My ethical beliefs are based on my belief in God and a universal truth. I believe that humans do have a sense of right and wrong, and that sense is the same for all humans. I also believe that each individual has equal value and worth, regardless of their age, gender, religion, or anything else about them. Being raised in a protestant Christian tradition and having just converted to being a Catholic Christian, I would say my religion has had a huge influence on my moral and ethical beliefs. As I have learned more about different philosophers, I realized that I often end up agreeing not in totality, but in certain pieces, with the ideas of several different philosophers. One of the first that comes to mind is Plato. I very much agree with his statements that our world is an imperfect version of a non-physical realm. This non-physical realm is what I believe to be heaven.
As far as ethics go, the philosopher that I would end up disagreeing with most would likely be Neitzsche. His idea that morals hinder creativity and that each person should live in whatever way makes them happy, is something I feel ultimately produces a miserable society. I believe that without following a higher power, a person becomes lost and has no grounding to truly understand who they are. While I understand God to be merciful, I also have grown up with a strong sense of justice. While evil may not be visibly punished on earth, I feel that there is another realm (the idea of heaven and hell) where those who haven't looked for forgiveness of sins, will end up going. I do also feel that there is a "hierarchy of sins," and those are what are called "mortal" or "venial" sins. Mortal sins come from actions such as murder, and venial sins would be something such as stealing a candy bar from the store.
To me, there is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is a superficial feeling that can be felt from following one's pleasures and ignoring right and wrong. Joy is something that is transcendent and lasting, and comes from following God's laws, which are the same for all people.
Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy how you started your post with the fact that you accept all types of people. I found your points on Nietzsche very interesting, particularly the fact that you see a miserable world where everyone basically does things for themselves. I also enjoyed the little blurb on the end about happiness and joy. I feel as though you really expressed yourself through this post, and I'm glad you chose this topic because I was able to learn more about you!