How can one distinguish between the good and bad? Many of us are so caught up in the present and sometimes we cannot picture how our actions now can affect the future. Having set morals and beliefs is one of many components that makes for a better you and a successful life.
Success can mean so many different things. Whether it is about having money or being happy, what leads each person to success varies. Believe it or not, the only person who can display the most perfect definition of success is you. No one is capable of simply pulling out the definition because one’s opinions are different to others. What each individual values should be the base of what leads them to success. This is where morals and beliefs come in.
The prominent Greek philosopher, Aristotle, came down to a conclusion: “Only the good can be happy, and only the virtuous can be good.” This simply states that the way to happiness is to do good and you can only be good if you follow virtues that are good. But how do we know if something is good? What if we are unaware that some things are bad? All I can say is that good morals don’t harm others. Good morals impact the world for the better. And if that makes an individual happy, then they are on the right track.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is an intricate piece that greatly revolves around the life of Jay Gatsby. In the eyes of many readers, Gatsby is a rather peculiar character. Readers should give him credit for his ambition to win Daisy’s heart, but a lot of people do not agree with how he set his mind on a singular goal. Perhaps Gatsby’s life story would have been completely different if he focused on better morals, or if he had more of them. Keep in mind that Gatsby grew wealthy through illegal actions. That itself is what the majority of the society defers as immoral. The money that he gathered may have made him happy, but that happiness certainly did not last long. This just shows that focusing on a single thing can cause people to be oblivious to everything around them. This oblivion impacts the way a person reacts to things or believe things, eventually leading to unhappiness.
While we think that morality cannot be explained by science, Sam Harris argues that it can -- and it should. He states that value is a certain kind of fact and that they are facts about the wellbeing of conscious creatures. However, this is still a new idea that I can’t completely wrap my head around.
Reflection:
I deleted some parts of my essay because I felt like they were unnecessary. I still need to research more about the Sam Harris part. I also need to continue to fix my essay so that it is more formal.
Success can mean so many different things. Whether it is about having money or being happy, what leads each person to success varies. Believe it or not, the only person who can display the most perfect definition of success is you. No one is capable of simply pulling out the definition because one’s opinions are different to others. What each individual values should be the base of what leads them to success. This is where morals and beliefs come in.
The prominent Greek philosopher, Aristotle, came down to a conclusion: “Only the good can be happy, and only the virtuous can be good.” This simply states that the way to happiness is to do good and you can only be good if you follow virtues that are good. But how do we know if something is good? What if we are unaware that some things are bad? All I can say is that good morals don’t harm others. Good morals impact the world for the better. And if that makes an individual happy, then they are on the right track.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is an intricate piece that greatly revolves around the life of Jay Gatsby. In the eyes of many readers, Gatsby is a rather peculiar character. Readers should give him credit for his ambition to win Daisy’s heart, but a lot of people do not agree with how he set his mind on a singular goal. Perhaps Gatsby’s life story would have been completely different if he focused on better morals, or if he had more of them. Keep in mind that Gatsby grew wealthy through illegal actions. That itself is what the majority of the society defers as immoral. The money that he gathered may have made him happy, but that happiness certainly did not last long. This just shows that focusing on a single thing can cause people to be oblivious to everything around them. This oblivion impacts the way a person reacts to things or believe things, eventually leading to unhappiness.
While we think that morality cannot be explained by science, Sam Harris argues that it can -- and it should. He states that value is a certain kind of fact and that they are facts about the wellbeing of conscious creatures. However, this is still a new idea that I can’t completely wrap my head around.
Reflection:
I deleted some parts of my essay because I felt like they were unnecessary. I still need to research more about the Sam Harris part. I also need to continue to fix my essay so that it is more formal.