Reflective essay on personal experience and growth

¶ … appreciation for the complexity of ethical issues, and the nature of the different perspectives that are out there to evaluate ethics. I was introduced to new concepts and had to work through the process of understanding how to apply those concepts to the real world. Overall, I would say that I found the course enlightening, and definitely more of a starting point from which I can expand my understanding of ethical dilemmas in the future.

I feel that for the most part my work was strong and I picked up the concepts well. I struggled a little bit with Module 3, however, and I think that module for me was the biggest challenge in the course. Even armed with the base concepts of utilitarianism and deontological ethics, understanding the intersection between technology and privacy was more complicated than I perhaps anticipated. I feel that my struggles through this section are not entirely resolved at this point, and this to me highlights the central message that ethical issues in the real world are often complicated and need to be respected as such. When I started to apply myself more in this module I started to get better results, but it remains an area of challenge for me.

For improvement, I would again look to Module 3. There is something about the technological aspect of that Module that simply became difficult for me to understand. Yet the module reflects the application of ethical theories in real world practice. I believe that I have a good understanding of the theories, so it is essential that I work harder on the material in this module in order to improve my understanding of the application of these concepts. I am not sure if there is anything I would change about the way that module was taught -- perhaps my approach should have been different in order for me to have had more success with that module.

I believe that in the future I will be able to use these concepts effectively. I will be able to evaluate situations better myself, but in addition I feel that I will be a better leader as the result of this course because I will be better able to understand the ethical perspectives of others as well. The two main schools of utilitarianism and deontological ethics underpin most ethical arguments, something I have noticed since I have taken this course. It is good to know where other people are coming from when they make an argument, so I feel that this has been a very valuable course for me and something that I will make use of in the future.