Christian vs. Kantian Ethics Essay Example

The primary role of ethics is to ensure a balance in which a person makes decisions and acts in such a way that maximizes benefits and minimizes harm for self and others. In this regard, the different perspectives of individuals in a society are unified towards a common goal of how each person ought to act. Since each person has different perceptions of right or wrong and good or bad, a standard to limit the relative nature of ethics is necessary, which is provided by either a spiritual or a secular philosophical background.
In the plurality aspect of ethics, spiritual and secular ethics require different approaches in determining the good and the moral in society, whereby individuals make decisions based on their cultural background, and their ethical decisions can be assessed with cultural factors in mind. On the singularity aspect of ethics, all ethical philosophies and guidelines are based on a common principle of doing what is good for self and others, especially in regard to actions that may have both negative and positive effects.
Religiously, ethical guidance arises from a belief in supernatural power, whereby a deity, as described by a religious philosophy like Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and Islamism, provides guidelines on which people base their day-to-day decisions from an ethical perspective. On the other hand, secular ethical guidance arises from the works of philosophers like Aristotle, Kant and Mill among others who used their assessment of their world to come up with answers and reasons explaining human behavior. Despite the multiplicity of perspectives as provided y various religious and secular philosophies, the singular role of ethics is to guide people on the proper moral behavior in their thoughts and actions.
An exemplification of the singularity of ethical goals is the relationship between Christian and Kantian ethics, which are religious and secular ethical philosophies respectively. According to Christian ethics, a person should do to others what one would with for others to do to him or her, which is the founding principle of Christianity ad provided by the bible. According to Kantian ethics, the intention, rather than the outcome, determines the morality of a person’s action, which means that good intentions always result in moral action regardless of consequences. Upon a close review, the Kantian and Christian approach to decision making should result in the same decision in any situation, which shows the singularity of ethics.