Ethics Theory and Practice - Essay Example

RUNNING HEAD: PORTFOLIO - ETHICS THEORY AND PRACTICE ETHICS THEORY AND PRACTICE CHAD BROCKMAN MAMIE BORCHERT UNIVERSITY NAME: DATE: 25-JUL-2010 Reading, Writing and Thinking Skills This course has helped in the areas of reading, writing and thinking in more ways than one. When I first started on the course, I was a bit hesitant as to the direction and overall sense of purpose that the course had for me and my development as an individual. However, as the course progressed, I realized that taking the course was indeed helpful for my development as an individual. In the succeeding paragraphs, I detail some of the ways in which the course helped me develop my critical reading, writing and thinking skills. I start with the thinking skills first. Thinking Skills To say that this course helped me crystallize many of my thoughts and feelings would be an understatement. The paragraphs that follow would detail the ways in which I developed my thoughts and learnt to form them into coherent arguments reflecting some beliefs that are close to my heart. Euthanasia and Will’s Right to Die As is evident from the classroom discussions t as well as the online exchanges that I had with my peers, this course helped me reframe some of my core beliefs and attitudes towards Euthanasia and the right to die. This is one issue on which I have firm beliefs and as people who know me well would attest, I firmly believe that we as individuals have a right to die when “the time is up”. Towards this end, I practice what I preach as is evident from the fact that I have made my will and want to go without “no tube for eating” and “no support”. This is what I am and what I will be. The reason that I mentioned about making a will was that for many people, the controversy surrounding Euthanasia is primarily due to the fact that there might be malicious intentions in letting people decide on whether they want to live or not because their near and dear ones would be awaiting the gains from that person’s will. This would not be the case with me and I have already made arrangements in terms of drawing up the will as I have explained above. The following exchange between me and the professor illustrates my responses to the issue of Euthanasia. Mamie Borchert 29 Jun 10 5:24 AM MST When a person carries out an act of euthanasia, he brings about the death of another person because he believes the latters present existence is so bad that she would be better off dead, or believes that unless he intervenes and ends her life, it will become so bad that she would be better off dead. The motive of the person who commits an act of euthanasia is to benefit the one whose death is brought about. (Though what was just said also holds for many instances of physician-assisted suicide, some wish to restrict the use of the latter term to forms of assistance which stop short of the physician ‘bringing about the death’ of the patient, such as those involving mechanical means that have to be activated by the patient.) A Moral Case for Voluntary Euthanasia The central ethical argument for voluntary euthanasia, that respect for persons demands respect for their autonomous choices as long as those choices do not result in harm to others. People have an interest in making important decisions about their lives in accordance with their own conception of how they want their lives to go. In exercising autonomy or self-determination, people take responsibility for their lives; since dying is a part of life, choices about the manner of their dying and the timing of their death are part of what is involved in taking responsibility for their lives. Many people are concerned about what the last phase of their lives will be like, not merely because of fears that their dying might involve them in great suffering, but also because of the desire to retain their dignity and as much control over their lives as possible during this phase. Respond Chad Brockman 2 Jul 10 8:12 PM MST Mamie, I think you put your finger on a really important general fact about ethics that this issue really brings out. It is possible to want someone to die, or to want to die yourself, for two seemingly opposite motives: first, you might want them to die because you dont care about them and want them dead; second, you might want them to die because you care deeply about them and cant stand to see them suffering. About the personal stuff: I sincerely hope youre getting good care. Abortion The issue of Abortion stirred up a lively debate between the professor and me. I took the position that just as we fought for our freedom, freedom from slavery and fighting wars on the behalf of other countries in order to secure their freedom, we need to fight for the freedom of women to have “right over their own bodies”. The point that I was making here is that women should have rights about their reproduction just as we have basic inalienable rights. Hence, the right of a woman to bear children or not to bear children must be left to her without interference from the state. I qualified my assertion with the rider, that fetuses more than three months old should not be aborted. This point of mine about fetuses elicited a reaction from the professor who felt that the issue of fetuses and