An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Kids and Ethics Part II
In Part I, we learned that when asked the question whether or not they would be willing to succeed at someone else’s expense, the majority of the kids in a high school class stated that they probably would not, only out of fear of being caught. Several said, in essence, hell yeah I would. And very few said they would not because it is just wrong.
The second question presented to the kids was:
How would you determine if an action is ethical? Is this the same thing as legal?
I what I do will negatively effect another person I would consider it unethical.
You can determine if something is unethical if you have to question yourself over and over again. If you keep thinking about bad things then it most likely is unethical.
I determine if an action is ethical by figuring out if it’s’ the right or wrong thing to do and how it affects a person’s or people’s lives all together. I wouldn’t say it is the same thing as legal or illegal because some things can be done that are unethical but legal and vice versa.
I would determine if my actions would be ethical by thinking on how many people it would make mad or if I could suffer consequences for doing it.
An action is ethical if it is honest and not cheating anyone or out of anything. Basically you can decide if the action is ethical by deciding if it is right or wrong, and how it affects people’s lives.
I can determine my actions are ethical by if it’s doing the right thing then its ethical but if I’m over thinking the situation and second guessing myself about the problem it’s probably wrong.
If I had a guilt feeling that something is unethical then I would report it no matter if it is unethical or not, just because I would want someone to be aware of what is going on.
I would determine whether something is ethical by first deciding if it was legal. After making that decision and nit was legal I would have to decide if it went along with my moral values.
I would put all the legal stuff in the ethical category. That’s pretty much it.
You can determine if something is ethical by the way that you and others feel it will affect them.
It is all based on what you think is right
Ethical is normally the moral decision or the right thing to do no matter legal or illegal.
If you have any doubt in your mind that the action you are doing is unethical it probably is.
You determine if an action is ethical by whether or not it hurts another person or does not feel right to you.
Determining if an action is ethical depends on your morals and is not the same as legal and illegal.
The way I determine if it is unethical is could I tell or show my parents what I’m doing or what is happening. Would I want them to know that this is happening.
Ethical is pretty much what is the right thing to do and it is something you think is wrong and right.
Wait a minute here!! While these are good answers (and thank you to the student who even mentioned his/her parents), aren’t these the very same kids who would either succeed at someone’s expense, or would not do it for the sole reason that there was a risk of getting caught? Of course, based on the previous answers, one wonders what crosses their minds when determining right from wrong.
The only conclusion I can draw based on these two sets of questions and answers is that these kids seem to know the difference between right and wrong but don’t give a happy crap. Very disconcerting to think that this is the generation that will be in charge in the not too distant future. But then again, not too different from what we have today. *sigh*
This is downright terrifying.
Not that impressed. In general, the theme is: what I believe is right or wrong. Well, what if what they think is right it is actually wrong?
What should be the standard for figuring out what really is right or wrong?
I guess if one has to ask the standard for right andr wrong, one may not know, and likely can’t be taught.
These are better than the first batch. I think I can match some up with their previous answer.
I think most of these kids are on the right track. They are missing the fact, though, that doing something that affects someone else negatively or makes the other person feel bad, can still be the ethical thing to do, sometimes, but they probably haven’t lived long enough to understand this.
I think understanding that our gut feeling is often authentic, is often correct – just as needing to obsess over something may mean that we are not being truthful with ourselves. We usually know instinctively what is ethical.
The world may think that many things are ethical, things that God may name them otherwise. It was a time in this country when that standard was taught.