Value Ethics

The love I have for people and the quest for happiness are the requisites that drive all my purpose and value for life. I would like to live a simple life, which entails sharing my values and knowledge with people. I respect people’s opinions, property and the community mode of life. I stand firm on my beliefs and do not compromise with my values as much as I respect people. I take responsibility for my actions no matter the consequences. I also admire individuals who can accept their mistakes and accommodate constructive criticism from counterparts. I draw my ethical perspective from various sources of ethics that relate to my values. The ethical theories include Deontology, Moral Relativism, and care based method. Sometimes, I still find myself in silly mistakes, yet I find comfort in learning that my vision is still work in progress.
This paper is a picture of my values for ethics. It highlights the ethical perspectives where I draw my virtues. It also highlights on the life scenarios that have shaped my value and beliefs. In brief, this paper also highlights the person I am today in comparison with what I would want to be in future.

I cherish the lives of friends and relatives closest to me. I always strive to see the best side of people around me. My conscience is my most entrusted and most reliable guide for what I consider ethical. I believe in living a happy life despite the prevailing circumstances. I find the actual meaning of life when my action enhances and illustrates self-respect and respect for every creation on earth.

I appreciate what people around me value. I recognize people’s opinions, property and community mode of life. I take responsibility for my actions no matter the consequences. I also admire friends who accept their mistakes and accommodate constructive criticism from counterparts. I have learned the importance of forgiveness and proceeding with life after failures. I think mistakes are tools for everyday learning that should make me a better person in the daily decisions I make.
My conscience is the key determiner of my self-esteem, self-satisfaction, and judgments for the decisions I make. I am happy when my actions inspire people around me to be honest, just, and ethical in their actions. The love I have for people and the desire to be happy are the requisites that drive all my purpose and value for life. I would like to live a simple life, which entails sharing my values and knowledge with people. In all that I do I know I have an ultimate accountability to God and not to people.
I draw my ethical perspective from various sources of ethics that relate to my values. The ethical theories include Deontology, Moral Relativism, and care based method.
Deontological ethics
Deontology ethics suggest that we can develop our moral decisions and principal from reasoning. Immanuel Kant proposed this ethical theory (Neta, 2015). According to Neta (2015), deontology questions people duty in their actions and decisions. For instance, deontology does not allow a doctor to kill a patient. Even if the prevailing circumstances suggest that the patient would be better off dead, or life will be better off with the death of such a patient. I rely on deontological ethics for it has a constant and a universal rule that rates what is right and bad. Deontology is useful in my everyday decisions, particularly when circumstances would dictate that I bend my beliefs for partial satisfaction, which may only exist for a short period and brings regrets later. I draw my virtues on deontology in the life scenarios that would dictate that I stand by what my environment believe in and not what is just.
Deontology as an ethical theory supports my values and respect for all humanity and regard to what people consider virtuous. At times, I feel the urge to force people to reason as I do. The feeling frustrates me, yet I find comfort in telling myself that it is not my duty to think for people or reason for them. Where we cannot agree deontology allows me to speak my mind and respect what my opponents may say for they also have freedom of reasoning. I also hold firm to deontological thinking in situations people force to do things I know I would regret later. For instance, when emotions and the environment dictate that I lie about my income to evade tax I cling on the principle that Lying is wrong and accept the consequences of doing the right thing. Deontology is quite appealing in daily life decisions and comforting since it holds on the rules, which are conclusive in all situations of life. However, deontology alone is not satisfactory for my widespread ethical beliefs I also rely on other ethical theories.
I adopted deontological thinking from our family set up. My parents were very strict on rules and doing what is right. My father discouraged lying with all the necessary forces. Being a religious man my father quoted the verses, which suggests that liars are all children of the devil. He also explained the will of God in respecting parents and authorities. Furthermore, he described the work of lawlessness and rebelliousness as the devices associated with Satan. Being a child, I could not think of anything worse than the devil. I avoided strange behaviors which my father would say were of the devil. Most of the times I tried to lie and cover up my actions the truth always came out living me embarrassed for as long as I cannot recall. I joined the school and realized that people would sometimes use me to do things the way they say even if they do not believe in the idea to save their skin. School scenarios marked the moment I chose to believe in my conscience and where I learned that sometimes, we do not know the people we think we perceive.
