The three “Classical Theories of Morality” represent the philosophers’ most remarkable theories ever produced, in moral philosophy. Each writes his personal account of morality and ethics, over a span of thousands of years among the theories (Arthur & Scalet, 2014). In this paper, I will connect the three “Classical Theories of Morality” to my cultural identity and explain how it aligns to my social personality. As a conclusion, I will elaborate how a cultural identity impacts social responsibility.
According to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, there are three prominent types of life, the sensual, the political, and the life of thought; thus, men’s lifestyle decides their perception of life. Also, happiness is absolute and desired for itself
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I totally agree with Mill, I believe that sacrifice must have a well-intended meaning and that its ultimate goal is to increase happiness, not merely produce more misery and sadness. In my culture, it is the women’s duty to sacrifice for her house, husband, kids, and every one of her extended family as well; that is what my mom did. I refuse this concept of sacrifice as it turns women into sad, depressed, and bitter creatures that are so drained that they have nothing left to offer. We must sacrifice but towards happiness, not towards duty. Additionally, Utilitarianism necessitates the person to be a fair spectator between his happiness and that of others and “To do as you would be done by.” In correlation with my social identity, I believe that every human must follow this golden rule and live by it to achieve social justice. Likewise, Mill’s Utilitarian Morality utterly follows “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 18:19, KJV). Which I believe, we must employ on a daily basis to our family members, friends, and countrymen
One critique is that conscience is shaped by cultural and societal influences. Moral values and ethical principles are not fixed or universal but evolve over time within different societies and cultures. These values are influenced by a range of factors such as religion, philosophy, social norms, and individual experiences. Consequently, the presence of a universal conscience could be better understood as a reflection of shared human experiences and collective social constructions rather than as empirical evidence of a transcendent deity. Moreover, the universality of conscience can be attributed to the shared values and ethical principles that humanity has developed over time.
How do I Make Moral choices, in a World of Moral Ambiguity? A desire for meaning would also include obtaining some kind of “identity,” or individualism. Yet, society or someone will try to force their “ideal” moral system onto everyone else. “Thinking may be “good for nothing” in the world, but in the mind it is good for guidance—not legislation, but guidance” (Bruehl 193).
In this prompt the argument that Morality exists is irrelevant, contrary to our thoughts and beliefs. Everyone follows a set of moral rules. Ethical relativists disagree with this belief because, they believe that morals are distinctive from each individual culture. These relativists as described are mixing up moral and cultural distinctions, or are simply not willing to completely understanding the cultures they are standing up for. There are two different types of relativism Ethical, and Cultural, that rely upon the argument of cultural differences, which have flaws that make the argument unsound.
He also defends his theory against charges of relativism, arguing that while there may be different cultural expressions of morality, there are still universal moral principles that apply to all human beings. In conclusion, The Moral Powers: A Study of Human Nature is a thought-provoking and insightful book that offers a compelling account of the nature of human morality. By grounding moral thought in the nature of human beings, Hacker provides a naturalistic alternative to the conventional social and cultural theories of
According to Aristotle, an individual can achieve happiness only by realizing all the works and activities in accordance with reason throughout his lifetime. He claimed that happiness consists in cultivating and exercising virtue and it is the ultimate purpose of human existence, as stated in his work Nicomachean Ethics “He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life”. However, such Aristotelian concept of happiness inevitably contradicts the understanding of history as development which maintains that fulfilling the work of human exceeds the limits of an individual and thus can only be achieved in the course of history. Three
Many philosophers, notably Aristotle (384-322 BC), produced a list of things that comprise quality of life writing specifically about “the good life” and “living well” and how public policy can help to foster it. In his work, Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explained that eudaimonia means “doing and living well” and he used this term in the context of the highest human good. His treatise also examined the character traits that human beings need in order to live their lives in the best way. Another philosopher Epicurus created ethical theory of hedonism. He identified the eudaemonic life as the life of pleasure where eudaimonia is a more or less continuous experience of pleasure, just as freedom from pain and
It is critical to recognize Mill’s argument that a degree of contentment can exist in periods of less happiness. However, Aristotle’s view of perceiving wellbeing or goodness as ultimate is more pronounced. Worth emphasizing, Aristotle deeply explores his arguments basing them on functions of a rational man and virtues out of habits. Today, a virtuous citizen is one whose actions are inward, in response to conscience and moral obligations as a member of society. Such a person, not waivered with intensities of pleasures, honor, and wealth but seeks to have a satisfactory level of happiness with friends, co-workers, and family among other
The Nicomachean Ethics begin with a simple concept-- everyone wants happiness. In Book 1 of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explores what happiness is and how to achieve ultimate happiness and good life. In the passage, 1097b22-1098a18, also known as the “function argument”, he further explores the happiness as the chief good concept by examining human function and the good that comes along. In this passage, Aristotle’s thesis is that the good of humans resides in human function of activity with reason (rational activity). From this thesis, we can imply that the good performance of function can lead to ultimate happiness.
Every society has its own unique cultures in which people will have different ideas of moral codes. The diversity of these cultures cannot be said to be correct or incorrect. Every society has independent standards of ethic within their society and these standards are culture-bound. Cultural Relativism has a perception in which rightness or wrongness of an action depends entirely within the bounds of the culture. This theory opposes the belief in the objectivity of moral truth.
Throughout the history, there have been heated discussions on what constitutes a good life. Philosophers have given different annotations on the meaning of good life based on their beliefs, perspectives or even scientific-based evidences. Some view a good life as an accumulation of material goods that brings “large amount” of pleasure to oneself. On the other hand, Mencius and Aristotle advocate good life as possessing of pleasure that incorporates ethical values and they believe that by doing so one will experience enduring happiness. There is no ultimate right or wrong for these interpretations since this is not a factual question.
Writers like Alasdair MacIntyre, Bernard Williams and Philippa Foot have abandoned “the project of rationally justifying a single norm of flourishing life for and to all human beings.” They deny that ethics can have trans-cultural norms
3. What does Philosophy say about morality? 4. Are they alike? Introduction Morality has long been used by human being as a basis for their actions.
In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the concept of happiness is introduced as the ultimate good one can achieve in life as well as the ultimate goal of human existence. As Aristotle goes on to further define happiness, one can see that his concept is much different from the 21st-century view. Aristotelian happiness can be achieved through choosing to live the contemplative life, which would naturally encompass moralistic virtue. This differs significantly from the modern view of happiness, which is heavily reliant on material goods. To a person in the 21st-century, happiness is simply an emotional byproduct one experiences as a result of acquiring material goods.
At the end of everyone’s lives, the goal appears to be about attaining happiness. Describing how to obtain happiness has been an issue that was debated in the past but is still talked about now . In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle expands on his view of happiness and he focuses particularly on how reason helps recognize and pursue what will lead to happiness and the good life. I feel that Aristotle’s philosophies on happiness are important works within the field of philosophy and he considered one of the………of it . In this paper, I will explore Aristotle’s beliefs regarding happiness then compare and contrast them to those of Martin Seligman.
In this essay, I will be discussing Aristotle’s conception of the “good life” which he outlined in the Nicomachean Ethics. As we will see, the “good life” for man according to Aristotle is one where we perform the particular activity which is distinctly ours and guides us towards eudaimonia – sometimes translated as ‘happiness’ or ‘well-being’. He shows us how the other conflicting depictions of the ‘good life’ are misguided, and how we should aim for a life of reason. First, however, I will discuss briefly what Aristotle meant by the term ‘good’ and then move on to how he arrived at the conclusion on human happiness. Aristotle believes that the ‘good life’ for a particular organism depends on what that organism is and the conditions it requires