Every person has their statement of their values and beliefs that best defines them as individual. These values and beliefs are influenced by a number of factors including the personality of an individual, the upbringing, the environment in which one was raised and even the life experiences and the people that one interacts with. In this personal reflection paper, I will make a personal statement on my values and beliefs and progress towards identifying an ethical framework that best describes my ethical perspective and the rationale for the selection of that framework. Finally there will be an analysis of my personal life and how it contributed to my adoption of the ethical framework adopted before concluding my personal value and belief describing the person I am and the person I would want to be future.
Statement of Personal Belief and Ethical Values
My personal belief towards life and the interaction of people is that all people deserve to be happy by doing what they like. However, in the process of enjoying what they do, they should not be obstructing the values and beliefs of others. The happiness of a person is embodied in their mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing and therefore all people have a right to be happy. The world is a social place where people interact daily. With the continued interactions, there is a need for all people to enjoy what they are doing but also have a responsibility of ensuring that they make the world a better place for others in the quest of them pursuing their happiness. The source of this belief on my attitude towards life is one of my favorite songs “Empathy” with the chorus “Empathy! Empathy! Put yourself in place of me!” The song casually translates to the need for understanding others by putting myself into their situations. This takes me back to my belief of people being happy but not at the expense of those around them. A perfect example of my belief application is in the case where one enjoys playing the guitar. In as much as this person finds a peace of mind playing this instrument, it will not be right if they play the guitar in a room where his roommate is reading for a paper the day after.
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The same song defines my ethical belief in life, whereby I believe in equality, respect, and dignity for all the people. I view all people as being the same having the same rights and freedoms as human beings, and so they all should be treated as equals. I not only share this belief alone but always strive towards influencing those around me to share the same belief. I believe with all people treating each other with respect and dignity, and it becomes possible to make the world a better place for all humanity. More to this, I used to have a laid back mentality believing in destiny where things fall into place with or without my input, and this was in high school. However with time I have realized that people get what they work for and it is the input of one’s work that will yield results.
From my personal view, my belief and values had changed by far compared to the time when I was in my lower grade school. During my young age, I believed that people should only be happy and think about themselves because everyone had their own life and so they should focus on their happiness. This egocentric belief and value made me a person complicated to interact with others because with any interaction, I was not giving a thought to my mates and this never went well with them. Growing up and interacting with others allowed me to get a different perspective of life and transformed me into what I believe today.
Ethical Frameworks and My Beliefs and Ethical Values
The ethical framework that best defines the grounds for my values and beliefs is utilitarianism. This is a consequentialist theory of ethics that best is based because moral actions are those that are aimed towards the well-being of others. By this, therefore, an action is termed as ethical based on the consequences it has not on the person engaging in the action but rather on the effect of the majority of those that will be affected by the conflict (Rosenstand, 2013). By this, therefore, a noble deed will lead to a greater good to the majority while a noble act is that which leads to the suffering of many. The theory has been the leading framework in defining ethics in most institutions because it ensures that actions of people are aimed towards fostering the good of many. Another element of the theory is the fact that it leads to benefits and consequences. Ethical deeds, those that are aimed for the benefit or good of many, leads one to get benefits while on the other hand, unethical acts, those that are of harm to many, will always lead to negative consequences to perpetrator (Gjuraj & Gjuraj, 2018). The best example of the application of the theory is in most organizations. The codes of ethics of these organizations are aimed at ensuring there is an effective interaction between people. The few that fail to operate under this code of ethics end up facing the consequences and in some cases the consequences entail the perpetrators losing their jobs. The framework defines my values and belief because I am a person who believes good deeds are always rewarded and bad deeds end up having consequences.
Life Factors the Lead to the adoption of utilitarianism
My belief on benefits coming from good deeds starts way back on how my parents raised me. I always got a compliment or even a gift for something good. However, in cases where I misbehaved or also did something wrong, I was punished in a just and fair way which included not being given my favorite toy or candy. Growing up with this mentality, I always strived towards doing good because I anticipated good to befall me. Raised by my dad after my parents’ divorce, I still find myself alone over the weekends. However, because of my belief that there was something good that will come as a result of me behaving well, I always ensured that I did what was needed of me including sleeping on time. This always made my father proud of me.
With my military parents’ divorce, I always found myself moving from place to place, changing homes from time to time. Such a shift from one place to another, one school to the other would have resulted in me finding it very difficult to cope. However, I always strived to be good to my fellow children in any new neighborhood and even school. I was generous and open for conversations, including the weird questions that a new person will be asked by fellow learners in school. The outcome of this was by them being found of me. They god along with me quickly and this not only made my coping easy but also shaped my personality and character on the need to be good to others.
Conclusion
My beliefs and values have been of great benefit to me as a person and also to those that are around me. With the belief of always wanting those around me to be happy, I have been able to influence many in pursuing what they enjoy doing most while at the same time ensuring that there is respect, love, and dignity among those around me. I have become a responsible person who advocates for the well-being of others including the vouching for the happiness of others. I have also been a person that always works towards doing good to others because of my anticipation of good is done to me. In as much as I am proud of who I have become, I would want to be more. I want to enhance my empathy whereby I can get into the shoes of the people that are experiencing challenging life events and be able to feel what they experience. This will guide me towards my long term dream of being a part-time volunteer.
References
Gjuraj, E., & Gjuraj, T. (2018). Moral Belief on Utilitarianism toward Misused Approach to Moral Evaluation. Itinerari di ricerca storica , (2), 227-238.
Rosenstand, N. (2013). The moral of the story: An introduction to ethics, 7 th Edition . McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
