Reflective Writing Assignment
Over the course of the semester, I was exposed to a variety of ethics and schools of thought. This has opened me up to more of the world than I thought there was and I will in the following reflection go over some of the ideals I found exciting and what I have taken to understand from these perspectives.
Consequentialism
The Ideals of “The good of us all.” and “The needs of the meany ought to weigh the needs of the few.” fit into this category like a fish to water. Consequentialism is all about the consequences of actions and has a very close history with utilitarian ideals. Consequentialism often seems to be the thoughts of movie villains or video games. They are there to save a larger group of people than the protagonist is a part of. A popular way of thinking with this mindset would be the infamous Trolly problem. Sacrificing one or two people to the spinning wheels of death versus five or twenty, without concern about who it is exactly is getting crushed.
Learning about this thought pattern has led to a deeper understanding and can empathize that it would be more beneficial to save more people from a numbers perspective if possible. To sacrifice oneself to save others was already something I believed but to understand it is the right thing to do has enlightened me. My takeaway from this is that the need of the many does indeed outweigh the needs of the few, in all cases as long as the reason is worth it in the long run.
Contractarianism
Thomas Hobbs’s way of thinking with this thought pattern is interesting in my opinion. He claimed there is no natural law and no true morality only the rules that we make up for morality are those we all agree on in this, I agree. Cybercrime is only a crime because we deem it to be so. Murder is murder no matter the context is another law we believe. In a “Social contract”, as Thomas originally put it, we live under rules that govern our own morality and we reflect that same morality onto others and expect them to do the same.
Coming to understand this brand of thought and understanding, I realized it was true in all regards as the morality of the US doesn’t always match those found in other places like Iraq or Germany. That humanity doesn’t always share the same exact laws and way of thinking if there was a common law that we all followed there would be fewer conflicts. My veil of ignorance was torn down the middle. A perfect society or a utopia will never exist until we all come to an understanding, that will never happen. Equality is a far shot that we strive for and we would have to take drastic measures to even get close to achieving such a reality. So that the top and the bottom of society are the same will never happen so long as greed still exists. My takeaway from this is that we need to build a society where the lower classes are just as comfortable with how they are as the up and there will be room to move up. Laws are just promises that we try to keep in order to keep our society going.
Ethics of Care
To help or to run? The ethical thing to do with this thought pattern is to stop and help another person that is in need, no matter who they are. Justice is a thing that is often going hand and hand with this, as rescuing those who are in need from the cruel judgment of fate. The ethics of care also apply to relationships and empathizing with others. Someone who has just lost their mother would need comfort and understanding as they are morning. Ethics of care would dictate that you should check up on them and offer to help them with basic needs if they need it. In movies, this is also considered the right thing to do.
My takeaway from this is that we should always strive to do what is right for others, but understand that we as well need the same level of care of ethics applied to us and our own families. Don’t over give but doing just enough to get someone through a rough time is enough and something to stove for. Offer help if you can give it and don’t be afraid to ask for help if needed.
Case Analysis