My Ethical System
Every day, in a plethora of different situations, virtually every person has to make a multitude of decisions regarding how to interact with other people. Despite many centuries of intense study and theorizing by some of the most brilliant philosophers in the world, there is no single consensus on how people should choose to act towards others. What have been developed, however, are different systems of ethics describing idealized ideas of how human beings should treat themselves, treat others, and what they should strive for both personally and for society as a whole. In addition, many people cobble together their own personal systems of ethics based on personal experience and various degrees of formal ethical education.
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My ethical system is derived from two primary ideas: treating people as I wish to be treated and striving towards an idealized vision of humanity. In some ways this resembles the system of utilitarianism described in John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism, where maximizing the happiness of other people as well as oneself is paramount (Mill 461). Indeed, Mill says the Golden Rule “to do as you would be done by” summarizes the ideal utilitarianism strives for (464). More than utilitarianism, however, this idea is similar to Immanuel Kant’s maxim of not using people merely as tools towards some goal, but as goals to be reached for in their own terms (Kant 512-513). There is more to my system of ethics beyond …show more content…
The two most significant life goals in pursuit of this overarching goal are to start a family and have a successful career. Having a family is part of my main goal because a major part of someone’s contribution to their society is ensuring that the values and culture of the present will survive into the future. By starting a family of my own, I will not only be able to pass along my personal values and beliefs to future generations, but also those of the society I am a part of. Another major way most people contribute to the well-being of others is through their means of employment. My hope is to someday have a successful career in electrical engineering, ideally in a field related to computers or space travel. Either path will contribute to society in many ways; the ubiquity of computers as tools for productivity, communication, and entertainment provides many opportunities for achievement. Additionally, I believe that further developments in space travel will be of immense benefit to humanity as a whole. However, despite their importance these are not the only goals I wish to accomplish; striving towards being the ideal version of myself is the primary goal, of which having a family and a career are only parts of. In many ways how someone treats those they are not personally attached to in some way says more about the character of that person than how they treat
When speaking about morals and ethics, every single individual will have their own opinion. Some will agree with your own, and some may not. Yet, when being a social worker it is not what your ethics and morals stand for, but it is our code. Code speaking for the NASW (National Association of Social Workers) code that we follow and stand by helping any client with any kind of circumstance.
The Puritan belief system has several guidelines that have been ingrained into the culture of the Massachusetts Bay area and its surrounding area. One of the first leaders of the Puritans was John Winthrop, and on the subject of his mission he stated that he wanted to create a “city upon the hill.” This “city” would be the beacon of example to others. The Puritans believed in model church communities and so religion was meshed with their everyday life. The Puritan religion was so significant, it needed to be taught to others, and so it was preached to other communities including the Native American population. The Puritans also believed in predestination and the power of good behavior, this helped in the overall countenance of the community. Although some of the surrounding colonies adopted various principles from the Puritans, others believed that the lifestyle was too harsh and thus rejected it. When the Puritan lifestyle did not prove successful, Roger Williams, a former Preacher of the Puritans, moved on to start the colony of Rhode Island. This new colony still held some principles of the Puritans but had much more freedom and leeway. Other colonies were influenced by the Puritans’ social structure either through adopting the Puritan principles or changing them to better fit the ideal
Most people go through life not worrying about others thoughts, just throwing stereotypes around without any justification or knowledge of the person being alienated. Some are ungrateful for the religious freedom that most of us are able to carry. Some do not realize the fight that people went through over 300 years ago to gain religious freedom and work through and around the profiling given by the hierarchy of society. No one worked harder for the freedoms to be provided and stereotypes to be dissolved than Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. Williams, born in London in 1603, was a seasoned young man early on, after witnessing many burnings at the stake of puritans for being "heretics" and not following the religion of the Church of England. Several years after graduating from Cambridge University, Williams decided to take his wife, and come to the Massachusetts colony in 1630. In the colonies, Williams felt it was best for a man who continually spoke out against the Church of England for being too involved in the Government actions, to be rather than face the fire of being a heretic. After reading "Roger Williams", a biography written by Edwin Gaustad, the feelings, thoughts, and actions of Williams are shown through literature by Williams, letters between Williams and John Cotton, and Williams's actions with the Native Americans.
The essay begins with three common conceptions of these ideals: the personal touch, actual consent, and hypothetical consent. The personal touch describes the value of treating others with a certain tone and matter, and not being indifferent. Actual consent explains the significance of never treating a person in a way that they do not consent a way of treatment. Finally, hypothetical consent is about the treatment of "others as persons not in term of the consent actually give, but in terms of the hypothetical consent fully rational beings would give to the same proposal" (789). Each of these types of consent should play a major role in how we as individuals show treat one another in society. However, in our culture, these roles of consent are often forgotten.
