Factors

Topic: Right or Wrong?


Deciding whether something is right or wrong can sometimes be difficult for me, because I see shades of grey. I believe there are absolute rights and wrongs, however, some wrongs may be justified depending on the factors involved. This is where I see the shades of grey, when wrong and right are black and white, being the absolutes; and the grey is the wrongs for the right reasons and the rights for the wrong reasons, relative to the person making the decisions. A moral relativist believes that there are no absolutes, and the person making the choice has the right to decide within their own morals and cultural values. A moral absolutist believes in universal absolutes, and rights and wrongs should not be decided upon by the limitations of their own morals or cultural values. I am twisted between both. So to decide which I am more like, moral relativist or moral absolutist, I need to examine the process by which I come to my conclusion of rightness or wrongness.

For example, I do not agree with abortion because it is murder, unless the moral circumstances permit a substantial reason for it. So, suppose a 17 year old female, who is a senior in high school and has a weekend job, is raped and becomes pregnant. She is the middle child of 5 and her parents are barely making ends meet in the home. She makes the decision to get an abortion, even though her family said they would disown her if she did. To her family, abortion was an absolute wrong, a crime. When I look on this situation, I see grey. I think, since she was raped, and she has no money to properly care for a child, and she is still in school, she should have the abortion, if that is her choice. It was not her fault she was raped and became pregnant. Her situation would be a wrong doing but for the right reasons. Now suppose another 17 year old female, who was also a senior in high school but did not have a job, decided to go out, have some fun, and get pregnant from not using protection. Her family was wealthy and she was an only child. She makes the decision to get an abortion, without her family knowing about it. When I look on this instance, I see no grey. Her decision would be unjustified and immoral because it was her fault. I would disagree completely with her having an abortion since she has the money of her family to properly raise the child, and she needs to understand the consequences of her mistake. Her situation would be an absolute wrong.

My process for looking at an activity, to determine if what’s right or wrong, is first saying if I agree or disagree, and for what reason. Then, I look at the different circumstances that occur, and the decision a person makes about it. Finally, I decide if their decision was right or wrong based on how significant or severe the factors were. I see more shades of grey than black and white, and I believe more in how the situation’s severity being a key factor in the decision of rightness or wrongness. I would say that I am more of a “moral relativist” than a “moral absolutist” after looking at my process of deciding between right and wrong.