Natessia Leverington
Essay # 5
Peter Singer makes the claim that, "The major ethical traditions all accept, in some for or other, a version of the golden rule that encourages equal consideration of interest. 'Love your neighbor as yourself, ' said Jesus. 'What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor, ' said Rabi Hillel. Confuicious summed up his teaching in very similar terms: 'What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others. ' The Mahabarata Indian epic, says: 'Let no man do to another that which would be repugnent to himself. '" Singer goes on to say, "The parallels are stirking." Which is an agreeable statement, however if we only probe deeply enough, we will find that self interest lurks somewhere beneath …show more content…
Dinesh D 'Sousa, former White House policy analyst and best selling author of the 2002 book, What 's So Great About America, refers to Rousseau as the "philosopher of Bohemia." He believed, as the philosopher Charles Taylor points out: "There is one way to being human that is my way. I am called upon to live my life in this way, and not in imitation of anyone else 's. If I do not, I miss the point of my life. I miss what being human is for me." By insisting that each of us has an origional and unique way of being human, Rousseau is advocating a morality demanding inner freedom. Inner freedom is, moral freedom, or "the freedom to determine what is good independent of any universal or objective standard of the good. Inner freedom includes a broad range of choice that make one 's life happy and fulfilling." Rousseau argues that deciding how to live, how to behave must be done independent of the dictates of society, parents, or schools. It must be made by each individual alone without considering others ideas. People should decide by individually "digging deep" within themselves, by consulting each individual 's "inner compass," what Rousseau calls the "inner guide" that never abandons us. As one of the characters in Rousseau 's Emile puts it, "I do not derive these rules from the principle of high philosophy, but I find them written by nature in the ineffaceable …show more content…
People join in these and all sorts of special interest groups not because they reflect a common good but because they are a means by which the individual 's interests can be advanced. In a society of free individuals there will be a multitude of organizations many of which have conflicting goals. They reflect the diversity and pluralism which characterize a society in which people pursue their own interests. Some individuals may join groups which work for the preservation of wilderness areas. Others may join groups which seek to open wilderness areas for recreations. People change their participation in groups as their interests change. The important thing is that communities of various kinds exists only because they are percieved by individuals as a means for satisfying their
Essay # 5
Peter Singer makes the claim that, "The major ethical traditions all accept, in some for or other, a version of the golden rule that encourages equal consideration of interest. 'Love your neighbor as yourself, ' said Jesus. 'What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor, ' said Rabi Hillel. Confuicious summed up his teaching in very similar terms: 'What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others. ' The Mahabarata Indian epic, says: 'Let no man do to another that which would be repugnent to himself. '" Singer goes on to say, "The parallels are stirking." Which is an agreeable statement, however if we only probe deeply enough, we will find that self interest lurks somewhere beneath …show more content…
Dinesh D 'Sousa, former White House policy analyst and best selling author of the 2002 book, What 's So Great About America, refers to Rousseau as the "philosopher of Bohemia." He believed, as the philosopher Charles Taylor points out: "There is one way to being human that is my way. I am called upon to live my life in this way, and not in imitation of anyone else 's. If I do not, I miss the point of my life. I miss what being human is for me." By insisting that each of us has an origional and unique way of being human, Rousseau is advocating a morality demanding inner freedom. Inner freedom is, moral freedom, or "the freedom to determine what is good independent of any universal or objective standard of the good. Inner freedom includes a broad range of choice that make one 's life happy and fulfilling." Rousseau argues that deciding how to live, how to behave must be done independent of the dictates of society, parents, or schools. It must be made by each individual alone without considering others ideas. People should decide by individually "digging deep" within themselves, by consulting each individual 's "inner compass," what Rousseau calls the "inner guide" that never abandons us. As one of the characters in Rousseau 's Emile puts it, "I do not derive these rules from the principle of high philosophy, but I find them written by nature in the ineffaceable …show more content…
People join in these and all sorts of special interest groups not because they reflect a common good but because they are a means by which the individual 's interests can be advanced. In a society of free individuals there will be a multitude of organizations many of which have conflicting goals. They reflect the diversity and pluralism which characterize a society in which people pursue their own interests. Some individuals may join groups which work for the preservation of wilderness areas. Others may join groups which seek to open wilderness areas for recreations. People change their participation in groups as their interests change. The important thing is that communities of various kinds exists only because they are percieved by individuals as a means for satisfying their