The World of Ethics - Essay Example

3. The Euthyphro dilemma is the dilemma found in the Plato’s dialogue known as the Euthyphro. In this dialogue, Plato asks Euthyphro whether gods love good actions (pious) because they are good, or is it that the good actions are good because they are loved by the gods (The Internet Classics Archive, web). This dilemma presents a real challenge to the divine command theory of ethics. This is because the divine command theory is based on the notions that morally good actions are the actions that are commanded by God, and the morally wrong actions are the actions that are against the command of God. 4. As a theory of ethics, moral relativism holds that the morality of human actions depends on the individual person giving the moral verdict; in other words, moral relativism holds that ethics is purely subjective and there is no universal standard of judging the morality of human actions.

Moral relativism differs with the other theories of ethics that we have studied so far because all the other theories of ethics that we have studied are based on the idea that there is a universal moral standard or criterion of judging the morality of human actions. 7. The principle of double effect states that in some intricate moral dilemmas, one is permitted to perform an action that has at least one good and one bad effect if, and only if the following conditions are fulfilled. (a) The action, unlike its consequence, is not morally wrong, (b) The bad effect is not intended by the moral agent, and lastly (d) the bad effect is not “out of proportion” with the good effect.

The principle of double effect allows the follower of natural law to resolve moral conflicts through choosing actions that are consistent with the natural law; the principle of double effect ensures that there is consistency in the application of natural law in resolving moral conflicts. 8. One of the objections to act utilitarianism is that it is