Understanding Ethics in Daily Life

APSS1A04 – Understanding Ethics in Daily Life

Thursday Class

Individual Essay: Final Submission

Discuss the morality of the occupy central movement in Hong

Kong from the perspective of moral pluralism

Content

Part A: Description of Occupying Central

Part B: Introduce Moral Pluralism and the criteria of right and wrong

Part C: Judge Occupying Central Movement by Moral Pluralism

Prima facie duties supporting Occupy Central

1. Justice

2. Self-improvement

Prima facie duty against Occupy Central

1. Non-maleficence

Part D: Stance

Part E: Objection

Part F: Conclusion

Reference List

Part A: Background Information

According to the SCMP (2015), Occupy Central Movement, also called “Umbrella

Revolution”, is a civil disobedience, starting on September 28, 2014 and being stopped

after 79 days in Hong Kong. In order to fight for the approval of implementing

universal suffrage for electing the Hong Kong Chief Executive and the Legislative

Council following the international standards by Chinese Communist Party within

2017, tens of thousands of demonstrators were appealed to take part in this movement

through blocking roads and paralysing Hong Kong’s financial district, Central. Over

the past few months, whether it is ethical to occupy central has become a controversial

issue. Some consider this movement as immoral based on the harmful effects on

themselves while others think that it is moral because of the aims and also their social

responsibilities.

Part B: Introduce Moral Pluralism and the criteria of right and wrong

On the basis of Moral Pluralism, there is not just one source of morality, but several

(Ross, 1930). For example, “promoting happiness and avoiding unhappiness” is one of

the sources of morality but not the only one. In order to determine what we ought to

do, considering all prima facie duties relevant to that action is necessary. Specifically,

if there is at least one ethical reason supporting doing it, it will be a prima facie duty to

do that given that the reason is able to be overridden by other ethical reasons. Since

different situations have a conflict of prima facie duties and are difficult to decide

whether they are moral, the first thing we need to do is to list all the prima facie duties

and find out which one is the most stringent and hence, is called the all-things-