Over the course of the last nine weeks, I've picked up a certain amount of practical knowledge, and a good deal of perspective. To consider three lessons I've taken away from the course, I can certainly attest that I was reintroduced to some ideas from college philosophy classes I hadn't revisited in several years, primarily to include the discussions of consequentialism and deontology which I believe I first heard about when discussing the likes of Mill and Kant. Indeed, to consciously examine issues from within those different frameworks as well as the overall idea of pragmatism can generate some thoughts on why some people believe what they do. Second, I took away that the very nature of ethics demands critical thinking and a certain mental flexibility, for in the ethical dilemmas we studied there were often no correct answers but several right answers that present themselves based on the moral lens applied to the situation...While greater society and in some cases universal notions of humanity will lean strongly towards ideas of not killing or stealing in general circumstances, but each situation ultimately needs to be acted upon by the agents involved to the best of their abilities. Third, and tied in to the first two ideas, though we may have different ethical lenses and value systems formed by our various paths in life, more often than not it can be argued there are situations by necessity, special skills, or otherwise in which people must take some kind of action via moral obligation. This might be captured most succinctly by the thoughts of many a great leader that points towards the idea of "duty".
Indeed, the course did provide a range of perspective through readings that at times demanded thorough examination for understanding, as well as the wide range of thoughts and experiences that every student brought to the course. Having to stop and apply these perspectives to an examination of my own "built-in" value system was helpful towards me achieving better understanding of why I think the way I do, and why people may disagree. I do have to admit that while the content seems worth the time, the means of delivery in the context of my daily life proved at times to be a challenge. The remote nature of online learning lends itself to requiring a lot of writing assignments, and balanced against a full time job and daily life, there were occasions when some of the shorter write ups or forum prompts felt more than adequate to drive home the necessary points of the lesson.
Having said that, I think the overall course was accomplished as best as possible given the circumstances of instruction, and though some of the topics could at times go in several different directions, I understand the point of the text in exploring different situations where ethics can be applied. While the issues themselves, be they affirmative action, racism, animal treatment, or otherwise, may not have a direct relationship at the superficial level, all share the general notion of people thinking through the full spectrum of implications for their actions (or lack thereof), and in most cases these examples were ones where students could make a connection in some form, big or small. So long as the required writing pieces can be continually refined for relevance and motivating engagement from the students, I expect the course will continue to fulfill the core objective of enhancing ethical foundations that can be applied to any endeavor for a lifetime.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Sunday, December 14, 2014
A634.8.3.RB_SienkiewiczRaymond
With the increased attention being given to mass shooting events in recent years, there has inevitably been multiple visitations to the question of whether or not increased levels of gun control are required. Much of the debate has centered around either the relative availability of guns in the United States, or the quality of mental health diagnostics and care as many of the recent perpetrators have been found to have a history of mental health related issues.
Hugh LaFollette, in his text The Practice of Ethics, highlights several of the formal and informal arguments for and against gun control in contemporary society. Depending upon which data set is examined, one could well thing that more guns leads to more violence, or it might even lead to less. Overall though, he did bring up points to consider on the questions of managing risks versus desires, and brought up argument for and against the nature of gun ownership as a "right" and an aspect of citizenship. Tied to this as well is the question of enforcement...even if guns were banned to a greater degree, there could be additional costs to law enforcement with different levels of effect similar to the experience of Prohibition in the United States (LaFollette, 2007).
Regarding my own opinion, I certainly don't think that an outright ban on weapons is a feasible nor desirable solution. Indeed, for all the comparisons of the United States to Europe with regards to gun ownership relative to the level of violent crime (usually indicating fewer guns leads to fewer crimes), I point to the example of Switzerland as an exception to the typical argument. It is not uncommon to see rifles being carried openly in public by people participating in shooting sports, and depending on the statistics cited, the country ranks third or fourth in number of guns per capita yet has a firearms death rate about one-seventh of the rate of the United States (Nelson, 2013). This isn't to say the country, known for a tradition of their conscripted military forces keeping weapons at home, isn't experiencing its own qualms in recent history. Besides the frequent utilization in suicides, there was one significant shooting attack at the parliament in 2001 (Bachmann, 2012), and another shooting attack at a factory in Lurcene (Nelson, 2013). But there is not overwhelming support for gun control at this time...in February 2011, nearly 57 percent of voters were against weapons storage in armories versus the traditional home system (Nelson, 2013).
