My Reflection on Social Ethics

Talon Roberts

12/12/2020

PHIL-1120

1. Overall, how has your understanding of your personal values, if any way, been impacted by the course
material?
 This course has impacted me immensely. Through a lot of reading, deep diving into intense topics, and through
the wisdom of Ananda Spike and my other classmates, I now have a much deeper understanding of the world
around me. Seeing other people's perspectives and learning about these topics have helped me learn a lot about
myself and where I stand in these topics. There were a lot of things I didn’t give much thought about before this
class, and I am thankful I got this opportunity to take this class and learn about the importance of talking to
others and listening to their perspectives.

2. What are your thoughts on cultural relativism after taking this course? Cultural relativism is the idea that a
person's beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture, rather than be
judged against the criteria of another.
 To better understand the world and to better understand people from various cultures and places, cultural
relativism is an important concept to look at. For me, the point of looking at this concept is to see how someone,
or some other culture may be different from you, and learning to accept other cultures can help you accept
other ideas aside from your own. Sure, there are cultures that may do some things or believe in an idea you may
never think of as right, but taking that wall of judgement down and seeing a different point of view can help you
better understand other people and yourself. Not every culture can be right or wrong in every category of
ethics, but you should at least try and understand before you judge or deny another person or culture your
respect.

3. What are your thoughts on Utilitarianism after taking this course? Utilitarianism is a tradition stemming from
the late 18th- and 19th-century English philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
according to which an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce the
reverse of happiness—not just the happiness of the performer of the action but also that of everyone affected
by it.
 Utilitarianism was one of my favorite topics this semester. Learning about doing what is “good” and learning
how to better consider the overall happiness of a group or situation is an important thing to consider in a
society. If there is a decline in overall happiness in a group or in a society, then you should start to consider how
your actions are affecting others more. Before you do or say something, it’s often best to try and think about
what the consequences of your actions will be first because what you do may affect someone else.

4. What are your thoughts on Kantianism or Deontology after taking this course? Deontology places special
emphasis on the relationship between duty and the morality of human actions. In deontological ethics an action
is considered morally good because of some characteristic of the action itself, not because the product of the
action is good. Deontological ethics holds that at least some acts are morally obligatory regardless of their
consequences for human welfare.
 I have a hard time grasping the idea that there are absolute right or wrong answers, no matter the
consequences or circumstances to as many things as he states. But, I will not deny the importance of his writings
and how much what he had to say affecting the world and myself. Kant gave me a lot of knowledge and insight,
and to me, that is the whole point of philosophy. I would argue that it is our duty to ponder the things people
and philosophers say because it all helps us grow in one way or the other, even if what that person had to say
wasn’t “good” or “right.”

5. What are your thoughts on Virtue Ethics after taking this course? Virtue ethics is a broad term for theories that
emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than either doing one’s duty or acting in
order to bring about good consequences. A virtue ethicist is likely to give you this kind of moral advice: “Act as a
virtuous person would act in your situation.”
 I think learning to about virtue and trying to be a virtuous person is one of the best things you could do for
yourself and others. If you are thinking about virtue and how to be virtuous, it can help you better understand
the world and other people, but you do have to be careful. You might think growing up that a person was
virtuous, when in fact that person could be quite the opposite in another person’s eyes.

6. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Abortion?
 My understanding has become deeper, but my perspective hasn’t really changed. I still think people should have
a choice in their actions because everyone has a different view on what is right or wrong, and denying a person a
choice is denying a person’s autonomy in having their own beliefs. If you think abortion is wrong, that is your
view, and it is your choice to choose whether you want one or not. You can’t control another person, but you
can control your own actions, and your voice and your views can have an influence and a meaning.

7. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of euthanasia.
 It is about the same as abortion. I didn’t know as much about euthanasia in this class, but I think a right to
autonomy is important, especially with the idea of death. Death can be just as important and dramatic as giving
new life. If you can have a say in how or if a person is born, you should be able to have a say in how or if you
want to die.

8. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Stem cell Research
 I learned a lot more about stem cell research in this class. I honestly didn’t have much of a understand before,
but I think it is an important think to learn about and continue learning about. There are a lot of opportunities in
this area of research, but there are also a lot of risks. It all matters how we go about it in the future.

9. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Cloning
 I have a very similar view on this as I do with stem cell research. There is a lot to do and a lot to learn from this,
but it’s something I think we should be really cautious with.

10. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Genetically Modified
Foods
 This one is a little trickier for me. I now know a lot more about this topic, but I'm even more unsure about my
perspective on it. It has its benefits, such as cheaper food and faster production, but I don’t think we know
 enough about how this affects our health and the environment’s health. It’s almost unavoidable now, so only
time will tell how it affects everything.

11. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Designer Babies
 I understand a lot more about this topic than I did before, and this is one that I also see a lot of opportunity with
and a lot of cause for concern with. Medically, I think this can possibly do us wonders. Morally, I think it is
something we should be careful with. Designing super humans or picking out physical traits and intelligence
traits I think is dangerous, and it is going to leave a lot of people disadvantaged. We also don’t know what the
evolutionary effects will be.

12. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Organ trafficking and
donation
 I didn’t even know organ trafficking was a thing before this class, and it breaks my heart that it is. I think that
organ trafficking being a thing is just a sign that there is a much bigger problem in the shadows. People aren’t
getting the help they need, and it’s so bad that there is a high demand in the black market for organs.

13. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Genetic Engineering
 It’s pretty much the same with my perspective with designer babies. It’s fascinating and the opportunities are
exciting, but the risks are high.

14. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of drug use and abuse
 I understand a lot more about the topic, but my views are more so the same. I think decriminalizing drugs and
focusing more on health/mental health is a much better alternative. Criminalizing people for doing drugs doesn’t
stop people from doing drugs, and it doesn’t fix the problems that people have.

15. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of guns and personal
liberty
 My understanding became much deeper, but my perspective is mostly the same. I don’t think taking guns away
is going to stop people from killing people. People have always killed people, so I think the thing we should focus
more on is mental health and stopping the need/want to kill. Taking away guns is just taking away a form of
defense from people.

16. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of capital punishment
 It’s very similar to my view on guns. I think trying to stop people from killing people with killing is just fighting
fire with fire, and it’s not going to prevent other people from killing either. They know what they are doing and
they know the consequences, and that still doesn’t stop them, just like with drugs.

17. Of all of the topics above, which three were most interesting to you and why?
 Utilitarianism/Deontology, drugs/guns, and abortion/euthanasia were my favorite topics. I wrote these answers
down together with another topic because I felt like they sort of went hand in hand with each other. I think
abortion/euthanasia and guns/drugs both would have similar themes. If you supported one thought with
 abortion, it was likely a thought that supported or went well with euthanasia. Guns/drugs was similar.
Utilitarianism/deontology on the other hand was different. While these two views conflicted with one another,
learning about both at the same time is important, and I think in a way they also go hand in hand. Before you
decide if something is right, think about the consequences of that action. Before you start to think an action
produces good, think about how right the action is.

18. Of the topics above, which topic did you learn the most about after this course?
 I think the things I’ve thought about the most outside of this course is consideration. This class has helped me
better consider other people, consider other perspectives, consider broader problems, and consider my
surrounding much more than I did before this class. I am much more aware of who I am and what is going on
around me.

19. Of the topics above, what was your favorite overall topic and why?
 My favorite overall topic was utilitarianism/deontology. I would put utilitarianism over deontology if I had to
pick just one, but learning about them both really helped me see things in a totally new light. They conflicted
with each other, and because of this they have made me think deeper about the other topics in this class and
they both really challenged my own beliefs. What is the right thing to do? What is the good thing to do? I
consciously weigh these thoughts a lot more than I did before, and it was fun learning and seeing where and
how these concepts originated.

20. Any personal message to me about the course and your journey as a student with Social Ethics
 This class, and this semester in general had a really big impact on me. Never has school motivated me to learn
more and to dive deeper, and I haven’t felt this good and confident about myself in years. I learned a lot about
myself and about my surroundings, and I am very grateful for this class and all the people in it. Both my
classmates and Ananda Spike helped me learn so much about the world and myself, and I had so much in the
process. It was hard, it was challenging, and it was a lot of work, but it was all worth it, and I enjoyed every step
along the way.