Ethical Decision Making

Ethical Decision Making

"We do not quite say that the new is more valuable because it fits in; but its fitting in is a test of its value--a test, it is true, which can only be slowly and cautiously applied, for we are none of us infallible judges of conformity.", the famous poet T. S. Elliot once said. Ethics and conformity go hand in hand; it is hard to talk about one subject without involving the other. The past two weeks of this humanities course has been centered around the relationship which exists between these two subjects of matter. The course allowed us to receive an in-depth look at the decision making process, including moral and ethical decision making, and to compare this to that of other students and writers. The process of decision making varies from person to person, and is normally dependent on the value system of the person who is making the decision. With peer pressure, the pressures of conformity, and the need to fit in, the present generation is making decisions based on other peoples belief systems; thus, risking their future and well being to gain the acceptance of others, and subtracting from the beauty that ones personality possesses.

Ethics are personal issues that each person must determine for themselves. For example, would you let your two-year-old niece pick your hair color? Then why would you let just anybody determine if you should drink, do drugs, or have sex? This subject of decision making is very touchy to myself because there are so many variables that come into play. I could not say what my ethics would be on any given day. If approached with a situation I would be able to determine my stand point at that moment in time based on what I felt right then. Otherwise, it would ...

... middle of paper ...

...As I get older I am able to step back from this situation and realize that it's not always better to do what everyone does. If I make my own decisions then it is easier to live with my mistakes. Why should I let someone else place me in a sticky situation that I could regret for the rest of my life?

Bibliography:

WORKS CITED

Mueller, Gilbert and Alan Crooks, eds. Major Modern Essayists. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1994

Eco, Umberto "The City of Robots." Mueller 442-448

Orwell, George "Shooting an Elephant." Mueller 62-68

Smith, Grover, Jr. T.S. Eliot's Poetry and Plays: A Study in Sources and Meaning. (U of Chicago P, 1974)

Bondanella, Peter, eds. The Prince. Great Britain: Cox & Wyman, 1984

Applebaum, Stanley and Shane Weller, eds. Plato The Trial and Death of Socrates. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.,1992