their awareness is a bit complex and though I did not seem to have put forward an argument; nonetheless the point was made a bit strongly. Reading and Writing Skills This course certainly helped me in polishing my writing skills. The exchanges between me and my peers as well as with the professor sharpened my ability to write in a lucid and concise manner without verbiage and to the point. As the course progressed, I came to understand that writing is an extension of thinking and the act of writing is akin to putting our “finished” thoughts on paper. Towards this end, I benefited from the exchanges between my peers and me as well as with the professor. As the course progressed I read a lot about the various issues that were being discussed in the class and gained an understanding on where I stood vis-à-vis the issues when compared to the stance taken by the authors of the books. An important part of the reading was the realization that I need to be studied in my response as opposed to an emotional response in my interactions with my peers and teachers. The reason for this realization was the dry and academic tone of the articles and books that I read when contrasted with the often impulsive personal reactions that I have with regards to certain issues. The point I’m trying to make is though I don’t get worked up over issues, I certainly can take a considered stand and be more measured in my response. Concepts Learnt and Ethical Theories studied As part of the course, we studied Kantian theories of Ethics and Morality as well as Kantian notions of autonomy. In the paragraphs below, I present my understanding of the ethical theories and concepts and include a discussion on my perspective of the same. Kantian Notions of Morality Immanuel Kant was a German idealist who was one of the leading thinkers of the Enlightenment era. His “Groundwork on the Metaphysics of the Morals” is a seminal work that explores the first principles for morals and the binding causes for the same. He poses a question regarding why we should be moral and relies on concepts of morality, duty and good will to answer the same. Good will is the desire to do the “right thing” irrespective of consequences. It is also to do one’s duty according to reason and to respect the moral law. According to Kant, “is good only through its willing, i.e., it is good in itself”. Thus, it is independent of the circumstances and “what affects or accomplishes”. Being virtuous does not guarantee good will since Kant does not attribute virtue to the notion of good will. Kant is very clear on why we should do the “right thing”. An action in itself is not means to an end by an end in itself. It is the outcome of reasoned thinking and any action thus undertaken from a point of “duty” and “morality” is necessarily the right thing to do. We do our duty not because of any conditional attachment but it is because we are rational creatures. In the Kantian scheme of things, the separation between Man and Animals is very clear. We have the capacity to reason and have a logical mind that is capable of evaluating alternatives. Thus, we should act in such a manner that promotes the “good will” as an end in itself and not to derive secondary benefits like happiness and pleasure. Thus, we should act in accordance with the law not because we would be punished for breaking the law, but in the sense of obeying the law as follows from our reasoned impulses. Kant and Autonomy Kantian notions of autonomy which include references to developing a sense of autonomy and purpose in life achieved through freeing one’s minds of immaturity have spawned a whole host of questions regarding the utility of education and the role of parents and society in the upbringing of children. Immanuel Kant was one of the leading thinkers of the so-called Enlightenment Era and his ideas regarding humans and our role in society have contributed significantly to our understanding of our place in the world. The emphasis of the Kantian thought process was to inculcate a spirit of inquiry and a process of freeing people from the bondages of immaturity and lead them to a situation where they would be able to think for themselves in a spirit of questioning and dialectic that truly enlightens the people. The point here is that the notion of autonomy is context dependant and cannot be the same in all environments and contexts. When one talks about autonomy in the general sense, one gets a feeling that it means complete independence from the environment. However, the fact that there exist mutual dependencies between humans and the environments that they inhabit runs counter to a superficial reading of what Kant meant or what Wring talked about. A more nuanced understanding would lead us to the conclusion that what they mean is that after considering various strands of thought, the dominant theme that arises from this “jungle of opinions” should be a measure of a person and must be as specific as possible correlating to the self conception that the person has as well as resonating with the idea of the unique personalities that we inhabit. Business and Media Ethics The sections above concentrated on a discussion of ethical theories that we studied as part of our course. Applying them to the discussion on Business and Media