Is it possible to live an ethical life and at the same time being able to effectively live a life of happiness? If you were to ask me this before taking this ethic class, I would say one hundred percent that it is not only possible but necessary to live an ethical life to truly live a happy one. Unfortunately, since having learned about accounts of both the ethical and happy life, my answer has been plagued with doubt and rendered false due to the rigidness of these accounts of ethics. I have discovered that one can indeed live a happy life without living and ethical life. Even though this new perspective has been bestowed upon me, I still believe that living an ethical life will provide a foundation that happiness will not only be possible
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Finally, I will use my experience at my service learning to see if my hypothesis is correct, demonstrating that one can live an ethical life and at the same time be endorsed to living a happy life.
Ethics according to Kant is hinged upon one very unique and unwavering principle, categorical imperatives. Categorical imperatives are the commands you must follow regardless of what you desire; these are our moral obligation. Which are derived from pure reason, it doesn’t matter if you want to be moral or not the moral law is binding on all of us. The categorical imperative can be understood through formulas. The first being the universalizability test, as Kant stated it “act only according to that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction”. As a Kantian one could not partake in any action that has a contradiction in it. The second being humanity, “act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end, and never as a mere mean.” One should never use a person for their own benefit, with no thought to the interest or benefit of the other person. This is because we are what Kant called ends in ourselves. We are not simply objects that exist to be used …show more content…
At Habitat I had the responsibility to work with others to renovate a house. One gentleman I met during my time with Habitat defiantly demonstrated an ethical character. This man’s name is Joe. Joe was a very duty driven individual. He would constantly stress that one should not and cannot go back on obligations they created. He believed that if you set a goal and or agree to do a task, there is no reason as to why you cannot see it through. Furthermore, Joe center focus was defiantly duty driven, but that didn’t stop him from looking out for his fellow person. In fact, Joe would try to match what the volunteers were wanting to work on and the work available to
Finally, I will use my experience at my service learning to see if my hypothesis is correct, demonstrating that one can live an ethical life and at the same time be endorsed to living a happy life.
Ethics according to Kant is hinged upon one very unique and unwavering principle, categorical imperatives. Categorical imperatives are the commands you must follow regardless of what you desire; these are our moral obligation. Which are derived from pure reason, it doesn’t matter if you want to be moral or not the moral law is binding on all of us. The categorical imperative can be understood through formulas. The first being the universalizability test, as Kant stated it “act only according to that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction”. As a Kantian one could not partake in any action that has a contradiction in it. The second being humanity, “act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end, and never as a mere mean.” One should never use a person for their own benefit, with no thought to the interest or benefit of the other person. This is because we are what Kant called ends in ourselves. We are not simply objects that exist to be used …show more content…
At Habitat I had the responsibility to work with others to renovate a house. One gentleman I met during my time with Habitat defiantly demonstrated an ethical character. This man’s name is Joe. Joe was a very duty driven individual. He would constantly stress that one should not and cannot go back on obligations they created. He believed that if you set a goal and or agree to do a task, there is no reason as to why you cannot see it through. Furthermore, Joe center focus was defiantly duty driven, but that didn’t stop him from looking out for his fellow person. In fact, Joe would try to match what the volunteers were wanting to work on and the work available to