LESSON 2
Section I. VALUES, BELIEFS, AND ATTITUDES
2-1.
THE CONFLICTING SOURCES OF MORALITY
The sources for morality (personal experience, family tradition, community, ethnic
and racial groups, geographic region, religion, national identity, history, and national
law) form a patchwork that is more often in conflict than in agreement. This conflict
often makes it hard to come to a clear-cut decision on what is ethically right. "Ethics
seeks to get beyond the conflicting opinions generated by these sources of morality, to
formulate a logical and coherent assessment of what is morally right or wrong in a given
situation."1 It is important to understand how the underlying sources of morality affect
our values, beliefs, and attitudes about what is right and wrong.
2-2.
VALUES, BELIEFS, AND ATTITUDES COMPRISE ONE'S PHILOSOPHY OF
LIFE
a. An Individual's Orientation to Life. When Dr. Quill* assisted his terminal
leukemia patient, Diane, to commit suicide, he found his professional code of ethics and
personal philosophy (the values, beliefs, and attitudes that each of us carries along in
life) to be in conflict.
b. Values. As stated earlier, values represent ideals or goals upon which we
base decisions affecting our lives. Values provide criteria for making choices based on
our ideas of right and wrong. We give expression to our values by the choices we
make. Values develop through the interplay of desires, goals and environment.2 It is
through life and gained experiences that we develop our values. Some core values stay
the same throughout our adult lives. Others, such as personal growth and career
development values, evolve over a lifetime and are subject to change. Thus, some
choices made later in life does not necessarily reflect the values held early on. Values
may be terminal or instrumental.
(1) Terminal values. Terminal values deal with end-states such as the
quality of life, job satisfaction, material success, and achievement. Consciously opting
for a job that permits creativity over one that offers a high salary means that you value
personal satisfaction more than monetary rewards as an end-state. The choice you
make depends on what you value.
(2) Instrumental values. Instrumental values deal with modes of conduct. If
a hospital administrator values efficiency above all else, decisions that ensure the
smooth functioning of the hospital bureaucracy may be made, even if they adversely
affect the immediate needs of the patient.
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2-2