Is there really such a thing as a "gray area"?

Question

To me it's either right or wrong, good or bad, or you don't have enough information to make that assessment.

Justifiable homicide and murder aren't the same thing.

Will - It could be said that the relative good could be measured against the relative bad to come up with a net result.

Good/bad, right/wrong are examples. Maybe it could be valuable or not, wise or unwise...

Answer 1

there never used to be a gray area...now society in all it's "wisdom"...has created one...prevents folks from admitting wrongdoings....accounts for bad manners....accounts for stupidity...anything they want to use it for...good question

Answer 2

I certainly believe the gray area exists, here are a couple examples:

1. Abortion
so since something is, according to you, either right or wrong, let's look at it from both sides.

from pro-life viewpoint. Regardless of any other argument, what about aborting an ectopic pregnancy? (this is a pregnancy where the fetus grows in the fallopian tubes and it will generally kill the mother and baby if left unchecked) So for those who would say abortion is just wrong, you would still hold to that viewpoint even in the situation where both the baby and the mother will definetely die without it?

from the pro-choice viewpoint. Even if you believe in a womans right to choose, it's still very debatable at what point the fetus becomes considered a human life with the rights of such, this certainly constitutes a gray area.

So without endorsing either viewpoint I certainly believe there is a significant gray area on both sides.

2. Let's use a "fictional" example. assume a corporation in one country donates a large amount of money to charity, from neonatal clinics, to educational scholarships, and in another country uses sweatshops with horrible working conditions to make its products. Can you really say that corporation is either good or bad? Well, some people would argue the corporation is good but does some bad things, but how do you measure it's relative goodness? You may have all the information on the corporation and the good things it does, but you still can't measure its level of being "good" that would keep it from being a bad corporation that does good things. In other words, no matter how much information you get, it's impossible to compare the worth of something good (giving free medical care to poor people) vs something bad (running sweatshops). This constitutes a large gray area, because no matter how much information you get, it is still impossible to relatively compare the two.

Answer 3

Absolutes are generally a trait of the young. As much as we'd like to live in absolutes life gets complicated. Do you take a job that keeps you away from your children because it pays well and provides good benefits -- health insurance. Or do you take the job close to home -- fewer benefits, less money. But you see your children every night.

Life is full of trade offs. You just have to do the best you can with honorable intention. In the end it may all work out. But then it may not.

Answer 4

Since almost any given act or even can be looked at as positive or negative depending on a huge array of conditions such as culture, time, etc., there is obviously no such thing as objective good or bad. In order for their to be objective, absolute meanings for these concepts, you would need an objective, absolute viewpoint. Unless you're postulating a God or Gods to whom you grant objectivity and absolute judgement, then clearly there cannot be absolute objective judgements. Humans are not either objective nor absolute judges.

Answer 5

Commiting murder would be wrong. What if a mother kills a person who was about to murder her child. Does that make her a bad person or is this a "gray" area. Justifiable homicide would be gray to me b/c murder is wrong but, if you kill someone who's bad to save someone who's good is that wrong??

Answer 6

Yes, there really is.

It's the space between your ears that allows you to think, reason and contemplate.

There is no black and white - it's all 256 shades of gray. Nothing on earth is either "all good" or "all bad". It just depends on how you look at it. Perhaps gray is in the perspective!

Answer 7

Absolutely

Answer 8

They call it a gray area because people can't makeup there mind.
It's like politics, they say one thing mean another. Unable to make up there mind whether they should tell the truth or lie so they scoot around it and make something up to give them time to find an answer.
Dumb I know, but that's life

Answer 9

K well a gray area, in any area, is something that isnt clear (as in "i'm not sure), something that hasnt been to "explored" or don't want to "explore". It's like some people have a gray area when it comes to their feelings. They don't want to go to the "gray area"...they want to keep it hidden...idk it's hard to explain...look it up

Answer 10

gray area is that area we all live in .as the white or good is gods whys and the dark or bad is the devils ways .it is in the chossing of these whys we justfy our action call them gray areas

Answer 11

It depends on what you consider to be good or bad.

Is it wrong for a man to steal a loaf of bread?

I guess... But what if it was to feed his 5 starving children?

Was it bad to steal the bread if it meant feeding his children?