Personal Narrative: My Personal Ethical Theories

Ethics are meant to help distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. There are many ethical theories that serve to provide a foundation on which people can find solutions to ethical and moral questions in life. Some examples of ethical theories are Utilitarianism, Kantian Ethics, and Natural Law Theory. I have my own personal ethical theory that I use to make ethical decisions, and some of the ethical theories that have been presented to me have had an impact on my personal theory. Issues regarding ethics are dealt with on a daily basis and one of these issues is gene altering and human cloning. Utilitarianism is a theory of ethics that states the moral action is the one that creates the most happiness for the greatest number of …show more content…
Bits and pieces of some of the theories discussed above are a part of my personal theory. My ethical decisions are made by reading and applying the Bible to my life. I live my life based on my inspiration and interpretation of the Bible. Whenever I have an ethical question I go to my knowledge of the scriptures and also to friends and family with a superior grasp of the Word. Perhaps say that in school there is a discussion going on about any number of controversial subjects. Whether it is sterilization, abortion, violence, etc. In this situation, I would refer back to my knowledge of the Bible before I would answer and say if something is right or wrong. Utilitarianism has no place or influence on my ethical theory because happiness should not be the only goal for an action. If it were, many evil actions would be taken for the sake of making the majority happy. Though I believe that happiness is important, it should not be the singular goal in life. Secondly, Kant’s theory of ethics is not a factor in my personal theory of ethics. It rejects principles and ideas that are integral to my ethical theory. These are the directions of a higher power and feelings of compassion and empathy. Divine Command Theory and Natural Law Theory enter into the way I approach ethical decisions. The idea of Divine Command Theory that moral actions are those commanded by God is a major part of my theory, and I agree completely. Natural Law Theory enters into my ethical approach with its absolutist principles of certain actions being wrong in every circumstance. My ethical theory in simple terms would be that to determine good/evil and right/wrong, one should study the Bible and use the Law of God to live and understand rules and laws. If I were to apply my theory to a topic like sterilization I would say that it is wrong. This is because I would refer to the Bible and see that