Ethics is a tricky subject. Nearly everything we do individually and as a society is based on morals, yet nobody can agree on a single moral code. When I was growing up, my ethics were mainly influenced by my family, my religion, and my schooling. As a kid we are taught that everything is normative. Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t cheat, don’t push over your classmates on the playground. You won’t find any classroom in the world that teaches children to lie, steal, and cheat (or at least I really hope not). But growing up, things become less simple. We start asking ourselves, “hmmm well I was taught not to push over my classmates, but what if they push me first?” We question our ethical teachings and learn that, really, there is nothing normative about ethics.
I have a hard time believing that any ethical ideas can be normative. Ethics are the core of every society and every person. While listening to the podcast, I was very interested by how Professor Bezio explained the differentiation in cultures and religions and how that related to the world’s ethics. Moral codes apply differently across different cultures which is why we are forced to function in the in-between-land of normative and relative ethical frameworks. I don’t think anything is ever completely normative. Because each culture and subculture have different versions of the “truth,” there can never be completely agreed upon moral standards. For instance, every religion preaches that they know the truth or are close to knowing the truth but there are so many religions in the world. That is thousands of versions of the “truth.” This is why I think that there is no truth, or at least no truth that we are going to figure out any time soon. Societies across the globe will never be able to agree on what is universally right or wrong, and I think that’s okay.
Also, unrelated to my previous points– I have also always wondered why attempted murder was a lighter sentence than a successful murder. I always thought that intention was the only thing that mattered in ethics. If someone tried to poison me, I always thought it would be just as bad whether they were successful or not, because the fact that they were trying to poison me would be bad enough. Understanding how intentions intertwine with actions made me rethink my position on consequences. I’m still thinking about it though.
Your point about no truth existing is an interesting point. I personally believe that there is a universal truth that exists, however, there may be different ways that it is believed yet it all means the same thing (if that makes sense). The universal truth is something that all individuals do believe regardless of race, religion, etc. and has existed since the beginning of time (in my opinion).
You make a really good point about the “attempted murder” vs “murder” sentencing that I had never thought about before. You should be punished for wanting and attempting to murder someone else, since you want to succeed at it, whether you actually did or not. But I guess where it gets complicated in the court of law is trying to prove that. If someone tries to kill you by running you over with a car or poisoning you, but doesn’t succeed, one could easily say that it was an accident or “they didn’t see you behind their car” or any excuse for that matter. It can already be difficult to prove if murder was first or second degree in some cases, and I think it could be hard to prove if someone’s attempt was intentional (in some cases). Of course if someone was stabbed or shot multiple times, that’s different.
I agree with your point on why we start to question ethics. No two people (except for maybe siblings) are taught the exact morals and we clearly will never be able to agree on one. This is not necessarily bad because most people have the choice to surround themselves with people that have similar morals and live in places that uphold the certain moral standard. Also – I agree with your point on the attempted murder sentence… It only feels like a reward for failing (which sounds awful because it is good that they did not succeed) but the intention matters a lot, especially in ethics.
I think it is really interesting that our ethics change as we have new experiences. You said growing up, your ethics were centered around things that were important to you at the time, such as school and your family, but as you grow up, the things that are important to you change, and your ethics will as well. I think this is an interesting tie in to culture and religion because it shows how ethics varies depending on the person and their experiences.