What Is Morally Correct and Wrong - Assignment Example

Ethics: Case Analysis Individual beings have their own personal and social responsibilities that need to be performed properly. However, there are instances that people cannot work out their personal responsibilities because of other responsibilities (e.g., work), and they have a hard time balancing everything they do. In turn, the quandary between these responsibilities will affect one’s moral way of thinking and later do an act of doings that can be either good or bad in the basis of ethical standards (Ruggiero, 2008).

Case 1 Consider this first case, a mayor was receiving expensive gifts from a number of current and future company owners as a sign of appreciation to him for giving them city contracts. The mayor’s act of doing would mark a positive impression towards company owners with the intention of attracting more investors for the city’s economic growth. However, the mayor’s act can be viewed as an issue of accepting a bribe because considering that he is in a government position and doing the major responsibility for the city.

The result of his act cannot be determined presently or immediately by him, but his act could later on be determined with a permanent negative impression by the city people. Thus, the mayor’s act can be morally right because of his objective to help the economic progress of the city, while it can be morally wrong because he was accepting gifts that are prohibited by law basing on his government position. Case 2 Consider this second case, a college teacher who was using similar lesson plans in teaching students every semester in order to have extra time for her doctoral studies in night school.

The teacher’s act of doing was more on personal gain rather than focusing on her students’ opportunity to further acquire knowledge. Thus, the teacher’s act can be considered as morally right for personal strength to the teacher in finishing her doctoral degree, while it is also morally wrong not to give attention to the proper education for her students.Case 3Consider this third case, Todd and Edna were married for three years and had their personal problems. Todd has no stable job while Edna has a drinking problem.

Edna became pregnant after they decided to have a child in order to overcome their personal problems. In an ethical standpoint, their act of doing can be considered correct in a way that they have the right to procreate as married couple. However, the reason behind their act of procreating is not morally correct because it brings an indirect effect, not toward the couple but unto the child. Specifically, there is a probability that Edna’s baby will be born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders as the result of Edna’s drinking vices (Ethen, et al., 2009). Thus, in this case, Edna and Todd’s act of doing can be considered as correct in line with their state as married couple but not morally correct to procreate without thinking the effects of their personal problems towards the baby’s growth.

Conclusion Based on the three cases, judgments on the acts made by the individuals were not solely focused on one perspective but rather weighing to what considered to be morally correct and wrong to the situation. Furthermore, in these cases, the concerning subjects were practicing their own rights in accordance to their own personal morality. Thus, it is portrayed in the analysis that human beings has the right for personal life, happiness, and freedom as what John Locke would consider as important among human beings (Ruggiero, 2008; “Ethical Theory,” n.d.).

ReferencesEthen, M. K., Ramadhani, T. A., Scheuerle, A. E., Canfield, M. A., Wyszynski, D. F., Druschel, C. M., . National Birth Defects Prevention Study. (2009). Alcohol consumption by women before and during pregnancy. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 13, 274-285.Ruggiero, V. (2008). Thinking critically about ethical issues (7th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions.Ethical Theory. (n.d.). In Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia online. Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0859330.html