Moral Relativism
Moral relativism theory proposes an accommodation of people with the different cultural background and beliefs (Schafer, 2012). It holds that ethics is about cultural beliefs, history, personal values of a given social group. The theory seems to discredit the Deontology theory, which I also regard. However, I practice moral relativism not to bend to people’s will and ignore my principles but to understand that people are not the same. I rely on the theory to spare the energy of wondering or forcing my will on people. It also saves me the time and thought of cursing people who do things in a manner different to my belief. According to Schafer (2012), this theory also helps in taming my extreme deontological viewpoint and helps me love people despite our differences.
However, the fact that I rely on moral relativism to make a decision does not allow me to bend to the will of every different individual. It only allows me to love them and live with them despite the fact that we are different. I consider relativism arguments to respect people’s opinion and people mode of life. The more a understand that we are different, the more I realize that even my beliefs may not be morally acceptable to other community and helps me know that I am just like any other human being and not a ‘God’ to have the tyranny of thought. This theory also helps me to forgive myself for my past mistakes, and the feeling that I could have done things otherwise. I am comforted in this opinion with the perception that I am of different mindset at the occurrence of a mistake, and I can use this knowledge to change the future. It is the same theory that helps me to forgive people and move on with life believing they are learning and hoping that things would change in the future for good.
I have mingled with people of different background in school and sometimes in friend’s house parties. I have also been a stranger to normal social functions. We were at a party; my age mates were having fun dancing almost the same style and rhythm. The music was strange to me, and I wanted to have a good time, but I could not dance as they did. I tried to copy them, but the moves kept on becoming strange and arduous. I discerned everyone was looking at me, and the discomfort worsened. Suddenly my friend who realized I was not comfortable in my skin held my hand and started imitating my moves. Nearly the whole crowd joined him in encouraging me to keep up. The encounter changed my perspective about walking away out on people who behave uniquely and those who disagree with my values. I learned to lend an ear even when our points are on different rhythms, and I know being different does not make any human inferior to the other.
Moral relativism has a major weakness where it permits extreme behavior in the name that the society accepts it (Miller & Hashmi, 2001). I believe in the theory to an extent where it does not cross the boundary for the value of human beings. For example, I would not consider concurring with a slave trader no matter what anecdotal evidences he uses to support his argument.
I cover the weaknesses of moral relativism theory by relying on care-based theories. Care based theory are just and driven by respect for humanity. I depend on this approach where circumstances of moral relativism may dictate that I should do whatever I want to do because of my background. It is from this perspective that I will know that particular societies have accepted slavery as a norm yet refuse to bend to their mode of thinking since the behavior has no value for human lives (Miller & Hashmi, 2001).
I have learned to mindful of people’s feelings through several life experiences. I live in a noble family where human dignity is a primary lesson for every member of the household. My mother has always been against violent behavior or arguments that are physical in nature. I have faced the consequences of violence on many occasions. The outcomes were always ugly. Lately, I have been working to engage my brains and not my muscles in the thinking. The result of aggressiveness are always unknown, the limitation of the information makes me patience and slow to react always. I made several mistakes and learned that everyone deserves a second chance.
Perhaps I could have become a different person if I had grown in the different environment under different circumstances. However, I like the person I have become and appreciate the environment that shaped my image and values. Nevertheless, sometimes I still find myself making silly mistakes, yet I find comfort in learning that my vision is still work in progress. Am still grateful I have not become the perfectionist my imagination wishes I would be because I would be such a terrible person. Being less than perfect is the sole reason I can forgive my colleagues and myself and move on with life as I do. I honestly love myself, and I would not wish things were any different.
References
Miller, D. & Hashmi, S. (2001). Boundaries and justice. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Neta, R. (2015). Coherence and Deontology. Philosophical Perspectives, 29(1), 284-304.
Schafer, K. (2012). “Assessor Relativism and the Problem of Moral Disagreement” The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 50(4), 602-620. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-6962.2012.00140.x