How to anchor for moral values
Answers
Accepting at Face Value
So many of the actions we perform or beliefs we have are analogous to the stapling of paper; Someone some time ago showed you how to staple or you witnessed someone in the act of stapling and you sort of took the experience and determined that’s how it’s done and that was that.
When we are young we are at the mercy of those charged with our care. Our teachers, parents, older siblings, etc. influence our beliefs about our actions.
These beliefs often remain unchallenged throughout life and it’s not really a big deal. You suddenly realize you’ve been setting the table the same way your mom or dad showed you years ago even though you’ve been living away from home for 10 years. You find yourself giving the same advice your dad gave to you to someone else.
Beliefs are partially shaped by our upbringing and environment. An ethical issue arises, however, when that upbringing and environment are all that shape our beliefs. When we accept at face value and fail to inquire into the “why” behind beliefs, values, or codes of conduct, we fail at developing our personal responsibility.
Developing Personal Responsibility
Why is inquiring more deeply into the things we do and why we do them so important to the concept of personal responsibility?
By taking in an idea, churning it over in our thoughts, and critically examining it in relation to the rest of our beliefs, desires, and thoughts, we shift influence of the idea from an external to an internal one. If an idea faces the rigorous trials of our critical thinking and survives, it finds a place within our mental framework, it connects to other puzzle pieces quite nicely. It finds a home in our mental life.
If, on the other hand, the idea fails to live up to our standards, we can either discard it entirely or argue that it can be altered a bit to make it work. The outcome is entirely the same; The idea finds a home in our mental life, albeit in a different form.
In either case, through critically examining the idea we have weighed and measured it and made any explanation we may offer to others as to the correctness our personal testimony.
Our personal responsibility develops as a result of this process. Since we no longer are relying upon external influences we now have to own those testimonies. They are ours, we took the time to think about it, and now we must be ready to deal with the consequences (good or bad). This is a scary thing, but it allows us to have a sense of agency and self-efficacy where we are capable of being in control of our mental and moral life.
The actions we perform are done for reasons we believe important, not because of mere upbringing or because that’s how it’s always been done. Our conduct is connected with our mental landscape and we treat it as such.