Passion And Moral Judgement Essay - 1396 Words

Passion as the Criterion for Moral Judgment nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ethics is the study of human conduct or in other words the study of moral behavior. All humans use ethics in their daily actions and decisions, but not many have the opportunity to probe into the core of ethics. When Socrates said in 399 B.C., â€Å"The unexplained life is not worth living† he was encouraging man to examine his way of life and ways of moral decision making. Ethics not only aims to discover the rules that should govern a moral life, but the goods one should aim to acquire in their life time. Ethics aims to explain why and how man acts the way he does and to shape the way man lives and acts,. Some philosophers say that reason is the criterion for making†¦show more content†¦Actions may be to blame in certain situations, but they cannot be called reasonable or unreasonable. If reason rules moral actions there would be no wrong in society because all people would follow the same moral code of conduct, but because man acts from his experience, passions, and sentiments not all men follow the same rules. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Many philosophers disagree with Hume’s idea of passions guiding human moral judgments. Among Hume’s strongest opposition would be the ancient philosophers Socrates and Plato. Both men believed that reason was the basis for moral judgments. Socrates’ thesis on reason was that only reason could lead man to truth and understanding. For Socrates rationality was the basis for morality. Plato believed that only through reason could man arrive at true knowledge. He thought that reason is an integral part of morals and its role is to gain knowledge and wisdom to fulfill the soul. Plato believed that human nature is reason and hence reason is good because human nature is good. Humans of today have proved Plato wrong; not all human nature is good. Plato also stated that, â€Å"Opinion without knowledge is always a shabby sort of thing. One who holds a true belief without intelligence is just like a blind man who happens to take the right road.â₠¬  Plato held intellectual knowledge and reason with the highest regards. He also believed that there is a fight between passion and reason, but HumeShow MoreRelatedPlato s Allegory Of The Cave1008 Words   |  5 PagesDescriptive ethics, or morals, consist of different people, groups, and societies that have standards. It is the philosophical study of what morality is and how it requires us to behave. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, is his best effort to explain how we should live in society. Defining ‘what is morality?’ can be quite impossible with the many different theories and concepts on what it means to live morally. However, the overall concept of ethics relates to â€Å"right† versus â€Å"wrong† actions. Ethics isRead MoreThe Moral Knowledge Of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein Essay1640 Words   |  7 PagesMoral knowledge, a tricky subject to grapple with because morals are subjective to everyone. We can’t say whether one is right or w rong, as the truth behind that knowledge is not determined. Since we can’t surely know what we say is right or wrong, is it ok to experiment with ideas that might not be determined to be right at that time? History has proven that the concepts of right and wrong are able to change over time. David Hume has much to say about the development of moral knowledge as he createsRead MoreJohn Adams Speech Analysis1587 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Adams is portrayed in the John Adams miniseries as a man with a strong moral compass, someone who prioritizes rights and trusts national institutions to enforce them. Although overshadowed by the more passionate revolutionaries, such as Thomas Jefferson with â€Å"his aura and his glamour,† he is driven by a sense of moral duty and acts as a stable backbone to the revolutionary cause.1 This obligation to the institutions that defend human rights shapes the tone of his closing remarks in John AdamsRead MoreCompare And Contrast Aquinas V irtuous Man And Passions1350 Words   |  6 Pagesvirtuous man and passions discussed by St. Thomas Aquinas, one argument, in particular, stands out for its agreement with the philosophical view of the Stoics. While Aquinas is a prominent Catholic philosopher and theologian known for his argumentative style of defending and teaching Catholic doctrine as well as providing insightful and compelling outlooks regarding ethical matters, the Stoics are known for their staunch and what can be perceived as restrictive views on emotions, passions, and mattersRead MoreHow St. Thomas Aquinas s Teachings Have Affected Me1181 Words   |  5 Pagesyears after his death. St. Thomas Aquinas has influenced my personal morals and ethics through his teachings on prudence and temperance. First way by which St. Thomas Aquinas has developed my understanding of moral living is his outline of prudence. This virtue, he describes as of the natural or cardinal virtues, those that pertain to happiness in life that can be found within human nature. This virtue is meant to help one life a moral and virtuous life, growing ever closer to the good that is God. StRead MoreImmanuel Kant And Kant On Morality1097 Words   |  5 PagesHume. Immanuel Kant had many theories throughout his philosophical time. Here are some of his ethical works, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), the Critique of Practical Reason (1788), and the Metaphysics of Morals (1797), which contains both â€Å"the Doctrine of Right† and â€Å"the Doctrine of Virtue.† He also had some other works of importance to his moral philosophy including the Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790), Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason (1793), and Anthropology fromRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilga mesh Essay991 Words   |  4 Pagesinstructions that shape the epic’s characters are very much applicable to our current lives. Messages like: the importance of perseverance, that drive that pushes you to excel, the down side of sexual passion when not tempered, and how we need to keep our pride under control, not letting it cloud our judgement. These principled themes, among others, are clearly visible to the eyes of the audience. The epic of Gilgamesh exhibits a beautiful look at what a person with strong perseverance had do. The factRead MoreThe Theory Of Moral Sentiments987 Words   |  4 Pagesand economist, released that the original morality principle was not suitable for that society anymore, and it needed to build another new theory system to suit the developing society. He wrote two masterpieces that proposed his ideas: The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which discusses the human development by analysing the human emotion, and The Wealth of Nations, which summarises the development of capitalism and it is also a foundation for today’s economy. This essay will analyse the self-interest,Read MoreDavid Hume’s an Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals Essay709 Words   |  3 Pagesperceptions. If truth is understood as the adequacy between the image and the object, then it is impossible to infer that there is a true world of objects since the only evidence. From this fundamental point, human reason loses its contingency in moral issues and decision making, letting feelings come to the first place. Hume emphasises the utility of knowledge as opposed to its correctness and suggests that morality begins with feeling rather than thought. In this case, Hume also believes that sympathyRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Charismatic Leadership913 Words   |  4 Pagesthe same achievement can create a stronger sense of togetherness and unity. The visionary way to lead can lead to better results because it ignites people’s passion. It’s hard to be a charismatic leader without strong convictions and therefore, the leader is passionate about getting things done. As many entrepreneurs tend to say, â€Å"it’s the passion that gets you up every morning†. In addition to the passionate approach to doing things, charismatic leadership also encourages risk-taking and thinking outside