Transcendentalism

The relationship between owning something and the development of a person’s character has been long disputed. It is a proven fact that what is owned by a person in their childhood, directly affects their character as a person. We live in a world where a person’s social status is almost defined by how much that person owns. The value of a person is basically measured by the value of all their tangible goods. Many philosophers and transcendentalists have discussed this topic in their writings. Many of these philosophers and transcendentalists have come to the conclusion that it shouldn’t be the ownership of tangible goods that defines a person, but the intangible things they own, such as knowledge. Others believe that people should be defined …show more content…
In Plato’s eyes, a rich and wealthy person with many tangible goods does not have a good moral character. Owning things can be very distracting for a person. With less palpable good to distract a person, people would focus more on developing their character as a human being. For example, we live in a world where ninety-two percent of American adults own a cell phone. Cellular phones can be very useful tools for communication over long distances, but oftentimes, these multimedia devices become a distraction for people. These phones draw people’s attention away from the real world into a virtual reality. This can, in fact, be very detrimental to the development of moral character. Another example of this type of distraction would be television. Ninety-seven percent of American households contains a television set. Oftentimes people will watch reality TV shows where a dramafied version of another person’s life is shown. This is extremely detrimental to a person’s character. It draws them into a fantasy world that is not even their own. Furthermore, Plato argues that owning things is detrimental to a person’s moral …show more content…
An intangible good is something that cannot be physically grasps such as knowledge or an idea. Jean-Paul Sartre argues that this can actually be very beneficial to the development of moral character. When a person is knowledgeable about the good and evil around him, he is able to be morally straight. This can also be detrimental to a person’s moral character. It is very easy for someone to get a morally challenging idea in their mind. Even though this person knows the good and evil, there is still the possibility that these evil thoughts might enter the mind. Most often though, a person will choose to be good instead of evil, knowing the benefits of having a moral