Moral Relativism In The Island

Moral relativism is an ethical theory that refers to the concept that there is more than one correct moral judgment. The moral judgments are either correct or incorrect only relative to some specific standpoint. This does not mean that one standpoint is more privileged than any other standpoint. This comes from the idea that cultures from around the world tend to show different moral values; there are no general moral values that everyone in the world shares, and no one should push their own moral judgments onto another person’s or cultures beliefs that are different from their own. The truth or falsity of moral judgments is not universal. In the movie, The Island, Dr. Merrick believes that what he is doing is morally acceptable because he …show more content…
If an action is done, and the actions are good, but the end result isn’t necessarily good, the morality of the action is still good. It is the thoughts and motives behind an action that counts. The highest purpose for every individual is survival and the fulfillment of happiness. Duties are actions that are sincerely good when they are done for duty alone, actions that are judged based on the maxim that served their motivation. The categorical imperative, which derives from deontology, commands that you treat yourself and others as ends in themselves and that a person should act in such a way that they would want the maxim of their action to be universal …show more content…
Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism in that the action is only morally right or wrong based on its consequences. The actions that lead up to the end result do not matter, as long as the result is good and promotes happiness. Utilitarianism promotes selflessness and believes in ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’, which refers to promoting pleasure for the most people. Utilitarianism claims that the good we ought to maximize is the universal good for all rational beings, which is morally right. However, if we fail to maximize the good result, we are considered morally wrong. Lincoln Six-Echo is an example of utilitarianism as well. He breaks the rules, hurts some people during fights, and risks his life to go to the outside world to save all of the clones in the facility. Although some actions were bad, the result of liberating the clones is good. He shows selfless characteristics and displays the notion of ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’ while in the outside world. He thought that risking his one life to find out answers, would bring the greatest happiness to the most amount of people, which makes his actions morally