Of course, we have to recognize that there is good cause to consider how guns come into the hands of private citizens. The shooting incidents in Newtown, Aurora, Virginia Tech, and Santa Barbara are reminders that there are still gaps in the system, and answers are slow to come. Those such as Richard Martinez, father of one of the Santa Barbara victims, believed that his son died because of the actions of politicians and the NRA, and framed the gun control debate as not one of gun rights, but of the right to live (Stout, 2014). In the months following, California took further action and signed a law allowing relatives to request a court order to remove weapons from the possession of individuals they believe may pose a threat, which gun right advocates believe is an infringement on civil liberties and constitutes denial of due process (Wood, 2014). Those who want gun control have a perfectly valid point in preventing these tragedies from happening again.
This leads to my holistic thought on the situation...we seem to have identified a trend where the people who commit these crimes have some kind of malicious intent with early indicators, or more recently, they're individuals with mental health issues that go untreated or somehow get possession of weapons. The solution, I believe, will lie in a combination of more uniform background checks to ensure individuals are of sound mind and demeanor to be entrusted by society with a weapon, but more importantly I believe there needs to be an education piece. People need to be able to recognize any warning signs of individuals who may lash out at those around them, and have a good idea of immediate action steps to take. I also believe more needs to be done to encourage people afflicted with mental health issues to receive help, although granted, such matters tend to be very personal and require the buy-in of the person involved. Overall, I still believe in the freedom to bear arms, but admittedly, there will be a challenge in plugging the different possible holes in the system of checks and balances, and in bringing the country onto the same page with respect to both gun laws and gun culture.
Resources
Bachmann, H. (2012, December 20). The Swiss Difference: A Gun Culture That Works. In Time. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
Nelson, S. S. (2013, March 19). What's Worked, And What Hasn't, In Gun-Loving Switzerland. In National Public Radio. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
Stout, D. (2014, May 26). Gun-Control Debate Heats Up Following California Shooting. In Time. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
Wood, D. (2014, October 1). Santa Barbara aftermath: how California is breaking new ground on gun control. In Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
Hugh LaFollette, in his text The Practice of Ethics, highlights several of the formal and informal arguments for and against gun control in contemporary society. Depending upon which data set is examined, one could well thing that more guns leads to more violence, or it might even lead to less. Overall though, he did bring up points to consider on the questions of managing risks versus desires, and brought up argument for and against the nature of gun ownership as a "right" and an aspect of citizenship. Tied to this as well is the question of enforcement...even if guns were banned to a greater degree, there could be additional costs to law enforcement with different levels of effect similar to the experience of Prohibition in the United States (LaFollette, 2007).
Regarding my own opinion, I certainly don't think that an outright ban on weapons is a feasible nor desirable solution. Indeed, for all the comparisons of the United States to Europe with regards to gun ownership relative to the level of violent crime (usually indicating fewer guns leads to fewer crimes), I point to the example of Switzerland as an exception to the typical argument. It is not uncommon to see rifles being carried openly in public by people participating in shooting sports, and depending on the statistics cited, the country ranks third or fourth in number of guns per capita yet has a firearms death rate about one-seventh of the rate of the United States (Nelson, 2013). This isn't to say the country, known for a tradition of their conscripted military forces keeping weapons at home, isn't experiencing its own qualms in recent history. Besides the frequent utilization in suicides, there was one significant shooting attack at the parliament in 2001 (Bachmann, 2012), and another shooting attack at a factory in Lurcene (Nelson, 2013). But there is not overwhelming support for gun control at this time...in February 2011, nearly 57 percent of voters were against weapons storage in armories versus the traditional home system (Nelson, 2013).
