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This is the Conversation Forum for Talking Point: Life's Little Dilemmas << Bus Seats Temptation & RQG >> Subject: A treatise on ethical principles Posted Mar 24, 2003 by Researcher 222000   Posting 1 While Principles (with a capital P) provide absolute solutions to ethical dilemmas, they frequently fail to provide the solutions we want. And furthermore, having a principle dictating, say, chocolate consumption would be a bit silly. Guidelines are principles stripped of their absolutist nature. They don't end arguments: they provide a jumping-off point. Say you're choosing how much to drink on a certain night. While Moderation is a principle that would result in greatly diminished enjoyment of a stag party, the guideline of moderation leads naturally to the happy solution of "moderation in moderation," leaving plenty of wiggle room for an enjoyable night. While an appeal to principles trumps all other arguments, guidelines are vulnerable to handy conditional statements. Some examples: "...unless it's REALLY good chocolate." "...unless it's been a bad day." For the less ethical of us, there's also: "...unless she's really hot" "...unless no one is looking." So for those of us who don't aspire to be the next Budda, Ghandi or Martin Luther King Jr., I suggest Guidelines as a substitute. They're just as helpful as principles, and a lot more flexible. Read the First Reply to this Posting Subject: A treatise on ethical principles Posted Mar 24, 2003 by KWDave This is a reply to this Posting   Posting 2 Hear, Hear! This does seem to take into account that man is human, after all, subject to the foibles of choice and free will. Having Principles in this mad world will likely drive you starkers, and besides, they're often very expensive to maintain. Guidelines seem much, much more do-able. Conversation list Most of the content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click on the relevant button to alert our Moderation Team. Conversation list

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