Moral Decision Making: So What?

Moral decision making is a part of every day life.  We make these decisions even when we don't realize it.  As students we make decisions such as cheating, plagiarizing, being the lazy one in a group project, and skipping class.  As business people we decide weather or not to play by the rules, to steal or share trade secrets, to price products and services reasonably, and whether or not to bribe or blackmail.  As people in relationships, we make decisions in regards to cheating on our partner, lying about where we go and the money we spend, and even lying about our feelings.  How do we work through these decisions?  How do we determine what's right?  I believe we use a combination of all three normative ethics:  virtue, duty based, and consequential ethics.

For example, let's look at a situation involving a student.  The student has a test to take online by a certain date; his friend, however, as already taken the test and received a perfect score.  The questions and answers are going to be the same for each student, so the friend offers to give the other all the answers so he can make a perfect score, too.  First, the student works through virtue ethics - it is morally wrong to cheat.  He should be practicing integrity and self-control.  However, thinking in ethical egoism terms, receiving a perfect scone on this test can really help his final grade by bumping it up from a C to an B.  The end result is favorable towards him.  Duty ethics, on the other hand, says that the university's students have agreed to act ethically - in regards to cheating, stealing, etc. - or face consequences such as expulsion.  The professor, he reasons, would never find out if the students shared answers.  At the end of all this thought process, the student decides that it is morally wrong to cheat on a test, and decides instead to study and if he has any questions to ask his friend for help.

I feel that I do this on a daily basis.  There are some things that you have to work through to really come up with an answer that best fits the situation - and then it may differ from person to person.  In the movie Source Code, for example, Rutledge and Goodwin reason through the task of pulling Steven's life support differently.  Rutledge reasons that Stevens will save lives if he remains "alive" and thus decides to lie to him about pulling the plug.  Goodwin, however, reasons that although he could save more lives, she is morally responsible for keeping her word to him about ending the life support.  There are times in my life where I know something is "wrong", but it is how I feel the situation should be handled.  I'm not sure if I've used this example already, but I speed.  I go between five and fifteen miles over the speed limit (depending on where I am).  I know that you're supposed to follow the speed limit, but if I feel like I'm not harming anyone then I just drive.  The down side is that I'm always scanning the road for cops, and if I see one I slow down.  Why?  Because I don't want to get a ticket.  So I guess I contradict myself - I don't care, but then again I do.  It all depends on the situation.