Considerations for developing personal code of ethics

    

Pre-requisite goofy dog picture

 The following blog is part of my effort to make myself write more on a daily bases.  This venue forces me to keep a deadline and allows me to practice articulating complex ideas that will be later used for research papers.  The post below is dealing with the concept of context and how the context of human judgement effects decision-making.

    

      The context of human judgement significantly impacts a person’s ethical behavior.  In humans, judgement has been one of the key factors to the survival of the species.  The primary function of human judgement is to ensure the species survival and successful replication of its genetic makeup.  Judgement fulfills its purpose or function by providing timely and beneficial assessments.  Humans genetically inherit instincts or judgements in the form of drives, desires and fears that have been successful in ensuring the survival of the species.  We are mostly unconscious of these instincts and in the modern environment if left unchecked these instincts can create significant ethical conflicts and challenges.  Another function of human judgement can be seen in the manifestation and formation of heuristics, rules of thumb and habits.  These algorithm’s give humans an advantage in uncertain environments.  The advantage is mainly gained from a rapid decision-making process.  The process is rapid since the decisions are pre-determined and recent research has shown that the human decision-making process is so rapid that it happens before the person is even consciously aware of the decision being made.  This does not imply that humans do not possess a free will, but it does suggest that our decision-making process has evolved with a complexity that is attempting to match the complexity of an ever changing environment.  A human’s ability to consciously make a choice is path dependent, but it also enables a persons to deliberately develop heuristics and habits that better match the contemporary environment. 

The formation of human judgement is also a context that must be understood for developing a personal code of ethics.  Human judgement is formed, shaped and influenced by both unconscious and conscious means.   The unconscious means are factors that are generally considered outside the persons control or at best only partially within the person’s control.  The factors completely outside the persons control are the drives, desires and fears that are instilled into their genetic make-up and are often referred to as our natural instincts.  Natural instincts are generally understood from an individual perspective and include our reproductive drive, nourishment drive (hunger and thirst), threat aversion (fear of snakes and loud noise) and those things that naturally disgust humans (such as incest and smells that suggest something is rotten or dangerous to consume).  Recent research by E.O. Wilson, suggest that humans also are genetically wired to be a part of a tribe.  According to Wilson, we are not only wired to be a part of a tribe, but experience a sense of fulfillment and meaning when our behavior supports the efforts of our tribe.  His research suggest that being what one would call virtuous, has a sense of fulfillment for humans from both a learned perspective and a genetic perspective.  Furthermore, his research and Joshua Greene's research suggest that humans have a genetic propensity to be virtuous and are very responsive to training.  Nearly a century ago American Pragmatist such as James, Dewey, and Peirce recognized this phenomena of human nature and made it the backbone of Pragmatic ethics. According to the Pragmatist, habits and deliberate development of those habits is critical in the development of consistent ethical behavior.  Modern Psychologist from Baumeister, to Ainsle have conducted extensive research that suggest the Pragmatist were offering prudent advice.