My stagnant ethics are pretty basic. Don't intentionally hurt people. Don't waste. These are things that my parents have taught me since birth. However, much of my ethical system is dependent purely on given circumstances. Don't steal-unless you're going to starve to death if you don't take that loaf of bread. Don't lie-unless the truth is devastating, and even then, there are degrees of deception. Knowing what is acceptable is learned through experience and observation. It is simply processing data and analyzing it to find the most ethical and most effective solution. Ethics are simply a 3-dimensional graph: costs vs. rewards vs. state of affairs. It is not a collection of scientific evidence because everything is subjective, but one graph typically holds to one person.
My dad taught me about ethics in kind of a non-conventional manner. Whenever I presented to him my opinion, he would argue the opposite view, regardless of his own beliefs. These debates would stretch on for days until I could finally gather enough information from research to support my side. It wasn't until my Freshman year that I realized what he was doing. To this day, I don't know what he really thinks about many issues. He tries not to disrupt my development of my own system of ethics.
Outside of home, my friends and my books are probably the most influential to me. I learn from my friends' experiences, and their reactions to certain behaviors often determine what is acceptable in the normal world. That is the kind of socialization to which all children are sensitive from very early ages. Reading books written from a diverse group of authors has helped me to refine my system of ethics. They have provided me with the foundation of my current religious beliefs. They led me to the conclusion that all members of the animal kingdom are linked, giving me reason to stop eating meat. From books, I learned about the earth, and how beautiful it truly is.
1 comment:
These ethics sound like a solid basis for everyday life. I wouldn't choose to follow some of them for myself, but I understand where you're coming from on those that I wouldn't. To make myself a little clearer, I don't disagree with any of them, but my life calls for different ethics from what experiences I’ve had.
With things like stealing only to provide the bare essentials, many people have difficulty keeping to just that. As you said, different things will work for different people. Experiences outside of the home shaped much of what I am around my friends, but I use what my parents taught me both amongst friends and more so round my elders.
I think your dad made a smart decision when he made you come up with your own arguments and ideas. You were forced to think your own way. I think that’s pretty cool.
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