Reflection on Morality (Essay Example)

Morals – something we all have. Most of the time, our morals are governed by our experiences, traditions, and other factors as we grow up. This Reflection paper will talk about the theories that had left an impact to me based on the intrigue that came with knowing their implications to society, my own experiences to certain aspects in a theory, or how understanding them can help me as an individual in making my own conclusions to certain actions in my life.

It may not be obvious, but my sexuality really sets the tone for how I feel about the Divine Command theory. As a gay man myself, I've had my own set of experiences with people who have their morals driven by God. I've had these experiences since I myself was born a Catholic with a catholic and christian family, and I have been to a Catholic school. Growing up, the first figure to have taught me morality, the ways of good and bad, was from the bible, from when my family would go to church. But even then, I knew something was wrong. As time went by, I somehow felt isolated from them because I was starting to feel change in me – I was starting to like boys. With that change came many unexpected events with my life when it comes to the church. One that really pushed me to not engage myself with God was when me and an ex-boyfriend of mine were inside a church. We were actually praying and just talking inside when a lady, maybe in her 40s or 50s, went in front of our seats and told us to go out, saying something along the lines that we were not welcome here, that our relationship was a detriment to their god, and that we were going to hell. Hurt, that was the only thing I felt. Another one was from when I came out to others and told them my sexuality. Some were okay, but others, not so much. I was bullied a lot for my sexuality, to the point of depression and anxiety about myself. I battled it the best I could, but still, their words hurt more, especially when it came to those you were friends with. Morality from a god may be a good way to start, but for me, I don't think it'll only be the only way to learn what is good and what is bad. Especially with how our society is rapidly changing, that's why I also hope other people who worship a god or gods would understand us too.

The theory that really intrigued and caught my attention was utilitarianism. It is a type of consequentialism, an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on the outcome that will produce the maximum happiness to a person. It may sound simple, but digging deeper into its use and implications on the smallest and biggest events in life will really get confusing. Suppose a platoon of soldiers was walking on marshland to capture a target. Then a grenade was thrown in the middle of the platoon. A soldier has two options, either run away to avoid the explosion but that would cause all of them to be injured or die, or do the other option, use himself to hug the grenade, and all the others would be safe. It's a hard choice for me to be honest and the consequences would affect many, reducing the number of happiness generated in every choice possible. But, with hard choices comes easy ones too. Utilitarianism can still be used for the everyday, mundane life we have. Increasing the good and minimizing the bad is a good thought to have in order to live life to the fullest.

No matter how we live, we humans still need an anchor to keep us afloat on the sea of life. That is where morality and ethics come in for us. And with the ever-changing world that we live in, knowing what is good and bad – be it in religion, tradition, or the law – is a surefire way to the success and happiness we all want to have.