Morality Essay

Bierce explains that Druse was between a rock and a hard place of letting his father escape or he could put duty before family which is a virtue his dad had instilled in him. Bierce links killing a person while in a vantage position to killing one in the case of self-defense. Based on the stringent rules within the military, considering that sleeping on duty post was punishable by death, Bierce believes that Druse made the right moral decision by choosing duty over family.

In the discussion of morals, Immanuel Kant based them on the concept of a categorical imperative. Based on the philosophy, morality can be generally described as the vital reasoning point from which obligations are derived from. Kant agrees with Druse’s decision to shoot his father’s horse. Kant believed that morality and duty assigned to one were linked. He also explained that any decision made by a moral person based on the philosophy of categorical imperative was not based on one’s feelings but rather on reason. In answering the question of what druse should have done in his situation, Kant argues that one should align his actions based on moral laws of the universe which means upholding rational thinking.

In my position, I believe that the decision made by Druse was right. This is because he made a choice to be in the Union army which meant that he made an oath to protect the interests of the country as well as those of his partners. On the other hand, one does not have an option of choosing who his parents are. Druse’s father also made his son aware of the occurrence of such a situation and he made it clear that Carter should put duty first.