Ethical story around us - Essay Example

8 February, How I gained the sense of ethics: I believe that a sense of ethics is ingrained in the human psychology by nature. One does not have to struggle to know what is right and what is wrong. It just feels so. Humans are able to feel what is right and what is not right. In fact, out emotions are naturally linked with the sense of ethics. When we do something right, a feeling of satisfaction arises from within ourselves. Our conscience tells us that we were right in a certain act. We may not consciously realize it, but the feeling of contentment is there in our subconscious.

We clearly know in what potential ways our act would have benefited others, and made a positive contribution to the environment, thus promoting ethics. Likewise, when we do something wrong, we know it. This knowledge may not necessarily come from any education, training, coaching or spiritual lectures from our elders, parents or mentors. Instead, the knowledge is within ourselves. When something is wrong, we just feel it to be wrong. Our sins generate negative impulses that we subconsciously detect.

That is why, sins never offer us an ultimate feeling of contentment. The temporal pacification wears off soon as we are done with the sin, and grief dominates in our mood after a sinful deed. It is common for a hardworking student to be irritated by another who cheats in an exam. Why is this so? This is because the former knows who hard it had been for him/her to prepare for the exam and reach a certain goal, that the latter would do without putting in any effort. The hard work generates impulses in the hardworking student and he/she knows it is unethical to cheat.

On the other hand, the cheater also knows that it is wrong to cheat because it requires him/her to go against the rules. However, the education we receive plays a big role in shaping our responses towards right or wrongful actions. We absorb learning our surroundings as we grow (Alois). Although, I always knew cheating was wrong. But my conception gained strength only when my father clearly forbade me never to cheat in the exam. I always knew it was wrong to lie, but I believed it when my mother told me never to lie.

I always felt sympathy for the diseased, but I knew it was noble to feel sympathy when my parents told me to be hospitable and caring to the diseased. In addition to the upbringing, religion offers a very strong sense of and belief in ethics to the followers. Religious teachings fundamentally revolve around how to live ethically in the world, and religion happens to be the base upon which we shape our conceptions, beliefs and ideas. Even what our parents teach us accords with the teachings of religion.

Therefore, I believe that the sense of ethics is a fundamental part of human consciousness and psychology. It is the very scale that God measures our actions on. However, nature together with nurture decides human responses and regard / disregard for ethics. Works cited: Alois, Jane. “Teaching children ethics”. 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. .