Introduction to ethics, this was the last session for this course. When I entered to lecture theater I heard some familiar Tamil songs playing. Mr John had worn a Vetti (Dhoti – a traditional tamil attire), and to make up the icing on the cake, Prof Avengelos Afrendrase had his hair cut and beard trimmed. Of course it is a celebration class after all. I think after reflecting what happen in this class I would like to have a look through the whole trimester of introduction to ethics. In this class we played a time game coordinated by Mr John. We watched some videos describing different situations of ethical dilemma. There after we have to discuss with our partner depending on the appointment we got. Later the ethics lecture panel express their views on the course and the students.
Before reflecting in the course Introduction to ethics I would like to recap what we learnt in this course. In the first lecture Prof Omar Farook gave a resourceful insight of ethics and its application. The second weeks lecture was cancelled due to public holiday and the third weeks’ lecture was delivered by Prof Avangelous. He focused on the differences in ethical behaviours from a nation to other. He gave a lot of information about ethical behaviours in his homeland Greece. He narrated an incident with the native from AlorMalai. And commented on the ethical dilemmas he went through on his long life. At last asked everyone in the class the revise the dilemmas we faced in our life.
In the fourth week our lecture was about the ethical behaviours in ancient Greece by a Greek Prof Avangelous. As Greece is the mother land of democracy. We get a clear picture of ancient ethical behaviours of the first democratic nation. In the fifth and sixth weeks we covered the ethical behaviours in eastern cultures such as China, Persia, and Japan. We also covered the ethical behaviours in Islamic perspective.
Lectures of week 7 and 8 were delivered by Mr Jaime. We all know how Mr Jaime delivers a lecture on his unique style. Those two by two hours virtually flew. He covered ethical frameworks and their applications. I got the clear picture about Relativist Ethics, Divined Command Ethics, Utilitarian Ethics, Deontology Ethics and Virtue Ethics frameworks.
Week 9, 10 and 11 were mostly covered by Dr Faousy with a little help at the end by Ms Vinothini. In these lectures we learned about the contemporary issue such as abortion, suicide, euthanasia, surrogate motherhood, internet privacy, death penalty, animal rights, same sex marriage, insider trading, torture, divorce and plagiarism. In these weeks we looked are these issues ethical or non-ethical?
After completing this course, I can sense that this course has made an impact on me. Now I can think and make decision fairly easily and with a confidence when I face ethical dilemmas. I got a clear picture of the ethical dilemma all around us, the ethical behaviors of the different cultures, how to develop a personal ethical framework to use during ethical dilemmas and of course the major ethical issues all around us.
When speaking of ethical frameworks, I came to know that I am a bit of utilitarian and divine command frameworks. After getting a fair knowledge on both of the frameworks, it was easier for me to develop a personal framework fusing utilitarian and divine command frameworks. And I am successful on it and I use that hybrid framework in my day to day life.
At last I can say that this Introduction to ethics course has made an impression on me, which I would like to carry on till death bed. I would like to thank all the lectures who guide me through this and encourage me. And my last statement about this course will be “Although Introduction to ethics brought is frustrations, sleepless nights and over work, when comparing the benefits, I would say it all worth it”.
Comments