ETHICS Shawnna Burchfield HU245-02

Table of Contents Analytical Skill Building  Critical Reading Skills  Writing Skills  Thinking Skills Knowledge Acquisition Concept – Basic Principles 1) The Value of Life Principle 2) The Principle of Goodness or Rightness 3) The Principle of Justice or Fairness 4) The Principle of Truth Telling or Honesty 5) The Principle of Individual Freedom Practical Application  Connection with Society  Connection with my life

Analytical Skill Building

Critical Reading Skills I took the following steps to improve my reading skills  Read closely and carefully  by allowing myself more time to complete the weekly readings I was able to focus on the material.  Posed questions  by jotting down questions that entered my mind while reading I was able to find clarification amongst the reading thus understanding the material  Took notes  by highlighting key points through note taking I was able to quickly review the material to ensure that I understood the content

Writing Skills I took the following steps to improve my writing skills  Introduced the topic  Focused on main points to be addressed This is where I drew the reader in and introduce my positioning. For example, “Abortion involves the conflict of the Value of Life principle and the Principle of Individual Freedom. The definition of the Principle of Individual Freedom states that individuals ought to be free to pursue their own values and morality if it does not seriously conflict with or violate the other four basic moral principles. These principles include Value of Life, Goodness, Justice, and Truth Telling or Honesty. Therefore, it appears that having an abortion violates the Value of Life principle.”  Explained the supporting ideas to support my position and provided a conclusion  Stuck to the Facts It is easy to write your opinion solely but including the other sides opinion to make your point is critical. In order to successfully persuade the other side you have to stick to the facts and not allow your opinion to cloud your judgment.

Thinking Skills I took the following steps to improve my thinking skills  Compared what I have read or heard with other sources I found that my opinion differed greatly from what was covered in the text. Therefore, I did additional research to help determine my position. In some cases I have changed my position while others remained the same.  Distinguished fact from mere opinion. This allowed me to understand each position clearly while determining what position I supported.  Do not jump to conclusions It is easy to jump to conclusions without thinking things through. Often we are raised to believe certain things to be true. However, unless we question those beliefs we do not know what is true or not. Therefore, even though I had a general opinion I was open minded, which allowed me the chance to change my positioning.

Knowledge Acquisition

Concept – Basic Principles ( 1 of 5 ) There are five basic principles: 1)The Value of Life Principle This principle was a hard topic for me to understand. I am a Christian and have been taught to believe that God decides when we live or die. Therefore, learning all the different view points was hard to take in. For example, the topic of abortion. This was a no brainer for me that abortion is both unethical and immoral. That is until I began to hear the other side of the story. I am not saying that my opinion has changed. However, I have learned that it is not as simple as I once thought. There are many factors that play into ones reasoning for given life or taking life. Without a clear understanding of the situation it is hard to justify if it is ethical or unethical.

Concept – Basic Principles ( 2 of 5 ) 2)The Principle of Goodness or Rightness This principle was easy to understand. Basically it states that there are three things that humans need to do in order to be moral people. The first is to promote goodness which means to do good at all times. However, sometimes as humans we are unable to do good in all situations. The second is to cause no harm. This one is also hard to do in some situations. For example, if someone is physically trying to hurt me I need to defend myself. This may cause harm unto the individual that is causing harm to me. The third is prevent badness. Ultimately, humans fall short of abiding to these principles but that does not make them immoral. Therefore, as long as we do our best to do good and bring about no harm I believe we are being moral.

Concept – Basic Principles ( 3 of 5 ) 3)The Principle of Justice or Fairness Simply put humans should treat other humans fairly and justly. When I think of this principle the Golden Rule pops into my mind “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. This is a tough topic especially when dealing with capital punishment. For example, in our unit four discussion board we were asked, if you had a loved one who was murdered, would you want to have the option of capital punishment for the convicted murderer? My answer may have surprised others but I answered that I would not want the option of capital punishment. My reasoning is simply that if I were in their shoes I would want mercy shown upon me. Therefore, allowing the murderer life in prison is justice enough for me and it is fair toward the murder. However, some may question where the justice is for the loved one that died. My answer is that we do not have the right as humans to convict or judge others but we can have show mercy and offer forgiveness.

Concept – Basic Principles ( 4 of 5 ) 4)The Principle of Truth Telling or Honesty Humans enter into agreements based on truth and honesty. However, not all humans are honest and take advantage of those who are. Therefore, we need to focus once again on the Golden Rule. For example, if you want to be told the truth than you yourself should tell the truth. Another phase I think of is “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. Meaning if someone lies to me I should not turn around and lie to them. If I result to lying I myself am no better than the one who lied to me. However, if I do not lie and tell the truth I am setting an example for the person who lied to me. Truth telling is an absolute necessary because all human relationships are based upon communication and if the relationship is based on a lie there ultimately is not a true relationship.

Concept – Basic Principles ( 5 of 5 ) 5)The Principle of Individual Freedom Once again this is a tough principle for me. As a Christian I believe that there are some- things that should not be allowed. Individual Freedom conflicts with this positioning stating that humans have equal rights until proven otherwise. This goes back to the touchy topic of abortion. Some say it is the mothers right to abort the fetus because it is her individual right. However, is it not the right of the fetus to have a chance at life? Therefore, there is no right or wrong answer in my opinion. Basically it comes down to the individual circumstances that surround the situation. However, I believe that if at all possible the individual should choose to give life.

Practical Application

Connection to Society Ultimately this course does a great job of explaining how society struggles with what it considers ethical and moral behavior. Often as humans we fail to understand that not everyone believes or acts the same way. Therefore, having a better understanding of both sides of any moral issue is critical. This course is an eye opener for those who are closed minded. Learning why others agree or disagree with each topic is interesting. I believe that we often jump to conclusions without seeing the whole picture. We are taught how to think and feel from the moment of our birth and without additional education and research we do not question our positioning until challenged. I believe that we all need to step back and re-question what we consider ethical. Furthermore, continuing to educate ourselves is the only way to help reduce conflicts and increase resolutions.

Connection with My Life This course has brought to my attention many different view points of what humanity considers ethical and unethical behavior. I have to admit that I ended up changing my own way of thinking on some of the issues. For example, I am open minded to one’s right to have an abortion. Before this course I would have said that abortion was one hundred percent unethical. However, now after hearing both sides I am not sure. Until I am in the other person’s predicament I feel I do not have the right to say that if it is wrong or not. In addition, I am now able to have an open mind about similar issues like war, capital punishment, and mercy killings. Before this course I only had my families views and beliefs about what is ethical and moral behavior. Thankfully, my beliefs are similar to many of the topics discussed in this course.