Module 3 – Ethics

Posted on by
  1. Is it more important to be a good person or to perform good acts (virtue ethics vs. action ethics)?
    1. It is, in my opinion, almost always better to perform good acts.  The reason I believe this is because no matter how good of a person someone is, that is almost all they are if they do not act.  I’m sure everyone, or almost everyone, has heard that actions speak louder than words.  To me, this quote is actually right on point and is by far the truest word to describe us beings known as humans.  Our actions all have a benefit, as well as a consequence.  Even in the best situations, something is sacrificed when we have to perform.  For instance, lets say that you are on your way to school, work, or an important meeting.  When you run into some trouble (ex. mugging, someone getting bullied, or any situation you believe you, yourself, would take action) and you are caught in a decision.  As long as you act, I believe you are indeed a good person.  The situation can end up from anywhere between good or bad, but to me the person who acts and does something about the situations will indeed be a great person.  Honestly, this questions compares two really similar aspects, which I believe should go hand in hand.  For instance, if you perform good acts you are a good person.  Of course, I also believe that depends on the situation as well.  Another scenario is the act of self-defense or even defending someone else.  Even though you had to retaliate with force, if it is to save either yourself or whoever is with you at that time you are still on the “good” side.  Remember actions speak louder than words.
  2. Do the ends justify the means (ends ethics vs. means ethics)?
    1. This is one of the question that I believe the answer lies somewhere in the middle.  Due to the nature of this question I thought about the extremes of each side.  For instance, I first thought about the ends.  Picture yourself on uncharted island with a couple of classmates.  Now you all must do anything, and I mean anything to survive.  Lets say you found a shack, it contained a bit of food, fresh water, and of course it was a shelter.  The ends I mentioned earlier, is the extreme of extremes.  The shelter has food that will last you for a little while, but only one person.  Of course this is your survival and say you kept everything a secret and hid everything from the others.  This by no means agreeable to me.  Two scenarios can play out: 1. They find the shack and trust turns to turmoil.  2. It turns dangerous and everyone is fighting for the food but eventually no one gets it because the whole shack is ransacked.  Now everything is gone and all are back to square one, but this time everyone has no trust in one another.  Moral of this scenario, in my opinion, is that one should not sacrifice the bonds they have built to meet the means, or goals, that you want to accomplish.  I believe that it is important to consider all possible outcomes of a situation, assignment, whatever it is and find a suitable way to get to the end.  No matter how extreme of one end of the spectrum you reach, it will probably never satisfy you.  Come to the middle ground and then decide the best “route” to take.  That is my opinion of this question.
  3. Is my own life worth more than the lives of others, the same, or less (selfishness vs. altruism)?
    1. My honest opinion of the question, is that no life worth more than another.  So I believe that I fall under the category of thinking my life is worth the same as the lives of others.  Life is an important aspect that makes us who we are.  When that life comes to an end then that is it.  No future, no present, and no past.  Of course we have famous people in the world that are still remembered today even after thousands of years, but what of it?  Their legend ended and all that is left is their foot print in the vast amount of history of this world.  One can neither take a step forward, nor can the dead come back and give you push when you need one.  The life a person has is finite and can end at any moment.  But that does not mean that the older one lives, that their life is more valuable or even that if you had all the riches in the world, it would still end in a flash if it so chooses.  Humans, no life is very fragile existence that one should treasure.  Spend it pursuing what you want and struggle to achieve those dreams.  Never belittle yourself nor belittle the lives of other, life is indeed precious and everyone should treasure it.  We all live on this planet and we will all be buried (unless we colonize space) on this plant.  No one’s value is worth more than yours and no one’s value is worth less.  Of course I believe every human has at least a bit of selfishness in their hearts, but that is natural and still perfectly fine.  Just do not ever think one person is higher than another, nor think they are lower than another.  That is my opinion.

3 thoughts on “Module 3 – Ethics”

  1. Hi my name is Jacqueline and here’s a link to my post,
    https://wp.me/p3RCAy-bkg

    Your blog entry caught my attention with your answer to the second question. In my entry I also responded to this question and I completely agree with what you said. You gave an extreme example of a scenario which I thought was a really great idea to prove your point that it really does matter in a situation by situation basis if the ends really do justify the means. I think that what you said about how people should not sacrifice the bonds they have with one another just to get to their “ends”.

  3. Hi, my name is Sarah, and here’s a link to my blog post:
    https://sites.psu.edu/geog30/wp-admin/post.php?post=43448&action=edit
    I agree with your first questions pretty much entirely. I even used the same quote in my post that “actions speak louder than words.” I said in my post that if people talk, and talk, and talk about what they are going to do but never do it, how can you even know that they’re a good person? I like how you gave an example to put the reader in the situation. It made me think about what I would do; would I act? I like that you said “the person who acts and does something about the situations will indeed be a great person.” To me, good actions make good people as well.

Leave a Reply