Premium Essay

How We Ought to Live

In: Social Issues

Submitted By aritakum
Words 1466
Pages 6
How we ought to live: Role of Religion and Government

Abstract
When one looks beyond the fundamental questions about life, it is pretty obvious that “how we ought to live?” follows whatever conclusion one reaches about their existence. This is an attempt to answer questions like: How shall we live? What shall we live for, if anything? How can we decide right from wrong? I look at the roles Religion and Government in showing us how we ought to live.
When one looks beyond the fundamental questions about life, it is pretty obvious that “how we ought to live?” follows whatever conclusion one reaches about their existence. This is an attempt to answer questions like: How shall we live? What shall we live for, if anything? How can we decide right from wrong? Without requiring us to rely on blind faith alone, while using lessons from faith and rational thoughts.
History
Socrates (469-339 BC) used what we know today as dialectic way of answering Philosophical questions about life. This involved asking and answering probing questions in order to arrive at something that could be considered true. Unfortunately he was put to death for failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledged and for introducing new deities. Aristotle (384-322 BC) thought that human fulfillment came as we order our lives around developing and expressing moral and intellectual virtues, such as courage, wisdom, generosity, and understanding. In order to do this, we must be mentally active. That is, we must engage our minds and rationally deliberate about what has value and how we ought to live. Then, we must apply the fruit of that reflection to our daily lives.
After Aristotle many others addressed the question of how to live. Every religion has its own answer. Some people say there’s no answer, that the answer doesn’t matter, that the answer is impossible for us to know, or that the

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Holy Lives

...Holy Lives If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten or twelve feet. Without space to run, as is his habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top. The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle around helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash. A Bumblebee if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exist, until it completely destroys itself. In many ways, there are a lot of people like the buzzard, the bat, and the bee. They are struggling about with all their problems and frustrations, trials and tribulations, heart-breaks and head-aches...stressed out, strung out and on the verge of giving out, not realizing that the power of God to withstand every situation is inherent within you and the answer to life's most difficult problems is just above you.. Brothers...

Words: 714 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Absolut Surrender

...Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………1 The Possibility of a Surrendered Christian Life……………….................................................2 Andrew Murray An Example Of Absolute Surrender…………………………………….2 Andrew Murray On How To Live A Surrendered Life…………………………………...3 The Theological Foundation of a Surrendered Life…………………………………………...4 Andrew Murray’s Perspective…………………………………………………………….4 Practical Application…………………………………………………………………………….6 Overcoming Exterior Influences with the use of Practical Theology……………………..7 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………..9 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………….11   Introduction Considering the exterior influences of contemporary culture, is it possible to live a life totally surrendered to the Lord? Andrew Murray is a palpable example of person who lived a life surrendered to the Lord without compromising or straying from his belief. The exploration of Andrew Murray’s “Absolute Surrender” offers practical application to fulfill the plan of God for believers regardless of exterior influences. Andrew Murray’s convictions suggest that all Christians should approach their life with a wholehearted surrender to God. (Romans 12:2, KJV) “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Exploring the practicability of being totally surrendered to the Lord considering the current...

Words: 2280 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Clarify the Key Features of a Deontological Theory of Ethics. to What Extent If Any Do the Weaknesses Outweigh the Strengths of This Theory?

...making decisions in ethics which relies on duties or rules to determine how you should act. Thus it is very different from consequential theories of ethics like Utilitarianism where results matter more than obligations (oughts). One of the most notable examples of a deontological theory of ethics is Kantian Ethics. Kant rejected using results as a good way to guide actions. A notable feature is that, unlike Utilitarianism, he thought empirical evidence was an unreliable guide and that how we experience things came from the mind (a priori). ‘It is impossible to conceive of anything in the world, or even out of it, which can be taken as good without qualification, except good will’. A notable point is that, Kant took an absolute approach to morality and dismissed the idea of choices or consequences to solve a moral dilemma. A significant feature is that, Kant thought that the idea of moral oughts must come from within which he called ‘reason’. Since Kant believed reason is shared by all humans and is inherent in the universe, then logically we should come to the same conclusions about how to live using their reason. Additionally, with our reason, Kant identified that there were ‘prima facia’ duties- duties that are supreme to others. Another key characteristic is that, Kant’s deontology states that we experience a sense of duty/ obligation to others. This he called the categorical imperative; ‘you ought to behave in the categorical imperative because it is the moral law’. It...

