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world.Theycomefromadifferentunderstandingofcomplicatedphe-
nomena.Theessenceoftheproblemmaybeshownonmanyexam-
ples.Recently,therehasbeenmuchdiscussionconcerningtheprotec-
tionofnaturalenvironment.Attemptsaremadeattakingappropriate
action.Someselltheirsurplusesrelatedtotheemissionofpoisonous
substances,othersbuythem.Onthesurface,thismaylookasnothing
morethanjustordinarybusiness,atypicallycommercialactivity.It
wouldbelegitimatetoask,however,whethertheprincipleofjustice
isnotviolatedhere.Itturnsoutthatthosewhobenefitthemostfrom
suchtransactionsaretherichestcountries.Theimpositionofequal
burdensoneachcountrywouldnotbethemostappropriatesolution,
however,sincethatwouldresultinthedevelopingcountriesbeing
forcedtostopmanufacturingmanyproducts,whichinturnwouldre-
sultinunemployment,lowerlivingstandards,etc.Thisexampleshows
thatgoodandevilareoftenmixedtogether.Itisverydifficulttoapply
generalethicalprinciplestospecificpracticesofreallife.Itismore
reasonable,therefore,tocompareareasofconflict,needs,expecta-
tions,formsofachievingsatisfaction.Oneshouldalsotakeintoac-
countvariousethicaltraditionswhichleadtothedevelopmentofpar-
ticularbehaviourinparticularpeople.
AsTugendhathasbeenrighttopointout,inordertoactmorally,
onemustfirstbeamoralbeing5.Withouttakingintoaccountthevery
willingnesstobemoral,onecouldhardlydefineanyprinciples.Be-
sides,whensettingouttherulesofproperbehaviour,onemusttakeinto
accountthediversityofcultures6.ThatwhichisobviousinEuropeor
America,neednotbeperceivedinthesamewayinAfricaorAsia–the
bestexamplehereistheattitudetohumanrightsinboththegovern-
mentsandthecitizensthemselves.AndIamnot,infact,talkingabout
countrieswherehumanrightsarenotoriouslyviolated(whichistosay
–inprimitivecountries),butaboutcountrieswithhighlydeveloped
5E.Tugendhat,Wykładyoetyce[LecturesonEthics],transl.fromGermanby
J.Sidorek,Wyd.OficynaNaukowa,Warsaw2004,p.27.
6K.A.Appiah,Kosmopolityzm.Etykawświecieobcych[Cosmopolitism.Ethicsin
aWorldofStrangers],transl.fromEnglishbyJ.Klimczyk,PrószyńskiiS-ka,War-
saw2008,p.67-92.
