Growing up Questioning the Approaches

to Decision making

Terms to Remember

Code of ethics: moral conduct; standards of moral judgment and behavior; system of principles, rules or values by which to live;

Philosophy: the principles an individual chooses to live by;

Rationalize: (positive) to bring into accord with reason; (negatively) to provide plausible but untrue reasons for conduct.

Terms to Remember

Manipulator: one who directly or indirectly tires to control or take advantage of others

Law: binding custom or practice of a group; rule of conduct or action;

Conformity: agreement in behavior with that of another person or group;

I. Getting caught or Rewarded

As children: we viewed certain actions as good or bad, right or wrong in terms of earning rewards and avoiding punishment;

For example: a student does his homework himself instead of copying out of fear of being caught, scolded, grounded.

Getting caught or Rewarded

A teen is not reckless on the road because she is afraid of her drivers license being revoked;

Not writing on the desks because of the fear of being caught;

Wearing uniform being afraid of getting demerits and not because it is the way of looking professional.

II. Anything Goes

Morality – rules and regulations – to keep other people in line;

What is right for me is right for we;

No one can tell me what to do attitude.

Anything Goes

For people like that there is not fundamental code of ethics by which everyone should live;

Moral philosophy: “It is everyone for themselves”;

Anything Goes

Everything changes with each situation;

There are no constant standards, rules, or principles;

Such people do as they please to get what they want;

Anything Goes

People like to rationalize and try to persuade themselves – and others – that what they are doing is right;

They are great manipulators;

Right to them is simply “what I want” or “what I feel like”.

III. What is in it for me?

Right is what makes a person feel good; wrong is what makes a person feel pain and dissatisfaction;

For a person like that it is OK to hurt someone else as long as he/ she is not hurt.

III. What is in it for me?

A lot of times relationships are used to achieve a sense of identity;

“I am just in this ‘til it stops working, then I’ll move on. It’s a learning experience”.

Sense of lack of empathy. What about fairness to the other person?

IV. What will make others to accept me

Right or wrong – what pleases or displeases others;

If somebody accepts the action, it must be right; if they disapprove it, it must be wrong;

Decisions grounded on gaining others’ approval.

IV. What will make others to accept me

A student acts according to what would make him/ her popular;

Going along with a crowd - to gain peer approval;

The aim to please at all costs – damaging to one’s identity.

V. It’s the law

Centers on strictly abiding by the laws, rules, and regulations of the law;

“What are the rules?” – the only concern;

A person does things because you are supposed to in order to belong to the group.

It’s the law

Conformity – the hallmark of the person who above all needs to be accepted, to fit in;

Being an individual or standing on one’s own seems too hard;

It’s the law

Danger : blindly letting rules and laws automatically steer one’s moral behavior;

Conscience plays an essential role in assessing the moral legitimacy and rightness of rules and laws .

It’s the law

Laws, rules, unquestionably following leaders’ orders might bring a degree of stability and order in the family, school, or society;

However, blindly following rules, a person can end up being stuck in a violent gang, religious sect, terrorist group.

VI. It’s only “natural”

“Doing what comes naturally” – right or wrong – in terms of what feels or seems “natural”;

It’s woman’s nature to bear and raise children; it is a man’s nature to work and to be leaders.

It’s only “natural”

The standards – purely subjective; their idea of what is natural or unnatural to do;

What some persons would subjectively regard as “natural” and right, others might consider “unnatural” and wrong.

It’s only “natural”

For example:People who say that premarital sex or marital infidelity is “only following one’s natural instincts and feelings”;

There are no thoughts about meaning or consequences;

VII. It is The Principled Thing to Do

External motives: doing the right thing – because of the outside rules, laws, regulations, authority of others;

Internalized motives: doing the right thing – because of one’s faith, principles, and/ or value system.

It is The Principled Thing to Do

A person grows morally when he/ she bases his/ her decisions on internalized motives rather than self-interest, obedience, or peer pressure;

Otherwise a person’s moral growth remains stuck in a childish level;

Principled individuals can set self-interest aside for the sake of the rights and the greater good of others.