Words: 970 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Noli Me Tangere

...color. It is like you have drowned from the deepest part of darkness. As the saying “No man is an island”, it is proven that a person can’t live within itself. You must have friends and socialize with them in order for you to make a wonderful living. Having interaction with other people—sharing some beliefs and practices may consider as part of sociology. Sociology itself means “the study of society”, where it came from the Greek word “socio” means “society” and “-logos” mean “the study of”. Sociology is the scientific study of society, of the ways of which society is organized and operates, and of the factors contributing to both societal stability and social change. It is concerned with patterned social regularities rather than with unique personal experiences. Simply means that sociology is the study of the things around the society. Studying the society also involves ethical values where people will be taught how to live doing the right thing over the wrong one. Though people have their own ways of living, each of us may consider that ethics is very important in everyone’s life. Based on Emerita S. Quito, the author of the book “Fundamentals of Ethics”, ethics is from the Greek word “ethos” meaning a characteristic way of doing things, or a body of customs. In general, ethics is meant to be applied in order to teach the people how to live essentially doing the right one. Research Topic Culture and Society Aside from studying the society-- its organization and structures...

Words: 883 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Ethics Related to Sociology: Culture and Society

...color. It is like you have drowned from the deepest part of darkness. As the saying “No man is an island”, it is proven that a person can’t live within itself. You must have friends and socialize with them in order for you to make a wonderful living. Having interaction with other people—sharing some beliefs and practices may consider as part of sociology. Sociology itself means “the study of society”, where it came from the Greek word “socio” means “society” and “-logos” mean “the study of”. Sociology is the scientific study of society, of the ways of which society is organized and operates, and of the factors contributing to both societal stability and social change. It is concerned with patterned social regularities rather than with unique personal experiences. Simply means that sociology is the study of the things around the society. Studying the society also involves ethical values where people will be taught how to live doing the right thing over the wrong one. Though people have their own ways of living, each of us may consider that ethics is very important in everyone’s life. Based on Emerita S. Quito, the author of the book “Fundamentals of Ethics”, ethics is from the Greek word “ethos” meaning a characteristic way of doing things, or a body of customs. In general, ethics is meant to be applied in order to teach the people how to live essentially doing the right one. Research Topic Culture and Society Aside from studying the society-- its organization and structures...

Words: 866 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Immanuel Kant On Morality

...- the existence of itself is already consider good - , not because it has a good consequence. As an alternative way to put this, if a thing is acknowledged as rationally good, it is moral. So how do we know it is rationally good like Kant said? I will discuss about it later on. But first, you have to know why we must live according to that moral law. Can’t we do the bad thing if we want? Agreeing with Kant’s argument, we can’t, it is our duty to fulfil it. He reasoned all living thing ( except human ) always act...

Words: 1047 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Peter Singer's Solution to Poverty

...Singer’s Solution to World Poverty In this paper, I will argue that Singer fails to establish that we are morally required to give to charity. In Peter Singer’s Famine, Affluence, and Morality, he makes the claim that we ought to give up any surplus money we might have and send it to places like Bengal to prevent people from suffering or dying. However, is this really something we are obligated to do? Singer relies on two important yet controversial principles that help him establish his conclusion. These two principles state that, “…suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad” and that “if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable more importance, we ought, morally, to do it” (605). The first principle is most likely unable to be refuted as almost everyone can agree that suffering and death has nothing to do with good. Now the second principle can be explained by the example Singer gives that if you were in a situation where you were walking past a pond and see a child drowning you ought to pull the child out resulting in wet or muddy clothes, which in no means outweighs the death of a child. In other words, preventing something bad will always compensate ruining a materialistic thing or spending money on something insignificant. Relying on these two principles helps Singer establish his conclusion at the end of his argument. He first states that there are people in East...

