Ethics Assignment Samson Wong March 27, 2010 What do you think is the best part about yourself?

If someone were to ask me this question, I would probably say that I tend to do the right thing, above all else. But how do I know what is classified right or wrong?

Lets start off with defining ethics. Personally, I would define ethics as ones perception of what is right and wrong, what is acceptable and not acceptable. (I wouldnt necessarily say ethics is what is right and wrong because the concept is so vague its undeterminable.) Everyone has their own set of beliefs, and in this case, different ways of thinking and principles to arrive at a decision. The way we perceive right and wrong is dependent on the schools of thought that we follow to choose our premises. As we should know, premises dictate not how we reason, but the conclusions that we come to.

Having said this, my actions are a result of what I find ethical. After taking a look at the different schools of thought, I realized that my statement of ethics is not confined specifically to one school; I can relate with the schools of ethical egoism, moral duty, deontology, and virtue ethics. I can understand the concept of utilitarianism, but I find it hard to agree with the school of ethical altruism.

Starting with the school that I find the most repulsive, the concept of altruism appears to be the workings of someone who clearly does not understand the human mind. Ethical altruism states that we place the best interests of others before ours. This is just silly

because our society is clearly focused on the individual. Some of us wont even open the door for another person. I would then go on to assume that the most common rebuttal would be love, in the sense that one can give anything if they love someone enough. But I would say that youre only doing it because you either want them to love you even more or you want them to stay in your life. Along with this, I am also unsure about utilitarianism because I dont think that as humans we think about the needs of others over our own. I would say that utilitarianism is best used when there are two options that involve an equal amount of benefit for me. In this case, I would then consider the needs of another person, though this is still flawed because in making someone else happy, I feel good about myself. I would also place moral perfectionism with utilitarianism because they hold similar concepts of unity and the idea of whats best for everyone.

For example, if I was deciding on whether to become a drug dealer or a doctor (assuming they both make the same amount of money), I would probably choose doctor because I know that I can help other people.

As to what guides me to acting the way I do, I would say that in different situations I may follow a different school of thought. I think the ideas of ethical egoism and virtue ethics have a similar goal in trying to obtain what is best for us, whereas deontology may be a factor in affecting our perception of moral duty (though I do understand that moral duty is more I just know its right).

As you can probably already tell, I am a big fan of ethical egoism were taught to be self sufficient and place your own interests before others. Even the saying save yourself before you save another preaches these ideas. My understanding of virtue ethics is acting to better your character. In a sense, couldnt that be placed under egoism because we do what can benefit us? What other reason do we have to better our character? A few weeks ago, I participated in a sandwich run, handing out sandwiches and socks to homeless people in downtown Toronto. I was helping people in need, but deep inside I know I was doing it because it makes me feel good and also gives me an opportunity to get some CAS hours. (That sounds so terrible) On the way, I may have been building traits such as generosity and kindness, but these traits I would use to my own advantage, not others.

The schools of moral duty and deontology are quite straightforward concepts, though they hardly explain why we feel something is right or wrong. Moral duty is the idea of acting because you just know that its right, while deontology is strictly following the rules. But why do we have these feelings and how do we determine the rules? How do we know if the rules are right? Oftentimes I dont even think about why rules are implemented. Its different for each culture, so I can say, to some extent, that I also follow post-modern relativism. Because these schools are so obvious, its hard to find an argument against it. For example, I strive for marks in my studies, but hardly would I even consider the possibility of cheating on a test. I think its wrong because I feel its my duty not to cheat because the rules tell me not to. I could even connect it to egoism, because I dont cheat so I dont get into trouble.

My statement of ethics can be summed up with the following: I do what I think is best for me, while also considering the rules and what I know is right and wrong.