What Makes A Good Person? Essay

The short story is set at a park by a lake. “They were up on a picnic table at that park by the lake, by the edge of the lake, with part of a downed tree in the shallows half hidden by the bank.”1 The downed tree sets the mood to be sad and dark. We also learn that the main characters Lane A. Dean, Jr. and his girlfriend Sheri Fisher are sitting very still on the picnic table2, which tells us that the atmosphere is quite intense. It does not say for how long they sit by the lake, but it says that the right sides of their faces get shaded so it can be assumed that they sit there for a while.3

     To further display that Polemarchus’ definition of justice gives a better account of the “good life” I put forth my own definition of the “good life”. I have come to conclude through the lessons life has taught me thus far that the “good life” is one composed of love and understanding. Love of one’s self because with this I can maintain a sound mind and body, but without it I cannot love others. Love of family because

Some people consider freedom the meaning of the good life. Thoreau teaches that the good life is “freedom from desire.” To have a good life people must be free to make their own choices and mistakes. However, other people have a different opinion about the good life—Andrew Carnegie believes people can find the good life through success and wealth. Yet still, others want neither of these, choosing instead to stay innocent with no responsibilities like Adam and Eve, free from decisions and the stresses of everyday life. Another view is Freud’s Pleasure Principle that suggests people are interested only in fun and doing whatever they want all the time. Moreover, these people don’t want to worry about anything else.

Joy changes her name to Hulga in “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Conner in order to change her perception of herself, her conflict being her identity. During Joy’s contemplation, she encounter the name Hulga because “she had a vision of the name working like the ugly sweating Vulcan who stayed in the furnace and to whom...the goddess had to come when called” (664). Joy sympathizes for Vulcan because the god also has a physical deformity; and just like Vulcan who’s the god of fire and forge, she’s forging an identity for herself that can be stated “her highest creative act” (665). It can be interpreted that Joy has forgiven herself for her disability and sees her leg as her backbone when “her mother had not been able to turn her dust into Joy” but rather “she had been able to turn it herself into Hulga;” she accepts her own beauty and realizes she’s beautiful (665). If Vulcan can be married to Venus, then she can be accepted into her own crowd, as she once said, “If you want me, here I am—LIKE I AM” (664).

The concept of living “the good life” means something different for everyone. There is a general understanding that living “the good life” is associated with unyielding happiness and lasting satisfaction. The exact meaning of this desired life was pondered by thinkers and philosophers for hundreds of years. They constructed principals of behavior, thought, and obligation that would categorize a person as “good”. Although some of these ancient philosophies about “the good life” had overlapping ideas, their concepts varied widely. This contrast of ideas can be examined through two major characters in two famous works: Aeneas in “The Aeneid” and Socrates in “The Apology”. Aeneas exemplifies the philosophy that the direct route to “the good life" is through faith, trust in the Gods, and family, while Socrates in “The Apology” emphasizes free will, and vast knowledge of life.

In a society where the concept of ‘self’ is removed and ‘selflessness’ is the moral good, the pursuit and attainment of personal happiness is evil. Individuals seeking happiness live a tortured existence; filled with persecution and guilt. “We, Equality 7-2521, were not happy in those years in the Home of the Students. It was not that the learning was too hard for us. It was that the learning was too easy. This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick. It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them. The Teachers told us so, and they frowned when they looked upon us.” (Rand 4) Equality 7-2521 struggles with the fact that he has attributes that set him aside from the rest of the collective. In a society of equals, there

Morals, character, integrity, what do these words mean….actually, the question is, do you have them. A man named Dwight Moody once said, “Character is what you are in the dark.” You cannot see your morals, character, or integrity, these are only shown as your values. Someone could only show their own values, which are very important to themselves and everyone else. Integrity is the firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values. The way you show your integrity, character, and morals or how they are effect you in either a negative or positive way. There are many causes to how your values are. So as you know, integrity is very important and it is important to have it.

Many philosophers have spent countless hours contemplating human existence and human purpose, but overall they are all analyzing one question- what is the best way to live? In almost every culture around the world, life is cherished and people have come up with religions and philosophies that suggest answers to the question concerning the best way to live. Some philosophies, such as Ayn Rand’s objectivism and Aristotle’s views on happiness, are centered around pursuing one’s own happiness and leading a fulfilling life. However, actually successfully living in the best way by pursuing one’s own happiness is quite challenging due to the complex restraints of human nature and human flaws. In order

The idea of striving for goodness has always been something that has been instilled in our minds since birth. We were always taught to the do the right thing. But why? What are the benefits of being a good person versus being bad? This is question that Colin Mcginn tackles in his article, “Why Not Be a Bad Person?” In it, he explains why he think virtue is the more intriguing moral standard, and explores why some people may disagree with him.

Mankind must by this time have acquired positive beliefs as to the effects of some actions on their happiness; and the beliefs which have thus come down are the rules of morality for the multitude, and for the philosopher until he has succeeded in finding better. That philosophers might easily do this, even now, on many subjects; that the received code of ethics is by no means of divine right; and that mankind have still much to learn as to the effects of actions on general happiness, I admit or rather earnestly maintain.

In part one of our book, “The Good Life,” we studied five different philosopher’s viewpoints on what is needed in order for a person to have a good, fulfilling life. They all included the concepts of pleasure and happiness to some extent in their theories, but they all approached the ideas in different ways. The two hedonists we studied, Epicurus and John Stuart Mill, place heavy emphasis on the importance of pleasure. They both believe that pleasure is a necessity in the ideal life. Jean Kazez agreed with their viewpoints in her theory and said that happiness was a necessity for a good life. Epicurus and Mill also argue that there is nothing else that we ultimately desire beyond pleasure and that it is an intrinsic good.

Mankind must by this time have acquired positive beliefs as to the effects of some actions on their happiness; and the beliefs which have thus come down are the rules of morality for the multitude, and for the philosopher until he has succeeded in finding better. That philosophers might easily do this, even now, on many subjects; that the received code of ethics is by no means of divine right;

Why is character important? Why is it important to be a person of good morals, ethics, and character? Can that make you more productive in life, family, school, business, work, etc. ?

Moreover, the morality, good character and happiness cannot be separated from one another. This is because to a huge extent we tend to offer as the best individuals to our families, friend and colleagues who are the source of our happiness. Therefore there is an understanding that we can enjoy their company when we offer our best morals and support. With this understanding, we realize that a good moral character is a requirement to true happiness irrespective of the people we are dealing with. This understanding enables individuals to realize and prevent any moral deviation so as to maintain happiness with all persons (Delattre 137).

For this essay this paper will be discussing the subject of moral behaviour and if it is necessary for happiness. The view that this paper will reflect and focus on is that “moral” behaviour is not absolutely necessary to be happy. To fully comprehend the topic in question we must look at the definitions of morality and happiness. Moral behaviour is subjective in the sense that what may seem right to one person may not seem right to another. Happiness is also entirely subjective due to the fact that what can make one or some people happy might not be the case for others. Examples will be given to demonstrate the fact that moral behaviour is not necessary for happiness. To be blunt the matter of the fact is that there are many people out