Do you think your chosen ethical guide is universal or is it relative to the individual?

Every individual should strive to be virtuous, though there should be an aspect of self interest in each person’s decision making as well as a moral aspect. To respect ourselves and our bodies, I think it is important to consider the impacts of our decisions and actions and how these may affect us, while also behaving in ways that strive towards our virtues. While some people view selflessness as moral behavior, I think it is important to care for and treat your own body as you would treat someone else, because unless your wellness both mentally and physically is aligned with your goals, you will not behave according to the virtues you may overall believe in, as you might be distracted by the ailments of what you are not acknowledging.

There is truth in both Aristotle’s and Kant’s vision of ethical living. Aristotle believed in living virtuously, according to many traditional virtues that uphold society and are aligned with many ideas of morality. I think it is important to be inspired and humbled by this way of living, because not only does it do good for others around you, but in doing so it also does good for an individual’s growth and happiness as well. Kant believed that motive is most important when determining one’s ethics. Motive is an indicative approach to understanding a person’s internal thought process and a person may not have enough information about a situation to react in a way that would produce a good outcome, however it may be the moral and most honest way they know how to react at a given time. In balancing these two approaches, it gives an opportunity for true understanding, because you realize a person’s morals and thought process to understand what is right and true for them as compared to their society or world.

I would like to believe that I base my morals off of virtues that I believe in, and this is mostly true. I think there is also a part of me that struggles with doing things based on how well they are perceived by other people instead of on my own moral upholdings. I’m still developing what my own morals are, aside from religious morals or virtues that have been taught to me. I believe that ethics is interpreted by the individual, since every person experiences a different life path each person sees virtue in a different way.