Who's to Say What's Right?

After reading and reviewing the Classical Categories #2 document, I can honestly say that it is hard for me to distinguish which of the processes that I a) agree with the most, and b) actually abide by the most. As Dr. Simpler discussed in the document, there is a good deal of overlap between the categories, and different situations may also call for a combination of the different processes in order to make a decision that can be deemed the most moral. Overall, I believe that consequentialism (and specifically utilitarianism) is the process that makes the most sense, and also the one that I tend to use the most.

            I agree with Utilitarianism because I believe that the consequences of others as a result of individual actions should always be one of the first things considered when making a decision. With that in mind, I do not believe it is morally right to make a decision where the majority of those involved do not benefit. I think the fact that America is a democratic nation points to the fact that in our country, we value the power of the majority and should thus take that into account when we are making personal and majority decisions. For me personally, I believe that I agree with the consequentialist line of thinking because I am an extremely analytical person. When making any decision, I typically weigh the pros and cons of each outcome, and then make a decision that I believe to be best for everyone involved.

            Although I think that consequentialism makes the most logical sense, I can also see the merit in Virtue Ethics. It makes sense that we are all taught from birth to value certain virtues that should guide our decision making for life, but even though this is a pessimistic line of thinking, I honestly believe that the majority of people are quicker to think about the immediate consequences of their decisions rather than the moral character of their entire lives. I agree with the notion of the “Golden Mean” that was discussed in the document, because I think it allows for humans to do their best to act in a way that lines up with their virtues, without pretending that we never make decisions that line up more closely with our vices than our virtues.

            I honestly felt that the document Dr. Simpler provided did a great job of trying to simplify the categories and identify the distinctions between the 3 categories of thinking. However, I am still confused about ethical altruism vs. ethical egoism and how to distinguish between the two?