Personal Ethics Essay

Ethics refers to behaviors, practices, and decisions that address three basic and fundamental questions: What is the right thing to do? What is worth doing? What does it mean to be a good behavior analyst (Cooper, 2007)?

My personal ethics have been formed through family influence, religious beliefs, life experiences, my internal reflection and the culture in which I was raised.

Throughout life, our experiences, encounters, and interactions design the constructs of our being. Our families, friends, and social network of colleagues each play a vital role in the balance of our ethical mind. The personality, disposition, beliefs, and values that we embrace face trivial pursuits as we strive to be ethical and moral statures. Each occurrence whether good or bad, plays a vital role in the shaping of who we become. As ethical agents, we consciously decide what we will address, internalize, or avoid in our pursuit of happiness.

2) What is your personal code of ethics? Prepare a code outlining what you believe is morally right

Guido describes ethics as “a process of determining right conduct from wrong” (para 2, p. 3). My personal view of ethics is along the same lines as this and has been instilled in me my entire life. My code of ethics includes respect for myself and others; honesty in my endeavors, graciousness in both my personal and professional lives, and accountable for my actions. I use nonmaleficence and beneficence in every aspect of my life. I also strive to honor the proverbial do unto others as they would do unto me.

Having a personal code of ethics is very important to me since it defines who I am and what my beliefs are. My ethical code symbolizes who I am as an individual as a result of my moral, religious, intellectual and cultural upbringing. One of my greatest wishes is for my personality and actions to clearly define my code of ethics, without me verbalizing or someone else reading it on a document. Some questions that I would like others to ask and come up with their own answers without being doubtful and uncertain are: Is she an honest person? Is she a leader or a follower? Does she practice what she preaches? Does she exercise a love for God? These are the questions and answers that should reflex my

Should a person be allowed autonomy over the safety of public health? Does the CDC have the right to detain an individual based on the safety of the general public when the individual is thought to have a certain illness that has built up a resistance to antibiotics? This means that anyone who comes in contact with this individual could possibly contract the disease that antibiotics can’t fix.

In this project I am asked to reflect on what ethics means to me. Not only in my personal life but also in a work setting, and in our society. During our reflection I am asked to give multiple personal examples to support my meaning of ethics. Lastly I will connect the three questions together with a conclusion that I hope will help a reader understand the subject of ethics.

A personal code of ethics is a set of ideas and rules that an individual believes in. It varies from person to person as it is typically inspired by their culture, religious beliefs, lifestyle and experiences. Having a personal code of ethics is key for an individual to have as it will keep them grounded and will remind them of what they strive to be when making day-to-day decisions. I am very thankful for this religion assignment for it allowed me to reflect upon my life and come up with rules and morals I live by. While constructing my code of ethics, the only criteria I had in mind is for it to not only be good for others but also myself.

My personal code of ethics helps guide me to making decisions in the best interest of co-workers, students, and myself. This code helps me distinguish between right and wrong in everyday life. My upbringing has helped to mold this code through the teachings of my family and teachers I have established some fundamental beliefs that include integrity, high-standards, and responsibilities. I was raised to believe that everyone has a fair shot and should be “heard” before making any decision.

Values and ethics are one of the most important characteristic of an individual. They basically define who we are and what we believe. There are many factors that determine our values and ethics. Culture, religion, and many other factors affect our beliefs. Many times are values and ethics can clash with different people who hold different views and beliefs. This doesn't mean our values or ethics are wrong it just means we think differently than others. Most people have a good sense of ethics and values. Knowing between right and wrong is a good foundation to practicing good ethics and morals.

My personal ethic comes very naturally. I have not spent a lot of time thinking about it before this assignment. I would have to say that my Mom and Grandmother are the ones who influenced my ethical theory the most. Retired football coach Lou Holtz once stated, Do right. Do your best. Treat others as you want to be treated. (Hotlz, 2006) I think this quote sums up my highest good or ideal. I strive to do right, do my best and treat others as I want to be treated in everything I set out to do. I think I have been very successful in carrying this out and I hope I have influenced others to do the same.

The word “ethics” comes from Greek ethikas meaning character. Today, we use ethics to describe the normative standard of behavior. The history of philosophical ethics has been broken up into five rational methods: Virtue, Traditional, Modern, and Post-Modern Ethics. Within these periods, the philosophy of ethics changed along with the changes being made within society.

Ethics are an intrinsic and inherent set of values and guidelines which assist in establishing right from wrong. Ethics can also be described as a personal code of conduct or a code of conduct established by one’s workplace or even the law. Not only can ethics be an innate part of us, ethics can be learned and observed from our families, our society, and our workplace. The best way to further discuss ethics is to look at the following example.

In our lives we use ethics on a daily basis along with our own morals. Our ethics and morals influence the way we make decisions and the way we choose to respond in different situations. At some point in a person’s life there comes a time when a person must choose between sides, and be able to differentiate between wrong and right and what is befitting for humanity as a whole, which is when we apply our personal ethics system.