Rationale for Moral Action After 1918 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rationale for Moral Action After 1918 - Essay Example Discovering that even the states were fallible in their interpretations of moral action, individuals were left in confusion attempting to discover just what was expected of them and how they were supposed to answer these major questions of life. To determine what rationale could be used to assess correct moral action after 1918, a number of authors began to write about the subject, or around the subject, attempting to provide their readers with a sense of what was right and what was wrong based upon newly established criteria in keeping with their individual viewpoint. Before discovering what authors such as Hannah Arendt, Modris Eksteins, Franz Fanon and Heda Kovaly have to say about morality and legitimacy, one must first have a clear idea of what is meant when the term ‘morality’ is used. There are a number of things that can be implied when using the word ‘morality.’ According to Bernard Gert (2008), morality can be used â€Å"to refer to a code of conduct put forward by a society, some other group such as religion or accepted by an individual for her own behavior.† It can also be used to refer to a specific code of conduct that would normally be used by any group of rational people. There is a distinct difference in these two definitions that lies at the heart of the morality question. The first understanding suggests that there are different codes of morality for different people or cultural groups that are not necessarily valid in another group. This implies that the second definition cannot hold true because it suggests that there is a sort of universal code of conduct that is applicable to all human races, cultures and religious practices. When looking at the work of the above-named authors, it seems clear that they are attempting to suggest this sort of universal code is valid, but that its interpretation is not always equally applied.