Personal Code of Ethics Statements This is a list of what you will do. Each stat

Question

Personal Code of Ethics Statements This is a list of what you will do. Each statement should begin with, “I will…” Include at least five statements but you can write down as many as is needed. Include statements of things you do now as well as what you aspire to do. (You can use the list [see Worksheet below] you developed using the worksheet in Steps 1 & 2 and the beliefs/rules you explained in Steps 4 & 5 to help you write “I will…” statements. Look at how well Steps 1& 2 match up with 4 & 5. Do they match up at all? How well these sections match (or not) can also help you develop “I will…” statements that reflect what you currently do vs. what you want to do.[Refer to Worksheet below])

WORKSHEET:

Step One: How would you describe yourself? Write down words and phrases the best describe who you are and what you do.

I am an independent, dependable and a loyal person who always thinks and do realistic activities only.

Step Two: Ask at least two people to list five words or phrases they would use to describe you. If the words and phrases they used are different from the words and phrases you wrote down, add the new words and phrases to your list.

A simple person, still cool under pressure, never being tensed, smart worker, work wholeheartedly, typically easy to understand and honest.

Step Four: Make a list of the beliefs/rules you use to guide your decision-making. It does not have to be in any order of importance.

Time is precious, and valuable, the only resource we can never recreate, if you use it wisely you can become successful, if you waste it you will become a failure.

Step Five: Think about the ethical beliefs you just wrote down. Why do you believe these statements? Write down any favorite quotes, texts, and/or Bible verses that you use to guide your beliefs/rules.

Time is precious, and valuable, the only resource we can never recreate, if you use it wisely you can become successful, if you waste it you will become a failure. "Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is" (Ephesians 5:15-17, New International Version).

Explanation / Answer

The subject of ethics has always been pondered throughout the history of man. Many prominent figures throughout history have attempted to define or classify ethical behavior. Whether through belief in gods or deities, or belief in a society of another sort, man has never ultimately answered the question of what is truly ethical. The only truth is that we can never know if our behavior is justified or ethical; what we have learned and experienced from society, our ancestors and mentors is the only method through which we can attempt to measure ourselves against what is right and wrong. Culture, and by extension society, adapts to and affects all things; as we grow, so too does society, which in turn defines culture. Literally every decision that each of us make is a contribution to how our society will be remembered in history books a thousand years from now. Perhaps it is for this reason that ethics has been such an important subject to the human race; being judged as a bad, or "evil" person has always brought grave consequences, whether in this life or in an afterlife, so naturally, everyone wants to be deemed a "good" person. However, the subject of ethics has not evolved into a simple black and white discussion. Various people through the ages have, perhaps, attempted to justify their lifestyles and behaviors, and so took it upon themselves to take a stance on ethics that best makes sense to them, such as the practices of consequentialism and hedonism. The fact that two people, who appear to make completely contrasting choices morally, can both feel that their choices are justified, or "good", illustrates the struggle of man to obtain moral righteousness as merely a matter of perspective and attitude, which is precisely the reason that this topic has, and will always be, pondered and re-imagined by generation after generation. My personal code of ethics has formed and evolved through experience and observation throughout my life, and I believe it to be crucial to who I am today.

I owe a lot to society. Without the comparison of myself to those who embody that which I consider to be good, I would not have become the person I am. In return, I believe I have served society well by having been a part of the military for fourteen years. In the Navy, we are taught that service to one's country is the highest honor. "It is essential that all Department of the Navy personnel adhere to the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct. The American people put their trust in us and none of us can betray that trust." says the honorable Donald C. Winter, Secretary of the Navy. This statement embodies that which I strive to be. We are taught to be the example by which others follow through duty, hard work and whatever it takes to benefit the people of our country. In that sense, it is a deontological code of ethics behind the military that makes it what it is. They do what they are bound to do by rules, duty and good will. When people ask me if I was proud to have served my country, I know one-hundred percent that the answer is yes, because I upheld the virtues and ethics of my society in the best way possible: service. Even if some disagree with the motives of our government and by extension the military, I know that no operation or invasion is done without good will at heart. Invading Iraq may have been wrong because of humanitarian issues to some, but in my opinion it was the right thing to do. It is best to err on the side of caution, and in the case of Operation: Iraqi Freedom, the best intelligence that was available to us explained that Iraq was in the possession of illegal and dangerous weapons that very well could have posed a threat to our society and the well-being of other nations in the region. We acted as a response to the duty we are sworn to uphold to the American people, and our motives were clear and just. This fits the deontological description of ethics, which I believe to be right and true in all situations.

