Verified Document

Personal Values Development Current Value Essay

After I entered Kohlberg's Post-Conventional Moral stage, I began to realize that: (1) homosexuality probably is not a voluntary choice; (2) homosexuals can have meaningful, committed, and stable loving relationship or superficial, casual, and unstable relationships exactly the same way heterosexuals can (and often do) experience both types of relationships at different times of their lives; (3) homosexuality is not a moral issue at all; and (4) gay people have the same moral right to any of the benefits that our society and government makes available to heterosexual couples who choose to share their lives in a meaningful way.

Materialism and Conformity

During Kohlberg's Conventional Moral stage of my development I admired material possessions and wealth about as much as everybody else. I assumed that anybody who drove an expensive car or owned a big house must necessarily be very smart to be so successful and must be happy in life. At that time, I apparently absorbed and internalized everything on television and in other media that presented material wealth and extravagance as the ultimate measure of a person's success in life. It never occurred to me that there might be something truly ridiculous about any of the things that are universally promoted in my social culture as being extremely positive. I also remember that during the period of my life that corresponded to the Conventional Moral stage I was as susceptible to groupthink and to following trends as everybody else, largely without question.

During the current stage of my life that corresponds to Kohlberg's Post-Conventional Moral stage, I began to realize that the pursuit of wealth, social status, and material possessions is most often a substitute (rather than an expression) for self-esteem and self-confidence. Events such as the earthquake in Haiti, the Pan-Asian Tsunami, and the New Orleans disaster in the wake of Hurricane Katrina helped me recognize how incredibly fortunate even ordinary so-called "middle class" Americans are. We live lives of sheer luxury compared to the vast majority of human beings alive, or for that matter, compared the all of the human beings who have ever lived on earth. That perspective has made it impossible to admire anybody who spends thousands...

Parts of this document are hidden

View Full Document
svg-one

During the Kohlberg's Conventional Moral stage of my development, I blindly accepted much of what authority figures and society in general told me. I did not change my mind arbitrarily or because I had some specific reason to dislike gods, respect homosexuals, or reject material wealth and conformity. If anything, my current views on gods, materialism, and conformity cause more conflict in my life and alienate me from more people than my original beliefs.
In fact, my change is a belief about these issues was directly attributable to trying to thinks about them logically and without any preconceived beliefs at all. I realized that people who shared my religion had no logical justification for rejecting other similar religions and that my parents were wrong abut something very important and that also was an unnatural and difficult thing to realize that had no immediate "benefit" to me for accepting it. Similarly, my original response to homosexuality felt very natural to me and I only overcame it because I could not help but process the objective evidence of homosexuals I knew and I began to genuinely understand why there is no justifiable moral objection to same-sex marriage. Finally, my realizations about materialism and conformity have also alienated me from people more than connected me to people. For that reason, I believe if anything, it is a sign of integrity that I cannot mirror attitudes that I disagree with just to bland in with everybody else and avoid conflict.

Sources Consulted

Gerrig R. And Zimbardo P. (2007). Psychology and Life. New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Pinker S. (2002). The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. New York:

Penguin.

Trevino L. And Nelson K. (2004). Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about how to Do it Right (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.

Sources used in this document:
Sources Consulted

Gerrig R. And Zimbardo P. (2007). Psychology and Life. New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Pinker S. (2002). The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. New York:

Penguin.

Trevino L. And Nelson K. (2004). Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about how to Do it Right (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Personal Values Analysis: Write Personal Values Anlysis,
Words: 957 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Personal Values Analysis: write personal values anlysis, centering values . list derived "values" document World Technique is one of the most essential values defined within the values document for the World War II cultural matrix, because it implies a dominance of technology over all of the conventional virtues that society was based upon. There are numerous examples of how technology's ascendance, particularly during the critical years following World War II, has

Personal Values Analysis: You Write Personal Analysis,
Words: 1045 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Personal Values Analysis: You write personal analysis, centering values . list derived "values" document World There are a number of different attributes assigned to the term propaganda within the World War I Cultural Matrix. This document presents both informal and formal definitions of this term, as well as many different connotations that it has. In adhering to the cultural motif of World War I, virtually all of the examples about propaganda

Personal Values Intersecting With the
Words: 1009 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

In terms of the products which are no longer fresh, but which can nevertheless be consumed, these are donated to food kitchens and local shelters for the homeless people. 3. Alignment of the Values and the Managerial Function in Light of the Common / Different Values A major difference between my personal values and those forwarded by Kudler Fine Foods revolves around the approach of the established goals. While along my

Personal Values and Commercial Enterprise Work Is
Words: 935 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Personal Values and Commercial Enterprise Work is one of the most important parts of the lives of most people within modern societies. As much as almost anything else in our lives, work and our vocational identity define who we are and determine how we live. Success, in and of itself (i.e. virtually without reference as to what realm success is achieved) is pursued and congratulated. Great financial success is one of

Beliefs and Personal Values
Words: 1104 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Personal Values and Beliefs My personal values and beliefs are based on kindness and compassion. There is a salutary spiritual component of those values and beliefs as well. However, I truly value life in all of its myriad forms. This valuation is increased when it comes to sentient life. I believe that it is best to live in accordance with life and one's surroundings, as opposed to trying to dictate those

Counseling and Personal Values Integrating Learned Theories
Words: 2832 Length: 9 Document Type: Term Paper

Counseling and Personal Values Integrating Learned Theories about Counseling with Your Personal Values As the world has modernized, people have started experiencing more psychological problems and other problems than ever. Despite the normal behavior that most of the people depict, they are a victim of psychological disturbances which ultimately makes them sick. Therefore counseling was introduces as a means to address various kinds of problem that people find difficult to tackle. There

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now