Moral saints can be compared to angels living on earth. Unfortunately, not everyone can be saints. In this essay, I agree with Wolf in saying that it is impossible to strive to be a moral saint. Everyone has different lives that demand different levels of morality from them. Wolf and Aristotle will support this thesis, while Kant and Mill will be offer the counter arguments.
Our own conception of a moral saint is someone who acts selflessly for the good of the society. They sacrifice their own happiness for the good of others. This conception is why Wolf believes that we should not strive to be a moral saint. For a moral saint, there is only a single goal at the peak of the mountain. A moral saint believes they will find happiness once they …show more content…
Since they lack the ability to live an enjoyable life, being a moral saint makes you a boring personality (Wolf, Moral Saints, 422). A moral saint is obligated to be perfect. This restricts them from making any witty or humorous comments. Their somber life deprives them of basic leisure like sports, music, art, etcetera. Wolf explains that without the fun, their life is empty, making them not attractive or admirable people. Moral and non-moral excellence are equally important in our lives. Wolf gives the examples of different types of role models who followed moral lives. Katherine Hepburn is an actress, but she was a special ordinary person who was a role model to a number of people. Even though Hepburn led a non-moral, she still had good qualities. On the other hand, you have Mother Theresa who led a virtuous and moral life (Wolf, Moral Saints, 423). Both these women are role models, and they represent two different lives. The ideal life is different to each individual; we have to figure out our …show more content…
We should treat them as treat them as ends, or give them importance. Treating them as ends gives an intrinsic value. We might be inclined to treat people as ends, which is why it is important to follow our duty. Our reason helps us direct more towards duty than inclination. If we follow reason, we have the perfect duty or a clear way of fulfilling to be a moral saint. Cultivating your talents would be your imperfect duty or an unclear way of fulfilling. Wolf disagrees with this point. It should be up to us if we want to cultivate our talents or not; these non-moral excellences could lead to happiness. However, Kant believes that happiness is not a rational purpose in life. Wolf argues that the Kantian rational saint cannot exist. As humans, we have a limit to how much we can follow the moral law. In order to have an ideal life, we must be able to fulfil our passions to cultivate non-moral excellences. (Wolf, Moral Saint,
Our own conception of a moral saint is someone who acts selflessly for the good of the society. They sacrifice their own happiness for the good of others. This conception is why Wolf believes that we should not strive to be a moral saint. For a moral saint, there is only a single goal at the peak of the mountain. A moral saint believes they will find happiness once they …show more content…
Since they lack the ability to live an enjoyable life, being a moral saint makes you a boring personality (Wolf, Moral Saints, 422). A moral saint is obligated to be perfect. This restricts them from making any witty or humorous comments. Their somber life deprives them of basic leisure like sports, music, art, etcetera. Wolf explains that without the fun, their life is empty, making them not attractive or admirable people. Moral and non-moral excellence are equally important in our lives. Wolf gives the examples of different types of role models who followed moral lives. Katherine Hepburn is an actress, but she was a special ordinary person who was a role model to a number of people. Even though Hepburn led a non-moral, she still had good qualities. On the other hand, you have Mother Theresa who led a virtuous and moral life (Wolf, Moral Saints, 423). Both these women are role models, and they represent two different lives. The ideal life is different to each individual; we have to figure out our …show more content…
We should treat them as treat them as ends, or give them importance. Treating them as ends gives an intrinsic value. We might be inclined to treat people as ends, which is why it is important to follow our duty. Our reason helps us direct more towards duty than inclination. If we follow reason, we have the perfect duty or a clear way of fulfilling to be a moral saint. Cultivating your talents would be your imperfect duty or an unclear way of fulfilling. Wolf disagrees with this point. It should be up to us if we want to cultivate our talents or not; these non-moral excellences could lead to happiness. However, Kant believes that happiness is not a rational purpose in life. Wolf argues that the Kantian rational saint cannot exist. As humans, we have a limit to how much we can follow the moral law. In order to have an ideal life, we must be able to fulfil our passions to cultivate non-moral excellences. (Wolf, Moral Saint,