Rules to Live By

Ethics is a person’s philosophical belief of what’s right or wrong based on their own
morals. People being treated equally and fairly is justice. The difference between ethics and
justice is ethics is taken more personally while justice is more of a fairness type of deal. The
ethical framework for my Rules to Live By is virtue framework because your actions will
prove the certain type of person you’d like to be.
First and foremost, being a good person is not a hard thing to do when you follow
my rules. The big rule is “do no harm”, this groups all the rules together because to be good,
you cant cause any sort of conflict with others. An example that goes with this rule is my
rule, “Don't take your anger out on someone”. Punishing others for your own mistakes or
wrongdoing is a terrible thing to do. Instead of lashing out, you should follow my other rule
“Think and then speak/act”. This is a better alternative because you give yourself a chance to
think before causing bigger problems. When arguing with someone you should never “talk
over people”, as my rule states. Not only is it rude, but you also avoid capturing a different
point of view on the situation. To be a good person you should always respect others.
Secondly, balancing the duty to our own happiness with the duty we have to others
in society will make people question their morals and ethics but I believe giving good will
result in receiving good. In Framework for Making Ethical Decisions, it says “all of one’s
experiences, emotions, and thoughts can influence the development of one’s character”,
decisions made can influence others. In my Rules to Live By, I wrote “If they cant fix it in 10
seconds, don't bring it up”, a “flaw” in someone's appearance should not be brought up unless
it can be fixed right away like a crumb on their face. Happiness is contagious, there will be
a chain reaction. For example my rule “Check in on loved ones”, emotional reassurance is
important and when you're having a bad day you’ll know there will be someone who will
listen too. These two rules go into my rule of “being respectful to peers”. Everyone deserves
respect, you receive what you give to others.
Although the creation and revision process was a bit challenging, I was satisfied in
the end. Brainstorming was an easy process, being a good person with good morals should be
common sense because “we are concerned with what kind of person we should be and what
our actions indicate about our character”(Framework for Making Ethical Decisions). After
developing my first few rules, repetition was inevitable. During my revision process I
eliminated similar rules and replaced them with new ones or expanded on what I meant.
For example the rule #2 says “pay attention to others point of view”, this is a good rule by
itself but i felt like it needed more. I added “and reflect off of what others have to say”. This
expands more on the rule because it specifies more and tells you what to do after listening. In
the end, my finished rules do not contradict other rules, they all relate to respect for others.
In conclusion, living by these rules will elevate my mood because I can go home
knowing I am a good person doing the right thing. Yet, I believe that these rules should be
common sense and it still shocks me when I see people are being rude and disrespectful. If we
were all good people, the world would communicate more and the society we live in will
improve dramatically.
Sources
“A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions”. Brown University. N.p, 2017. Print.