Ethics And Ethical Dilemmas

Running head: ETHICS

Ethics and Ethical Dilemmas

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ETHICS

Ethics and Ethical Dilemmas

To behave ethically is to act in a way that respects the well-being of others. Often this

involves exhibiting compassion or beneficence. It consists of trying to treat people with the

kindness we would expect them to treat us with. Behaving ethically often consists in following

through on specific responsibilities. Academically and professionally, this means that we

might have an obligation to use what we learn in school to improve life for others or to do

good in our jobs or the world. We also have a responsibility to pass down the things we learn,

especially when this information might help increase the chances of someone’s survival or the

good of society (Beed, N.D.).

I was confronted with an ethical dilemma when I had to choose between working over the

summer to earn money for college or visiting my grandmother over summer break. On the one

hand, I felt like I had a duty to my boss and my co-workers. I had already been trained for the

job, and if I were to quit, my boss would have to spend valuable time training in a new worker.

This would also place a further burden on my co-workers because until a new person was

trained, I knew that they would have to pick up the slack.

On the other hand, I felt an obligation to my grandmother. I knew that if I were in her shoes

and I was in my nineties and that it was likely that I might not be able to see my grandchild for

many more years, I would want my grandchild to visit me. Because my grandmother was a

positive influence in my life, who had shown me great love and care over many years, I felt

both a great personal desire to spend time with her and a sense of duty to be by her side in her

last years if I could. Ultimately, I reasoned in a teleological way. (Newton, 2002) I looked at

the ultimate consequences of my actions, considered the implications of each choice and

ETHICS

decided to visit my grandmother. While doing this did place an extra burden on my boss, it

was one that he would eventually have had to bear anyway. The job was meant to be temporary,

and new workers often came and went. I knew that I could finally find another job, and I knew

that I would never be able to have another grandmother. I decided that the most ethical decision

was to treat people as I would want to be treated myself. So, I visited my grandma, which

seemed to be a decision that would allow is to exercise virtue (by fulfilling my duties to others)

and compassion.

My general education courses have increased my knowledge. I can better understand the

history of the world and how I fit in it. I know more about the injustices different peoples have

endured and can empathize with them more. By sympathizing with them more, I know how to

act toward them more compassionately. They have given me a tremendous sense of social

responsibility. I also understand more about how rules serve as contracts between individuals

and society and how they can help make society cohesive (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).

A college person would have different duties to society than an uneducated person would

because an educated person has the responsibility to pass knowledge down to others and to use

what he or she has learned to make the world a better place. You cannot pass down what you

have not had passed down to you.

ETHICS

References

Beed, T. (N.D.). Societal responsibilities of an educated person. Retrieved from New Account

USA:

http://www.newaccountantusa.com/newsFeat/wealthManagement/societalresponsibilities.

pdf

McDevitt, T., & Ormrod, E. (2010, July 20). Kohlberg's Three Levels and Six Stages of Moral

Reasoning. Retrieved from Education.com:

https://www.education.com/reference/article/kohlbergs-moral-reasoning/

Newton, L. (2002). Doing Good and Avoiding Evil. Retrieved from Rochester Institute of

Technology: http://www.rit.edu/~w-ethics/resources/manuals/dgae1p7.html

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