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

I believe that it is more important to perform good acts than to be a good person. There are a lot of good people that do bad things.   It’s great to say that we should change something or tell people to go make a difference. There is no real way to label someone as a good person without evidence, and the only way I see good people is people making a difference. If people do good things then they are usually good people. I think this just goes back to the saying actions speak louder than words. . If people are forced to do good things like for instance, required community service it might make them a better person and it as a result helps others. Saying you are going to do something may make people think that you are a good person but going out of your way to do good and actually doing an action that has an affect is more important.

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

The wellbeing of all creatures on earth is important, but considering the intellectualness of humans and our impact on the environment I would assume that the pleasure and pain of non-human animals matters less than the pleasure and pain of humans. I feel as if some animals are on earth for humans to use, as food and it may be scpecieism to say that some animals are more important, but food is important for human survival. For instance I am involved in the sport of hunting, I enjoy seeing my food go from the field to the table. Yes the animals do feel pain and yes it is sad but, humans are on the top of the food chain and therefore we eat animals below and equal with us. I do feel sympathy for the animals that expire due to the improper disposal of waste.

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

I think that my own life as of now is worth more than others. I still do think that other human lives are still important. I think that if I had children then I would say that their lives are worth more to me than that of my own. I think also if I was married I would say that my life means less than that of my spouse. I think that my brothers and sisters lives are worth more than that of mine. I think what it boils down to is if you love someone then you would give up everything for him or her, this being said, I think that you should personally think about whom you would take a bullet for and that be the deciding factor of whose life is worth more. All frontline soldiers, firefighter, police officers would probably say differently than I.