Personal Code of Honor

June 9, 2007 0 comments

According to William James, someone can have a personal code of honor. He wrote that, “As a man I pity you, but as an official I must show you no mercy;  As a politician I regard him as an ally, but as a moralist I loathe him.”

In my opinion, however, in these examples people are more like slaves because they live in the world agree and keep their mouths shut. Everybody faces a situation when he or she would do something, but his or her personal code of honor could not allow it to happen. Even though people feel a strong sense of ownership, their families, their possessions, think of their social relations and the spiritual self, they still tend to be honest and are able to give up their feelings of self-worth and self-seeking actions.

For example, people can give up a career if their job is not a benefit to the public or if their job is conflicting with their ethical considerations. Some people avoid a career of being a politician or a doctor who makes abortions. Other people will never sell alcohol or cigarettes. Others will not work for agencies that conduct match making or arrange marriages. Others will never work in mental hospitals.

Why do people think the above mentioned jobs can be dishonest?

A career in politics may expect a person of saying truth, but only truth that is profitable for one side. Being a doctor who conducts abortions could be not a good idea because many people feel against abortions and believe that doctors are here to save lives, not to stop them.

Selling alcohol or cigarettes is not good because it makes people drink or smoke which is not healthy.

Marriage bureaus are no good because, in general, they are making money because of people’s dreams and often lie to their clients. It is no good to make money because of others peoples hopes and dreams. In fact, this business may be everlasting but dishonest.

It might be no good to be an owner of mental hospitals or work there because in the former USSR in these institutions doctors made idiots from those who disagreed with communist regime. There a possibility to make a lot of harm because psychiatry kills.

In conclusion, people have a personal code of honor which helps them to resolve conflicts between self and others and make judgments of what is fair.

Posted by Lisa
Categories: Thoughts and Arguments