Of course, we have to recognize that there is good cause to consider how guns come into the hands of private citizens. The shooting incidents in Newtown, Aurora, Virginia Tech, and Santa Barbara are reminders that there are still gaps in the system, and answers are slow to come. Those such as Richard Martinez, father of one of the Santa Barbara victims, believed that his son died because of the actions of politicians and the NRA, and framed the gun control debate as not one of gun rights, but of the right to live (Stout, 2014). In the months following, California took further action and signed a law allowing relatives to request a court order to remove weapons from the possession of individuals they believe may pose a threat, which gun right advocates believe is an infringement on civil liberties and constitutes denial of due process (Wood, 2014). Those who want gun control have a perfectly valid point in preventing these tragedies from happening again.
This leads to my holistic thought on the situation...we seem to have identified a trend where the people who commit these crimes have some kind of malicious intent with early indicators, or more recently, they're individuals with mental health issues that go untreated or somehow get possession of weapons. The solution, I believe, will lie in a combination of more uniform background checks to ensure individuals are of sound mind and demeanor to be entrusted by society with a weapon, but more importantly I believe there needs to be an education piece. People need to be able to recognize any warning signs of individuals who may lash out at those around them, and have a good idea of immediate action steps to take. I also believe more needs to be done to encourage people afflicted with mental health issues to receive help, although granted, such matters tend to be very personal and require the buy-in of the person involved. Overall, I still believe in the freedom to bear arms, but admittedly, there will be a challenge in plugging the different possible holes in the system of checks and balances, and in bringing the country onto the same page with respect to both gun laws and gun culture.
Resources
Bachmann, H. (2012, December 20). The Swiss Difference: A Gun Culture That Works. In Time. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
Nelson, S. S. (2013, March 19). What's Worked, And What Hasn't, In Gun-Loving Switzerland. In National Public Radio. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
Stout, D. (2014, May 26). Gun-Control Debate Heats Up Following California Shooting. In Time. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
Wood, D. (2014, October 1). Santa Barbara aftermath: how California is breaking new ground on gun control. In Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
A634.7.4.RB_SienkiewiczRaymond
The videos presented this week by Dr. Bruce Weinstein and Chuck Gallagher provided a useful reminder of the impacts of the actions of individuals on organizations and the people within them, as well as potentially the individual in question and their family units. After watching the videos, I can think of a handful of times where what the presenters discussed made itself apparent in my own organization.
To reiterate what I'm sure I've said in this class and others, the Air Force's primary statement of ethical conduct is publicly captured in the core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do (U.S. Air Force, n.d.). This value set applies to all personnel, be it a junior enlisted fresh out of basic, or a general with over 30 years of service. How these values are portrayed may vary from circumstance to circumstance, but for the most part it is portrayed by our conduct on and off duty, at work and at home.
To use the presentations as a guide, I can say I've seen examples of behavior that would fit well within Dr. Weinstein's and Mr. Gallagher's ideas of ethical and unethical conduct. Weinstein, for instance, touched upon the idea of constructive criticism, and this is an every day occurrence for our organization. Most everywhere I've gone, particularly in my current role as a relatively young officer, I very regularly receive some measure of feedback from my superiors of what I've done well on, and where I need to improve. Usually this is given very objectively and in a reasonably private setting, and is usually capped off with a reminder that I'm making progress. I've only had one leadership experience where the supervision in question tended to "editorialize," but by and large our leadership culture is very good about doing building up our people's confidence and skill sets in an ethical manner. The fact that this is the norm also facilitates Weinstein's note about ethical behavior being beneficial for everyone's morale and productivity, and it is to the organization's benefit to be ethical.
Unfortunately, thinking about Gallagher's description of the slippery slope, I can also very readily see areas where as an organization we regularly find ourselves entertaining an ethical grey area. Every year without fail, we have to deal with the challenge of our budget...not so much in not having enough money, but spending it to justify maintaining our level of unit funding. Although this shouldn't be the case technically, a culture has been formed over the years where the rule of thumb dictates that not only does any leftover money get redistributed to other needs, but those units that don't spend all of their funding are liable to find themselves with less money during the next fiscal year. Frugality goes unrewarded, and while we might find ourselves able to fund last minute business trips, it is not uncommon to find ourselves with a bunch of fancy office supplies, display monitors, and new furniture that we didn't really need. Although "everyone does it," it is still unsettling that this still occurs when the service is being faced with massive cuts and there is increased emphasis on fiscal responsibility. The Air Force has, unfortunately, been no stranger to spending scandals in the past, and one can only wonder about the fine line that it seems to regularly ride upon.
