Question

If morality is simply an expression of "feeling," is there any such thing as moral responsibility? Does it matter anymore what we do or don't do? Are Gandhi and Hitler morally equivalent? Why or Why not? Ensure that your answers to these questions are thorough and well- thought out. Substantiate your answers with facts; don't just respond with "opinions."

Answer 1

Personal conduct : Gandhi ji was altruist by nature and known for his utmost honesty in personal life. Hitler was self centric and believed ends justify means ! Gandhi ji never imposed his thoughts on any one but persuaded all; persuasion was an unknown term in hitler’s lexicon !

• Personal experience : Personal experience after meeting a Jain monk, facing discrimination in South Africa turned Gandhi ji into a spiritual person and he became a selfless servant to humanity. Personal experience of losing his mother at the hand of an doctor- a jew- turned Hitler against the entire race !
• Spiritual: Gandhi ji was spiritual by nature.His acts were based on divinity inside humanity but Adolf Hitler was practical by nature whose acts were based on human instincts !

• Professional career: Gandhi ji- a trained barrister had a successful legal practice in South Africa but Hitler was a lowly ranked soldier in German army before he joined active politics !

When the idea of ethics and morality comes to mind, one often thinks of ideals and codes that are instilled in a person at childhood. However, many studies have shown that these values are influenced and developed far beyond childhood. Different factors that influence these principles can be society, culture, technology, politics, economy, impact of others, biology, and situational awareness. The annotations listed below summarize and accumulate these different influences on our ethics and morals, and why we make certain decisions.

The dictionary's definition of ethics is "a system of moral principles; the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group,culture, etc.; that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness andbadness of the motives and ends of such actions" (Ethics). This shows that ethics is more than just right versus wrong decisions or way of life, it is a system, a set of rules, and a philosophy involving our human nature. Whether a person deviates from these set of codes for humanity depends on the person and the type of situation that person is involved in.

The dictionary's definition of morals is "of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; expressing orconveying truths or counsel as to right conduct; and founded on the fundamental principles of right conduct rather than on legalities, enactment, or custom" (Morality). This shows that morals are more than how each individual human was raised. Morals come from who we are on the inside. A person's moral code may not always influence how a person reacts in a given situation.

More Than Just Feelings

Ethics and morality are more than just human nature. This becomes evident in the animal world. Various animals such as wolves, coyotes, elephants, whales, and monkeys have been found to have morals. These animals have shown moral capacities in the ways that they interact with their fellow animals, young, species specific group, and even in their brain functions. Monkeys for instance have been shown to understand fairness, selfishness, and specific emotions. Richard Gray, a science correspondent, spoke with Professor Mrac Bekoff, an ecologist at the University of Colorado, who "believes that all mammals, no matter how large or small, have been "hard-wired" to have moral values". Other animals that were studied have been shown to possess not only moral capabilities but also feelings and empathy. These feelings can be associated with ethics and morality.

Animals are not the only creatures that base their ethics and morals on feelings, humans, at times, do this as well. People often choose what is ethical and moral based on feelings, emotions, and what is appropriate in certain situations. Many times, we as humans, are faced with uncertain predicaments that make us evaluate our moral and ethical compasses to come up with the best decision in a given moment. It has been shown in studies conducted on the human brain that specific portions of the brain are stimulated when faced with these sort of dilemmas and this is what propels our decision making skills when it comes to ethics and morality.

Many of the essays chosen for this project offered open ended questions that challenge whether a person selected the ethically and morally correct reaction. Questions involving the predicament of choosing between a child or yourself, multiple people or one man, and drinking and driving or cheating were asked. The first series of open ended questions involved a study of young adults and their ability to make morally distinct decisions. A scenario used frequently in these studies, as pointed out by David Dobbs in his essay "Kill Whitey. It's the Right Thing to Do" is set up as such:

A trolley is running out of control down a track. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. Fortunately, you can flip a switch, which will lead the trolley down a different track to safety. Unfortunately, there is a single person tied to that track. Should you flip the switch?

That is a basic template that researchers build off and test people with. They've found that many of the answers provided were encompassing feelings rather than morals, and some even reacted by stating that they were unsure of what morals even were. The second sequence of questions provided answers that categorized people by their responses, and the notion that people often deviate from ethics and morals was examined. The last chain of questions was asked to volunteers and their neuroscience reactions were examined. These tests presented the concept that judgment was used when the volunteers came to their decision. This shows how complex and difficult ethical and moral decision making is and what is involved.

The thought process and steps in making an ethical and moral decision is far more complex then one would think. There is actually an order involved with making ethical decisions. First one must recognize that something is unethical and determine whether or not they want to take responsibility for that action or event. Second, that person must determine what ethical rules or conduct would apply to this particular situation. Lastly, it must be ascertained which ethical rules will pertain to the probable solution to the dilemma and follow through with that decision. However simple these steps may sound, the actual process involved with making an ethical decision is also dependent on the situation and outside sources.

Influences

Moral and ethical decisions are not universal, they depend on many different outliers. Society, culture, media, and unpleasing circumstances can be a large determinate of ethical and moral values. The certain religion a person believes in, the culture a person is raised in and/or practices they engage in, and also the society a person lives in can drastically affect the types of ethical and moral decisions a person makes. Paul Boghossian mentions that to a lot of people, eating beef is seen as a normality, but to Hindus it is seen as immoral and unethical. Media can also influence our decision making skills; the visual effects a picture can have a person's ethical and moral values can have vast impacts on a person. For example, Susan Sontag talks about the use of pictures of diseased lungs placed on cigarette packages to make people question their decision to smoke and try to steer people away from it. She points out that, "Shock can wear off...As one can become habituated to horror in real life, one can become habituated to the horror of certain images" (Sontag 374). What was once considered immoral or unethical could be changing due to the always evolving state of our world today, outside sources such as media desensitize people and has a great impact. While society, culture, and media are impacting, expectations and pressures from peers can also greatly influence, and at times, drive our decisions. A disease or debilitating circumstances, atrocious and dreadful personal experiences, a group of overbearing and judgmental peers, and even technology, politics, and economic powers can influence our responses.

With the great increase of technology and political and economical power in our society, it can be hard to value ethics and morals nowadays. People often ignore unethical and immoral events because we have become so engrossed in theses aspects of our culture. Technological advances have become such an influential portion of our society that it often times can be hard to escape. At times, it can be thought to have taken over our lives which leaves little room for the things that used to matter, like ethics and morals. Politics is another piece of our culture that seems to have taken people under control. Corruption and immorality have, in a sense, seeped into the governmental section of society and is definitely affecting our abilities to defend our ethical and moral rights. Ethics and morality seem to be the one massive thing that can keep technology and politics from taking over our lives completely.

Conclusion

When one is faced with a predicament that involves an ethical or moral related decision or action, there are many different factors that come into play. Society, culture, media exposure, and personal circumstances can have a great influence on the kind of ethical or moral mindset that person has. Also technology, politics, and economical power have an impact on not only whether a person lives ethically or morally, but even if they are able to make those decisions. Ethics and morality, at times, feels like a less popular lifestyle for our civilization. This may be a particular reason why we live in an uncertain and doubtful culture.