Contextualism: Morality and Ethical Judgment Essay Example

wrong the moment I am in that situation of course thinking about the well-being of others, in this case, my well-being or the future baby. This action is up to discussion and used for this purpose as an example to clarify the definition.

An advantage of Contextualism could be would be the fact that this ethical judgment can be made only after the problem situation exists, when people are in a difficult situation, we have to act quickly and can’t really think about the consequences of that decision. All of us are at some point in our lives have experienced being in those type of situations. For example, when a person lies to their family members in order to protect themselves or heir loved ones by not telling the truth, that way of acting may not be ethical but the decision was made out of the concern for the well being of others which makes it right. People may not think about the consequences of that action but according to this principle, that person is unequivocally moral (Christian, 2009. p 381). On the other hand, formalism and most forms of relativism will not consider this as an advantage because lying goes against their fundamentals. In our society, honesty is one of the best qualities to have and practice; and although it is seen daily, it is never acceptable.

A disadvantage of Contextualism could be would be that no moral values or beliefs matter when making a decision. For example; the ideas of “don’t kill”, “don’t steal”, “don’t lie” and so forth, can serve well as a general rule, but they must be abandoned if the specific situation

calls for it (Christian, 2009, p 380). With that in mind, a person can justify an assassination if that was the “best possible choice”. On the opposite side, the foundation for the Formalism and Relativism is morality.

The decisions we make are based on what the implied natural laws or what the society we live in establishes. This means, the situation comes after not before. Contexualism may be applied in different circumstances where we can’t possibly predict what will happen but it can’t be the only way we make our decisions because there are many times where as there are times where only bad alternatives are open to us in which case only analyzing the consequences or applying morality will help individuals to make us be more ethical.

References

1. Christian, J. (Eds. ). (2009). Philosophy: An Introduction to the Art of Wondering. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Pg. 369-388. Fieser, J. (2009, May).
2. In the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved November 20, 2010, from http://www. iep. utm. edu/ethics/ Moore, W. (2010, November).
3. Lecture Week No. 5. Random House Dictionary, (2010). Retrieved Novemeber 22, 2010. http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/situation+ethics