Ethics in Antigone and Home Fire

The question of ethics, in this case, is quite a complex one. Should Isma’s loyalty lie to the state to which she owes all her privileges or should it to be to her brother the one with whom she shares a bond of blood? The answer to this question depends on which ethical system you use. If we judge her actions by duty ethics then the answer is simple. Her duty is to the state and to tell the truth, so she should tell the truth about her brother’s terrorist tendencies. But that code ignores the consequences not only within their relationship but also to society as a whole where trust in each other is eroded, not to mention the possible case where she becomes the cause of his untimely death. But given that Parvaiz might have been able to come back to the UK through the embassy had Isma not told the government about it, suggests that in this particular case, she directly becomes the reason for his death and for the public humiliation he faces as he is classified as a terrorist. On the other hand, if she factors in these consequences, by consequentialism she has a loyalty to her brother as she will minimise the negative consequences on people around her by doing so. Even so, it is hard to justify whether or not she made the right decision to tell the police about her brother. Another fact to consider is that since Isma had played such a motherly role in the twins’ lives, it is almost as though she is their mother as well, in which case a mother reporting her own son becomes quite the ethics conundrum. This is in large part due to the difference in cultures around the globe, in many cultures Isma’s actions would be seen as the courageous and heroic thing to do, the right choice to make since she knowingly sacrificed her own brother for the greater good of the society.

 

 

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