M2 McJannet Bratton

To begin the theory I most closely identify with is the nonconsequentialist view. I agree that utilitarianism does not come first as while happiness is important, duty comes first. As a member of the United States Air Force there isn’t a day that this doesn’t play into my life. The OSHA example in the book directly applies to me. We must uphold OSHA and many other standards that are a stronger obligation. In my job I work in an aircraft parts warehouse, it is my duty to ensure proper accountability of 1.2 billion dollars of aircraft parts. When these are received my team has to very thoroughly count every asset. It would be easy to just read the exterior label on the box and assume that is the proper quantity. That would absolutely make the job less tedious. However, when there is a member of our Alaskan community who flies a small plane and crashes into a mountain, our 176th planes go fly to search for them. If a plane has something break and maintenance has a specific part they need, they get it from us. If we apply the happiness of the worker above the need to properly do the job, there may not be an aircraft part for the plane. Circling around, if we pick the “easy” or “happy/utilitarianism” we may fail our obligation to the Alaskan people. In our work of the military this is not a supererogatory action, but a morally required task.

M1 McJannet Bratton

We develop ethics as children and continue to learn from environmental factors aswe grow. Primary sources to learn ethics our are our parents and family. They show us the initial building blocks of right and wrong. Environmental factors continue to play a part, one major influence is school. Many first choices that come to a person are within the school system. Cheating on a test or on homework, whether to include a person at lunch or not, or college admissions scams as we’ve seen lately in current events. All of these choices whether the ethical or unethical choice is made starts a pattern and continue on into the work place. Other Influences such as a religious organization may impact if the person has that in their life. Other external extracurriculars and volunteer organizations play a part as well. For example, if a child participates in the Boy Scouts, Civil Air Patrol/JROTC, and football, all of the cultures of the organization will impact. In Scouts or CAP/JROTC emphasis on volunteerism, excellence, and integrity is placed highly. This shows the child that cheating or lying is wrong. When not involved in any external organization one may turn to a social group that doesn’t necessarily have the same ethics, such as a gang. While the team concept is still present now the child or young adult is under the influence of adults that could be committing crimes and not behaving in an ethical or moral manner. Another point from, “The Significance of Ethics and Ethics Education in Daily Life,’ a TEDxPSU by Michael D. Burroughs he states “What we generally don’t receive is training in ethics education [from secondary school]. Nor in an era of maxed out curricula and standardized testing do we even leave open space for a frank and honest conversation about the ethical discussions we face in adulthood.’ However, to avoid controversy these conversations within school may be side stepped. This Ted Talk provides insight as to how ethics isn’t being addressed. If one of the foundational blocks is from school, not having ethics in the classroom which in turn leads to the work place is not the correct path.

 

 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+do+we+develop+ethics+ted+talk&view=detail&mid=4854325A678305A2938B4854325A678305A2938B&FORM=VIRE