Reflection on the course General Ethics

Reflection on the course General Ethics

“No one can live as an Island” echoed a song which unravels the truth that we are interdependent being. God, Cosmos and Human being are interconnected and have their identity only when they remain connected. A person is born from parents, grows up with siblings, studies in schools and lives in a society which involves interrelation and interaction. “Everything in the world is in flux”, said Heraclitus. Nothing is fixed and permanent, the earthly and heavenly bodies keeps changing. The social structure and behavior of people keeps changing too.People in this world want to live happier, easier, longer and better than the past life. There is a transformation from past life too present life and it will impact the future life. When people are in the transformation or changing stage the notion of Ethics emerge. Ethics is a tool thathelps us to remain interconnected with God, Cosmos and human being. Ethics is a set of principles or standards governing the conduct of a person or a group of people. In Philosophy Ethics is the philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct and of the rules and principles that ought to govern it. There are different types of ethics like Meta-ethics, Normative ethics, Applied ethics, Moral ethics, Environmental ethics and so on.

In search of true meaning and happiness in life people encounter inevitable obstacles like abortion, injustice, inequality, punishment, killing and so on which are often termed as ethical problems. Religions, Governments, NGOs and Individuals have explained in length about what is morally right and what is morally wrong or what is permissible and what is not permissible.

In a society there is certain decorum which we may call it as ethical behavior. The course General Ethics is an eye opener to understand certain critical and prevalent issues like capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia and so on in a better way. The insightful ideas which I receive from this course are to respect life, love life and help to build life. People like Kant will say that life could be taken only if the person is not a human being and Utilitarian will say that life could be taken only if it gives greatest happiness to greatest number of people. My stance on the point of taking life is;

a. Life is given to us by God for a purpose to fulfill on this earth. Taking our own life or the lifeof others is going against the goodwill and plan of God. God alone has the right to take away our lives when it is time and we don’t have a right.

b. Life is gift of love; love of God, cosmos and human being. We are born out of love, grow up with the help of loving people and die under the caring hands of loving people. We have to return this love in one way or the other may be through our smile, touch or words. Taking life is going against the potentiality to give love which we have.

c. Life is a journey and so we have to walk each step till we complete it. People and things are means that help us to complete the journey. When we die from this earth we begin a new journey in the next life. By taking life we are not completing the journey we supposed to complete.

The course on General Ethics has made me to reflect what I studied and encouraged me to write some articles based on the notion received during the class. We were born not because we wanted to be borne but because of God’s will and so taking away life should be according to God’s will. We are gift of love and so we have to reciprocate the love we received to people around. Life is a journey which we have to complete it properly and by taking life we will not be able to fulfill the goals set by God for us. Taking away our own life is a cowardly act because they are scared to face the reality of life. Taking life brings disgrace not only to God but to family members, friends and society. Life is precious and worth more than wealth, prestige or power and so we have to care life more than material things and more than rules and norms.To live a meaningful life on this earth, every person has to follow certain ethical norms which will bring decorum in the society. We are living amidst many people with many tastes, colours, race, and problems therefore; to understand each other better and solve confusions or problems efficiently knowing something about ethics will enhance our lives.