To use the presentations as a guide, I can say I've seen examples of behavior that would fit well within Dr. Weinstein's and Mr. Gallagher's ideas of ethical and unethical conduct. Weinstein, for instance, touched upon the idea of constructive criticism, and this is an every day occurrence for our organization. Most everywhere I've gone, particularly in my current role as a relatively young officer, I very regularly receive some measure of feedback from my superiors of what I've done well on, and where I need to improve. Usually this is given very objectively and in a reasonably private setting, and is usually capped off with a reminder that I'm making progress. I've only had one leadership experience where the supervision in question tended to "editorialize," but by and large our leadership culture is very good about doing building up our people's confidence and skill sets in an ethical manner. The fact that this is the norm also facilitates Weinstein's note about ethical behavior being beneficial for everyone's morale and productivity, and it is to the organization's benefit to be ethical.
Unfortunately, thinking about Gallagher's description of the slippery slope, I can also very readily see areas where as an organization we regularly find ourselves entertaining an ethical grey area. Every year without fail, we have to deal with the challenge of our budget...not so much in not having enough money, but spending it to justify maintaining our level of unit funding. Although this shouldn't be the case technically, a culture has been formed over the years where the rule of thumb dictates that not only does any leftover money get redistributed to other needs, but those units that don't spend all of their funding are liable to find themselves with less money during the next fiscal year. Frugality goes unrewarded, and while we might find ourselves able to fund last minute business trips, it is not uncommon to find ourselves with a bunch of fancy office supplies, display monitors, and new furniture that we didn't really need. Although "everyone does it," it is still unsettling that this still occurs when the service is being faced with massive cuts and there is increased emphasis on fiscal responsibility. The Air Force has, unfortunately, been no stranger to spending scandals in the past, and one can only wonder about the fine line that it seems to regularly ride upon.
Additional Resources
US Air Force, Our Values (n.d.). In U.S. Air Force. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from http://www.airforce.com/learn-about/our-values/
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
A634.6.3.RB_SienkiewiczRaymond
If one consider's virtue as being closest to Aristotle's idea as presented in Hugh LaFollette's The Practice of Ethics, then to live a virtuous life is simply living in such a way as to live the best life possible (LaFollette, 2007). For Benjamin Franklin, his overall concept of a virtuous life was captured in his 13 Virtues, which we are told include temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility (PBS, n.d.).
For further personal reflection, I will take a closer look at three virtues and how to better include them in my daily life, specifically the virtues of resolution, industry, and cleanliness. Resolution is defined as "...performing what you ought," and to "perform without fail what you resolve." Industry is to always be "...employed in something useful" and not wasting actions. Finally, cleanliness is simply "tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes, or habitation." (PBS, n.d.)
With regard to resolution, I personally define this as a combination of doing what is expected of you, and completing not only these tasks but also any task that you set out to accomplish. Although the ideal would be for everyone to finish everything, and finish it well, the fact is that intents go unfulfilled and tasks fall by the wayside by way of sheer business, entropy or otherwise. I myself, while I more often than not complete my work and school tasks by a fairly large margin, do find myself with lingering tasks in my personal life. Household projects don't get tended to as often or as promptly as I would like, photos go for weeks without being uploaded and usually never get touch up, and although I have several personal writing projects that I've begun to pen I've only actually completed two in the last several years. To better meet the challenge of resolution, now that I've identified my own shortcomings, I can make it a point (and ideally will resolve to this) that I pause to schedule the time for my various resolutions and ultimately see them through.
Industry is another issue that I expect to be highly common in the modern, wired era of 24 hour news cycles, blogs, and near constant stimuli via on-demand entertainment, social media, and the generally easy availability of time-wasters. Although this is only for maybe a few minutes at a time, assuming an individual hasn't dedicated an entire half hour to an hour for a television program, those handful of minutes eventually add up to a great deal of time that could have been allocated towards other ventures. I myself am guilty as well of idling away time at home and at work reading short articles or reading up on information not immediately related to what I'm doing, and although in the grand scheme it may not seem so much, the fact is the time is still gone. Time is a finite, one use resource, and I would do well to be more conscious of how much bang I get for my investment.
