Learning Blog #1

This weeks encounter with Killings by Andre Dubus and the Moral Argument Examples sheet challenged my views on what is morally right and wrong. In class we discussed murder, infidelity, lying, revenge, and how far being a good friend has to go. An example of our discussions is of when you broke us down into smaller groups. In these groups we discussed moral issues and which ones are worse than others. We began to discuss the reasons behind the two killings in the book, and the differences between the two as well. I thought that both were terrible things, but I heard other classmates bring up the argument "well it was payback" or "he had to do it because his son was killed". This made me think about how easily these two characters lives were abruptly ended and how they were both treated like animals. It made me look at the wars in our world today in a whole new view. It amazes me how we continue to kill each other in battles and wars when many of these things could have been avoided with debate and discussion. After having these discussions about killing, and lying and cheating I am definitely going to be more honest with myself and others and I now have a new understanding about the moral issues with killing even if it is for a "greater good" or a much more notable purpose.