reflection dairy for Ethics BY Ngene Carljenta

REFLECTIVE DIARY In the beginning of this year, I did attend a church service of a great and famous theological preacher in Malaysian’s northern state of Kedah precisely in the city or Alor Setar. He captured his sermon as, “how can we choose the future?” He said and I quote, “We cannot control the things that are going to happen in our lives this year; but we can make choices to some of the things that can happen to our lives.” Indeed life is full of choices and the choices we make depend solely on our judgment of the predicaments and afflictions accompanying our decisions. However, these choices have a primary effect on us and a secondary effect on others, biotic and abiotic components of the environment- whether good or bad, right or wrong. However, our choice of good or bad, right or wrong does not necessarily end at the good or bad things nor the choice of doing a particular thing but goes beyond that to talk of the ethical attributes accompanying the decision. Taking a decision on where to spend your holiday (everything being equal) for instance is a matter of choice but then is there an ethical issue accompanying the choice of the decision? All these issues of good or bad, right or wrong bring us to the general and fundamental aspect of ethics Now let us take a critical look at this issue brought up in class and see if we can bring out the ethical issue in it. If a person who commits murder and a person who tells a lie for whatever reason are being brought to judgment and to a panel in which you are a member of the crew what is going to be your view, your choice to which is appropriate, or better still milder. Since our judgment is based on ethical issues, we must use the four main tools of reasoning – Comprehensive, Coherence, Consistence, and Adequate before passing our verdicts and bringing out the ethical issue. So in the like, we are going to examine carefully (using our tools of reasoning) how their actions have brought trauma to others and the environment (be it biotic or abiotic) A person who murders and one who tells a lie are more or less the same to me. The main different between lying and murder is that murder is instantaneous while lying might have a long time effect and might finally results to murder. Lying against someone in court for instance can lead to murder. Also to some degree, lie could be less dangerous because in everyday situation we tell at least in our day to day life but then only very few could actually lead to murder. So while no situation of murder can be compromised, some lies can actually cause null effects to others and the individual in question. However the big question and controversy is lie if not ethical but why are some lies acceptable and avoided as no person in this planet earth is not guilty of this from childhood to adulthood. I just keep my fingers cross on thos issue but try to live my life in a way not to cause afflictions to others in both my choices of actions and decisions.

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