Journal Entry #19 – Noah

The ethical theory that I worked on during TOK class was Moral Absolutism. This theory is related to many things and can be applied to many different situations. First, the idea of this theory is found in its name, Moral Absolutism. Morals are guidelines or rules that people choose to live by. These can be different for everyone or be shared by multiple people, but either way morals are the building blocks of society and without them, there would be chaos. But in this theory the part relating to absolutism digs even deeper. Absolutism means something that is absolute or final, this is shown in this ethical theory in the sense that you have a set of moral values and rules that you do not stray from. Also even under different circumstances or in different situations the moral values that a person has set up are absolute and if the thing happening is against the values a person follows then it is automatically wrong. In our CAS project finding the ethical implications that we might have on this community relating to moral absolutism is difficult. But when analyzed we can see that in fact there are certain ethical debates and ideas that will come up. The first and most relevant ethical implication that our CAS project has is the use of worms and insects in our organic fertilizer. These animals come naturally but have the possibility of being killed when we are making or moving this fertilizer. Hypothetically someone who is a moral absolutist and that doesnt belive in the harm or testing of animals will see that this is a very bad issue. Even though we are not directly responsible for this happening and even though it can be argued that it is for the greater good of the community according to a moral absolutist this once again would be unacceptable. Though moral absolutism is a simple ethical theory there are still criticisms and debates surrounding the topic. For instance one of the main criticisms is that to be morally absolute the morals must be agreed upon internationally, or else they become personal morals, which would not apply to anyone else. This criticism shows the biggest problem with this theory of ethics and ties into possible conversations that can be had with community members of matapalo. Also in our project we will be building a small shack directly next to a playground where children play. The fertilizer we will be making is not toxic in any way but it does give off a nasty odor, that may be unpleasant for kids. From someone’s perspective with moral absolutism this would possibly be against their morals and values thus making it wrong. Even though we wrote letters and worked hard to get the land to build our shed and we will be making something for the community, if you believe in moral absolutism this won’t matter. There will be a bottom line to every situation and that is what moral absolutists will follow. All in all Luis and I have witnessed nothing but kindness from the people of Matapalo and are optimistic that these possible negative ethical implications are dealt with in a respectful and thoughtful manner.