In Chapter 2, LaFollette (2007) discusses
Consequentialism and Deontology. Discuss your thoughts on these two theories.
I
thought the chapter on consequentialism and deontology was a great way to really
key in to thinking critically think about our decisions. Consequentialism
states that that “we are morally obligated to act in ways that produce the best
consequences” (LaFollette 2007). Interestingly enough the book uses choosing a
degree program as an example and immediately my eyes opened and my perspective
on this was broadened to new heights. I help students choose a program every day.
It is amazing the things people will take into consideration when choosing
their education.
When
I was in junior high school, and needed to start making decisions on what high
school I wanted to attend, relying on prudence, I chose something that I liked
and thought I would enjoy learning. Back then, it was as simple as that. When I
was almost done with high school and began to choose a college, there were a
good number of other things I had to consider, such as location, tuition costs,
financial availability etc, however even when taking all of that into consideration,
when I chose my college, I still chose something that I liked.
Dealing
with working adults and military members as students has been an eye opening experience
as it has challenged me to think consequentially. While I can ask a prospect or
student what their interests are, the conversation I have in regards to
choosing an education, relies more on what they can get out of the degree.
Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what they are interested in anymore. If they
need a degree and they can get credit for experience or knowledge they already
have, they will instantly choose the degree that will allow them the least
amount of time in school.
Some
students are concerned about their families and how they will be able to
provide for them, others are concerned with, the amount of transferable credit
they will receive, most want to know what employment opportunities they will
have after graduation. No matter their predicament, prudence is rarely seen, decisions
made by these prospects and students is all done consequentially. They have
taken a bird’s eye view of their life and are looking for someone to help them
make a consequential decision on their future successes.
Deontology
was also an interesting topic for me. When reading it, I thought about the
change of attitude and emotion that motherhood has brought to me and really began
to tap into how effective I can be when raising her and teaching her about
morality and ethical choices. The text states that “deontologists think that it
is important not only that we do the right thing but that we do it for the
right reason” (LaFollette 2007). When I was growing up my mother told me, don’t
do this, don’t do that. My guess is that it was an immediate reaction to
whatever I was doing at the time. If I was doing something that could hurt me
and she didn’t want to see me get hurt, she would say, “Don’t touch that!” When
I started school she would then say things to me like “Shouldn’t you be
studying?” When I think back now, I can see why I may have been a bit more
rebellious in nature to my mother’s orders. That’s exactly what they were
orders! I was being told exactly what to do but there was no elaboration as to
why. I knew she wanted me to do well in school, but she rarely said that. She
instead would say things like “Because life isn’t easy”, or “I’m not always
going to be around, so you need to learn it for yourself.”
Thinking
back to all of my experiences, I can now see the issues my mother and I have
even today. My mother gave me all she could and for that I will always be
grateful. I had everything a child needed; clothes on my back, food in my
belly, and someone who was there to teach me how I could be successful. What I didn’t
have was someone who really tapped into my personality and informed me on the
real why’s of my actions and successes. For me “morality was a list of rules” (LaFollette
2007), most of which was negative in nature.
As
I raise my daughter, I have tried to inform her of the whys of her actions and
really provide her with moral conclusions so she can understand how the actions
she is taking will affect her either in the moment or in her future. My goal
for her is for her to understand how to effectively dissect a moral conclusion
but even more so, for her to be able to give valid logic and reason as to why
an action may or may not be wrong. To do this, I may tell her things like “Isabella
please do not do that. You can hurt yourself and I don’t want to see you get
hurt” or “It’s good to set aside some time every day to study your notes so you
can be successful in your classes. It will help you in the long run because it
will be easier to remember things as you go instead of having to study
everything in one shot and becoming overwhelmed. I want to see you succeed and it’s
important for you as well so when you go off to college you are able to effectively
manage your time and studies.” I think if I stick with providing her
explanations to the rights and wrongs of life, she will be able to better
manage her moral decisions and understand the reasoning behind them.
Cassandra
R.
References
LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, MA: WileyBlackwell.