A Reflection on Ethics

Kathy Huneycutt
October 24, 2014

Kaplan University
Professor DianaPalmieri
HU245-06: Ethics

What Ethics Means to Me

Ethics, to me, has always meant the difference between what is
right and wrong. While this seems like an easy-to-make
distinction, it is not. There are different approaches to ethics,
different cultural beliefs to consider, and even different levels.
Most will agree that murder is wrong or that child abuse is wrong
but there are always exceptions. Just because I feel that something
is wrong and I say that I will never do it does not mean that it
applies to everyone in the world. There is no absolute regarding
morality (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012).

Skill Acquisition-Analytical
Thinking
One of the main things that I have learned in this course is that even the bad guys have
moral rights. This sort of analytical skill building was demonstrated in the case between
Allen Lopez and his employer, ExtremeNet. In the case of Allen Lopez and ExtremeNet, it
would have been easy to say that ExtremeNet should take all of the blame because they did
not treat their employees fairly and they did nothing about it when it was pointed out to
them. It is easy to say that ExtremeNet has no right to be mad at Allen for the extreme
measures he took because Allen was only trying to stick up for those less fortunate than
him. The problem, though, is that ExtremeNet did nothing illegal as far as we know. I
realized that it would not be fair to punish only ExtremeNet when Allens position would
lead one to easily believe that he knew what he was doing and the possible consequences.
Both parties acted in the wrong so both parties needed to be punished (Huneycutt, 2014a).

Skill Acquisition-Devils
Advocate
I have always been skilled in playing devils advocate in many debates throughout the
years and this class enhanced those skills. This class has also helped me think beyond
just the opposite point of view. I am now able to support both sides with facts instead
of just tossing ideas out there. When discussing Wills Request, my first instinct was to
allow him the lethal dose of morphine. As I played devils advocate to get classmates
to think about things in a different point-of-view, I realized that the other point-of-view
actually suited me better (Huneycutt, 2014b). When the majority of my classmates
believe that Will should be allowed to have the lethal dose of morphine, I argued
against it because specific rules had already been set and if those rules were broken for
Will then they would have to be broken for everyone (Huneycutt, 2014b). If the rules
are always broken then what is the point in having them?

Knowledge Acquisition What I Acquired

I learned about the different ethical theories, something of which I had
very little knowledge beforehand. One of the first things that I picked
up on was something I already knew but confirmation was great: ethics
and morals are quite often interchangeable. I learned the different
between descriptive (what is) ethics and normative (what should be)
ethics (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012). A person that is amoral is without
morals, such as those with certain mental disorders, whereas a person
that is immoral is a person that has morals but goes against them,
creating distrust and building barriers. (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012).

Knowledge Acquisition: Consequentialism

I learned about consequentialist (teleological) theories and how
they decide the rightness or wrongness of an action based on the
consequences of the action (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012).
These theories include (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012):
Utilitarianism-First introduced by Jeremy Bentham and John
Stuart Mill, emphasizes the good of all concerned, deals with
the social aspects
Ethical egoism-Emphasizes what is good for the self, can arrive
at the same moral stance as utilitarianism but for different
reasons, has three forms (individual, personal, and universal), is
a normative claim

Knowledge Acquisition: Nonconsequentialism

I learned about nonconsequentialist (deontological) theories and
how they are not based off of rules or consequences but off of a
higher standard of morals (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2012).
Two nonconsequentialist theories are (Thiroux & Krasemann,
2012):
Act-There are no general moral rules or theories, based upon
what a person feels/believes/intuits to be right in a particular
situation, highly individualistic because different people will
not always feel that the same thing is right in the same situation
Rule-Believes that there are rules and the rules determine
morality, not the consequences of breaking said rules, include
The Divine Command Theory and Kants Duty Ethics

Practical Application-Applying the

Knowledge to Real Life
Throughout this class, our discussions focused on real scenarios so
that we could learn how to apply what we learned. Case studies
were vague and that is a good thing. It is easy to decide a moral
path when you have all of the details yet having all of the details
is a very rare thing in real life.
The analytical thinking skills I learned can be applied to everything
in life. Learning how to think without emotion will help me see
the facts that others might overlook. I plan to work with children
with autism and I often have trouble understanding why some
parents just do not help their child. This makes me extremely
mad and that sort of anger can get in the way of helping the child.
Using analytical thinking, I might be able to find a reason that I
find valid and I will not be angry at the parents.

Practical Application-Applying the

Knowledge to Real Life-Continued
With everything that I have learned, I believe that I identify the
most with Act Nonconsequentialism. Rules are great when
they work but they rarely work for those that they were not
made for. Between a history of multiple forms and instances
of abuse and a present of having a child with special needs,
the standard moral rules are not always applicable to my life.
I tend to judge situations when I am in them because there are
many different factors involved that the rules do not cover in
any way, shape, or form. Knowing this, I can be content with
my moral beliefs even though I do not have a set of them that
can be written in stone to share with the world.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I have learned a lot about ethics that I did not previously know.
While some of it was just the more specific terms, the different theories and their
different branches were unknown to me. I have learned how to apply this
knowledge to real world situations thanks to the discussion posts and case studies
that we had to cover. I have learned how to present my beliefs in a clear, concise
manner and how to support them with facts. I can also argue for the other side
better because it is no longer just throwing words out there in an attempt to make
people think, it is actually arguing for the other side even if I do not believe in it.
Overall, I have benefitted greatly from the class and I will carry the knowledge
learned into the future.

References
Huneycutt, K. (October 11, 2014a). Business Ethics
(Unpublished). Kaplan University.
Huneycutt, K. (September 27, 2014b). Will's Request 1.
Message posted to https://kucampus.kaplan.edu
Thiroux, J. P., & Krasemann, K. W. (2012). Ethics: Theory
and Practice (11th ed.). Pearson.