If I were to tell you how I felt about the topic of abortion, I would be using my own moral judgement in telling you my opinion. When I decided on my viewpoint did I use my own moral judgement, or did I conform to a standard of what society says is moral? Did I take into account my religion, or did I simply decide on my opinion because it was the opinion of my peers? Is the way that I went about developing my opinion towards abortion the same way that you went about developing your opinion about abortion? With all of these questions in mind, it brings about the more important question, how do individuals make moral decisions?

How we should behave or the “morality trap” is an idea put forth by Harry brown.

“The morality trap is the belief that you must obey a moral code created by some

one else” (Browne 193). I have always been a strong person in my ways of thinking and I don’t often conform to norms. I have gone on thinking that everyone else must behave in the same strong-headed way as I. I was discussing the topic of the morality trap with my mother. I had always thought that people are like me, in that they take in a moral code but don’t necessarily believe that you have to follow that moral code. I may have been wrong. What about those individuals who may be so easily persuaded by others to conform to someone else’s moral-code? My mother was brought up in a Mormon family. She told me when she would have discussions with her mother about moral issues the remarks from her mother would start out by saying, “We believe….” Browne states that if you get caught up in this trap it is an “easy way to loose your freedom” (195). It is easy to loose your freedoms when you are told to believe one certain moral code.

The last idea is talked about by Jeremy Bentham. This idea is called utilitarianism. His idea is that all actions should be directed toward achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest good, or the greatest number of people (203). The problem with this is that many people are “self-seekers.” In other words I think it is fair to say the human race is selfish. Some people will likely care more about how a situation affects them rather than who or how many it will make happy.

Browne believes that you and you alone are responsible for what happens to you (194). I see a problem with this. If I were brought up in a strictly religious family with the “We believe…” principle, then I would say that my family was somewhat responsible for my attitudes toward morality thus saying that morality is strictly a question of the individual and his or her own happ

Some topics in this essay:
Morality Ethics, Jeremy Bentham, WT Stace, Golden Rule”, Christianity Bible, moral code, morality relative, moral decisions, moral decision, own moral judgement, believe moral, own moral, moral judgement, developing opinion, consider beautiful, human race,