Ethical Lens Essay

Ethical Lens Inventory Results for DESIREE Your preferred lens is: Rights and Responsibility Lens You use your reasoning skills (rationality) to determine your duties as well as the universal rules that each person should follow (autonomy). Your Core Values: Autonomy and Rationality You prioritize the value of autonomy over equality. Your primary concern is protecting individual rights. You believe this is the best way to assure that everyone in the community is treated fairly. You prioritize the value of rationality over sensibility. You believe universal rules exist that apply equally to everyone and that the best results are achieved through consistent application of the universal rules. Your Classical Values: Temperance You value individual balance and restraint in the desire for pleasure as you seek to satisfy your duties. You also know who you are, so you can act with integrity in the exercise of all the virtues. Your Key Phrase: â€Å"I am responsible.† Because you value autonomy and rationality, you tend to assume that your own definitions of what a responsible person should do apply to everyone. Your Definition of ethical behavior: Fulfilling duties You define an ethical person as one who fulfills their duties and does the right thing as an autonomous, fully-responsible adult. For you, this is the fullest expression of fairness and justice. Your Tools for analyzing problems: Reason Using your critical thinking skills is your preferred method for learning and problem-solving. You tend to think through a problem carefully and research options to find the one that will allow you to fulfill your duties. You focus on gathering and analyzing all the available data so you can make a fully informed decision. Your Gift: Self-knowledge Because you are concerned with figuring out your duties, when you are at your best you know yourself – you know both what you are doing and why. Because of this, when you say that you will do something or care for someone, you follow through. You are also able to live in the present, to determine what you need to do at any given moment to fulfill your responsibilities. Your Blind spot: Belief that motive justifies method Because you are so clear about your reasons for acting, you tend to believe that the motive justifies the method. You may unintentionally cause people upset and pain because you are so focused on your good motive. You tend to believe that ethics is a set of universal rules that everyone must follow, just as you do. You follow the rules – everyone should. Your Risk: Being autocratic (bossy) Without self-knowledge, you run the risk of becoming autocratic. You require everyone to do things your way in order to measure up ethically. You tend not to consider other interpretations of the facts or listen to other approaches once you have made up your mind. Your Temptation: Excuses If you are not paying attention, you can be tempted to excuse yourself from following the rules. You insist that you really are being true to your core values, even when you are not. You’ll convince yourself that the rules were meant for other people or that the action you want to take really does meet your responsibilities – even though your â€Å"Responsible Self† tells you otherwise. Your Vice: Becoming judgmental and legalistic Without self-knowledge, you can become overly rigid in your expectations, leading to legalism as you obsess over minute details. You will also become judgmental and when others do not fulfill (what you believe are) their duties, you will be quick to label them as unethical. Your Crisis: Becoming exhausted Unless you develop the practice of mindfulness and reflection, at some point you will become exhausted. No one can meet all of the obligations that your â€Å"Responsible Self† has on your to-do list. If you have few friends, it could be because you are so judgmental that you drive everyone away. Your Seeing Clearly: Listen to your heart To see more clearly, check to see whether your intuition, your heart, agrees with your head. To find balance, explore the gifts of the other lenses – flexibility and a concern for the whole community. As you consider what your duty is, remember that others may see the situation differently or need different supports to fulfill their duties. Also remember to think about the impact of a decision on the whole community. Sometimes an individual actually benefits by restraining autonomy for the good of the community. As you learn to consider the perspectives of others in your decision making process, you will live out the best of your ideals with compassion and care for others.