Ethics

John Smith

Philosophy 120

12/16/11

Where Do I Belong?

In life, we are often faced with situations where we question whether what we are thinking and/or doing is the right way of thinking or the right thing to do. In these situations, we are faced with questions that challenge our morals. In the story, “Where Do I Belong,” Bob encountered a situation that challenged his morals and found himself in an uncomfortable position.

Bob is the first person in his family and neighborhood to attend college. Attending school at a prestigious college has widened his knowledge of the world he lives in and changed his conception of his surroundings. Before attending college, Bob felt comfortable being around his family and spending time with them. After attending college, he took a trip home to visit on his summer break. During his visit he found himself questioning whether or not he fits in with this community that he once felt content living in. He was embarrassed of the way his family and friends engaged in narrow-minded conversations that passed judgments about others. He felt like he didn’t fit in and was at a loss for words. He also had similar feelings for his community at school. Although he’d met a lot of friends and acquired knew knowledge, his past and everything he once knew to be the way of life conflicted with the way of life he saw at school. He often found himself in situations where he reacted incorrectly and embarrassed himself. Bob felt as though he had to become two different people and was slowly losing his true identify.

His problem primarily has to do with solidarity, or community; personal connection, or relationships; and self-formation, or character. Bob currently has two different communities that he lives in and he does not feel like he fits in to either one of them due to ethnic and cultural differences. He misses the closeness and sense of being able to count on friends for help and support, but he struggles with ways to...