Words: 736 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Guardian Kid Relationship Essay

...something where you need to step by step in light of the fact that a guardian grows up with the youngster on the grounds that they are both gaining from errors and making strides. Second lab link What I comprehended from the article was that the men were prepared for kids in light of the fact that they permitted time for themselves and for their accomplices. Fundamentally they making the most of their lives as couples and they weren't in a rush to have youngsters. I think this aides incredibly in light of the fact that when young fellows or even adolescents get to be folks they need to give up numerous stuff such as hanging out with companions, going to parties. Furthermore, they are still children so this brings heaps of obligation to both the young lady and the kid . Likewise being more established gives you more opportunity to think things out and to wind up all the more fiscally steady and enthusiastic with a specific end goal to truly be prepared for youngsters. The men needed to figure out how to get include in their kids' lives. Fundamentally they needed to figure out how shower a child , change diapers , and convey their children. Its not only the mother's obligation it both of their obligation. Likewise they need to speak with their accomplices , particularly the first week of the child's entry . It extremely crucial on the grounds that it could break a relationship. Lack of sleep is a major torment and it can get both the folks baffled and grouchy .This is the place...

Words: 1219 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

The Real Essence of Life

...religion we fight for is not a hindrance upon achieving a peaceful society. We all have the right to choose what we knew our heart is shouting for. It is still believed that we have a life to live and a spirit to lift. For whatever reason it might be for all of us, we are all gifted with the same being. We only differ on what we profess and what we worship. Yet it is not necessary that we should force other people to believe on what we know is right to believe. The only thing that is left in us is to stay to what we believe, not to destroy what other people has built in them. We are one people though we belong to different religions, countries, etc. It should tell us now that the difference in us does not suggest that we are to treat our neighbors with different levels depending on their position in the society they belong. We are all one if we believe that we can be together though we are coming from different origins. We ought to respect our own brothers and sisters since we are responsible for each other. If we proclaim in our selves the beauty of diversity, we will have altogether a united community. The thing is we have a mentality that only us understands. This is the very reason why we find it real hard to get along with other people. The philosophy of life is that we are all in need of our neighbors help. Life itself is telling us that we have to go on our journey with a company. Discovering the real beauty of life is very simple. We only have...

Words: 736 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Peter Singer Famine Summary

...discusses that individuals who live in a more developed and economical country such as the united states, have a moral obligation to contribute far more than than we actually do in the aid for famine, disaster relief, etc. Singer believes that if we were to change our lifestyles, it would benefit those in need. When faced with a situation that involves either the life of another individual or also just lending a hand we should help them. Singer states that, “If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it”(235). Singer also discusses that by helping someone we aren't sacrificing...

Words: 1187 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Issues in the School

...Issue in the Schools Exploration can be considered non trial on the off chance that it has the center of measurable connections in the middle of variables and does exclude them to be a free variable, an irregular task of individuals taking an interest in conditions. Non trial examination has two fundamental structures that are called co-social exploration and semi test exploration. The examination's objective is to give the folks and instructors with data that permits them to manage the influences of a learning-debilitated kid. This examination will give understanding about learning inabilities and the long lasting influences it conveys. Being a teacher and additionally this being available inside of my family gave me explanation behind deciding to research youngsters with learning incapacities. At the point when youngsters are initially determined to have learning incapacities, there are numerous things the folks and also the tyke will feel (Adelusi 2012). Basically these sentiments are blameworthy, miserable, irate, discouraged, frantic, sad, angry, and forlorn, in stun and trying to claim ignorance. It is said by specialists that when these emotions surface it is impeccably typical. The influences the relatives get can mental and in addition physical. Youngsters with learning handicaps have physical influences too. They can get from the tyke being disturbed about something that is not going their direction. Learning-handicapped kids will attempt and do mischief to their...

