Janitza Guevara

Mrs.Carroll

American Literature

30 April 2017

What It Takes To Be Ethical

Ethics are the principles of morality that governs a persons behavior. There are many

tools a person can use to help make ethical decisions. For example, we learned from an article by

Brown University that there are frameworks for making ethical decisions. The Consequentialist

Framework is one that focuses on future effects your decision can cause. In this framework,

being ethical means you will achieve the best consequence and try to produce the most good. In

the Duty Framework, you will focus on your obligations and always doing the right thing: never

failing to do ones duty. The last framework is the virtue framework. Here, your ethical decisions

are made through what your actions will show of your character. You would act as any virtuous

person would in a situation. There are other factors that come into play when trying to make an

ethical decision. We learned about our obligations or what we owe to other people. The three

obligations we might live by are natural duties, voluntary obligations, or obligations of

solidarity.The biggest takeaway I got from learning about ethics was that no matter how ethical

you try to be, there will always be more than one options and some might disagree with your

decision. I learned this from The Runaway Trolley scenarios. Overall, ethics are principles that

are the distinction between right or wrong behavior. Justice to me means to be equity and

producing the most good when it comes to making ethical decisions. My 10 rules come from the

Duty Framework because the overall goal is to perform the correct action. This framework also
focuses on following moral rules and duty regardless of the outcome, so it allows for the

possibility that one might have acted ethically, even if there is a bad result (20-22). My rules also

follow the natural duties (what we owe to people as rational beings). My rules follow these tools

because they are the most ethical, just concepts when trying to make an ethical decision. They

are also universal and general, so anyone can follow them.

My first rule is to do no harm. This rule is important because you would be hurting many

people and the world as a whole if you tried to harm a person. Harming someone is dangerous to

the world, and it would not be an ethical decision to make. This rule follows the natural duties

explained in the excerpt from Justice. It states, Natural duties are universal. They include the

duty to avoid cruelty ( Sandel 3-4). This rule supports my claim because the Duty Framework

says it encourages to treat everyone with equal dignity and respect (20). Doing no harm would be

considered avoiding cruelty and also treating everyone with respect by not hurting them. This

rule supports the Duty Framework and natural duties.

My second rule is to not judge others. This rule is important because there are billions of

people who are not the same, and as a rational human being you are supposed to respect

everyone. Judging other people is rude and can trigger problems or violence. This rule follows

the natural duty to treat persons with respect ( Sandel 4). This rule is part of the Duty Framework

because Brown University stated their definition of ethical is defined as doing ones duties and

doing the right thing ( 17). Ones natural duties would be to treat others with respect, meaning

to not judge them for who they are.

My third rule is to forgive others. This rule is significant because a good person who does

not forgive will hold grudges and create problems with others. A good person will forgive and be
understanding of others. According to Brown University, the goal is to perform the correct

action (17). If you are not forgiving, you will hold hate and have grudges towards others. This

causes tension between people and a good person will not let this happen. This follows natural

duties because you are doing justice by being fair and also even the bigger person.

My fourth rule is: if one is struggling, offer to help. This is a voluntary rule, but it does

help foster a good person. This is important because a good person is considered good when

you are helping others and are fair with others. The Duty Framework is all about always doing

the right thing and aiming to perform the right action. When you see someone struggling, you are

going to want to be a good person and help. This would be the right action to do. This rule is a

universal rule that anyone with good intentions would do and it follows the Duty Framework by

performing the right action.

My fifth rule is to put yourself and your happiness first, but consider how it may affect

others. This rule is important because some people may not notice how they are harming others

by doing what they want. This may be considered a selfish, egocentric action. Doing the right

thing would be doing what you like, but being cautious. Natural duties are respecting others and

doing justice ( Sandel 4). As a good person, you will rearrange your decisions if it may hurt other

people. This also connects to the Duty Framework because it is your duty to do the right thing

and think about what you should never do (16-18), which is harming others.

My sixth rule is to be friendly with others. This is an important rule because the world is

a better place when everyone is welcoming and friendly. This is a natural duty rule because

being friendly is a form of respect. It is a universal rule that helps to foster a good person. The

Duty Framework means you are treating everyone with respect (20) and being friendly is one
way to respect others. This is also a voluntary rule, but being friendly is being kind and fair with

others. So one's natural duties are close related to being friendly with others.

My seventh rule is to stay loyal. This is an important rule because a good person will

always be true to you and not betray. Being loyal to a friend or family is important because they

are the obligations or duty in a situation so you would prioritize them. This rule connects to

the Duty Framework because the text by Brown University says, we focus on the duties and

obligations that we have in a given situation. As I stated, our duty to others (family and friends

to be more specific) is to stay loyal and faithful to them. This rule is important to help foster a

good person.

My eighth rule is to always respect others. This rule is important because it can help

avoid problems and violence between people. You may have heard the saying you dont have to

like them, you just need to respect them. Respect is an important natural duty that is also

universal. You owe respect to persons as rational beings. In Justice it says that a natural duty is

treating others with respect (Sandel 4). My rule connects back to my claim that it follows the

Duty Framework as well because you are treating others with equal dignity and respect (20).

This is a general rule that everyone must follow

My ninth rule is to not lie. This is an important rule because it can help to foster a good

person. Lying can result in many more problems: losing trust or a bad reputation. An ethical

decision is always to try to do good and lying can steer that to be a bad outcome. This rule

connects to my claim of the Duty Framework because it is considering what ethical obligations

we have and what things we should never do (16). A person should not lie because it is wrong

and the best ethical decision would be to tell the truth and do just.
 My last rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated. This is an important rule

because every person knows how they want to be treated and respected, so it is nice to stop and

think: is this how I would want to be treated? Then, you have a better idea of what the ethical

decision would be. This rule is also part of natural duties, which states that a natural duty is to do

justice ( Sandel 4). This rule is to help people make a better decision and treat others better

because of course, you will not want to be treated poorly. This also connects to the Duty

Framework because its definition of an ethical conduct is always doing the right thing, as stated

in the article by Brown University. Doing the right thing would be treating someone fair and

with respect because that is what any person would want in return.

I developed my 10 rules by deciding which frameworks and obligations I agreed with the

most. After reading many excerpts from Justice, I gained knowledge of what ethical decisions

are and rules that can connect to it. After I agreed the most with Natural Duties and the Duty

Framework, I made my rules to follow these tools. I made a couple revisions while forming my

10 rules. I first had: dont get in the way of other peoples happiness. Then, it contradicted with

another rule which was: be true to yourself and everyone around you. A peer of mine said that

being true to yourself and others might get in the way of others happiness. So, I thought it over

and edited the first rule to: put your happiness first, but consider how it may affect others. The

peer editing helped me with another persons perspective on how these rules may foster a good

person and catching mistakes that I didnt when forming my rules.

I do try to live by my 10 rules. Sometimes, there are exceptions because of the situation

you are in. Although, I always try to produce the most good, which is considered to be ethical,

even if the outcome is not what you wanted. If I lived exactly by my rules, my life would be a bit
more peaceful but not much different. I learned that no matter how ethical you try to be, there

will always be someone who disagrees with your decision and it may affect them. If the world

lived by my rules, there would definitely be more peace and a closer bond in the communities.

Everyone would be friendly and there would never really be any problems between people, or

groups. The world would not be violent and hurting each other. If everyone did their part, the

world would be a better place and everyone would get along.