Case study: When I arrived home from school, I saw a cockroach biting my shirt which was newly bought and I love it so much. In this case is it ethical or unethical to kill that cockroach?
Killing cockroach is unethical. Killing is unethical no matter what. We, human being, are different from animal or insect that we have the ability to think weather our action is ethical or unethical. For the cockroach, as its nature, don’t have this element. Biting my favorite shirt is a big deal; however, I cannot complain the cockroach, but myself. Why wasn’t I careful enough to protect my shirt? The cockroach doesn’t have the brain that I have. On the other hand, my shirt doesn’t have a life, but the cockroach does. My shirt won’t be hurt, but the cockroach will be hurt and lose its life. It is unethical to kill a life for a thing. Lastly, killing that cockroach won’t make any better anyway. What is the point of killing that cockroach?
However; according to ethical egoism, one can argue that it is ethical. Ethical egoism explained that people can do things that make them happy. Killing that cockroach is, at that exact moment, release anger. For some people, release anger could help them emotionally.
Killing a cockroach seems to be small issue. Just a cockroach; who care? Yet, we have forgotten that we are actually killing a LIFE. Nobody wants to lose their lives. Taking somebody’s life just to release our anger is unethical. Releasing anger couldn’t be done by many other means. Almost all the countries in the world have eliminated dead penalty because any killing is simply unethical and killing won’t make any better at all. It only increases conflicts and endless revenge.
It is true that almost all of the countries in the world have eliminated death penalty. But the big names still use capital punishment: US, China, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand...etc . An estimate of more than 10 thousands are executed every year by these countries.
ReplyDeleteKilling is part of human nature. Nobody wants to get killed. But remember that some species are born to be the prey, and others are the predators. We are predators. I think that the cockroach is the prey and you are the predator. So it is natural for you to kill the cockroach.
Ethical or not? Maybe that's not the right question to ask.
hahah...it must be so interesting if you join my class this term with me "Introduction to Ethic". I thought so weather it is a question to ask. However, from time to time, I start to enjoy these non-questionable question. :-) It's fun.
ReplyDeleteKilling is wrong no matter what, according to Buddha..isn't it?
True, according to Buddha. But that's my point. Each society has its own point of view that is sometimes conflicting with others'. According to somes, they live by "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" principle. For others, it's absolutely wrong to kill no matter what. I think that there is no right or wrong answer.
ReplyDeleteShould you ask these questions? Absolutely yes. This is the way we should live and how we learn.
more difficult question is coming up....hehehhe
ReplyDelete