There are times when the line between right and wrong, moral and immoral, is blurred. As stated previously, morality is often a matter of perspective and attitude, and the belief that one's actions are justified religiously has led to unimaginable death and suffering throughout the ages. When thinking of religion, I am often reminded of a story, first presented to me in high school, of blind men and an elephant. All of the men touch a different part of the elephant to find out what it is like. All of them touch a different part of the elephant, and in turn each has a completely different idea of what it is like. They argue, and eventually fight over, their different beliefs. Such is the struggle between different religions, and often different parts of the same religion. For example, Sunnis and Shiites both believe in the same God, and are part of the same religion. However, small differences in how they have interpreted their history and religious texts have lead to centuries of violence and struggle. The biggest problem I have with this is that their ethics and morals seem not to be present at all; they are blindly following those who came and disagreed before them, and so do not seem to have any genuine or unique codes of ethics, until you look deeper and see that the concept of transcendent, or absolute, morality pervades their lifestyles and beliefs entirely. Transcendent morality is the belief that our ethics and morals should not be unique, but absolute as a way of preserving a standard of good and evil. I believe this is a terrible way to view morality, because just as one pair of shoes will not fit the feet of everyone on earth, the same can be said of a code of ethics.

It is my belief that everything happens for a reason, and this is best presented in the views of a determinist. Determinism is the belief that nothing happens of its own cause; in order for something to happen, something else must have made it happen, which in itself was a reaction to another force, and so on. Furthering this notion that every action is a reaction to another action, it can also be concluded that, given there is a universal law governing all events taking place at any given time, there is a specific path that everything will, and must, follow. This leads many to believe that everything is pre-determined. That every action they have, and will, make has already been chosen and that free will is an illusion. Determinism is propagated from two sources: religion and natural science. On the religious side, we Christians are all taught that God is omnipotent and omniscient; that is, God all-powerful and all-knowing. However, we are also taught that God gave Man the privilege of free will. This is somewhat of a contradiction, because if God was aware of everything that has and will happen, then we are all on a set path, like a train. This is where I start to disagree with the concept. If everything were truly predetermined, then what would be the point of such an existence? If all of creation is some kind of socio-scientific experiment, why go through all of the trouble when the answer is already known? I believe parts of determinism are correct, such as everything having cause and reason, like was stated by Hume, but that is precisely what the universe is built upon: seamless interaction and perfect law. Just because everything has cause and reason does not necessarily rule out the possibility of free will. Everything that has happened in the past and will happen in the future meshes seamlessly together because the laws of the universe are absolute and perfect, no matter what I choose to do in the present. This belief also raises many moral questions for me as well. Let's picture the following scenario: I choose to pick up a rock and throw it at my neighbor's window. The rock shatters it and hits the cat inside, causing it to jump onto its owner's head, which then causes the owner to fling the cat against a wall, killing it. In casual determinist belief, the cat's death would be my fault because I threw the rock; however, I could say that it was not my fault, it was the fault of my faulty sprinkler on the lawn which caused me to go outside and see the rock, or the fault of the sprinkler company, and so on and so forth until I've passed the blame on the "big bang" or whatever created this universe. This is the biggest fallacy that I see with determinism, because morality can no longer be judged if such an ethics system is fully believed in. Blame for any number of crimes could be passed on to whatever events happened preceding the crime, until all guilt and fault is washed away or passed onto something else. Likewise, I believe moral issues arise when it is assumed that fate is predetermined. If I believe that God is in control of everything and that everything happens because it is meant to be, then theoretically I could do absolutely nothing and contribute nothing to society and claim that's the way it is supposed to happen. Or, for example, let's say I'm walking along a riverbank and I see someone drowning. If I believed in a predetermined fate, I would stand by while the person continued to drown, thinking to myself "Oh, it's okay. If he is meant to be saved, God will save him." For this reason, I believe that the notion of a predetermined fate is not only wrong, but immoral because of the apathy it can potentially breed.

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