Ben Ceci – Ethics – Module 3

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

I think that it is more important to be a good person because most people typically think before they act. Good people usually have positive thoughts and are often genuine and kind and therefore, they perform good acts because it is a part of who they are. The way that I look at it is that the main difference between a good person and a person who performs good acts is that a good person has a foundation. Being a good person is all that they know. If you simply perform good acts but are not a good person, you might get upset if those same kind acts are not reciprocated. I also think that people can tell whether your heart is into it or not when you perform acts of kindness. If you are a bad person doing good things, I don’t think that your good actions are as effective. A good person does the little things that make a difference more than any one action can and for that reason, I think that being a good person and having that foundation is more important than simply performing good acts.

  1. Does the process by which decisions are made matter more than the outcomes of these decisions (procedural justice vs. distributive justice)?

As a person who is very close with my family and close friends, this question is one of the tougher questions that I have ever had to answer. Being raised and taught to be a loyal person, I think that the process by which decisions are made matter more than the outcomes of the decisions. I believe that the most important things in life are not things, but rather people and the relationships that you have with them. There will almost always be another opportunity that comes your way, but if you try to screw somebody over or put yourself and your wants before the needs of somebody else, that can sever relationships forever. I believe that you have to see things in the big picture and examine the outcomes of the result of the decision and go from there. I am also a big believer in karma and that if you act as a good person and try to do something good for somebody else, people will remember that and in the future, they will return the favor, whether the desired outcome is reached or not. I believe that people knowing what you did for them can go a long way and that as a good person, you should try to do the right thing and make the best decision that you can.

  1. Do the pleasure and pain of non-human animals matter as much as the pleasure and pain of humans (speciesism)?

As a landscape architecture student, I have studied ecology and the effects that humans have on animals. The professors put a lot of emphasis on designing in sustainable ways that can both accommodate humans and animals. Before I studied landscape architecture, my point of view was that animals take resources from us as well, and it is just a dog eat dog world, with an everyman for themselves kind of mentality, as far as animals go. However, learning how much we have evolved as a species and how humans are tool makers really changed my perspective on that. The idea of sustainable development has taught me a lot about being less selfish in the design process. Being that we are tool makers, we have destroyed many animals’ habitats, separating families, and leaving some animals without a home / more susceptible to predators. I think that because we have the power to do these things, we have to be responsible and realize that we share the earth with these animals and treat them no differently than humans. We take care of our pets like they are members of our own family, and we must treat these animals the same way. This includes slaughtering animals and using them for food. Humans do not need animal products to survive and we should really think twice before consuming them.