Reflection on Ethical Identity
To the extent that they are different, morality is about pursuing goodness and ethics are concerned with acting in accordance with a particular set of standards. They often overlap, and my ethical standards align with a commitment to a consequentialism close to what Freeman, Engels, and Altekruse (2004) describe as “act utilitarianism” (p. 167). This means that my code of ethics is less a list-based, attainable, and largely restrictive (Prilleltensky, Rossiter, and Walsh-Bowers, 1996) understanding of morals and ethics. I need more than a gut feeling or a rule that somebody else put out there in order to make a decision; I need to start from a solid understanding of what “goodness” as a concept is about and work
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People care about morality for a variety of reasons; everyone who cares has a reason. Whether they 're motivated internally (e.g. concerns about eternal reward/punishment, personal development) or externally (e.g. making the world a better place), those of us who care about being good have something that we are working towards, even if it is practically unattainable. Even Kant (1785/1994) had his “kingdom of ends” (p. 39). And, for all the disagreements about whether specific things are good or bad, everyone seems to share an understanding about the general contours of goodness. There is something compelling about goodness, and we have a sense of goodness when things work for us. The inverse is true as well; we generally associate badness with things that don 't work for us and are repelled by it, unless we rationalize our discomfort away or exist with cognitive dissonance. Consequentialism takes these ideas and expands them, reminding us that we are social animals and not in this alone. Mixed with an understanding that the divergences in what satisfy people are real and legitimate, and you 're left with a broad commitment to be kind, and help people on their terms to the best of your ability. At the same time, however, it recognizes that the moral actor is embedded in that choice and that their systems of meaning factor into the ethical decision-making process, and encourages a certain level of self-awareness and …show more content…
Apathy may arise out of awareness of the overwhelming suffering that people seem to be faced with across the globe. If the goal is to tip the goodness/badness scales in favour of goodness, it can feel like a pointless effort, because one person can only do so much. That can be coupled with an understanding that people like us are inextricably implicated in and have benefited from the very machinery of misery that we find so daunting. This is something I still struggle with. I tell myself that I should just focus on my little corner of the world. Humility of that sort is an important feature of my consequentialism; I have to recognize that moral imperfection is an inevitable part of the human condition. As long as I am not turning away or making excuses for my choices, I can strive harder to do
Ethics is an entirely different entity than common sense and logic and will often lead to irrational choices made on what that ethical standard deems to be right or wrong. Possibly the best explanation is that ethics is formed from an individual's emotions and therefore everyone has their own unique variation on ethics such as the virtue approach or perhaps the utilitarian approach. Whatever the ethical code, it is developed in the mind through past experience to avoid guilt or other forms of mental anguish, so the best ethical code is a personalized
As Stephen J. Freeman explains, consequentialism is the belief that "actions and/or rules are right as long as they produce the most favorable consequences for those affected by the actions or rules" (Freeman 63). Consequentialists view the morality of a consequence in two aspects. One aspect is what is called ethical egoism. Ethical egoism is "the idea that morality is defined as acting in one's own interest and in such a way as to maximize the consequences of good over bad" (Freeman 49). In contrast to ethical egoism is utilitarianism. Utilitarianists view morality as when an action promotes the greatest balance of good over bad for all people. "Utilitarianism is a teleological, goal-directed theory emphasizing happiness as the end result of human action" (Freeman 49).
Consequentialism, which is a segment of the grander Value Theory, asserts that the rightness or wrongness of an action is a matter of measuring the outcome of the action itself. Moral decisions can then depend on the latent costs and/or benefits that result from doing the action. Utilitarianism, the most popular form of consequentialism, is in the same vein with regard to moral actions and their likely consequences. A utilitarian will attempt to question the results of an action as would a consequentialist, however they ask the additional question: “furthermore, how much pleasure (happiness) would be created by the action?” A utilitarian’s moral concentration is on maximizing pleasure, as the utilitarian maxim affirms that one should act always as to maximize total pleasure. Maximizing total pleasure, a utilitarian believes, is equivalent to minimizing total pain, and this forms the basis for morality.
Ethics: while defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the discipline dealing with what is good or bad [through] moral duty”, this concise phrase does not seem to encompass the word’s full connotation. The way ‘ethics’ is defined in the dictionary alludes that there is a black-and-white answer to whether an action, belief, or opinion is ethical. Unfortunately, when applying this term to real life, decisions are almost never as clear cut as right or wrong. Why then, are we so quick to judge things as right or wrong, good or bad, ethical or unethical?
"According to Norman E. Bowie, "Ethics is two things. First, ethics refers to well based standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually In terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fr...
When thinking about Identity, it might be easy to just say that is “who we are”, or it’s just me. An identity is much more than that though. I like to think of it as a living puzzle. There are hundreds or thousands of pieces that come together to form the complete identity, or the complete “you”. I say living because an identity grows throughout the years and even changes depending on the situation. There is a multitude of influences that goes into forming a person’s identity some of which a person chooses and others they don’t. Family members and guardians are a primary source of learning when a child is young. As a person grows, the sphere of influence broadens to include mentors, media, and school. This identity is then a lens through which
Ethics are the set beliefs and values of an individual which they apply to circumstances relating to morality. To act in an ‘ethical’ manner, an individual must display integrity by doing what they believe to be right.
