good, in the theory, and uses the reason to discuss ethical principles. Ethical theories differ by the fact that they propose various parameters that people use in making moral judgments. The parameters are; motive for doing something, the act itself and the result of the action committed.Homosexuality or same sex relationships are believed to be present in all cultures in history. In the past, it was practiced in secret but now; proponents of homosexuality have come out in the open to helping their cause. Homosexuality is a controversial and ethical issue which has been making headlines of late. The New York Times reported that a man attacked a gay couple on a subway platform yelling anti-gay slurs and punching one of the men in the face “(Man in subway is injured in an anti-gay attack, 2014).” This incident shows that although homosexuality is gaining public and legal support, there are those who still cannot condone the practice and condemn it outright. The country of Uganda passed Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 last February and drew the wrath of proponents of homosexuality. People condemned the President of Uganda for passing the Anti -Gay law, and the Targeted News Service reported that United States Sanctioned Uganda in response to Anti-Homosexuality Act “(United States Sanctions Uganda in Response to Anti-Homosexuality Act., 2014).”

Religion is a supernatural belief that affects the life of a believer. There are different religions of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity among others. Each religion has its code of ethics (Sohn, 2012).

In ethics, the concept of God brings about the question of good and evil. In Christianity, God spells out righteous, and sins act as well as the consequences of the wrong doings. The Bible is the basis on which Christians make decisions. To the Christian, evil is allowed because God gave man free will. Man can thus choose to do good or evil and evil is the price man pays for having a free will. This creates a choice situation between good and evil and man, therefore, has the freedom to choose one over the other. God’s condemns homosexuality that is explicit in the Bible and calls it an abomination. On this basis, Christians oppose and do not condone homosexuality.

Ethical Egoism theory states that an action is right when its results help the person and that one ought to do only that which benefits them as an individual (Williams, 2011). Proponents of homosexuality subscribe to ethical egoism as the results of their practices help them as individuals. According to Socrates, the truth lies within each one of us and that no one intentionally does evil (Chaffee, 2011). Proponents of homosexuality are thus convinced that the practice is for the good of those who practice it and makes them happy.

Although many people do not accept homosexuality, it is real and touches on lives of families. In countries where the practice is prohibited like Uganda, homosexuals are forced to relocate to other countries or carry out their practices underground. It will remain an ethical issue for a long time as both proponents and opponents will not change their stands because of their convictions.

References

Chaffee, J. (2011). The Philosopher’s Way: A Text with Readings: Thinking Critically about Profound Ideas (3rd ed.).Boston, MA: Prentice Hall

Schwirtz, M. (2014, Mar 07). Man in Subway is Injured in Antigay Attack, Police say. New York Times Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview

Sohn, M. (2012). The Good of Recognition: Phenomenology, Ethics, and Religion in the Thought of Levinas and Ricoeur. The University of Chicago

United States Sanctions Uganda in Response to Anti-Homosexuality Act. (2014, Mar 24). Targeted News Service Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview

Williams, B. (2011). Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy. Taylor & Francis.