Peer 1: Ryan

I think that “doing the right thing” really summarizes the main essence of what it means to be ethical. However, as you go on to show, it is helpful to explain what the “right thing” actually is. You explain that it means being honest and principled no matter what one’s environment is throwing at you. This indicates that being ethical is not always easy and that sometimes one will come up against an opposite force that wants one to cheat, lie or abandon one’s principles in order to get ahead. To support your rationale, you cite the Ten Commandments, which is an excellent source for ethical beliefs, as it was really the first ethical system given by God to Moses to give to the Israelites. It covers a complete range of human actions and shows what people should do and what they should not do. The principles that support the Ten Commandments are a great illustration of ethics.

Peer 2:

Laura

Your conception of ethics is very interesting because instead of being based on ideas or principles or theories, it seems to be based on how people act. Of course, you are very upfront about getting morals and ethics confused, so I think that this might help to explain your take on ethics. I think you will do well in...

In other words, the way one acts should be based on his or her code of ethics. Morality, for me, refers to the way a person acts. So ethics could be like a set of instructions, and morality could be like the actions that the person actuality takes and the extent to which they adhere to the instructions. So if one’s actions adhere to one’s ethics, then they can be said to be moral. If they do not adhere, then they could be said to be immoral. Hope that helps!
Peer 3:

Sandy

Hi Sandy, thanks for sharing. It is great to hear that you enjoy writing poetry. I think that will help you in this class, because poetry is something that can help people reflect and meditate on life in a deeper way.

Your conception of morals and ethics is interesting and indicates that you have put some thought into how actions can be related to concepts of rightness and wrongness. I view ethics and morality…