Legal / Ethical / Honorable - The Big Gray Area
Decisions... when measuring them I've come up with three dimensions to judge them by.
- Is it legal?
- Is it ethical?
- Is it honorable?
At first glance it seems as though each is a subset of the previous one. But I don't think that's the case. You can have something that's ethical that's not legal for instance.Some things are easy -- if something is all three then you have a win all around. Stop wondering and go ahead and do it already. You already know that the world will be a better place. Similarly if something meets none of the categories, you've pretty much got evil on your hands.But let's see if we can start going through the list...Legal, Ethical, Honorable: Awesomeness! Rainbows and unicorns all the way!Legal, Ethical, Not Honorable: Sleeping with your best friend's ex. They broke up so it's fair... but it seems dodgy for the most part. Especially if you don't ask.Legal, Not Ethical, Honorable: A Catholic nun helping a young girl get birth control. It goes against the writings of the Church, but it's going to serve the higher good as she sees it.Legal, Not Ethical, Not Honorable: Wall Street handing out mortgages to people they knew could not pay them. -or- Sleeping with your best friend's wife (without permission).Not Legal, Ethical, Honorable: Medical marijuana. The federal government and most states say it's not legal. On the other hand this helps many people who are suffering lead a much better life. You run afoul of the law and take your chances with it.Not Legal, Ethical, Not Honorable: The prototypical "crack whore." It's certainly not legal and the end isn't honorable either. Why is this ethical then? I think it's a transaction between two consenting adults (hopefully) and no one is cheated out of something they had before the situation.Not Legal, Not Ethical, Honorable: Covering up for your friend who's just broken some laws. There is honor amongst thieves.Not Legal, Not Ethical, Not Honorable: See also: Chaotic evil.Did I miss any marks? Do you disagree? Do you agree?