During this critical review, I will reflect upon the work that I have completed as part of the course and the things that I have learnt as a result of it. Aspects that I found to be particularly interesting and relevant from the perspective of intellectual growth will be identified. I will also be describing elements of the course that failed to inspire me and suggesting alternatives. The aim is to provide an insight into my views of the course, what I have gained from it and potentials ways in which improvements could be made to it.
Throughout the course, I worked as part of a group to examine what capitalism is and whether or not it is morally justified. This helped me to hone my skills at structuring an argument and taught me about the various different views of capitalism that are expressed in William H. Shaw’s Moral Issues in Business. I also completed an assignment that involved articulating and critically assessing four moral justifications that could be given to support the notion of limited liability and four moral arguments it. This furthered my understanding of the issues surrounding limited liability and strengthened my comprehension of the connection between ethics, business and the economy.
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"Critical Review Of The Course".
Another of the assignments that I completed entailed providing examples of just and unjust societies and stating the criteria that I utilize in order to decide whether or not a society can be deemed to be just. This enabled me to explore my standpoint on this issue and furthered my ability to logically formulate an opinion. The assignment also involved analyzing whether or not it would be possible to say that I was acting in a just or unjust manner if I was stuck on a desert island on my own and whether I could be said to be acting morally or immorally. This caused me to ponder the nature of morality and justness and consider whether interaction needs to be there for these factors to be considered relevant. It led me to read the explanation of morality and justice provided in Moral Issues in Business, which further expanded my knowledge in this area.
The assignment concluded by asking what I had learnt by answering the previous two questions. This enabled me to hone my reflective skills. It allowed me to contrast my views at the start of the assignment with the ones that I possessed once I had fully assessed the relevant issues.
One of the aspects of the course that I found the most interesting was Kant’s ethical theory. It was interesting to learn Kant’s thought processes and hear the logical way in which he arrived at his conclusions. Before embarking upon this course, I had not questioned the nature of morality and the reasons that some things are considered to be ethical courses of action whereas others are not. Kant’s theories opened my eyes to the fact that morality is like anything else in that complicated ideologies are in existence that seek to define it. It inspired me to question how I formulate my own personal view of morality. This caused me to question some of my personal beliefs. It acted as a catalyst for thought concerning the formulation of ethics.
I also found the libertarian theory of justice to be extremely interesting because it is a standpoint that I was not previously familiar with. Until learning about it, I had assumed that states that exercised a high level of control over their citizens were fully capable of being just. However this element of the course made me question whether or not this was true. It provided me with an alternative perspective on this issue, which gave me food for thought. It was also relevant to current society, as libertarianism has an influence upon contemporary political ideologies. The course caused me to examine the philosophies that underpin these beliefs in greater detail.
The part of the course that I found to be the least inspiring was the section that dealt with the nature of capitalism. I believe that the fact that virtually every successful economy is based upon capitalist ideologies means that it is not worth debating the merits of this system, as it has been proven to be the most effective model. Even so-called communist societies such as China are in reality strongly capitalist, as evidenced by the focus upon hierarchies and advancement within the business world. Therefore it could be argued that this was a pointless area to learn about.
I also felt that Rawl’s theory of justice was an uninspiring part of the course, as much of what Rawl proposed was simple common sense. In my opinion, he put forward views that many people hold as if he had personally developed them. This detracted from my enjoyment of learning about the ideologies that he espoused. I viewed him as being adept at expressing simple points as if they were profound. However I prefer substance over the ability to argue a point.
In place of the sections on Rawl’s theory and the nature of capitalism, the course could have included more on the various different systems of defining ethics that exist. This would have provided greater variety to the course and captured the interest of the participants more effectively. It would have created even further room for debate about the formulation of morality, which was an element of the course that I found to be particularly fascinating.
In conclusion, the course contained a number of highly interesting components, for example the libertarian theory of justice and Kant’s ethical theory. It enabled me to hone my skills at structuring an argument, furthered my ability to logically formulate an opinion and expanded my knowledge of a range of different issues. However I did not enjoy the sections about Rawl’s theory of justice and the nature of capitalism and felt that the course would have been better off without them.
