Question

Determine which ethical perspective is primarily reflected in each of the arguments below and, in 1-2 sentences for each argument, explain why it corresponds to the ethical perspective you selected..

Ethical Perspectives:

A = Consequentialism
B = Duty Ethics/Deontology
C = Virtue Ethics
D = Moral Relativism

Arguments:

1. Free health care should be available to all people. After all, if that were the case, it would benefit everyone.
2. Character education should be part of the public school system in the United States. We need to cultivate integrity in our children, and the public school system should play a role in this important process.
3. Although many societies have practiced human sacrifice, human sacrifice wasn't considered wrong, even though we believe it is wrong in our culture. So, human sacrifice within those cultures wasn't really wrong.
4. Same-sex marriage is right because the polls show that most Americans favor it, even if that is not the case in other countries.
5. The legalization of same-sex marriage is wrong because the government has no right to legally sanction any form of personal relationship except one: marriage relationships between a man and a woman. That is the only type of relationship that can lead to procreation, and the state has a legitimate interest in procreation. Thus, the state has a duty to support marriage between a man and a woman, and a duty to refrain from getting legally involved in other types of relationships.
6. Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was wrong because those acts violated the right to life of many innocent people, and we should protect those rights.
7. Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was right because those acts ended the war faster, and thus made the world a safer place.
8. We need to do a background check and to collect some character references on Mr. Jones before we hire him.
9. He doesn't have the right character and temperament to be a state governor. He has been involved in corruption scandals, known to be dishonest, and has problems controlling his anger.
10. Sure, slavery is wrong in our society because we all agree it's wrong. However, slavery isn't absolutely wrong because many societies have practiced slavery.

Answer 1

Free health care should be available to all people. After all, if that were the case, it would benefit everyone - Consequentialism because the statement emphasize on the later benefit of everyone as the consequence of having a free health care

Character education should be part of the public school system in the United States. We need to cultivate integrity in our children, and the public school system should play a role in this important process - Virtue Ethics because it will enable the student to inherit the virtue of good character

Although many societies have practiced human sacrifice, human sacrifice wasn't considered wrong, even though we believe it is wrong in our culture. So, human sacrifice within those cultures wasn't really wrong -  Moral Relativism because it shows the morale judgement of one culture for practicing human sacrifice

Same-sex marriage is right because the polls show that most Americans favor it, even if that is not the case in other countries - Moral Relativism because it shows the morale judgement of Americans on same-sex marriage.

The legalization of same-sex marriage is wrong because the government has no right to legally sanction any form of personal relationship except one: marriage relationships between a man and a woman. That is the only type of relationship that can lead to procreation, and the state has a legitimate interest in procreation. Thus, the state has a duty to support marriage between a man and a woman, and a duty to refrain from getting legally involved in other types of relationships - Consequentialism because the judgement is made on the outcome (procreation) and not human virtue or morale

Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was wrong because those acts violated the right to life of many innocent people, and we should protect those rights - Duty Ethics/Deontology because in the statement the act of killing humans has been considered wrong since we are being taught this from childhood.

Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was right because those acts ended the war faster, and thus made the world a safer place - Consequentialism because the judgement is made on the end of war as consequence to the dropping of bomb.

We need to do a background check and to collect some character references on Mr. Jones before we hire him - Consequentialism because the action of doing background check and collecting character references can give the best result about knowing the potential of Mr Jones before hiring.

He doesn't have the right character and temperament to be a state governor. He has been involved in corruption scandals, known to be dishonest, and has problems controlling his anger - Virtue Ethics because the judgement is based on the basis of honesty, character and self control.

Sure, slavery is wrong in our society because we all agree it's wrong. However, slavery isn't absolutely wrong because many societies have practiced slavery - Moral Relativism because it shows the morale judgement of one community about slavery which can be different for the others who practised it.