1.

My recent experiences of decision making on a significant matter consists of a) deciding

whether to stop for a semester or graduate on time, b) whether to stand up for myself or
tolerate it, and c) whether to open up and ask for help.
a) Deciding whether to stop for a semester or graduate on time;
It is undeniable that this pandemic has affected us greatly. We had no
choice but to adapt on the “new normal”. However, my mental health
deteriorated which affected my academic performance. It was hard for me
to make the final decision because I am the eldest daughter of the family,
everyone was depending on me so I couldn’t afford to be left behind. But I
have thought this long – I know better than anyone that if I continued for
another semester, it wouldn’t do me any good because I couldn’t function
properly. I’ve relied on both reason and emotion when I made the
decision, I was ready for the consequences and planned out what I could
do to make up for the lost time. Unfortunately, my father didn’t understand
my reason so he didn’t allow me to stop for a semester.

b) Deciding whether to speak up for your right;

Last week, I went over to a friend’s house and his younger brother was
making rape jokes. I was surprised by his comments and how my friend
just laughed over it. I was triggered by how they reacted towards it so I
scolded them that no one should ever joke about rape. I may have been
overwhelmed by my emotions but I still tried to keep calm so the situation
won’t worsen. In cases like this, it’s important to learn how to keep your
cool so you won’t say hurtful words. Still, I don’t think we should just sit
idly and tolerate how people joke about serious issues like rape so lightly
which is why I had to speak up.

c) Deciding whether to open up and ask for help.

Personally, I find it so hard to ask for help every time I’m clouded by my
problems. I’ve gotten so used to bottling my emotions up because I didn’t
want to bother anyone. It’s so rare for me to approach someone but I’m
blessed with good friends because they never fail to check up on me and
reassure that they’re ready to hear me out anytime. This is important for
me because I’ve been trying to unlearn my habit of isolating myself and
just opening up to my friends. I relied on my emotions to make this
decision because if I keep sabotaging my personal relationships, I would
not only hurt myself but I would hurt their feelings too. It’s never wrong to
accept the help people offer to you.

2. What are the three most significant lessons you got from this module? Why are they
significant?
a) One of the methodological approaches in ethical decision making that I would like to
exercise is descriptive level. There is no judgement on how an individual would act
 or behave in a particular situation because we attempt to understand the phenomena
behind their nature.
I could relate this lesson with integrating “Social Investigation & Class Analysis” in
our daily lives because we are able to investigate the conditions of the society and
grasp an understanding on how to correctly analyze the classes. Mao Zedong quoted
that, “No investigation, no right to speak” which implies that if we lack evidences to
support our claim, we should just keep quiet to avoid spreading misinformation. An
example would be vote-buying. By means of SICA, we will be able to have sufficient
and correct information on why the poor accept money from politicians even if “vote
buying” and “receiving money” is violative.

b) I always practice the pragmatic approach towards making ethical decisions.

When we act out on our emotions, we tend to say hurtful things or do something
regretful which could result to hurting someone or ourselves. When we act on
rationality, people will criticize us for being “apathetic”. But if we take a step back
and assess our situation, think of different outcomes so we will be able to mitigate the
possible consequences.

c) I learned to act consistently in similar circumstances.

This is important because we sometimes forget that we’re giving a special treatment
to someone because we know them personally. I admit that I’ve done this to my
friends because I give them pastries that my mom baked but I always charge my
acquaintances if they want baked goods. The situation may seem shallow but I don’t
want to get used to being inconsistent on the application of rules or principles.

3. These three lessons will guide me in the process of my decision making. Through the
means of sociological observation, I would be able to investigate and study the factors on
why human beings act or behave in a certain way. In the middle ground, I would be able
to keep my emotions in check while rationalizing my situation. Lastly, it is important to
be consistent to avoid being biased.