Ethics

="Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it."= Malcolm X

__Ethical Characters in Literature__: Yanamoto, Spiderman, The Three Musketeers, Maximus, The Incredibles, Ashitaka (Princess Mononoke), Spongebob, 3 Monkeys, Horatio Kane, Monk, Hiro Nakamura, Lisa Simpson, Michael Scofield (and friends), Jack (Lost), Mufasa.
 * Class List**:

__Ethical Characters in History__: The Prophets, Malcolm X, Ghandi, Lincoln, Mandela, Einstein, MLK, Peter the Great, Che Guevara, Mother Theresa, George Washington, Bill Gates, Salah-al-Deen, B.B. Ghali, Col. Stauffenberg, Desmond Tutu.

__Ethical Characters from Personal Experience__: Family

The Prophets - teaching moral values Malcolm X - perseverance in fighting for equal human rights Che Guevara - perseverance in liberating countries from foreign control MLK - perseverance in fighting for equal human rights Bill Gates - helping others financially

I think Malcolm X, MLK, and Mandela can all be grouped together. Each sought to have equal human rights for all people in their respective regions, although their methods were different. Nonetheless, they all persevered and eventually succeeded in improving human rights for those to whom human rights were rejected.

__The Process of Moral Decision Making__ The process of moral decision making generally begins with a single thought: is what I'm doing (or about to do) right or wrong? In doing this, the person subconsciously assigns standards as to what qualifies something as right or wrong (such as religion, personal morals, how the person was raised at home, etc.). Afterwards, the action is carried out as a result of the decision that was made. The decision could be a moral one or it could be a depraved one - whichever one it was, it was still a result of the answer the person assigned to the question that is asked in the first thought. Step 1: Assess the situation/moral issue. Step 2: Gather evidence. Step 3: Make a judgment.

__Moral Relativism__: The belief that there is no universal morality because there are no universal STANDARDS for morality.

__Self-Interest Theory__ __**Argument 1: Definitiona**l:__
 * Humans do what they want no matter how little they want to do it. Therefore they are selfish.
 * Criticisms:
 * Robs the word selfish of its meaning.
 * Working for charitable causes.

__**Argument 2: Evolutionary**__:
 * Survival is the aim of life, therefore since humans instinctually try to survive, they are selfish.
 * Criticism:
 * Empathy is as natural as selfishness in humans.
 * Sometimes people do right things based on instinct.

__**Argument 3: Hidden Benefits**__:
 * Beneficial Reciprocity - I scratch your back, you scratch mine.
 * Criticism:
 * Intent (what if it was really meant to help out).
 * e.g. Tips at restaurants.

__**Argument 4: Fear of Punishment**:__
 * Decisions and actions are made based on fear of the consequence (punishment).
 * Criticism:
 * Not all acts are based on fear, e.g. Mother Teresa.