1.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 be a good person than it is to perform good acts. Now, others may disagree with me on this; however, good people are the best to be around and involved with. Grant it, performing good acts is a great for the soul, but is it really doing them any good if they are not 100% true of them? I would much rather deal with someone with a good heart who does good deeds than someone who is not true to those around them in the acts they perform. Not being true to yourself gives a fake identity to others viewing you. In my own experiences of working with people, I can vouch that it is much more pleasant and satisfying to work with someone who is a good person inside and out rather than the person who is just there to perform the good act. Performing good acts certainly is a good thing, but it starts from having those good intentions.
5.Do the pleasure and pain of non-human animals matter as much as the pleasure and pain of humans (speciesism)?
Absolutely, yes! Now, I am in no way an animal rights activist who is going to throw these obscure facts in your face that eating animals is wrong (I am an active meat eater, myself); however, just because they are a food source does not mean that animals do not matter as much as we humans. It has been proven in many different experiments over time that animals do have feelings and are able to feel pain, happiness, fear, and many more. It is not fair to think of them lesser than ourselves. If we were being hunted or harvested by a much greater predator, would our pleasure and pain matter as much as that superior species? I am certain that you would believe that our feelings still matter just as much as every living organism around you.
6.Is my own life worth more than the lives of others, the same, or less (selfishness vs. altruism)?
Whenever I was little, I always thought that the world revolved around me (typical bratty child). I also thought that there was always a plan for me throughout my life. I was not until many years down the road where I realized that the lives of others matter just as much as mine. Now, I use to be selfish enough to believe that I was more important than others, and that their lives did not matter nearly as much as my own. It was not until I started volunteering my time in different youth organizations where I noticed that these children are our leaders of tomorrow; they are the ones we should be looking towards and promoting. It would not be fair to think that Little Johnny did not deserve an ice cream cone and I did simply because of the belief that he did not matter as much as I did. Life is not always fair, but that does not mean that the lives of others do not matter.
Hey Samantha,
It was interesting to read about your views. I also answer the first question, but it made me ask myself “What makes a person good?.” To me I think we can only see someone else as ‘good’ from our own viewpoint, which could be a completely different definition to other people. For the second question you answered I also had a different idea about it. Another question I asked myself is “If I had to choose between two choices, to let an animal experience pain or to let a human experience pain, which would I choose?” I invariable chose the animal to experience it over a human, but that’s just my opinion. I thought your answers were very well written!
Fellow Classmate,
Ryan Gebhardt.
Here’s a link to my blog if you’re interested:
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/03/ryan-gebhardt-modulus-3/
Hello, my name is Michèle and your response to the first question really caught my eyes. On my own blog post http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/03/module-3-ethics-17/ , I actually argued the complete opposite of what you said but it was definitely interesting to read a different point of view and now that I’m thinking about it, I could totally agree. When I first read the question, I thought to myself: If people are performing good acts then they must ultimately be good people themselves, but as you said it yourself, that’s completely incorrect. A lot of people do “good” things just for the show without genuinely having good intentions.
Hi my name is Aaliyah here is the link to my blog https://wp.me/p3RCAy-bk3. I believe that it is more important to do good acts that be a good person. However,you make valid points about how it is more pleasant to be around a person who is genuinely good. I was thinking on more of a societal scale of how good acts could affect everyone as opposed to how daily interactions could affect people. Also, I do believe genuinely good acts could be more impact than acts that are not genuine.