Do unethical decisions sometimes have to be made?

Answer 1

Immanuel Kant says no. He gives two 'Categorical Imperatives' that must be followed under all conditions. These are: 1. Perform every act as though it would become a universal law that all sentience would act according to. And 2. Treat all humanity whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end and never as a means only. He allows for no exceptions. He says: if the police come to your door and demand you give up your family, you may fight or run but you may not lie because no person would be willing to live in a world where people lied whenever they wished. He also shows us that no person would choose to be treated as a means to an end, with no consideration of their special status as an independent person with inalienable personal rights and importance.

By the way, he also said that objective determination of right and wrong is impossible for a subjective being. He said it is the will to do the right thing that makes a person ethical. He felt that the two categorical Imperatives stemmed from the will to do the right thing. Kant believed he proved the existence of God because we all have a moral will to maintain our right conduct. It is the Moral Will that is universal and that universal nature infers a common source and a God creator of that common universal nature. The nature of ethical decisions and acts must be explored further in order to understand the full implications of Kant's theses. Kant is a good source for these questions.