Module 3 Ethics: Molly M.

1.Is it more important to be a good person or to perform good acts (virtue v. action ethics)?

I think that it is more important to perform good acts and the saying “actions speak louder than words” definitely applies here. For example, there is a difference between people who say they want to help with the drought in California compared to those people who actually do something about this problem. It’s important for an issue to be resolved through actions because it then shows you are a good person who wants to make a difference for the good of society. Just by saying that you think people should conserve water in different ways doesn’t help fix the problem even though it makes you a good person for expressing your beliefs. Actions show people you want to be a good person and have good ethics because people can clearly see you making a difference.

2.Do the ends justify the means (ends v. means ethics)?

I do believe the ends justify the means because for the most part, people’s resolution at the end is typically positive so causing some issues along the way to solve a problem isn’t a big deal. Positive goals do justify means at the end but it’s completely different for the few things that have a negative outcome because the means to get to it aren’t worth it in my opinion. For example, going to war is usually never a good mean to solve a problem in the end. It would make more sense to think of different ways to fix the problem rather than war because even if the outcome in the end solves your problem you still hurt a ton of people, possibly an economy somewhere, and many other things. I think it’s important for people to weigh the pros and cons of situations to see if it’s worth it in the end.

4.Do ecosystems matter for their own sake, or do they only matter to the extent that they impact humans (ecocentric v. anthropocentric ethics)?

I think that we know whatever effect we have on the environment, the environment affects us in a different way. Humans know that we can’t put too much strain on ecosystems so when we do put stress on the environment we will do something after to improve it again. For example, people cut down trees all the time to use for all different kinds of things but there are also a lot of companies that have programs saying for every product you buy of theirs that has used trees in the process, they will plant a new one in its place. This type of thinking allows us to do what’s best for society and use the environment at whatever expense we need but we also make changes to fix what we did or improve the environment in some other way.

2 thoughts on “Module 3 Ethics: Molly M.

  1. Hi my name is Ben Bishop! I am currently a freshman at University park studying biomedical engineering. i found your answer to question 1 very interesting. Although i did not write the same answer or necessarily agree, i completely see your side and think you did a great job! i would love it if you took a look at my post and told me how you felt about it! Thanks, Ben
    http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/03/module-3-ethics-9/

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