Ethics can be developed in several methods, ranging from childhood upbringing, religious beliefs, cultural values, and consciousness or the gut feeling of what is right from what is wrong. Ethics is developed during childhood from one’s upbringing. Parents teach their children their own ethical morals through their use of words, and importantly in their actions. Parents tell us right from wrong and discipline their children through the use of their words and or actions. A person can also develop their ethics through religion and religious beliefs. Shaw states that “any religion provides its believers with a worldview, part of which involves certain moral instructions, values, and commitments’ (Shaw, 11). One example of the mandate “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ This “Golden Rule’ is found in several of the religions in the world, including Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Islam) representing one of humankind’s highest moral ideals. As I believe your ethics can be shaped from many these ways, I also believe it is ultimately your decision to choose which morals you want to carry with you.
An ethical stance is when a person takes a position on a topic based on defined ethical principles as determined acceptable by the person. A person keeps their ethical stance because their morals may be so strong they feel the need to take action on what they believe is the right thing to do.