General Philosophy
Uploaded by thehighlife13 on Jan 05, 2005
Ethics Final
Section 1: The Ideal Being
Many people lose sight of what is important when determining what a good person TRULY is. What most people would consider to be a good person is humility, selflessness, caring, generosity, kindness, etc. Others believe that a good person is measured by how much he does and accomplishes in life rather than by what he does for others. Here in lies the problem. You’ll never be a truly great person if you focus all your energy on personal wealth. In the same respects, a great person can’t simply lose sight of helping themselves either. After all, doesn’t it read in the Bible that “God helps those who help themselves.”? A good person is someone who finds the middle road. A person who cuts it down the middle. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a wonderful example of this. Dr. King focused his efforts towards achieving a goal that was as much for others as it was for himself. He deeply cared about the black community being free, but don’t kid yourself; he wasn’t above oppression of any kind as his untimely death may indicate. Taking a side of complete altruism over egoism is a stance that merely leads to an inferiority complex and a great lack of self-esteem. Taking a stance of egoism over altruism is a clear road to despair and regret. Altruism, while externally good for a person, will kill their spirit internally. When everything that you do revolves around the idea that everyone else comes first and you come second, you outcast yourself. Your mission becomes one of servitude and loneliness. No one always wants to be the host of the party. Sometimes its nice to let someone else have that privilege. Altruism obviously has its benefits. It is great for the spirit in many ways when taken in moderation. There is no greater satisfaction for many people than the realization that they have helped someone else. Even that, however, can be an egotistical idea however. If you help someone that could not help themselves do you not at least feel some sort of feeling of superiority over that person? You were in a position that they needed to be in and you rose to the occasion. As sad as that is, it is the truth although at least half of the reason behind good deeds is that you want to help someone...