PHL100IntroductiontoPhilosophy.docx

What is the ethical life?

What is the ethical life?

PHL100 Introduction to Philosophy
Kant, Mill, Aristotle, and Kierkegaard
26 June 2021

Table of Content

Life and its Purpose
The Good Will
It is all Connected
The Ultimate Goal
Summery

Reference

https://www.deanza.edu/philosophy/

Introduction

Ethics in general have different meanings and translation based on the belief and principles of different culture, tradition, and even religion, while in the world of a philosopher, it is quite a different translation and explanation. So, when we say, what is the ethical life, should we then embrace this question based on the view of the general populace, or based on a philosopher’s perspective? But, before we go into analyzing the ethical life, let us first understand the definition of philosophy and ethics. According to the Department of Philosophy and Humanities of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, “Philosophy is the systematic study of ideas and issues, a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths, a quest for a comprehensive understanding of the world, a study of principles of conduct, and much more” (second paragraph). In a nutshell, philosophy itself is the knowledge of wisdom. Ethics (which is derived from the Greek word ethos) on the other hand may be defined accepted principles and morals that are set forth to guide an individual, and by which they are judged.
The purpose of this paper is to find (in support of) the common ground on which philosophers stand, by drawing, and comparing some points of the following philosophers, and their definitions of the ethical life: Immanuel Kant believed everything but good will has limitation; Soren Kierkegaard says humans, though born without a purpose in this life, but have the free will to create their own path; John Stuart Mill stated in his utilitarianism theory that actions that are either good or bad are both based on proportion of each other, while Aristotle (last name unknown) believed that happiness is the ultimate price for every drive.

Life and its Purpose: Once in a while, in one of our quiet times, we find ourselves asking What the purpose of being born or created into this life. No one knows for sure how life became, but as we grow older, we start to give it different definitions, based on our individual lives and experiences. Finding a purpose in life becomes a duty and one of the main reasons anyone would want to continue to put up a good fight, so as to live long enough to see the next day. To whom do we owe this duty? Some say God, and others, “us”. Regardless of the circumstances, ethically speaking, it is the duty of every man to be good to one another, as no one can live by themselves if thrown into the wilderness. Are we all different by nature? Certainly yes! However, we all have similar duties to our individual selves, which in turn goes around, and back to us. One can only hope to find peace and happiness with a little or no faith, so as to live a full life ethically. Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish, and Christian philosopher, in his “Fear and Trembling” writing states:
The ethical is the universal, and as such it is again the divine. One has therefore a right
to say that fundamentally every duty is a duty toward God; but if one cannot say more,
then one affirms at the same time that properly I have no duty toward God. Duty
becomes duty by being referred to God, but in duty itself I do not come into relation
with God. Thus, it is a duty to love one’s neighbor, but in performing this duty I do not
come into relation with God but with the neighbor whom I love. (Kierkegaard xxxx)
According to him, everyone has been given the will to choose freely what path they find satisfies their heart desires. But the decision to be either good or bad from the ethical point of view, depends on the individual. Like I always say, you do not need an angel from heaven to tell you to be good to others on your way up the ladder, because one day, you will need that same ladder to come down. The duty is to act, and the action (good or bad) is the will.
The Good Will: it is all connected.
Summary: Some believe in faith, while others believe in the “Big bang theory” of science.

Informal list of references:
1 https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/

2 https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/

3 https://iep.utm.edu/mill-eth/#:~:text=The%20ethical%20theory%20of%20John,to%20promote%20overall%20human%20happiness.
4 https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/

5 https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kierkegaard/

Note to Self

**Part I is simply the introductory paragraph, which should include your thesis statement. Also include in Part I a “working” title and an informal list of possible sources.
**Note that if there is no possible counterargument in opposition to your thesis, there is a problem with your thesis.
**Any significant thesis will assert a claim about which intelligent, rational thinkers may disagree.
**You must then reply to each counterargument and refute it, explaining or showing why any objection to your position raised in the counterargument fails and thus the counterargument may be rejected or simply dismissed.

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