What Then Shall I Do?

What Then Shall I Do?
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What Then Shall I Do?
One of the things that have been enhanced since the beginning of this course is how core beliefs happen to shape my life and what I do every day. First of all, core beliefs are the assumptions we have about who we are, others, and our environment. These beliefs are attributed to how we grew up, our religion, our environment, where we went to school, and any sort of training or sense of direction we have. People often believe that they are independent of where they grew up, the religion they practice, or their parents, especially when trying to forego hurtful thoughts of the past. However, most fail to understand that our history greatly shapes who we are today and who we will become in the future. While learning about core beliefs in this course, the notion that these beliefs could even be unknown to me made me question how much control I have over my behavior and decisions. Further, the aspect of negative core beliefs and how these can cause cognitive distortions made me realize how little control people may have over their behavior. Osmo et al. (2018) note that negative core beliefs become increasingly influential in a person’s life since they become activated in times of stress, thus causing people to be increasingly vulnerable to emotional breakdowns and distress. The revelations while learning about core beliefs and their influence on our lives made me want to know more about my past life and how much it plays a role in my present life.
Secondly, there is the aspect of knowing that my position is subject to objections and that I have to be willing to listen and respond to the objections. Regarding this particular point, my worldview was changed for the best. While having an argument, people often want to have as much information as they can on what they hold to be true. With such a mindset, one can never be open-minded enough to consider positions outside their argument. However, ethical reasoning calls for one to consider and assess the different positions in a situation and then develop or make an ethical argument or conclusion from the different positions. At the start of this course, I held the belief that an argument is held with the goal of comparing and eventually determining the person who will ‘win’ the argument. However, throughout this course and while learning more about ethical reasoning, I got to understand that the goal should never be to win but to find an ending that is not only ethically satisfactory but also one that maintains everyone’s respect and integrity. In his book On Liberty, Mill (2003) notes that “He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.” Further, Mill indicates that if a person is “unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side; f he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion.” These words hold a different and more meaningful position in my life because they speak directly to the essence of ethical reasoning. Today, I seek to know more than the position I am holding on a matter, especially the positions being held by other people.
The other way that my worldview has been challenged entails the contribution I need to make on earth. While growing up, society encourages us to be selfish and to have selfish goals. When our parents ask us what we would like to become when we grow up, the expectation is that we will choose a direction in life that will help us attain the highest levels of material gain. However, my perception of how I can contribute to the world was challenged and enhanced in this course. I came to understand and appreciate the work done by individuals who give themselves to ensuring our environment maintains its look and appeal. Also, I came to understand that emptiness in life is still a possible destination even after attaining the major goals we set for ourselves. One thing that this course made clear to me was that everything that we deem successful or monumental touched many people’s lives. However, often, these are not the people we celebrate or consider our heroes. Because of the morphed perception of what a hero or heroine ought to be, the world has maintained its reputation of glorifying individuals with some of the least meaningful contributions. However, throughout this course, I came to understand that we need to move beyond individual gains and start to “love our neighbors as ourselves.” This revelation came through understanding that ethics is more than learning about what is right or wrong. Ethics is a way of life, and the more we become in tune with this understanding of ethics, the more we seek to contribute to making the world a better place.
Currently, my life is taking shape in that my beliefs are being unveiled, and I am getting to know myself better. Right now, I can say that I know what I like in the world and what I do not like. I know that I still have a long journey and that my life will continue to evolve as I make more discoveries about the world and about myself. While thinking of the different aspects of or the science of ethical reasoning, the three main elements that seem to dictate behavior in the world include virtue ethics, utilitarian ethics, and deontological ethics. Though for the sake of a test or an assignment, we are often made to choose which of these three we incline towards, I believe that we practice or at least think along the lines of these three types of ethical theories. At times, we think that by benefiting the majority, we are doing the right thing. In other circumstances, we focus so much on the good and forget the role of ethics while on the journey. However, in all these situations and circumstances, one thing remains constant: who we are and how we truly feel about certain situations and actions.
At this point in my life, I find myself most in alignment with virtue ethics because it brings focus and attention to an individual. Papouli (2018) expounds on the above, noting that virtue ethics brings an individual’s character to focus and emphasizes “being rather than doing.” This means that virtue ethics manifests from a person’s core traits and not from the quest to attain a particular goal. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2016) elucidates on the word virtue, noting that it is an attribute that is entrenched deep into a person. A virtue is not synonymous with a habit that someone learns and can easily drop if or when the environment allows. My life inclines toward virtue ethics right now because, despite the waywardness of the world, there are still people who seek to do good every day. The decision to do good in the world and to remain within the bounds of morality for this lot is driven by their inner selves. Through the development of virtues, it becomes increasingly easier for people to act positively and enhance the lives of others.
One of the criticisms against virtue ethics is that it focuses more on the virtuous traits of an individual while neglecting the motive behind an action. Hurka (2000) notes that the focus of ethics, in general, should be to make the world a better place by improving the lives of those around us. While the statement above is not faulty, it begs the question, how can we focus on making the world a better place if we are not good? Making the world a better place ought to start with us first being fundamentally good before we can focus on others. It is impossible to fight for a better world if you do not find the current state of the world wanting. The above is the main challenge we have in the world. While talks of, for example, hunger in the world have been ongoing, the world continues to waste food every year. The WFP (2020) reports that the world wastes about 1.3 billion tons of food every year. Further, the WFP continues to note that this wasted food is enough to feed all the people considered undernourished in the world. However, these people still languish in hunger. This is because people are comfortable with the state of the world, and therefore, only a few are willing to make a change. It is crucial to mention that the majority of th...