It's in everyone's best self interest to be ethical and to do the right thing for the highest good, but why should we be ethical? whats in it for us? if others are not practicing good morals then why should we? Besides "getting into heaven" and being good in God's eyes, how does it directly effect our LIVES?
2007-10-23 08:26:24 · 10 answers · asked by shayshedae 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
There have been many philosophers who argued that ethics is MORE about what's good for you than it is about what's good for other people. Plato makes that point in his dialogues repeatedly, and Aristotle virtually uses that as a definition.
Plato in particular goes so far as to suggest that a brutal tyrant is the most miserable person in the land and that a thief wrong himself far worse than he wrongs the person he has stolen from. None of us, he argues, want to be victims, but at least as such we are in a position to readily reclaim what we have lost. Someone who behaves unethically, however, is like a person who is physically ill; he can be burdened with guilt, social mistrust, and other punishments almost indefinitely until and unless things are made right again.
To Plato and others, someone who behaves unethically is trying to get something, but is doomed to fail to get it because of the way they went about it. And there is something to be said for this kind of veiw of ethics. If you steal a gold medal from an Olympic athelete, for example, you can hardly be proud of it in the same way, and can't even display it unless you wish to be caught. If it is the achievement, distinction, and respect of your peers you wanted, no amount of stolen medals and trophies (or unsportsmanlike conduct) can give you this.
Thus ethics may be more about the best way to go about getting what you want and the most worthwhile things to want in the first place, instead of anything to do with Heaven (that's more the domain of morality than ethics).
2007-10-23 09:43:12 · answer #1 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because I'm a freak and tend to actually empathize with people and animals...???
I couldn't care less about getting into "heaven" or being good in anyone's eyes (in fact, I do my best to act like a total asshole, because I hate it when people gush about being a "good person").
Anyway... it affects our lives in the way we relate to everyone and everything around us. Which, um, is life. It allows us to trust others and others to trust us, it allows us to care about others and show that we care, thus allowing others to care.
A matter of connection, trust, and wanting others to be able to feel the same. Or something like that.
That said... "ethics" are BS. Very few "ethical" people are actually ethical. Basing your relations with others on a convoluted and impersonal concept of "right and wrong" prevents you from actually forging the connection that makes it all worthwhile.
2007-10-23 15:46:02 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Ethics have nothing to do with "what's in it for you". They
are courtesies that you extend your fellow humans and
examples of a higher consciousness. They mean that
people can trust you and believe what you say. They
are about doing the decent thing. They are about man
being more advanced than a selfish, greedy monkey.
They have nothing to do with "heaven". And they directly
effect our lives daily. What would you do if you opened
a loaf of bread that said "freshness guaranteed" and
found mould...then when you tried to return it...the store
just looked at you and said...oh well...we only put that
on there to sell more bread.
2007-10-23 15:51:44 · answer #3 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Personally, I want peace. For me that is to always be able to look myself in the eyes, hold my head up high, and know that no one as anything on me. I do the best I can to live a life I can be proud of not just for myself but for those I affect. If more people took responsibility for themselves and looked around to how they affect those around, we wouldn't have half the problems that currently exist. To me, that makes it worth it.
2007-10-23 15:42:05 · answer #4 · answered by meitay 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
LOTS of ways. To give a simple answer... try it. and when you think about the rewards dont just think. ponder. i wasnt always ethical. the more ethical things i had done the better and better i felt about myself. put it to the test.
2007-10-23 15:40:23 · answer #5 · answered by ldsironman 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read "Ethics" by Aristotle for a comprehensive answer to your question.
2007-10-23 16:17:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Doing unto others as you would like them to do to you is what makes life half bearable. Without it life would be just a contest to see who can be the most cruel and mean.
2007-10-23 17:09:46 · answer #7 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because you know its good. You should do the good and right simply because it is the good and right--what more reason do you need besides that?
2007-10-23 16:52:33 · answer #8 · answered by logan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
not going to jail. Having smoother relations with those around you. not having to look over your shoulder for doing unethical things.
2007-10-23 15:51:27 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What goes around comes around.
2007-10-23 15:37:39 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