ethics that we had, we can arrive at an understanding of the relevance of Kant to the present era as well as some areas in which Kantian thought can be improved upon to reflect the necessities of the modern era. As I have pointed out elsewhere, the discussion on morality and ethics is somewhat context dependant and hence the issue of decision making is similarly “contained” within the superstructure of the principles of universality, humanity and autonomy. Hence, any discussion of Kant’s relevance to the decision making process in the modern world must be alongside the contingencies and exigencies of the situation that necessitate the decision. Hence, when one has to make ethical decisions in business, one needs to consider these aspects in the same way that one considers the consequences of such decisions. This fits in with my stand on moral relativity in our personal spheres as opposed to moral absolutism in the Kantian scheme of things. Connecting Course Material to Real Life Situations As I mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, this course helped me crystallize my thoughts around what it means to be an individual in the times that we are living in. For instance, my passionate defense of moral relativism did not endear me to the professor who did not see the distinction between “what is ought to be done” from an absolute point of view versus “what should be done” according to the dictates of the conscience that is a factor of the circumstances surrounding the action. In my view, there are no moral absolutes in the world as far as actions by people are concerned. Yes! I do accept that there are moral absolutes in the physical universe as in a Rock falling to the ground no matter the time and place where such action takes place. However, it is my belief that in the moral universe that we inhabit, there are no absolutes and there is only a relativistic mode of action. This position of mine is something that fits in well within the current framework in our society and contemporary life as there is lot of relativistic thinking about ethics that is going on. However, after the discussion on relativism, I modified my stance a bit by pointing that Kant’s Categorical Imperative must be the guiding principle for us and hence this should not be confused with a relative approach towards Ethics. Since the current societal conditions are such that there are instances of unethical behavior at all levels, it is indeed the case that moral relativism must be qualified when one talks about such instances. To put it in one sentence, I feel that “morality” and “ethics” must be separate from each other and as I mentioned above, one needs to qualify the assertions about Kantian notions of morality in the current world that we live in. Personally, I feel that being ethical in the Kantian sense would be a better way to lead one’s life as opposed to being moral in the Kantian scheme of things. This is not to say that morals do not have a place in contemporary society. On the other hand, morals are needed as long as they do not arise out of feelings of moral righteousness and religiosity. This is consistent with my stand on religion and the people who purport to speak on behalf of religion. On the issue of environmental ethics, I do feel the need to confront the issue of climate change and get to the bottom of the issue. Similar to my stance on abortion, this is one issue on which I feel strongly and hence realize that we need to debate the issue without acrimony and intolerance. Another area where this course helped me better understand contemporary society was in the issue of Abortion. Since I work a lot with teenage girls, some of whom chose to abort their fetuses, this is one area that I get worked up about. As happened in the other discussions, my stance on abortion was somewhat controversial as far as the class discussions were concerned. This led to some interesting exchanges between the professor and me as well as with my peers. As I have stressed throughout this portfolio paper, this course helped me put things in perspective. The above paragraphs explained how I could arrive at an understanding of the various issues that were detailed there. Further, the lively exchanges between my peers and me and between the professor and me helped me to frame the issues from the perspective of the “other”. I believe that seeking the viewpoint of another person is important in order to respect the multiplicity of the opinions. Though one might disagree with the other person’s opinion, a healthy exchange of ideas is very much needed particularly in these times when the public discourse is marked by acrimony and bitterness. The record of my exchanges reflects the frequent disagreements and difference in viewpoints between me and the others. However, I am happy that the exchanges also reflected the necessity to be polite and accommodative when it pertains to group exchanges. When I read the news about the happenings in this country and the world, I am often struck by how much intolerance there is about the viewpoints of the others. Hence, my harping on my exchanges during the course is meant to show how much I appreciate the cooperation of my peers and my professor in facilitating a lively debate about the various issues. Read More