Moral philosophy and ethics form a significant part of philosophical tandems. However, in common usage ‘ethics’ is simply how we judge the morality of our actions. Each action is based on judgment while every judgment stems from two things – the consequences of our actions and the underlying intention. While most of our actions rely on the seriousness of their consequences, rational thought makes us relative that intention plays a more crucial role in deciding what it’s morally right. Moral judgment is rather straightforward when both intention and the consequences are bad, however, it becomes more complex when grave consequences result from good intentions or at least with malice and bad intentions. It raises many questions as to whether a deliberate crime is less morally defensible than a fatal mistake caused by human naivety.
Several dilemmas arise when we have to make deliberate choices. A sacrifice made in the name of the greater good or a case where more lives can be saved on the deliberate loss of one. These ethical dilemmas have been represented through many philosophical arguments such as the trolley problem. Do the questions still stand that how morally correct is moral philosophy and human reasoning in the end? Does the end always justify the means? Is there a difference between deliberate actions and allowing something to occur deliberately knowing the serious consequences, even when it is for the ‘greater good’?
