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

Personally I can see a side to both being a good person and performing good acts, but for the purpose of this question I think that it is more important to be a good person (virtue ethics). I think that if you perform good acts (action ethics) just to be altruistic, but are a bad person on the inside, a day will come when you no longer do good acts. I believe that being a good person has to come before someone consistently does good deeds. It is important to be a good person because before you can develop healthy relationships with others and recognize what others need, you have to love yourself and be content. I think that an important aspect of being a good person to others is to be a good person in one’s own eyes. Being a good person means, among other things, doing what’s morally right, having a positive outlook on life, and treating other people with respect. Being willing to perform good acts will naturally follow from being a good person. However, just because a person does some good acts does not necessarily mean that he/she is an entirely good person.

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

   I would like no better than to say with 100% conviction that the pleasures and pains of non-human animals matter as much to me as that of humans, because I believe in a God who created all living things. I’d like to vow that I’d never hurt another living/breathing thing for my own wellbeing. After all, I continue, who am I to say that my living, breathing moments here on Earth are more important than the living, breathing moments of a cow or a mosquito? Who am I to say that it is OK to slaughter a chicken so that I may have meat to nourish my body? However, by raising animals specifically to later slaughter and eat so that my body can function well, I am actually acknowledging speciesism (humans are more important than chickens, cows, pigs, and all non-human animals). It would take a very major change in my lifestyle before I could say that I do not believe in speciesism. The truth of the matter is, I don’t know if I could ever survive not being dependent on non-human animals. I think that eating meat, fish, etc… and wearing leather shoes is so much a part of my existence that it would take some major life-changing event for me to live a life where I treat all non-human animals as if they were irreplaceable. 

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

My answer to the question of whether my own life is more, the same, or less important than that of others has two parts. First, I believe that my life is as valuable, if not more valuable, than the lives of others because it’s the sense of good self-worth that keeps me satisfied in my day-to-day life. Thereafter, it is only once I am satisfied with myself that I can then truly reach out to help others and become somewhat altruistic. When I am satisfied and/or happy with myself, I can analyze what others need and focus on what I can do to help them. Being altruistic then feeds my self-worth and I am, again, able to help others achieve a better lot in life. When I am unhappy with myself and/or my where I am in life, I have a very difficult time providing for the welfare of others (perhaps that is selfishness at my core). I believe that I am responsible to first “feed” myself physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually (value my life), so that I can then recognize the needs of others and help them achieve their needs/dreams.