Finally, very much tied to the previous two virtues is the virtue of cleanliness. Cleanliness is admittedly a very personal standard, as everyone has what they consider an acceptable level. Some individuals I know cannot stand even a piece of paper that is out of place, while others have their belongings scattered every which way or have their empty drink containers piled on the counter top. I admittedly move back and forth between the extremes depending on my level of business and whether or not I'm expecting visitor's, but I know my work space and home environment more often fits the stereotype of the absent minded professor that, although they themselves are not untidy in appearance or thinking, they tend to have a higher tolerance for books and papers piled high on every horizontal surface.
The key to any of these virtues and bringing them to practical application in my daily life is to first and foremost identify it as a goal or necessity, and perhaps take to heart Aristotle's idea of the virtues in question as being part of the path to the best life possible. From the initial application, I also believe that to see any enduring effect that the virtues would have to become consistent lifestyle habits. Although living by these and the other virtues prescribed by Frankly is not an impossible task, it is certainly an interesting challenge for these modern times that demands more of our time and energy in spite of advances in attempting to save the same.
Resources
LaFollette, H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden: Blackwell.
For further personal reflection, I will take a closer look at three virtues and how to better include them in my daily life, specifically the virtues of resolution, industry, and cleanliness. Resolution is defined as "...performing what you ought," and to "perform without fail what you resolve." Industry is to always be "...employed in something useful" and not wasting actions. Finally, cleanliness is simply "tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes, or habitation." (PBS, n.d.)
With regard to resolution, I personally define this as a combination of doing what is expected of you, and completing not only these tasks but also any task that you set out to accomplish. Although the ideal would be for everyone to finish everything, and finish it well, the fact is that intents go unfulfilled and tasks fall by the wayside by way of sheer business, entropy or otherwise. I myself, while I more often than not complete my work and school tasks by a fairly large margin, do find myself with lingering tasks in my personal life. Household projects don't get tended to as often or as promptly as I would like, photos go for weeks without being uploaded and usually never get touch up, and although I have several personal writing projects that I've begun to pen I've only actually completed two in the last several years. To better meet the challenge of resolution, now that I've identified my own shortcomings, I can make it a point (and ideally will resolve to this) that I pause to schedule the time for my various resolutions and ultimately see them through.
Industry is another issue that I expect to be highly common in the modern, wired era of 24 hour news cycles, blogs, and near constant stimuli via on-demand entertainment, social media, and the generally easy availability of time-wasters. Although this is only for maybe a few minutes at a time, assuming an individual hasn't dedicated an entire half hour to an hour for a television program, those handful of minutes eventually add up to a great deal of time that could have been allocated towards other ventures. I myself am guilty as well of idling away time at home and at work reading short articles or reading up on information not immediately related to what I'm doing, and although in the grand scheme it may not seem so much, the fact is the time is still gone. Time is a finite, one use resource, and I would do well to be more conscious of how much bang I get for my investment.
Finally, very much tied to the previous two virtues is the virtue of cleanliness. Cleanliness is admittedly a very personal standard, as everyone has what they consider an acceptable level. Some individuals I know cannot stand even a piece of paper that is out of place, while others have their belongings scattered every which way or have their empty drink containers piled on the counter top. I admittedly move back and forth between the extremes depending on my level of business and whether or not I'm expecting visitor's, but I know my work space and home environment more often fits the stereotype of the absent minded professor that, although they themselves are not untidy in appearance or thinking, they tend to have a higher tolerance for books and papers piled high on every horizontal surface.
The key to any of these virtues and bringing them to practical application in my daily life is to first and foremost identify it as a goal or necessity, and perhaps take to heart Aristotle's idea of the virtues in question as being part of the path to the best life possible. From the initial application, I also believe that to see any enduring effect that the virtues would have to become consistent lifestyle habits. Although living by these and the other virtues prescribed by Frankly is not an impossible task, it is certainly an interesting challenge for these modern times that demands more of our time and energy in spite of advances in attempting to save the same.
Resources
LaFollette, H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden: Blackwell.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)