JOEL VARUGHESE

F2017AAPS0448h

Ethics is what drives the world because all our actions depends on it .So what is

ethics actually? Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the systematizing, defending

and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. In this essay we are going to see three

preliminary theories in ethics: divine command theory, ethical egoism and moral relativism. In

this essay we will discuss about the merits and demerits of each one the above mentioned

theories and I am going to give you my perspective of these three theories.

So let us start with the first theory that is the divine command theory.

First we’ll see what divine command theory is. So according to divine command theory our

perception of what is good and what is bad is guided by a divine figure or God, so as to say.

We are obligated to do the right things and not do the wrong things because doing the wrong

things is going to displease God. For example in the bible we have the 10 commandments which

were given by God and Christians are required to follow these laws given my God because it

defined what is good and what is evil. There are some advantages to this theory. According to

Immanuel Kant, in his book “Critique of Practical Reasoning”, morality requires faith in God

and after life (Kant). According to Kant, we must believe in the existence of God because we

cannot bear the requirements of morality. Being moral has no reward by itself but if we believe

in a God who will honor those who follow moral laws then we will be rewarded happiness by

God for following moral laws. The second advantage of this theory is that it gives objective

metaphysical foundation of morality. This theory will also give us a very good answer to the

question, why be moral? In the bible it is written that we should be holy because our God is holy.

So we have a good reason to be moral because we are expected to be so by God. This theory also

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has some demerits. Religious pluralism is one of them. How do we know which rule is correct

when some rules just contradict each other if we look at different religions. The second demerit

is that in modern times some laws have changed for example the human laws protect the rights

of homosexuals where as the bible teaches us not do such things.

Now the second theory is ethical egoism. Ethical egoism means that no one

has any obligation to promote someone else’s idea but each of us has to pursue our own self-

interest. There will be no need to listen to what others say or think but our only goal is to attain

self-gratification. Adam Smith is one of the people who supports this theory. In his famous book

“The wealth of nations” Smith writes that when individuals single mindedly pursue “the

gratification of their own vain and insatiable desires” they unintentionally, as if “led by an

invisible hand,” benefit society as a whole (Smith, 1776).The merits of this theory are that a

person will always meet his needs and if he has a family then the needs of the family is also met.

This theory will also ensure that a greater sense of personal identity in a community is

established. The demerits of this theory are that this theory has a potential to destroy

relationships because it make the individuals more selfish. This theory is difficult for everyone in

the society to accept.

The 3rd theory is called moral relativism. According to this theory moral

judgments are correct or incorrect only relative to some particular standpoint (culture or historic

period). And no standpoint is more privileged than the others. The following are the merits of

this theory. There is no absolute God, people make their own decisions. It gives us a greater

understanding of other cultures. It is more flexible because there are a lot of ethical theories

developed and one is not completely “right”. The demerits of this theory are as follows.

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We cannot criticize the wrong practices that exit in many cultures such as witch burning, drug

abuse, Holocaust etc. This theory does not allow any progress because there is no requirement

for a better society. There is little reason to be moral other than to fit in.

I personally if you ask me am a big fan of divine command theory

because I believe in a God and I believe that there is a divine force that guides us how to be

moral through the holy book