Is it ethical?

Discuss....is it ethical to break a rule or law in order to help someone?

That actually doesn't make sense. Ethics is what would determine whether it was worth it to break the law in the first place. Like...shooting someone if they were about to shoot someone.

Now the question on whether it'd still be wrong is different and no based on ethics, but rather law itself.

Let me present something,a true story. Recently a local youth pastor was arrested for sexual conduct againist a minor. Apparently it's gone on for awhile and with 2 different stated boys. Both were paid to keep quiet and did so. Is it right or ethical by law standards that they are not charge for accepting hush money, true term, or that they may have actually done it to get the money then when things got slightly out of hand they turned him over?

They were 17 and 16. Very close to 18 and commonly charge as adult ages in murder trials. Look at Hogan's son being charged. They ability to charge a minor as an adult is based on their ability to know what's going on. If a 16 or 17 year old going to church does not know it's wrong to have sex with an older person, accept money, and stay queit about it...we have several problems. Parental neglect in proper information techings, slack in the law system that seems to always side with one side of the party depsite both being wrong, and that ids these days just some idiotic. I just threw in the last one.

I think they need to be prosecuted whether for accepting hush money or prostituition since they accepted money in exchange for sexual acts. New stated it was one time payment and they kept doing it.

I have no idea if I hijacked this thread or not. Sorry.

I think it's down to each situation's context.
Law's tend to be written as a means to understand the right/wrong of a situation and to be something on which judgement is based.
In some cases, the law is eqasy and unequivocal in its meaning and its intentions.
Of course, because laws are also written as something to be used to cover who knows how many types of situation, there will be cases that the law doesn't take into account properly.
Simple example would be the modern interpretations of the old commandment: thou shalt not commit murder.
How long did it take for manslaughter to be introduced? Then how about involuntary manslaughter? How about other cases where negligence is the cause for a person's death?

If the law says no swimming and someone is drowing what would you do? It's illegal for pedestrians to cross a freeway, but would you to pull someone from a burning vehicle?

The first thing to considers is what is your definition of help and whats the potential penalty? Helping a terminaly ill patient commit suicide will get you jail time, crossing the freeway on foot and saving someone from a burning car will get you on the front page of the paper as a hero.

Believe it or not two people who jumped into their canoe to save someone from drowning were later cited for not wearing life jackets here in Idaho.

It's only illegal if you get caught.

Are you referring to anything in particular Fred?

I agree that judging wether breaking a law is ethical or not is based on stuation.

For instance, if I speed through traffic to get to Mconalds before they stop serving breakfast, that's unethical. But if I speed through traffic because my passenger has suddenly suffered a seizure and I'm close to the hospital, I would say that is ethical.

I wish I could remember the definition of ethics from my Business Ethics class. That class provided many lively discussions.

Are you referring to anything in particular Fred?

Nah, it came up in discussion and was thought provoking enough to post up.

I made it an open question for a reason - obviously there are limitless situations to which the question could be applied. One example is the good guy in a movie saving the bad guy from falling to his death; it's the right thing to do, but he really does deserve to die.

laws arent allways made with morals and ethics in mind, i'll break any of them to do what i feel is right.

you always do what you think is right, that's why popes save kittens and insane people eat their own shit

Hmmmmmmm~~~~

Ethics is the discipline or set of values dealing with morality, the expression of moral approval or disapproval of an action, or the conforming to an accepted standard of professional conduct.

Re morality, rather subjective, huh?
Re conduct, well, that's black and white.

I just want a beer!!!!!!

Laws and ethics are two seperate entities. Laws may be based upon ethics, and society would fail hard if we all ignored them, but that's about as likely as all of us ignoring the value of our currency.

/getsbannedforbumping.an.old.thread.even.thoughitwa sattheverytopofthepagelol

I say screw both of them. Nothig is really ethical in someone or anothers eyes. There's different laws in different contries. So if i'm 18 and go to England and drink alcohol is that ethical? It's alright there but isnt in America.

I say screw both of them. Nothig is really ethical in someone or anothers eyes. There's different laws in different contries. So if i'm 18 and go to England and drink alcohol is that ethical? It's alright there but isnt in America.

I dont feel that being an 18yr old in america and drinking is really an ethical issue, just a legal one.

Well I mean what if i go to England just to drink, you only have to be 1thre if i'm correct. But would it be ethical to do because you have to be 2 in the US?

Well I mean what if i go to England just to drink, you only have to be 1thre if i'm correct. But would it be ethical to do because you have to be 21 in the US?

ethical
conforming to accepted standards of social or professional behavior; "an ethical lawyer"; "ethical medical practice"; "an ethical problem"; "had no ethical objection to drinking"; "Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants"- Omar N. Bradley 2 ethical, honorable (http://www.wordreference.com/definition/honorable), honourable (http://www.wordreference.com/definition/honourable), moral (http://www.wordreference.com/definition/moral)
adhering to ethical and moral principles; "it seems ethical and right"; "followed the only honorable course of action"; "had the moral


I'd like to suggest that the ethics of going to another country to drink is based on perception. From the UK's point of view, you're 18 and legally allowed to drink and while you are there, so it's fine. From the US point of view, you can't drink until you're 21, so it is therefore unethical to go to some other country to drink.

This brings up some interesting points:

1) When I was 18, the drinking age in my home state was 21. However, the drinking age where I went to college was 18. So I was legally allowed to drink at school, but not at home.

2) For other crimes, US citizens have been prosecuted when they returned to the country for things they did in other countries. Example (a true one): A US businessman traveling in Thailand had sex with a hooker who, for the US, would be considered underage. He was successfully prosecuted upon his return.

But, overall....is it ethical to change your location in order to do something that's illegal where you are? I think not, since you're obviously skirting the rules, or rather, not adhering to the socially accepted behavior for where you live.

Okay, lol so i'm not crazy.

But, overall....is it ethical to change your location in order to do something that's illegal where you are? I think not, since you're obviously skirting the rules, or rather, not adhering to the socially accepted behavior for where you live.

Is it ethical to go from the street into a bar to drink, since doing so is illegal on the street in most, if not all, places?

Is it ethical to go to a casino to gamble large sums of money, even if it is two blocks away? Here in Iowa, the max at your own house is $50 total. That means 5 people playing poker can have a buy-in of $10 at the most.

Is it ethical to move to a location where something is legal? If one had a disease that had symptoms that were best treated by medicinal marijuana, would it be ethical for them to move to a state where marijuana could be prescribed by a medical doctor?

Is it ethical to go from the street into a bar to drink, since doing so is illegal on the street in most, if not all, places?

Is it ethical to go to a casino to gamble large sums of money, even if it is two blocks away? Here in Iowa, the max at your own house is $50 total. That means 5 people playing poker can have a buy-in of $10 at the most.

Is it ethical to move to a location where something is legal? If one had a disease that had symptoms that were best treated by medicinal marijuana, would it be ethical for them to move to a state where marijuana could be prescribed by a medical doctor?


Is it unethical to isolate or outlaw certain behaviors? Is it unethical to outlaw gambling or murder.? Is it unethical to limit the consumption of alcohol to areas where it may be restricted to adults? All societies have ethical boundaries. You may be able to move to a place where what you want to do might not be considered illegal but it might still be unethical, and there will still be other ethical considerations when you arrive there.

And I always get pissed when I hear someone ask “is that legal”. Everything is legal unless proscribed by law, the question should be “isn't that illegal?”.