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UFie Ethics 101 | by Naruki | 2006-11-19 12:55:59 |
| I got a 100. |
by kelli217 |
2003-06-02 15:47:02 |
Some thoughts...
This is not a big deal. All of these questions are straightforward, easy to answer ethically. If I had discovered that my best friend was unethical enough to steal $10,000 from a charity, I would no longer consider that person my best friend and would certainly have no qualms about turning them in.
Ethics and morals and ALL judgments about EVERYTHING we do in our lives all boil down to choices made in self-interest. We pay our taxes because we don't want to go to jail. We don't jump off of tall buildings without safety equipment because we don't want to die.
The biggest problem in ethics and morals today is that fewer people are looking at the long term, nor outside of their own little spheres of immediate influence and consequence. It all boils down to understanding that actions have repercussions far beyond our ability to perceive.
If you cheat someone, that person will remember the experience, most likely with anger or some other negative emotion attached to the memory. Negative emotions create environments where negative actions are more likely to take place, such as cheating. The person may also tell other people about the experience. Depending on the level of empathy, the people being told may also experience negative emotions, or they may record it as an idea for personal gain -- which again brings about a higher possibility of the cycle repeating.
Basically: If I cheat you and get away with it, I have just created an environment where it is possible for someone to cheat someone else and get away with it. If I can do it to you, you can do it to me. Someone else can do it to you. Someone else can do it to me. There are unending ripples. Consider it karma. What goes around comes around.
Acting in ENLIGHTENED self-interest requires a commitment to minimizing the negative repercussions of our actions. Now, of course, we cannot be aware of all the possible repercussions of our actions, but if we make the commitment to at least minimize the negative ones we are aware of, then we have not knowingly contributed to a negative environment. |
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