Morality and Social Responsibility (Essay Sample)

Classical Theories of Morality
Name:
Institution:

Introduction
How act and react is predominantly determined by the kind of environment that we grew in, the people that we grew around and the general experiences that we had as children. This thus shows the element that the environment plays on people, and how characters are formed across the social classes. Inherently people will always try to assess their role in the society, subject to the perspectives that they have of themselves and the society(Parry, 2004). This is a common practice and has been documented overtime, with some of the philosophers dating back several centuries trying to formulate theories to elaborate on morality and social responsibility (Comparison of Aristotle, Kant, and Mill, n.d.). There are three main theories that have been quite influential on the issue of morality and social responsibility; these were put forward by Aristotle, Kant and Mill(Home.sandiego.edu, 2014).
Classical Social Theories
Aristotle came up with the theory that relates virtue ethics. A closer review of the theory, shows that it focuses more on the person that is carrying the acts that the action itself. As such people that do not enjoypartaking in noble actions are not good. As such, man must make a choice to right, because they want to and not because it is required of them by the law. This is what defines people of virtue (Comparison of Aristotle, Kant, and Mill, n.d.).
According to Kant, whose theory relates to duty ethics, everyone is bound by the moral code to make decisions and take actions in a certain way. They must also be driven by good will to act and be noble. Like Aristotle, good will does not rely on the end result, but the agents’ choice to follow their duty willingly.
Mills theory relates to what is commonly referred to as utilitarianism. It is a theory that highly connects actions to the motives of the agent, while negating from duty calls, common in normative ethics(Parry, 2004). Ideally, Mill felt that one should maximize utility by maximizing total benefits and reducing suffering(Home.sandiego.edu, 2014).
Reflections
As a nurse, I feel that the Kant and Aristotle theories resonate more with my social responsibilities and morality. This is because as a nurse there are moral codes to be followed in helping patient recover. At the same time it is my social duty as a nurse regardless of whether I am at work or not to help patients even on the streets. All of the actions that I make have to be noble whether by choice or with reference to the moral code.
As a female nurse, a mother and a law abiding citizen, the two theories by Kant and Aristotle are heavily reflected in my culture. This is because people do not just act in a manner that suggests that they are more concerned with the end results. As such, culturally people are gauged in their will do good and the ability to make responsible choices based on their freedom to do the same. The aspect of utilitarianism is not common as it brings about chaos and destruction as some people try to justify the means of their actions.Generally, stealing to feed my child would only land me in jail(Home.sandiego.edu, 2014).
With reference to cultural genogram in connection to my ethnic background, the virtue and duty ethics still play a much greater role than the utilitarian theory. As a white, it...