Ethics Reflection

Do we generally use reason or emotion to make ethical decisions? Which one should we use?

Ethics is defined as "a system of moral principles", or as "the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc". In my opinion, people generally use emotion to make ethical decisions or ethical judgements in general. For example, if I was in the position where it was possible for me to cheat on a test and get away with it (like Calvin in the comic :D), I would decide not to cheat because of the emotions associated with it. For example, I would feel guilt and possibly shame and/or disappointment in myself for cheating.Those emotions would factor in to my ethical decision of whether to cheat or not. People's emotions generally contribute to people's "gut feeling", which then contributes to the ethical decisions that they make. In addition to this, people do use reason to make ethical decisions. However, it is usually used for longer-term decisions. If someone was forced to make an ethical decision on the spot, they would most likely use emotion to make their decisions. But, if someone was allowed to think a particular issue over and then make a decision, they would use reason to make their decision. However, people often make their decision regarding an ethical issue pretty quickly, because their emotions shape their decisions so heavily.

So then which one, reason or emotion should we use to make ethical decisions? I believe that both reason and emotion are needed in order to make the best decision regarding ethics. There are always two sides to issues in ethics. If you only use emotion, then you would not be able to understand both sides of the issue in order to make a calculated decision. Reason can help remove the bias that someone may have regarding an issue due to their emotions. Emotions can skew the way that people perceive an issue, so for example, when we were talking about the prospect of free college tuition. I wholeheartedly supported the side that argued that college should be free. Compassion made me feel that everyone should have the opportunity to have a college education. My stance was almost completely decided on the emotions that I felt regarding the issue. However, as people began discussing the other side of the argument, I realized that I did not even think of reason at all when making my decision on how I felt about the issue. Even though that situation does not completely relate to ethics, it goes to show that emotion can cloud your better judgement when making a decision. However, reason alone should not be used in making ethical decisions. Emotions can put you on the right path to deciding the right thing to do. Making an ethical decision without certain emotions like compassion or kindness could result in making an ethical decision that is harmful to someone. So if your friend came up to you after taking a test and admitted that they had cheated, the right thing to do would be to tell the teacher that they cheated. And while that is the right decision, making the choice without compassion and without thinking of the repercussions of the decision on your friend would be destructive to your friendship.