Moral theory, as defined by John Rawls, is the study and analysis of all substantive moral conceptions and how the right, moral worth and suitable should be arranged to depict a moral structure that is more diverse and understandable. Although human cloning ethics are morally controversial in terms of practices and actions, various approaches govern each ethical theory to depict a chronological understanding of how these theories are fundamental. For instance, some moral controversies, such as euthanasia, abortion, discrimination, and the death penalty, are presented to society as dual decisions and concepts. The aspect of moral worth addresses morality of action as either badness or goodness of a person (Tilley 120). The big quest in this perspective is what makes a person morally good or bad in response to moral worthiness. Therefore, the central theme under analysis in this essay is a comparison of two rival ethical theories, the ethical egoism and the natural law moral theories respect to righteous and decisions, their respective philosophical superiority of each theory, their significant weaknesses and how they can be strengthened to depict out they articulate moral aspects affiliated to them.
Ethical egoism theory, one of the key moral theories, is based on the ideological perception that the right thing to subject into action is basically considering personal self-interest. In this theory, the criterion of rightness is solely self-interest. The central theme in ethical egoism moral theory is that everything is perceived as right if and only if all the people do what serves and promotes their interests (Tilley 125). In other terms being considered ethical is a situation that depicts how personal goodness is promoted. In this case, all acts would be out of self-interest. The decision procedure of ethical egoism is a fundamental aspect of moral speculations in any society. The procedure of making ethical procedures is based on the following framework. Ethical egoism decision making procedure is based on right and wrong decisions on the basis of permeate in everybody’s life. In some cases, the decision-making in this context of right and wrong under ethical considerations is difficult to make, especially under a diversity of perceptions.
On the other hand, the natural law theory is based on the perception that human beings have the capacity to possess a diversity of intrinsic values that are significant in governing their behavior and reasoning. Natural law theory criterion of rightness is simply that all people are perceived to have inherent rights that are not conferred by the legislation acts but by God’s acts (Tollefsen 613). In this case, power and practice are based on the sheer social facts where everyone depicts reasonableness in his or her own life. In terms of decision procedure in the natural law theory, all the decisions are formulated under the civil laws guidelines ethics and morality which are all assumed to be inherently correct. This procedure involves the following steps. The law is established under reasons for each action, and this theory is can sometimes be attributed to various rules.
In the context of which moral theory, ethical egoism and the natural law theory is philosophically superior, various bases have to be considered and evaluated. In this case, it is worth suggesting that natural law theory is more superior to the egoism theory based on the following aspects. natural law theory provides a more moral basis under which people apply in solving issues under concern between them, whereas the ethical egoism theory has no basis for these solutions (Davis 43). Natural law theory facilitates everybody with the choice of rights to do the right thing. On the other hand, ethical egoism theory obligates every person to hinder others from doing what they perceive to be correct. The natural law theory has a diversity of logical basis, such as freedom, while the ethical egoism theory, in most prospects termed to have the same logical basis, such as racism and other societal vices. Therefore from these justifications, it is worth suggesting that the natural law theory is more superior to ethical egoism. The two most significant strengths of natural law theory are that it is deontological and more absolutist in that it provides more straightforward cut rules on some vital decisions such as abortion (Davis 40). The natural law theory is simpler to apply as it is clearly based on the assumption that human nature is more universal and ideal. On the other hand, the two best strengths of ethical egoism theory are that it facilitates much freedom for people with chances of deciding what they perceive as right and wrong. The other significant strength of the ethical egoism theory is that it requires basic common sense to undertake the decision of doing what is right and best.
In terms of weaknesses, the two main weaknesses of the ethical egoism theory are that the best perceived decision would not benefit the majority because they assume it is not much fundamental. The other weakness of this theory is that it is based on the assumption that it obligates some people to influence others in doing what is perceived to be right. On the other hand, the natural law theory has a couple of weaknesses (Kliemt 10). The two most significant weaknesses are that it has a lot of shortcomings and questions regarding the universal human nature ideology. The other significant weakness is that this theory does not consider everybody who bases his or her moral choices on reasons. Therefore from these prospects, it is evident that the natural law theory is more philosophically superior to ethical egoism theory.
Considering that the natural law theory is more philosophically superior to ethical egoism theory, it is recommendable to apply these measures in order to strengthen and redefine into a more outstanding moral theory. The first measure is to ensure that the theory has put into consideration the aspect of considering all the people who find themselves in consequences of their actions. Davis The other critical measure to strengthen the natural law theory is by considering all moral choices based on the people’s reasons and other rational agreements. The natural law theory has to ensure that all non-believers have modeled their own system to follow in response to the demonstrations associated with the natural law theory.
In conclusion, the society is based on moral theories and their guidelines. Although some morally controversial aspects, such as abortion art articulated under the dictation of beliefs, there are some commonalities that tie each belief together. With respect to the criterion of rightness and decision procedure, each of the above discussed theories, the natural law theory and the ethical egoism theory, each of them has unique illustrations of these aspects. Every theory has a significant weaknesses and strengths that define how each theory is reliable and viable to emulate and follow.
Work Cited
Davis, Michael. “Moral Theory in Ethics Across the Curriculum?.” Ethics across the curriculum—pedagogical perspectives. Springer, Cham, 2018. 39-54.
Kliemt, Hartmut. “The logical foundations of constitutional democracy between legal positivism and natural law theory.” Public choice (2021): 1-13.
Tilley, John J. “Does Psychological Egoism Entail Ethical Egoism?.” The Review of Metaphysics 76.1 (2022): 115-133.
Tollefsen, Christopher. “God, New Natural Law Theory, and Human Rights.” Religions 12.8 (2021): 613.
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