Gap Analysis

The main concept for this week revolved around ethics. I have selected to discuss this topic broadly because ethics challenge my insight a great deal. When I face a challenge, I try to get to its core and this topic seems to be without core. As a philosophic branch, ethics pose a great challenge for me. Philosophers have dealt with the topic for hundreds of years, yet has anything completely definitive come of it? Like all philosophic conundrums, they are open to debate. I think the real value lay in the questions we pose. Great questions lead us into deeper conceptions of who we are and how we should act for the betterment of all. Of course, answers are great too, but it is the questions that provide a framework to begin deep thought.

I found this week to be particularly challenging. I have a background in Fine Art, invariably providing ample experience dealing with philosophy, semantics, and specificity. Ethics are not a simple matter of right and wrong. What is right now could be wrong tomorrow. I believe this to be true. The Mayan culture is believed to have sacrificed human life. Assuming this is true, the Mayans felt that sacrifice renewed the gods' life force and thus was necessary to the Mayan people. In today's society, such an act would be heinous, surely inspiring condemnation from the world's council. Can we be sure that sacrifice in that era was deplorable? What if sacrifice was considered necessary by all citizens of Mayan society? If all citizens found sacrifice to be beneficial to the standards of Mayan life, would it not be right and true? What if we alter the scale a bit and say that 75% of Mayans conducted themselves in a better way when human sacrifices were commmitted? What changes when only 51% of the people benefit?

This brings me to my ultimate question for this week. What if a minority is truly in the right and the rest of society deems their actions incorrect? A feasible example might be gay marriage and while I remain neutral on the topic, let us say that gay marriage will create a better society and is, therefore, an ethical stand we should take.