Grey Areas
The ethical explanation that reflects grey-zone matters and acts, correlates with the human behavior to do or say the
desired and yet the unacceptable. The explicit expectations of many human
reactions toward such matters may vary based on one’s judgment of what’s
right or wrong. For instance, many people argue that the governments have no
right to spy on their citizens’ phone calls or private life for the sake of
maintaining the national security. No matter how ugly this sounds, many
politicians or high rank officials support this act as a preventive measurement
to avoid serious unethical disasters that are planned by criminal minds. On the
same scale, how people respond to telling the truth about certain things in certain situations is another grey-area debate. A lazy student might lie about
his paper resources to get higher grades as in plagiarism. A hard-working
employee may not get his deserved recognition because some of his colleagues
were spreading bad rumors behind his back to his boss. How people interact with their self-ethical
principles when they have to breach them can vary from one person to another
based on the available circumstances. Seizing the chance to get a profit as a
result of taking a bribe may be affected by the financial status of the person
not by his moral beliefs.
Reference:
- Casey, C., & Sheth, K. (2013, 11 20). The ethical grey zone. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7476-427a