1.Is it more important to be a good person or to perform good acts (virtue ethics vs. action ethics)?

This has always been a question I have wondered about. I would say that it is more important to be a good person than to perform good acts. Let’s say a politician donated ten thousand dollars to a charity, but only to get more people to vote for them, would that make them a good person? They performed a good act, however, what matters the most are the intentions or reasons behind the act. I think it is more important to be a good person because virtue ethics is what ultimately decides how you act. If you are a good person, you will most likely want to help others and therefore be motivated to donate money or be passionate about what interests you. Although performing good acts is taking initiative to get the task done, it is simply going through the action and that doesn’t necessarily mean there is any passion involved. Module #3 talks about how these 2 types of ethics are usually intertwined together and I believe this is the most constructive way to take action.

5. Do the pleasure and pain of non-human animals matter as much as the pleasure and pain of humans (speciesism)?

Although some people argue that humans feel emotions and have better reasoning and judgment, scientists have discovered that most non-human animals have these same abilities. I believe that both non-human animals and human’s pleasure and pain should matter the same amount. The reason for this is that, if other non-human animals have the ability to feel emotion, reproduce and have reasoning, then what makes us more important? This concept made me think about Robin Williams and the gorilla Koko, who he would work with weekly. Koko, not only learned how to communicate in sign language, but also had the emotional capacity to become depressed when hearing about Robin William’s death. Having this knowledge that non-human animals also go through these painful emotions, how can we put ourselves before them? I realize that in present day society it is almost impossible to convince everyone speciesism is a concept to protest, however, I still think it is important to remember the emotional capacity that non-human animals have. Maybe this could help eliminate excess animal cruelty such as hunting animals for fun or abusing animals.

6. Is my own life worth more than the lives of others, the same, or less (selfishness vs. altruism)?

I strongly believe that all lives have the same value. My reasoning for this may come off as a bit morbid, but I think about life worth through people who suffer from depression. You can never tell who is hurting inside. Whether it is a hometown friend, family member, celebrity, political or even yourself, we all go through the same emotional rollercoaster and therefore all of our lives are worth the same. Celebrities who have money, fame, a great education, suffer from depression just like an average man who lives a typical, humble life. The idea that anyone has the ability to feel certain emotions is what confirms that our lives are all worth the same. Although this is my belief, I understand that not everybody feels the same way. Instead of becoming completely absorbed in selfishness or altruism, we need to find that happy medium where we all are content with ourselves and understand the value of every single persons life.