Quote:
Originally Posted by barryem
I keep reading the phrase in this discussion "ethically or legally" and I think these should be more clearly distinguished. It's not necessarily unethical to break a law and it's not necessarily illegal to do something unethical.
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This point has been made in this thread, but there are some posts that seem to confuse the two and forget that this thread is about morality, not legality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by barryem
A good person shares with friends. That's ethical behavior. It isn't always legal behavior.
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It is isn't always ethical behaviour to share with friends. It depends on what you are sharing and the circumstances. For instance, if you break in to your neighbours house and take their goods, it is most unlikely (but not impossible) that it would be ethical for you to share those goods with your friends.
Quote:
Originally Posted by barryem
When the law says you can't do something that's ethical is the law unethical? What do you do then? Follow the law? Be a good person? Of course then it becomes a practical choice. Can we afford to be ethical? Are we likely to get caught?
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It is not always ethical to follow the law, or unethical to break it. It depends on the particular law and the circumstances. History is full of very bad laws, and of people who had the courage to break them and usually suffered the consequences. If you are going to knowingly break the law then you are very foolish indeed if you are not prepared to suffer the consequences no matter how slight the chances are that you will be caught.
Quote:
Originally Posted by barryem
It might be argued that law is an agreement we make with others and that breaking that agreement is unethical. I can't think of a good objection to that but I don't necessarily buy it, either. So I'm ignoring it for now. 
Barry |
The philosophy of the Social Contract is really not relevant here. For purposes of this discussion morality must be determined by reference to the circumstances of the particular case in question.