Ethicality of an action
A dilemma is a situation in which a hard decision between choices has to be made. In most cases, both decisions are undesirable or mutually exclusive. The antagonist has to make choices are unacceptable. An example of a film that portrays dilemma is Spiderman. This is a fiction movie in which the main character is Peter Parker. He lives with his aunt May and Uncle Ben. Peter parents died in an airplane crush when he was a baby. He falls in love with Mary Jane who lives in their neighborhood. During a class tour, Peter is bitten by a spider. The venom transforms him to have superhuman strength and superman reflexes. This is where he gets another new name spider-man. Peter gets a job at a local newspaper center after he leaves working as pizza deliverer. At some point, he has to fight with the green goblin. Green goblin uses his powers inappropriately for self-gain.
In this film peter is faced with an ethical dilemma. In the beginning, of the movie Peter believes that Mary Jane is all what she needs in his life. Peter’s uncle keeps telling him: with immense power comes enormous responsibility. It is either he chooses to live a normal life with the girl he loves or use his powers responsibly to do some good. Peter decides to live as a spider-man. He chooses to live a life of responsibility. He argues out that Mary Jane will never know that he had a crush on her. In this life, that Peter chooses, Mary Jane will never be part of it. When one is in a dilemma they must identify the unique problem of the situation at hand. This allows for the possession of a reason for the action taken from that point. The reflective action varies depending on how an individual faces the problem. In this context, Peter has a moral obligation to use his newly found powers to assist others. This justifies his decision to help others. He avoids being egocentric though his love for Mary Jane is unbearable.
The Kant moral theory best suits this context. Immanuel Kant was an 18th century philosopher. Kant defines categorical imperative as any proposition that makes a certain action or lack of action necessary. He writes that morality is a social phenomenon. Kant first version says that one’s action becomes a universal law. The other version insists on treating humanity as your own person and not as a way to accomplish your own aims. He insists that the categorical imperative is deep within us. Human beings use it to discern between evil and good. When one faces a dilemma, the action he takes, becomes the universal law of society.
In the film, the spider-man, he is faced with a complex situation of choosing what is rational. This is because of the super powers he possesses. Respect for persons applies here. He opts to save lives of those in emergencies and accidents using his super powers. This is a positive attitude according to Kant’s theory. Peter chooses to do well regardless of what he desires. His desire is to live a normal life and date Mary Jane.
Ethics mainly tries to restrain one from taking an action which is harmful and considered insignificant. Peter’s action is morally acceptable when related to Kant’s theory. This is because of his good will for human beings. He does it voluntary for the society benefit.