Words: 893 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Eds Pilot

...Question 1. Do you think what the EDS pilot did to Marilyn was what he ought to have done? Can you justify your position? What principles might you use to do so? What does Jan Narveson think about cases like Marilyn’s? Why does he think as he does? How many changes, and to what extent, would be the very minimum that would have to be made in Godwin’s story “Cold Equations” before you would think that Marilyn ought to be spared by the EDS pilot? Stephanie Mann 4778759 Phil 1F90 Maya Snrdic In the short story The Cold Equations, it depicts life’s real challenges, and how we must face them when in a decision of where we are obligated to figure out for ourselves what is right and wrong. Although this is a science-fictional story, it shows us how real life decisions are made, in which this case, the decision is threatening to one’s life. The choices made in this story are done through morality, utilitarianism, and assumption, clearly shown throughout the obstacles that are thrown at the main character and subject. In this short story, Marilyn made a choice, and clearly the last choice she could have made as a young 18 year old, to sneak onto a ship that was clearly marked “unauthorized personnel, keep out!” Little did she know was that her decision to sneak onto this ship would not be to pay a small fine, but would be to pay the price of her life. The EDS pilot now has to face decisions that he would rather not, since he is the one who has to choose who dies or not. He...

Words: 2430 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

The Discourses

... Mgeander branch of named of Paul it in the of Lyons. the Hierapolis of Colossi that time is mentioned epistle from people (Coloss. there of the was iv. a 13); which church date of fact his master has been concluded at Christian The Hierapolis birth of the apostie. The Epictetus life is that is unknown. he a was a only Rome, recorded and of broke the his was early slave in Epaphroditus, There is a profligate that the freedman master to on emperor his slave's dence evi- Nero, story leg by torturing of or him; but the that it is better trust to the Simplicins, who an commentator the weak how Encheiridion in he Manual, from but says Epictetus It is not in was body became that found and a lame early age. said modern slave; parents it has the this been child. asserted I have times the any sold for be for not, however, authority It may statement. supposed his master that sent the or young slave him showed to ligence, intelthe permitted an attend lectures of It C, may have Musonius seem Rufus, strange slave that made eminent a Stoic pher....

Words: 160374 - Pages: 642

Premium Essay

Term Paper

...possibilities of each and every American giving up about 2/3 of their income. However, rather than simply talking about his own solution as another theory, he tells the reader in so many words that they are wrong. In this paper, I will argue that Singer fails to establish that we are morally required to give to charity. In Peter Singer’s paper he makes the claim that we ought to give up any surplus money we might have and send it to places like Bengal to prevent people from suffering or dying. However, is this really something we are obligated to do? Peter Singer relies on two main principles that help him establish his conclusion. The first principle state that, “…suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad” and that “if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable more importance, we ought, morally, to do it” (605). The first principle is most likely unable to be refuted as almost everyone can agree that suffering and death has nothing to do with good. Now the second principle can be explained by the example Singer gives that if you were in a situation where you were walking past a pond and see a child drowning you ought to pull the child out resulting in wet or muddy clothes, which in no means outweighs the death of a child. In other words, preventing something bad will always compensate ruining a materialistic thing or spending money on something insignificant. Peter relying on these...

Words: 1586 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Kant

...We tend to make flawed judgements both intentionally and unintentionally in our lives that we later regret and may even come to realization that they were morally incorrect. In order for us to make moral judgments upon our actions, Immanuel Kant provides a guideline for which actions are morally commendable in his text, “Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals”. He believes that an action is morally right when it is motivated by duty alone. Kant introduces the concept of rational beings, in which he defines it as beings with the capacity to act in accordance with the representations of laws or a will (4:412). According to Kant, we are considered to be imperfect rational beings, in which our rational capacities are influenced by various incentives, and therefore, we must be governed by a moral command that will tell us how to act accordingly with the law. In a broad sense, the law is equally valid for all rational beings, and ought to follow is what Kant refers to as the “moral law” (4:227). And the moral command can exist in two forms, either hypothetical or categorical, but only one of which is ideal for the purpose of the moral (4:412). Hypothetical imperative tells us to exercise our wills in respect of our desire for personal ends, and it follows a form: “if you want achieve a goal A, you ought to do B”. For instance, if you want to pass the chemistry exam, then you ought to study for it. Although hypothetical imperative can be universally valid, it cannot be a moral...

Words: 1213 - Pages: 5