Glaucon's Views On Morality

Morality involves the distinction between good and bad behavior. The conflicts arise when trying to determine why people should be moral. Most people rely their moral beliefs solely on religion while others believe morality is based on the happiness of themselves or others. Other people rely on their own basic instinct and conscience to decide what is moral or immoral. Another problem is deciding why one should be moral. James Rachels explains, “We may grant that it is morally right to respect people’s lives and property. We may concede that it is right to tell the truth and help people. Glaucon’s question is, “Why should we care about doing what is right?” (154). Interviews were conducted with three people to gather varying ideas on the subject …show more content…
He expressed his opinions on morality as being completely up to people. In our discussion, Oscar claimed morality depended on what made people happy despite religion and its restricting commandments. He continued to speak on religion being a barrier in his own life. He believed religion did not define morality and only confined people of being themselves. In addition, he went through certain negative experiences in church that led him to believe religion did not benefit people. Oscar felt church and religion only made people compete with others to appear the holiest. Oscar believed being moral served the purpose of making ourselves and other people feel happy. In short, Oscar’s views mostly resembled the utilitarianism philosophical view. The utilitarianism view implies that happiness is the source of morality. Therefore, something is considered moral if it is useful in making the most amount of people happy. Rachels describes utilitarianism as a principle where “We should always try to produce the greatest possible benefit for everyone who will be affected by our actions” …show more content…
First off, Katherine believed morality was important in ensuring our chances of going to heaven. She also believed the bible identified our natural strive to help others. From my perspective, I tend to agree more with Christina and Oscar than I do with Katherine. For one, I believe the purpose of morality is to do what one thinks is right, not what the bible’s scripture says is right. However, I tend to disagree with Oscar on the aspect of pleasing others. I think a person should do what they believe is right regardless of whether it makes the most amount of people happy. Lastly, I disagree with Katherine on the idea that our chances of going to heaven reflect our morality. I believe one’s faith in Jesus is what determines our