What I Really Learned in this Junior Morality Course
What have you learned about morality and you? What have you become aware of? Has the experiences in this course helped you become more aware of, more challenged by, more knowledgeable about, morality in general and your own morality specifically?
Before this morality course, I has sense of morality, conscience, sin, good and bad, and ethics, but it was all in a general sense. The study in morality has not only helped me to understand morality in a much better sense, but it has always helped me to examine my own morality and make me a better person. I believe that I possessed good morals before taking the course, but the semester has opened my eyes to see what affects morality and how society is shaped in moral and immoral ways, as studied in "Why Study Morality?" In this sense, I learned that morality is not valued in much of society. Consumerist culture, greed, and profit have influenced people in immoral ways, and I learned that I need to avoid the influence in order to be moral. Studying the Catechism and the Ten Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching have taught me how I need to make decisions and live a moral life according to the Church. I learned that morality is the best means by which sometime can live ones life because it helps the person make an informed decision without regrets. Furthermore, a properly formed conscience is essential to strong morals, so I learned that I must obey my conscience, or "my self", and correctly form it if I want to live the moral and virtuous life that I desire. One of the most memorable things I learned about morality were the three sources of reality, much of which was applied to Just War, medical and business ethics. The three sources, of course, are action, intention, and circumstances, and with these in mind, I am able to examine and interpret my own moral values and actions to see what path I am taking.
Throughout the study or morality, I have become much more aware of my conscience, my words, thoughts, and actions, my morals, and what affects my morals. I have become aware of the impact that society has on morality and how I should avoid this negative influence. Most significantly, I believe that the study of morality has deepened my knowledge of morality beyond just what is right adn waht is wrong. I am able to understand how morality is formed, how to make moral decisions, exceptions (i.e. just war theory), and the effects of morality and society's effect on morality. I have become more aware of my surrounding influences and how they will affect me, which is a major factor in how I act (take drinking for an example).
I firmly believe that this course has helped me to become more aware of, more challenged by, more knowledgeable about, morality in general and my own morality. In studying morality, I have been able to see the effects and formations of morality in the world, which has thus made me more aware of the morality around me. My informed awareness of morality has allowed me to be challenged by my morality by questioning the roots of my actions, how they relate to myself, God, and others, and what effect morality has on my life. Therefore, the awareness and challenge of morality has made me a better person through personal reflection and examination. Nobody can be a moral person without working to be a better, more moral person, and this course has led me to work for a greater morality. My knowledge of the causes of morality, influences of and against morality, and the short and longterm effects of morality has helped me to know more about my own morality. Going in to this course and even to this day, I believe that I have high standards of morality for a high school student. I have avoided vices, lying, and negative actions and I have made a firm place for God in my life. I'm proud of where I am morally, and I know that this course has made me a better person, and it has taught me to strive to be moral and how to achieve this goal througout the rest of my life.