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Morals and Ethics: A Reflection on Moral Values, Environment and Ethical Living
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Morals and Ethics: A Reflection on Moral Values and Ethical Living
A Reflective Assignment on Morals and Ethics
Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines
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A Reflective Assignment on Morals and Ethics
This paper is a reflection on the morals I had been taught during childhood, those that I hold now and a comparative analysis of the two. It also takes a closer look at the impact of the environment on the moral judgements that I make about others and the areas of contention that arise while also looking at the ethics and must-haves for living a good life. It will take a look at the bigger picture of morals and ethics that we have learnt in the classroom and their practical application in the real life.
A Reflection on Moral Values
Morality refers to the way of behaving either in a “right” or a “wrong” manner (Ellemers et al., 2017). Moral principles indicate how a good, ethical, just, right and virtuous way of behavior should be (Ellemers et al., 2017). For a human being, family stands as the first and foremost training ground for imbibing moral values (Ahamed & Ghosh, 2012). My family was also my first training field for imbibing moral values.
Turning back the clock and reminiscing my childhood, the moral values I was taught while I was a child were to be honest, to be truthful or to speak the truth at all the times and to work in the best interest of the people surrounding me. The moral values I hold today are a bit manipulated and reflect an evolved version of what I had imbibed during my childhood. Today, although I practice honesty, try speaking truth most of the times and work in the best interest of people and me at most of the times, I now believe there is nothing black or white. Rather, there are shades of grey that one has to practice to sustain themselves in this competitive world. Simply put, the morals have changed as I have evolved into a mature and social human being. They have changed so as to sustain myself in the competitive environment. So, environmental factors are attributed to the change in my moral principles.
The impact of Environment on Moral Judgement
The term environment refers to an organism’s surroundings which they respond to at any point in time (Uzoka & Njoku, 2015). Opara (2004) defines environment as anything which is non-genetic. Environment factors like home, school, and culture overwhelmingly influence an individual’s moral behavior or conduct (Uzoka & Njoku, 2015). Therefore, environment plays a vital role in changing the moral principles and ethics of an individual.
I remember an incident when I was forced to lie to save my fellow student from the habit of alcohol. She was about to be rusticated by the school administration and I saved her by lying and concocting a story to save her from being rusticated. Not only this social contentious issue is an example of the impact of school and peer group on me as an individual, but it also signifies that I lied for the best interest of my friend. I also understand that rustication could be a reprimand for my fellow student, but I also weighed that my friend would have lost their precious year had I not spoken a lie to my teacher. Thus, the above example signifies how important the role of environment has on an individual’s moral judgement.
Being ethical - What does it mean?
The term “Ethics” denotes the standards that evaluate behaviors as being morally right or wrong (Chippendale, 2001). Being ethical in public health means a systematic process that clarifies, prioritize and give a justification to the possible courses of public health actions based on the ethical beliefs of stakeholders (CDC, 2017). To me, an ethical person is the one who can make a decision based on their values and beliefs that is in the best interest of them and the population at large. In the above example where I lied for saving my friend from being rusticated, I feel that morally I might be wrong but, in my belief, and ethics, I was being honest and truthful to my friend and I did what was ethical in that particular situation.
Essentials or must-haves for living a good life
Good life refers to a life that is being examined. The must haves for living a good life are to have good moral values, being ethical and doing things that most people judge to be right. Being good means that a person is courageous, honest, trustworthy, helpful, generous (Westacott, 2020). Through the example of saving my friend by lying, I believe that I am being honest, trustworthy and helpful to my friend and I did whatever was ethically right from my perspective.
Conclusion
Through this paper, I analyzed what morals and ethics are. Moral values are the unexamined beliefs that were being taught to me as a child. It also means accepting an unexamined cultural belief that one has absorbed overtime. However, being ethical means examining the rightness or wrongness of a belief that one has been taught as a child. I believe I too have imbibed moral values in my childhood and will hold them through my life. However, environment plays a significant role in modifying my moral values. When I examined that morally I should be truthful but to save my friend from being rusticated, I ethically took an action to save my friend from rustication. All I can say is that I was morally wrong but ethically I was right.
To conclude, being moral and being ethical are two aspects of the same coin. One can be morally wrong but ethically right. So, in my view when one looks at one aspect of the coin, the other may remain hidden and the time the other aspect is seen, the previous one remains hidden. Thus, one should work in harmony with oneself and in the best interest of their people around.
References
Ahamed, N. and Ghosh, M. (2012) A Study of the Relationship between Moral Values, Social
Maturity and Life Satisfaction among Male and Female College Students. Bljournal.us.
CDC (2017) Public Health Ethics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at
https://www.cdc.gov/os/integrity/phethics/index.htm
Chippendale, P. (2001) On Values, Ethics, Morals & Principles. Minessence International
Cooperative Ltd. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242758616_On_Values_Ethics_Morals_Princip les_By
Ellemers, N et al. (2019) The Psychology of Morality: A Review and Analysis of Empirical
Studies Published From 1940 Through 2017. Sage Journals. Available at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1088868318811759
Opara O. V. (2004). Foundations of Education Psychology. Enugu: Our Savior press Ltd
Uzoka, N.R. and Njoku, U. (2015) Environmental Factors Influencing the Moral Behaviour
of Secondary School Students in Imo State, Nigeria. Michael Okpara University of Agriculture. Available at https://llufb.llu.lv/conference/REEP/2015/Latvia-Univ- Agricult-REEP-2015proceedings-378-384.pdf
Westacott, E. (2020) What Does It Mean to Live the Good Life? Thoughtco. Available at