Ethos-latin for Ethics.
Are ethics really needed in our Society. Socrates stressed the need for good ethics in our life to build good habits of character. He constantly feared the world going into a state of Ethical complacency. Ethical complacency is that state at whilch someone stops growing in character. They obtain the "I'm fine with the way I am, so why change?" attitude. Socrates believed that the result would be utter chaos if the world fell into this sorry state.
Plato wrote of the importance of ethics in his book, the Republic. He used his two characters Glaucon and Socrates to demonstrate the need for ethics. Glaucon said that there was no good reason for society to be ethical without punishment for breaking laws. However, Socrates believed that there were very good reasons to be Ethical. He believed in the natural goodness in people and their innate ability to determine right from wrong with or without the laws.
In the Bible it states the ten commandments. What better moral standards than those commandments from God. Some may believe that these commandments are restricting their freedom. However, it is just the opposite.
1) have no other gods before me: Don't become obsessed with any one thing. Obsession is bad for anyone
2) Love your neighbor: Love is something everyone needs.
3) don't steal: Stealing if caught can seriously restrict your freedom by you being put in jail
4) don't kill: Killing can do the same thing as stealing. And you are chained by the regret of taking another's life.
5) don't commit adultery: Okay, one this is completely unfair to your spouse, and you might regret it financially later
6) honor father and mother: this is common sense people. Upset parents= noooo freedom whatsoever
7) