Reading 00: Morality

When I try to determine if something were right or wrong my first course of action is to ask myself if I would like if that was done to me. Would I like it if that was said to me, or if it was done to me etc. I feel like this is a good place to start when considering if an action is right or wrong. It makes the action more personal and makes me take into account the perspective of the other side. This however, is only a first step, if I am not sure about if an action is right or wrong by asking if I would want it to happen to me, because maybe it does not apply, I then ask societally if it is considered right or wrong. There are very few things that cannot be defined as right or wrong, or at least find a discussion about the ethics of an action from a societal perspective. There is however a lot of overlap between the two ways I determine if an action is right or wrong. This is because I have grown up in society and my standard of beliefs are a reflection of the society I grew up in to a large degree. Then if neither of those two questions provides me with a satisfying answer about the ethics of an action I will assume it is probably wrong, because it is better to be safe than sorry. I feel like if I’m not sure if I would want something to happen to me, and society does not have a conclusive stance one way or the other on the action, it is better to be on the safe side. I feel that if I am able to put myself into the shoes of the other side of the issue and conclusively state whether or not I believe that action is for right or wrong, I can feel much better about my decision. This is largely because society, despite having opinions on almost every topic rarely has unanimous agreement on moral or ethical issues. If I can say myself I also do not rely on the opinions of others who I don’t know to make ethical decisions for me. Something that I also consider when I’m asking myself if I would be upset if an action occurred to me I also have to consider that people are different. So while I may be perfectly fine with being called a name or being mildly insulted others may take much more offense. It is these situations societies opinion is important to the question. When I think that personal opinion may play a part in the ethics of an action, I try to consider it not from my own perspective but as a general member of society. Then I am better able to say if an action is right or wrong. Overall I think the best way to determine if an action is right or wrong is to take a personal perspective of the issue from the other side. This would be the quickest and easiest way to determine the ethics of an issue. Despite society attempting to outline the ethics and morals of all people it is the responsibility of the individual to make the final decision regarding their own actions and their morality.