Hello friends, join me in this week's philosophy writing challenge if you're up for it! Guidelines for this challenge are simple:
Answer the actual question asked and try to stay on topic. Try.
Tell us what you think and, most importantly, why -- opinions are great, but it's the reasons for your belief that interest us!
You can take as long as you'd like to research your answer, but don't spend more than 30 minutes to write your response. [1] Here is a 30 minute timer you can use.
Add the tag #philosophychallenge to your entry or comment a link to your response below.
Have fun with your answer!
Here is this week's question (5/3 - 5/10):
Are your morals and ethics circumstantial or static? For example, if you believe it’s wrong to kill another person, is it always wrong or are there exceptions? Is it unethical to kill a mass murderer? What other moral beliefs do you hold and what are some exceptions that would cause you to put those morals aside? (source)
My take on this question: Think of one of your core ethical beliefs, something that you strongly believe about how we should all behave. Is this always the case, or are there edge cases or circumstances under which you'd be willing to eschew your otherwise strongly held conviction?
Another version: Imagine that there is one thing that you would make an absolute ethical law and we humans would be programed to obey it. What rule would you invoke for everyone to follow? Now imagine a wayward person who is forced to break the rule - under what circumstances might breaking your rule be acceptable?
References and quotes are encouraged! ↩