Ethics

Being able to tell the difference between right and wrong. It really is the holy grail of knowledge. It sounds so simple, and then, once you begin delving into it, you realize just how many shades of grey there really are. You can try to create a system of ethics with broad strokes, but it will often fall apart. Yet, if you try to examine each case individually, you leave too much to individual discretion.

I was struck with an idea a few weeks ago: was it right to create nuclear weapons?

On the one hand, it was in the interest in scientific advancement. Furthermore, it saved hundreds of thousands of lives and ended World War II several months earlier than it would have ended otherwise.

Looking at it from a broader spectrum, however, and it seems like an amazingly short-sighted decision. Having a weapon creates a desire to use that weapon. There is a very good argument that humanity should not posess any weapon capable of causing our own species to become extinct.

Of course, the nuclear weapon has created more peace than any other weapon in history. Without nukes, the Cold War would probably have not been quite as cold, and any war between the First and Second Worlds would have cost tens of millions of lives. At the same time, the nuclear bomb feels like a Sword of Damocles, just waiting to fall and impale us.

And on and on it goes. A question like this, even if answerable, points to the main problem with ethics. It is incredibly hard to distinguich right from wrong. If one insisted on distilling the best ethical code into one sentence, I would have to quote Jesus: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This simple phrase covers so many ethical situations.

In the end, determing right from wrong is an insanely difficult task. No matter how objective we attempt to be, there will be bias. I choose to trust my instincts, rather than follow any set ethical code. I believe that by doing what I truly believe is right, then in the very least if there is a Final Judgment, I will be judged on my own merits and beliefs, and not those I parroted from another in the vain hope that it would grant me some relief. More secularly, by doing what I believe is right, I live a life that I can be happy with, which I believe is the ultimate goal.

Any other thoughts?