There are many ethical systems that were created over the years, each created to support curtain people’s beliefs, cultures, and ideologies. Out of all the systems that were presented in this course I believe that relativism and absolutism most aligns with my beliefs. Relativism is the fact that there is no absolute and that what is considered right and wrong varies from person to person and society to society. While absolutism “is the ethical belief that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged and that certain actions are right or wrong, regardless of the context of the act”.(Philosophy, n.d). I believe that there is a right and a wrong in the world (absolutism) but,
In the history of ethics there are three principal standards of conduct, each of which has been proposed as the highest good: happiness or pleasure; du...
Of the three main ethical systems discussed in class that I chose was, ethics of virtue. Ethics of virtue is an ethical theory that emphasizes an individual’s character (morals/virtues), rather than following a set of rules. If people focused on being good people then maybe the right actions will follow. Virtue is a skill that cannot be taught, it’s a way of living that can only really be learned through experience. Aristotle stated that, “a virtuous person can be seen as someone who has ideal character traits”. It requires a person to seek the ultimate good according to their moral virtues. I use this ethical system all the time because of how I was raised and it defines the type of person I am. The outcome and motive is
Roger Williams started his teachings in England and took the journey to Boston, Massachusetts to cut ties with the church of England. He thought that
What is ethics? Ethics are the philosophical principles of good verses bad moral behavior. It is a guideline to help people make decisions or make a judgment calls. There are two main types of ethical principles that will be discussed in this paper, and how they are applied to the decision making process. They are Deontological and Utilitarian. Deontological ethics are based on the righteousness or wrongness of the action-taking place. It does not base itself on the bad or good consequences that come from the action. Immanuel Kant introduced deontological ethics in the 18th century. Kant believed that every decision or action made by a person had to be evaluated by his or her moral duty. He stated that humanity shouldn’t side on its
Human beings are confronted with numerous issues throughout his or her lifetime that would require him or her to examine the best action to take to avoid the damaging consequences. In most cases, individuals restrain his or her action to take into consideration the consequences that may lead to the right or wrong behavior. One’s ethical and moral standards are first learned at an early age from his or her culture, how he or she is raised, religious background, and social system. Scientifically, there are various ethical theories, such as the virtue theory, deontological ethics, and utilitarianism (Boylan, 2009). By understanding these theories one can compare, contrast and uncover the reasoning behind his or her ethical and moral standards.
The ethical system that I propose has the goal of what is ultimately good for human beings. The ultimate good of human beings lie in going beyond their individual needs because instinctually animals strive to fulfill their individual bio-organic ne...
Every human being carries with them a moral code of some kind. For some people it is a way of life, and they consult with their code before making any moral decision. However, for many their personal moral code is either undefined or unclear. Perhaps these people have a code of their own that they abide to, yet fail to recognize that it exists. What I hope to uncover with this paper is my moral theory, and how I apply it in my everyday life. What one does and what one wants to do are often not compatible. Doing what one wants to do would usually bring immediate happiness, but it may not benefit one in the long run. On the other hand, doing what one should do may cause immediate unhappiness, even if it is good for oneself. The whole purpose of morality is to do the right thing just for the sake of it. On my first paper, I did not know what moral theories where; now that I know I can say that these moral theories go in accordance with my moral code. These theories are utilitarianism, natural law theory, and kantianism.
The term “ethics” discusses how one’s morality needs to take acknowledge that of the rest of the members of the group or community t...
I would define the term ethics as moral principles of right and wrong. I believe my religion and spirituality have a lot to do with what I view as right or wrong, or as ethical. Also, my religion is Catholic Christian and I strongly believe in God, so when I am faced with an ethical issue I often times think of what God would view as the right thing to do. For example, I believe in the Ten Commandments, and I believe it is wrong to act in ways against these commandments. “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, and you shall not steal.” These are commandments numbers six through eight and I believe they are ethical and the right thing to do. This often influences my decisions, and makes me want to do better.
As we all know, colonist explored and came to America with the hope for a new beginning. Among their many goals perhaps their search for religious freedom was the most influential and morally sound reason to come to this new land. On account of England pulling away from the Roman Catholic Church and creating their own religion, The Church of England was established in the 1500s. As this new church started, many did not accept it including the Puritans and Pilgrims who fled to America because they were being persecuted. For a time, Massachusetts Bay Colony was a religious haven. However, after time intolerance and discrimination occurred which caused Roger Williams, a political and re...