Perspectives

Of the four ethical perspectives we talked about in class, I would say that I am most familiar with religious ethics and utilitarianism. 

I was raised Catholic and went to a parochial elementary school, so all through my childhood I constantly heard about creation and how good it was.  We always heard how we should ‘respect creation’ and ‘live in stewardship towards the land and resources’, and how we should always have ‘ultimate respect for the value of life.’  So, it was kind of interesting to talk about these things again in our Ethics class.  It is especially interesting to see how my thoughts and values have developed since elementary school.  I guess I have always thought that people should live in stewardship towards nature and we should respect the land and resources.  However, I have come to realize that people cannot always act ethically through the religious perspective, and in many cases the religious ethical perspective is simply out of place.

During college, the ethical theory of utilitarianism became much more common.  I was no longer finding myself in situations where the number one concern was respect and stewardship for creation.  Now, the main concern is maximizing the benefits of as many people as possible.  It can sometimes be difficult for me to act when this occurs outside of the perspective of religious ethics.  However, I still try to make my decisions based on what I grew up with, and I still try to put myself in situations where I can maintain that stewardship and respect towards the land whichI learned at an early age.