The concept of identity and social locations according to Kirk & Okazawa-Rey's Identities and Social Locations: Who Am I? Who are My People? is that Our identity is a specific marker of how we define ourselves at any particular moment in life. Identity formation is the result of a complex interplay among individual decisions and choices, particular life events, community recognition and expectations, and social categorization, classification, and socialization. (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey). The point where all the features embodied in a person overlap is called social location. Social location is a way of expressing the core of a person’s existence in the social and political world. (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey). With identity, it may seem tangible and fixed at any given
Ethics are moral principles that can be used to help guide peoples decisions. We are all different and therefore our beliefs and opinions differ. There are many ethical theories, and according to Panza and Potthast (n.d.) the following are some that are widely used. Virtue ethics is one theory which states that personality is the most important thing. Living an ethical life, acting right, requires that one develops and demonstrates the quality of courage, compassion, wisdom, and temperance. It also requires that greed, jealousy, and selfishness is avoided. Utilitarianism states that the amount of happiness and suffering created by a person’s actions is what matters the most. As a result, acting rightly includes maximizing the amount of happiness and minimizing the amount of suffering around you. At times you may need to break some of the traditional moral rules to achieve such an outcome. Kantianism is another theory which highlights the principles behind actions rather than an actions results. It states that it requires to be motivated by good principles that treats everyone with respect. If you’re motivated by good principles, you overcome your animal instinct and act ethically. Another ethical theory is the Contract theory, which suggest that ethics should be thought of as terms of agreements between people. It suggests that doing the right thing means obeying agreements set by members rather than those of society. For this theory ethics isn’t necessarily about character, consequences, or principles. The last theory I’m going to mention is Care ethics. Care ethics focuses on ethical attention on relationships before other factors. As a result, acting rightly involves building, strengthening, and maintaining strong relationship...
First, a cause of apathy is people wanting to fit in around others, so they will do anything they expect will cause them to look favorable to others. People worry about what others think about them and do not want to be laughed at. Therefore, some people have a selfish desire to fit in which dominates over their sense of morality and civic
Zora Neal Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, reveals one of life’s most relevant purposes that stretches across cultures and relates to every aspect of enlightenment. The novel examines the life of the strong-willed Janie Crawford, as she goes down the path of self-discovery by way of her past relationships. Ideas regarding the path of liberation date all the way back to the teachings of Siddhartha. Yet, its concept is still recycled in the twenty-first century, as it inspires all humanity to look beyond the “horizon,” as Janie explains. Self-identification, or self-fulfillment, is a theme that persists throughout the book, remaining a quest for Janie Crawford to discover, from the time she begins to tell the story to her best friend, Pheoby Watson. Hurston makes a point at the beginning of the novel to separate the male and female identities from one another. This is important for the reader to note. The theme for identity, as it relates to Janie, carefully unfolds as the story goes on to expand the depths of the female interior.
Everyone is prejudice in some way or another. From a young age individuals observe, or are taught discrimination against others. Whether it is because of religion, sexuality, race, gender, personality, or just someone’s way of life, everyone is biased. In many ways, who we are today, is influenced by our race, ethnicity, and culture, and overall our individual identities. Every experience, positive or negative, has an impact on how we react to something in the future. Decisions others make, can impact the way we interact with others, our personal beliefs, and all together our life experiences. Along our path of life, we meet people with different goals and circumstances they’ve encountered which make them who they are and why they do certain things a certain way. But our experiences
When asked what is the definition of ethics, many responded that being moral meant doing the right thing. But how can we justify what is a good action and what is a bad action? All humans were created equal, but our principles, and ways of thinking can be extremely different. Some may say doing the right thing means following your heart, your inner feelings and intuition. But emotions can be misleading. Others say in order to do what is the morally right thing means to follow the law and do what is right by society, to be accepted. But today’s society is judgmental and can be corrupted with numerous opinions due to the diversity of cultures. So what does it mean to be ethical? Being ethical means doing what is right in terms of virtues, fairness, duties, responsibilities, obligations, and moral believes all which derived from cultures and family backgrounds.
Identities are like fingerprints, everyone has their own individual and unique characteristics. Where a person may leave their fingerprints in history is up to them. Identity is a person’s own sense of self, and who they are. Everyday a person carries around his/her identity and it effects how they act, the way they think, and how they interact with other people. Therefore, identity isn’t something that is tangible, you can’t carry it in your hands, but instead it is internal, what is inside of you, and your thoughts. Identity is essentially something that is central, but can be represented in other physical forms. Such as through art work or through diction. How a person may choose to reveal their identity will affect how the society around
Many basic morals are held with a punishment/law that dictates that we must follow it or suffer the consequences, because of this many people follow those rules so that they do not have to experience the inconvenience. Others are moral so that they can obtain rewards and serve their own needs. Some do so to obtain the respect and approval of their peers for “doing the right thing”. This helps preserve strong relationships with others as they see they can trust you to make the moral choice if something concerning them was placed into your hands. Vice-versa if they see that you do not maintain a moral standpoint then they may be less likely to trust you or aid you in the future. If they are grateful, or indebted to you for your good deeds they are more likely to help you in your own endeavors.