The Truth of Ethics 1

Can any decision be thought of as ethical?  What defines the morality of an event or decision?  Does a baseline exist that allows us to judge these things?  I ask those questions not so that my own religious beliefs will be purported but rather that you and I may think openly and clearly about a situation, especially in regards to the existence or non-existence of morality.

Primarily, I think the question of whether universal standards of truth exist should be examined.  If there is no absolute truth and if indeed things are relevant to each individual and situation, then a basis of ethics is null and void.  I will not use any religion's text to examine this case but I would like to use our your own understanding of life.  I am going to tell a story and perhaps we can gain some insight.

Mr. White was leaving a luncheon with the board of his very successful company.  He was dressed in a immaculate suit that his company bought him.  Mr. White was praised by his peers as a brilliant man of business.  He donated large amounts of his yearly income to AIDS research in Africa and sports programs for the youth in his community.  Mr. White has been married to Mrs. White for many years and they have 4 children and are exceptionally happy.  Leaving the lunch, Mr. White goes to meet a potential client who owns another successful business.

On the way to his client's place of business Mr. White is approached by a man in shabby clothes, dirty-matted hair, and more teeth missing than not.  The man asks Mr. White for $5.  Mr. White, overcome with pity at the unfortunate events, gives the man $300.  The man thanks Mr. White profusely and gleefully trots away with his generous gift.

The meeting between the client and Mr. White goes splendidly.  At the conclusion, the client agrees to support Mr. White's cause.  Mr. White glances at his watch and sees that it is nearing the end of his day.  About that time, his cellphone rings.  Ahh, it was Mrs. White.  She asks Mr. White to go by the store on his way home and pick up some asparagus to go with the potroast, mashed potatoes, and gravy that she is preparing for their dinner.  Will, Mr. White doesn't mind at all because that is his favorite meal.

Going into the store Mr. White notices a small child standing next to an alley parallel to the entrance.  The child is struggling to open a piece of candy.  The child is still a toddler, recently learning to walk by the way that he was wobbling on his tiny feet.  Mr. White goes and buys his asparagus and a dozen roses for his wife.

Leaving the store Mr. White notices a cardinal drinking water from a deep puddle on the side of the street.  Cardinal's are Mr. White's favorite.  As he sits and gazes at the bird for a short while his belly begins to rumble.  Mr. White, realizes that he is beginning to get hungry.  Although his wife is cooking his favorite meal, Mr. White decides that something small would do nicely.  "Something sweet would be perfect," thinks Mr. White.  

Behind him, Mr. White hears a faint crackling sound.  He turns to see the child behind him in the alley still fidgeting to remove the wrapper on the candy.  Mr. White sees a gleam in the corner of his eye.  Sitting in a pile of trash is a large brass rod, pristine and shining beautifully.  "Kids like shiny things, perhaps I can trade it for the candy," White thinks.  The child looks up at Mr. White as he approaches.   "Do you want to trade this for your candy little boy?" asks, Mr. White.  The toddler shakes his head.

Slightly resigned Mr. White asks the child if he wants help opening the candy.  Just then, a loud noise comes from the alley and both Mr. White and the child look to see the cardinal flapping and chirping loudly at a piece of metal.  Upon further inspection it appears that the metal broke off from a near by building.  Mr. White looks around an no one else heard the loud noise.  

Then, while the child is looking at the cardinal, Mr. White takes the brass rod and bludgeons the child's head until he stops moving.  Mr. White picks up the piece of candy, opens it, and pops it into his mouth.  Then, Mr. White deposits the rod, the body, and the wrapper in the dumpster in the alley only stopping to wash the gore from his hands in the cardinal's puddle.  Mr. White gets in his car and drives home.

Not to patronize, but is their any action that you would classify as wrong or evil?  When someone murders, not in self-defense but in an act of unprovoked aggression, can that be a neutral act?  Granted, the objection could be made that actions such as Mr. White do not exist in actual life.  But, what about companies who take advantage of the dying in Africa by using them to test new drugs?  What about regimes in countries trying to privatize the water supply to the point that even collecting rainwater is illegal?  What about pharmaceutical companies that increase the cost of their medicines exponentially in areas that have greater need for them?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,489389,00.html

http://www.afrol.com/articles/14516

http://www.reason.com/news/show/34992.html

Can these acts be unequivocally impartial?  Some probably can read this and feel no emotional response.  But I would speculate that those people have no view of human life as anything but chemical reactions and a nothing is real mindset.  Your thoughts?