Philosophy 1120: Social Ethics E Portfolio Assignment Part II

Answer the following questions. I would like to see at least 3-4 sentences for each answer if possible. This is worth up
to 30 points. Please spend some time on your answers.

1. Overall, how has your understanding of your personal values, if any way, been impacted by the course material?

 I’ve walked away with a different perspective than I had before. There were some issues, such as drug
legalization or even my overall ethical framework that I was confident I would never change, but now there
are several issues that I’ve flipped on, or at the very least I feel a bit less sure about.
2. What are your thoughts on Cultural relativism after taking this course? Cultural relativism is the idea that a
person's beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture, rather than be
judged against the criteria of another.

 I have the opinion that all cultures are beautiful in their own way, and that we should look to the good in all
of them. That being said, I definitely feel that there are cultures that are more moral than others, and I don’t
think that there is anything wrong with saying that. Some groups of people practice things that I believe to
be closer to some idea of objective moral truth.
3. What are your thoughts on Utilitarianism after taking this course? Utilitarianism is a tradition stemming from
the late 18th- and 19th-century English philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
according to which an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce the
reverse of happiness—not just the happiness of the performer of the action but also that of everyone affected
by it.

 I staunchly believed at the being of the semester that I was a utilitarian. I thought that the only thing that
mattered was the outcome of an action, how much good it generated, and that’s how I lived my life.
However, I’ve come to doubt that in recent months. It’s not that I don’t think outcomes don’t matter,
because I do, but I also belief now that they’re not the only thing that matters when considering an action.
4. What are your thoughts on Kantianism or Deontology after taking this course? Deontology places special
emphasis on the relationship between duty and the morality of human actions. In deontological ethics an action
is considered morally good because of some characteristic of the action itself, not because the product of the
action is good. Deontological ethics holds that at least some acts are morally obligatory regardless of their
consequences for human welfare.

 My opinion at the beginning of the semester was the complete opposite to my opinion on utilitarianism. I
thought that Kantian deontology was largely bad, not completely so, but I thought that it didn’t give me
what I was looking for in an ethical system. Now, I don’t feel that way. I think that he wasn’t right about
everything, but his categorical imperatives and his means/ends distinction have really grown on me, and I
use those in my daily life when making decisions for myself.
5. What are your thoughts on Virtue Ethics after taking this course? Virtue ethics is a broad term for theories that
emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral philosophy rather than either doing one’s duty or acting in
order to bring about good consequences. A virtue ethicist is likely to give you this kind of moral advice: “Act as a
virtuous person would act in your situation.”
  I think that the idea of it is nice, and there’s nothing wrong with asking oneself what a virtuous person
would do in a given situation, but it falls victim to the problem of usability. How practical is it, how
actionable? And the answer is that it’s complicated, but it’s really hard to define a virtuous person if you
don’t have strict methods for determining the morality of their actions. It sort of begs the question in a way,
so for that reason I don’t really consider myself a virtue ethicist.
6. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Abortion.

 My opinion remains unchanged. I think that anyone that should want an abortion, for any reason, should be
able to get one. The first couple of months that a woman is pregnant, she doesn’t have anything really
resembling a person growing inside of her, and even after that has passed it’s her body and she should be
able to do with it what she wants.
7. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of euthanasia.

 I also still hold the same believe. Euthanasia should have a waiting period unless someone is terminally ill
with 6 months or less left to live. But anyone should be able to apply for it. Depression is a scary thing, and
sometimes it can make people do things that they wouldn’t do later, but we can never know for sure if
someone is going to get better, and if it relieves their suffering, who are we to tell them that they can’t do
it?
8. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Stem cell Research

 Stem-cell research should be something that we should be researching aggressively. It has so many practical
applications, and if the small cluster of cells that they extract the stem cells from isn’t a person, and it isn’t,
then what’s the harm? It would help so many people that we would be foolish not to.
9. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Cloning

 It’s never really sat right with me, whether it be cloning live animals or humans. It seems like a technology
that could be abused really easily, and I would be wary to let it be legal. Cloning non-living things, like death
animals or something like that seems fine to me, though.
10. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Genetically Modified
Foods
 I’m actually a bit more against them then I was when the class started. I really got to thinking about the
environmental impacts that it can have, and how we don’t know what could happen if these crops
crossbreed in the wild. While they don’t appear to be unsafe to eat, I still think they should be used
sparingly.
11. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Designer Babies

 I was against them before, and I’m really against them now. They would lead us down a very dark path, for a
number of reasons. It would mess up genetic diversity making us more susceptible to disease, assuming we
really can pick the “best” genes, it would widen the gap between haves and have nots even further. It’s a
textbook example of eugenics, and that has always led to evil actions and the culling of “undesirables”.
12. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Organ trafficking and
donation
  I’ve become more aware of the problem than I was before. I know that we are capable of building a world
where people wouldn’t feel the need to sell their organs to survive, and yet we live in a world where they do
have to do that. I want use to focus on eliminating poverty the world over, so this happens much less often.
13. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of Genetic Engineering

 I feel the same way about this as I do about designer babies. I see the argument that it can be used to fix a
number of genetic diseases, but this again would lead us down a path of no return, one where we wouldn’t
just be using this for the good of some sick people, but rather as a way to make other changes to ourselves.
14. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of drug use and abuse

 I was fully on board at the beginning of class with full legalization, but now I don’t think so. It would be nice
if people could have the full freedom to do so, but I think that it would destroy communities. Instead, we
should educate and decriminalize, allowing those that need help to get it.
15. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of guns and personal liberty

 I was pro-gun before this semester, and I remain that way. We should be doing a better job of educating on
this subject as well, and we should restrict access of guns to people with histories of violent crime, but all
other adults should be able to have one if they want. We should all have the ability to defend ourselves if we
want it, even if there are occasional accidents and things like that, which is where the better education
comes in.
16. How has your understanding and perspectives changed or not changed on the topic of capital punishment

 I’m still against it. I don’t trust the state with the power to kill people, and I don’t think that will change in
the near future. We should give people life if they aren’t able to be put back into society, and rehabilitation
for everyone else.
17. Of all of the topics above, which three were most interesting to you and why?

 I would say the ethical theories, the discussion about drugs and euthanasia. Ethical theories are like the
bread and butter of a philosophy class like this, and they inform all of my other opinions, which is why I like
them. Drugs are an interesting topic, especially because, in theory at least, they only effect the user,
although that’s not really the case in the actual world. And euthanasia, because I think that the philosophy
around suicide is super interesting, and something that we don’t really talk about much as a society.
18. Of the topics above, which topic did you learn the most about after this course?

 I would say that because my last paper was about drug use that that was the topic, I learned the most about.
I really did change my mind on the subject, and I’m glad that I did. All of the research and reading that I did
for it really opened my eyes.
19. Of the topics above, what was your favorite overall topic and why?

 Learning about the ethical theories was really helpful, and I think that it will be useful for me going forward.
Getting to see that Kant actually said a lot of things that I agree with was really surprising and refreshing. I’ll
use this as I move forward in my philosophy education for sure.
20. Any personal message to me about the course and your journey as a student with Social Ethics
 Just that this class was really helpful. I learned a lot, and I was so happy to have a group of people to discuss
this stuff with. I never felt negatively judged for my opinions, and I got to learn in a safe environment. Ethics
isn’t my absolute favorite field of philosophy, but I have a deeper appreciation for it than I did before. Thank
you for this amazing semester!