Ethics refers to the standards of what is wrong or right that guide what we ought to do in terms of obligations, rights, societal benefits, specific virtues, and their benefits to society. However, everyone has a different view of what ethics means thus making it hard to stick to one definition. Additionally, the lack of social agreement on many issues makes it difficult to conclude socially accepted ethical standards (Stokhof, 2018). Citing an example of abortion as a controversial topic, since everyone’s thoughts and decisions revolving around it defer immensely, probably conducting a survey would help one conform to their beliefs on what society accepts. The circumstances in which we perform actions will either deem us responsible or not responsible for them. We are only held accountable for our actions on instances where we can choose whereas, in instances where we cannot control the circumstances, we cannot be held responsible (Frunză, 2011) . For instance, when you are forced or threatened to do something, the ethical choice is not applicable. This may also include instances when one is not mentally okay or capable to make the right decision about actions. The question however remains ‘how free are we to make decisions or act?’ There are instances where decisions to be made are entirely out of our control. Like the issue of female circumcision that could be a practice in one community but unacceptable in other communities. In such a case you are forced to participate in these happenings as a part of the said community's norm and not out of your own will. A person who commits rape or sexual assault with a claim that they were not in their right mind will be subjected to a medical check-up to ascertain the state of his mind during the act. If the court of law confirms that he was insane during the act then he is considered having not made an informed ethical decision at the time. This, therefore, outrightly makes him free from the said offense. It is safe to say that we take an action after making a decision and that if you are free to do whatever you please, you can be held accountable for those actions. On the other hand, as much as some people believe that we choose how our lives are to be dictated since birth, others hold the notion that we are incapable of living a life free from sin since we are an evil species. However, the fact that we are born being clean indicates that we are ultimately affected by the world around us. For as long as we live, we have to make choices on different aspects of life daily. Therefore, making well-thought-out decisions in life will translate to contentment in life and a healthy lifestyle (Voegtlin, 2016) . Open-mindedness is a requirement for informed decisions and action plans. This is because with the nature of the world providing a lot of information that differs in nature, it remains an individual’s decision to internalize and decide how to make anything helpful out of it. It, therefore, becomes critical for everyone to strive to understand the world around them for them to be able to make relevant decisions that are concurrent to the world's happenings and trends today. In conclusion, as much as I believe that I am free and responsible for my actions, the extent of my freedom is not fully understood. There are also limiting factors to some ethical principles that deny a person full freedom to indulge in certain actions. I am also fully dependent on the world around me and the information in circulation to make life decisions that will be safe and helpful to myself while at the same time considering those around me and the environment at large.
References
Frunză, S. (2011). Ethical responsibility and social responsibility of organizations involved in the public health system. Revista de cercetare şi intervenţie socială , (32), 155-171.
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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/50888642_Ethical_responsibility_and_social_responsibility_of_organizations_involved_in_the_public_health_system
Stokhof, M. J. B. (2018). Ethics and morality, principles and practice . Zeitschrift für Ethik und Moralphilosophie , 1 (2), 291-304.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328889718_Ethics_and_morality_principles_ and_practice
Voegtlin, C. (2016). What does it mean to be responsible? Addressing the missing responsibility dimension in ethical leadership research . Leadership, 12 (5), 581-608.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309768566_What_does_it_mean_to_be_responsible_Addressing_the_missing_responsibility_dimension_in_ethical_leadership_ research
