The Earthquakes on the Island of Kora - Essay Example

The earthquake that hit the Island of Kora had left devastation and suffering to the subjects. It appears that they need urgent interventions lest they continue agonizing. As the supreme ruler one may start by implementing simple regulations that would build up the confidence of the citizens. First, the people must look at their actions and determine whether their actions were wrong top deserve such a punishment. As the divine command states, actions are right or wrong because they either contradict or accord with God's commands (Rorty, 2009). One may argue that to some extent, ethics are partially related to religious to defend the opinion of the divine command. To support the last statement, it is evident that as persons speak about ethical requirements, they are talking about God's will. Therefore, the first thing the islanders must assess is their actions to determine whether or not they had gone against the will of the Supreme Being. If they find that their actions were heinous, they must beg for forgiveness to avoid further suffering. The normative theories allow for the Islanders to determine whether they moral, general, and certain principles were followed before the earthquake struck their land. The teleological ethics laws necessitate that moral obligations are derived from what is desired as a result (Rorty, 2009). Under such a theory, the Islanders must consider whether the actions they took led to what they had wanted and whether they were morally upright as required by the supernatural being.

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The Islanders must also take into account whether the actions they performed were the best compared to the alternatives. The last would get achieved by asking the islanders to outline some events that were being undertaken before the earthquake struck their land. They must reflect as to whether the results of their actions were pleasant before their eyes. If they were not, then there was a possibility that they were unpleasant before the eyes of the Supreme Being. The last establishes the utilitarianism as a means of settling the chaos on the island. The theory of hedonism may also be applicable in the context of saving the Islanders from their mystery. The theory necessitates that pleasure and pain are the only possible outcomes of an individual's actions (Rorty, 2009). The Islanders' actions led to pain. Situational ethics would allow the Islanders to act in a way that pleased the Supreme Being so that they would be alleviated from the suffering by the love of God. Another applicable theory in the Islanders' problem is the deontological ethical theory that necessitates that the morality of human actions is judged upon the characteristics it bears rather than the results it delivers. Also, metaethics must be employed to gauge the basis, status, and scope of moral values, words, and properties (Rorty, 2009). Metaethics will be useful in measuring what morality is in itself. Another perspective that must be employed in solving the Islanders' problems is the ethical egoism which states that individuals act from their self-interests. The last theory that can be applied in solving the Islanders' problem is the formalism theory by Kant. The theory focuses on the structure or form of a moral judgment which is guided by the fact that one needs to act in a particular manner (Rorty, 2009)

The Decision-making Procedure

The Folkway paradigm seems to have played a significant role in the misfortunes that befell the Island of Kora. Community beliefs and ethics are passed on from one generation to the other. An individual is not given a chance to test the beliefs but rather conforms to them as required by the society (Warner, 1996). The moral decay that was prevalent on the Island could be viewed as a result of inheriting behaviors that individuals are not well versed. The Folkway paradigm consents to these situations where the people adopt beliefs they merely comprehend. However much the Folkway is attributed to suitable aspects, it may also incline to the passing of undesirable traits. Also, custom and traditions can be another source of the moral decay in the Island of Kora. If the inhabitants of the island had developed such vices as stealing, the generations would incorporate them into their daily lives. The values that an individual is brought up with are likely to become their belief in the long-run. Customs and traditions become part of an individual (Warner, 1996). To develop amicable decisions, the Supreme Being must follow a pattern of decision-making processes.

Through the application of the discussed theories, the Islanders' problems can be solved through a systematic procedure. The decisions to be made must be made in a sequential manner to arrive at an amicable solution. As the Supreme Being, the Islanders will depend on the decisions made to avert the misfortunes that have befallen them. Application of a step-wise decision-making process would be most efficient to produce sound conclusions regarding the matter. The first step in decision making process involves identifying what the decision would affect and what it entails (Saaty, 2008). The most important step is always the first as it forms the basis of the entire procedure. Identifying the decision involves assessing what brought the problem to the Islanders. The actual actions and activities conducted by the residents would be essential in setting the foundation of settling the disaster that had befallen them. There must be establishment as to whether the actions aligned to what the Supreme Being demands or they contradicted Him. After this step, all the relevant information surrounding the predicament would be collected. While gathering information, it is necessary to ensure that it is relevant and relates to the case at hand (Saaty, 2008). It would be uncalled for if as the Supreme Being one passes judgment based on unreliable information.

After collection all the relevant information, it would be important to identify the possible alternatives and actions that the islanders would have used instead of how they had acted. At this stage, it would also be important to come up with as many alternatives as possible. The Utilitarianism theory would be applied at this juncture to assess all the options that were available to the islanders and note why they used the wrong ones that led to their misfortunes. Afterward, the alternatives drawn would be weighed for relevance to examine the likely outcomes of each (Saaty, 2008). According to the theory of hedonism, pain and pleasure are the only possible outcome of an action. Therefore, the Supreme Being must evaluate which of the alternatives bring pain and those that result in happiness. However, the level of satisfaction among the options is different as is the pain. After completing the comparison, the Supreme Being chooses the best alternative there is that would help in explaining to the Islanders the actions they should have taken to avoid the wrath of God. The choice of the best action is arrived at after assessing the scope and properties of the action as necessitated by the metaethics theory. Finally, it would be substantial even as the Supreme Being to review the final decision and the consequences. At this point, however, the consequences must be beneficial to the Islanders who feel that they need salvation from the jaws of the calamity that had befallen them.

Specific Actions

The final decision involves taking specific actions to curb the existing problems. It is important to teach them of the necessity to good at all times to fulfill the desires of the islanders. However, since their demands are overwhelming, teachings would not fulfill their wishes. First, teach them how to use simple tools to fish instead of relying wholly on the depleted land. The Islanders are facing starvation yet they are surrounded by waters that are nested to many good sea creatures. The last presents an opportunity to end the threat of hunger in the community. Since the Islanders are living in a concentrated place, the rest of the land may be used to grow some food to support the community members. Also, the Islanders may opt to slaughter some of the healthy animals and smoke the meat which may sustain them in the short run. Vices such as stealing and killing that are prevalent on the island may be reduced through elders passing tough judgments on those caught engaging in either. They must also abolish reproduction of the community members by any means possible to ensure that the population does not grow larger. Through the application of these actions, it is possible that in the long-run, the Islanders can solve the majority of their problems.

References

Rorty, R. (2009). Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature. Princeton University Press.Saaty, T. L. (2008). Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process. International journalof services sciences, 1(1), 83-98.

Warner, D. (1996). The Basis for Ethical Conduct. An Introduction to the Ethical ConductParadigm and Ethics for Decision-Making Case Studies Amberton University (5th ed.,pp. 3-5).