Together as one

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Throughout life, one will use ethics to make decisions, solve dilemmas and determine right from wrong, without consciously knowing. During this semester in my Ethics course, I have closely studied the four “Steps of Ethical Analysis” created by Ruggeiro and Lonergan’s system of “Operations of Consciousness”. These similar concepts merge into one framework because both focus on the way humans make choices throughout their lives. In this essay, I will go more in-depth about the ethical frameworks Ruggerio and Lonergan created and show how they closely relate in solving an ethical dilemma.
Vincent Ruggeiro’s four steps of ethical analysis are to help someone analyze an ethical dilemma essentially. His consist of one; gathering details of the situation, two; determining the basic criteria, three; deciding the course of action and fourth; finally making a decision. In the first step; gathering all the data, Ruggerio means that when we are faced with an ethical dilemma we much first gather all the facts of the situation. This would mean for us to evaluate, question, and provide any evidence from the situation. We must first complete this because you don’t want to act on impulse and assumtion and then realize that you don’t have proof or what you saw isn’t what really happened. The second step asks us to evaluate the basic criteria; this includes obligations, moral ideas and consequences. Obligations are things that bind you to something, those things can be any type of relationship one has with others. Moral ideas are things such as being fair, honest, and knowing right and wrong. Finally, consequences are likely negative outcomes that result from the decision that we ultimately make. The third step of Ruggerio’s ethical analysis is c...

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...was to decide to tell the truth, she would have to accept the possible consequence of the best friend defending the boyfriend or the boyfriend feeling anger or hatred towards the friend. Finally, the friend much ultimately makes a decision. Their decision will reflect the process of ethical analysis and order of consciousness they went through. If the friend successfully throughout every step, the decision in the end should not hold them to any regret if consequences arise.
In conclusion, ethics relates to every decision we make whether we know or not. Ruggiero and Lonergan both came up with concepts that can help anyone evaluate a dilemma and come up with not only a decision but the best decision for that particular dilemma. These concepts are used in our personal and professional lives and the decisions we make can often determine the type of individual we are.

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