Humanitarian Ethics

Humanitarian Ethics

Jacques Thiroux (Ethics: Theory and Practice), came up with a theory he called Humanitarian ethics. He asserted that in order for a moral theory to really be applicable to all people, it needed to be flexible, but not so flexible that it is not consistent, it must take into consideration emotions, as well as reasoning. It needed to be applicable to everyone, but yet not so abstract that it could not be understood enough to be applied to particular situations. It must be teachable and able to solve conflicts between moral obligations. He then laid out 5 basic principals to consider in moral situations. The five principals are, the Value of Life, which tells us that humans are to revere life and accept death. The Principal of Goodness, which implores us to do our best to do good deeds, to avoid or prevent bad. The Principal of Justice, which states we should strive to treat each other fairly. The Principal of Honesty and Truth Telling, which is pretty self-explanatory, that tells us to be honest and lastly, the Principal of Individual Freedom, which states that because people are so different, they must be allowed the freedom to make their own choices in morality based on the framework of the other four principals. I am going to use an example and further clarify the principals I just wrote about. In my hypothetical situation we have a very drunk individual named Ron.

Ron has been drinking and wants to drive home. His friend thinks this is a very bad idea as he has watched Ron stumble around, barely able to walk, for the last hour. Ron argues that he is fine, his house in only 4 miles away. His friend argues that a lot can happen in 4 miles and that driving drunk is a morally reprehensible act. Let’s use our 5 principals to determine who is correct. Our first principal is the Value of Life principal. Ron may hit another vehicle or pedestrian, potentially endangering both their lives and his own. Therefore, we can clearly see that...