Many of the laws of a particular country are better ignored rather than blindly followed, and so one must be critical and skeptical of the laws and continue to question whether certain laws are actually morally just or not. What is the relationship between law and morality? They are NOT the same. You can NOT equate the two. Just because something is immoral doesn`t mean it`s illegal and just because something is illegal doesn`t mean it`s immoral. Then, in medicine, there is the debate about euthanasia. If someone dies of a terrible disease for which there is no cure, should the patient have the right to die? Many doctors do not let the patient die because of medical ethics: there is always hope that a cure could be found that could save the patient`s life, or they could miraculously get better. A doctor may believe that a person has the right to die, but refuses to help him do so because of the law. Thus, when we look at an action, we can focus on the nature of the action itself or the consequences. We can say that the action is good or bad because it is a certain type of action, that it corresponds to certain principles or rules, or we can say that the action is good or bad because it leads to good or bad consequences. The fundamental distinction between legal and moral is quite easy to identify. Most people agree that what is legal is not necessarily moral and that what is immoral should not necessarily be illegal. Sometimes laws seem to protect the rich and the rich at the expense of the poor and disadvantaged. Sometimes laws can seem unfair.
So, is it true that sometimes a good person has to break the law to get the right thing? Can it be morally right to break the law? Or is ethics the same as the law? Morality teaches people to behave in certain ways and to avoid behaving in other ways. It evaluates behavior as good or bad and may involve measuring the consistency of a person`s actions with a code of conduct or set of principles. Morality is “normative,” it`s about how people should behave, not just how they actually behave. Jens Beckert is Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for The Study of Companies in Cologne. Matías Dewey is a senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne. You are co-editor of The Architecture of Illegal Markets: Towards an Economic Sociology of Illegality in the Economy. This action is ethical because a child is hungry and wants to eat something, but it is illegal because theft is illegal all over the world. Changes in the law based on changes in public morality work both ways; where cocaine has gone from legal and accepted to illegal and unacceptable, homosexuality, for example, has gone the other way. Homosexual behavior, punishable by death until the 19th century, was gradually decriminalized in Britain to reflect prevailing social attitudes, culminating in the legalization of gay marriage in 2014. But simply legalizing something — whether it`s a product, a service, or a behavior — because of a change in social attitude is far from easy. In fact, there is an important difference between the two terms.
In short, ethics are external. These can be codes of conduct that you follow at school or work, or a list of rules to follow in a religion. So trying to avoid taxes can`t be moral, but there are many legal ways to get away with it – so it`s legal, but immoral. Our own history offers the best and saddest example. Before the Civil War, slavery was legal in the United States, but certainly not moral. Public views on “good” and “evil” contradict the legal definitions of “legal” and “illegal” on this and many other occasions. While the latter express the interests of a state in sanctioning certain exchanges or behaviors (i.e. are an expression of power and an attempt to create a certain type of social order), the former are social beliefs about the legitimacy of certain actions, which may or may not be in accordance with legal definitions.
Bono`s purchase of a stake in a Lithuanian shopping mall, or Lewis Hamilton`s importation of his private jet to the Isle of Man, may be perfectly legal, but the general public does not accept it as moral or legitimate. These are extraordinarily wealthy people who, with the help of tax advisors, evade their public duty to contribute at the same rate as low-income people to the common pot. When a private property acting on behalf of the Queen invests in offshore private equity funds operating in notorious tax havens such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, it appears that it maximizes financial gains by using a service that is closed to the majority of its own subjects and that is at the expense of those costs. Others fundamentally disagree. You say that you did nothing morally wrong by crossing the road, since you have no general moral obligation to obey the law – that law or any other law. After all, where does this moral obligation come from? Have you ever promised to obey all the laws? Do you owe the government obedience to the law? Erroneous (left) and right relationship between laws and moral rules. 05. It is illegal to rent a car or apartment on your behalf for someone else who would not otherwise qualify, but it is an ethical thing if it is intended to help them succeed in life.
04. Smoking cigarettes in public is legal in some places, but some may find it disrespectful and unethical. But more alarming than a politician who circumvents the rules is the ease with which his supporters often say, “Well, it`s not illegal. Let`s go back to the schoolyard for helpful reminders of what our social norms are. We are concerned about bullying, and not only do we tell children not to bully, but we also reprimand children who monitor bullying. We tell our children to speak, to defend the weak, etc. Similarly, whistleblowing is encouraged by many national organizations, universities, and even the federal government. Morally superior actions are those morally correct activities that are particularly commendable and even heroic.
They go beyond what duty requires. They are not morally required, but when they are made, it is a particularly good thing. Examples include generous support for worthwhile charities, volunteering for a local nursing home, and risking life to save someone from a burning building. For example, some things are immoral, but completely legal. You can probably find many of your own powerful examples, but we`ll only offer a few. First of all, if you don`t tip in a restaurant, it`s not illegal; But it seems like a crime, especially if the service is good. Another example: wealthy individuals and companies are often heavily criticized for using loopholes, offshore accounts and other tax avoidance schemes. Yet businesses rely more on state-funded resources than individuals to create wealth, including roads for transporting goods and services, energy and communication infrastructure, law enforcement, national defense, and bureaucracies that support state, domestic, and international trade. Morality are rules, principles, or other habits that correspond to what a person thinks is right or wrong. 03. The death penalty is also legal in many States, but a large number of people consider it unethical.
What about morality? All this can affect morale. Often, what you think is right or wrong comes from the society or rules of the country. However, you may have your own version of them or deny them completely because you think they are unfair. For example, prostitution may be illegal, but you may believe that it is morally acceptable because it is consensual. Often you hear the opinion: “Why do I need ethics? I can just follow the law! The law is how society has formalized the ethical principles that we are supposed to follow. Therefore, simply obeying the law will ensure that I am acting morally correctly! Such discrepancies between the practices of the rich and the moral revulsion felt by ordinary citizens are common.