JOURNAL WEEK 2

Monday, July 16th, 2023

Dear diary,

This week in ethics class, together with my new friend

Ana, we played a very fun game that focused on a
dilemma comparing utilitarianism and Kantianism when
making decisions. Ana told me about a decision she had

to make when she came to live here in Ecuador due to

all the problems she had with her family and Colombian
society a few years ago. Coming from a very Catholic
family that received help from the church due to their
limited economic resources, she felt obliged to dress and
behave in a way that made her uncomfortable. When
her family found out that Ana was not following the
steps of God, they stopped supporting her, and Ana
found herself in a very difficult decision. On one hand, if
she followed the customs of her Catholic family,
everyone would be very happy except her. On the other
hand, if she chose to be happy, she would lose her entire
family and be alone but happy.

TUESDAY, July 17th, 2023

Dear Diary,
Today, I met up with Ana to learn more about her story
and the decision she had to make when coming to
Ecuador. Although the decision was difficult, she chose
to be happy and left her family behind to start a new
life. Another equally challenging situation was finding
money while waiting for a response from the Ministry of
Health regarding her gender transition. Since her
identification card still had her male name, she was
addressed by those names at work, but she felt
uncomfortable with that situation. So, she had to make
a choice: on the one hand, staying in that job where she
was unhappy but earning money to start a new life, or
on the other hand, leaving the job but not having money
for her new life in Ecuador and ending up on the streets.
She decided to stay in that job, and we realized that in
her first difficult decision with her family, she chose to
be happy, but now, in her job, she chose to be unhappy.

WEDNESDAY, July 18th, 2023

Dear Diary,
Today, as we concluded our conversation with Ana about the difficult
decisions she has had to make in her life, we realized that we cannot
always make decisions that solely benefit ourselves, which is somewhat
what utilitarianism suggests. We also learned that sometimes we have
to prioritize our own happiness above all else, without harming anyone,
lying, or deceiving, as advocated by Kantianism. Through this, we
understood the importance of being able to differentiate the situation
we are in, in order to make the best decision. Lastly, we came to the
realization that a decision is much more than a simple "yes" or "no."
There are various scenarios where the same question can have
different answers, and we should not let ourselves be guided solely by
the decisions of others. Instead, we should analyze the specific
circumstances in which we find ourselves.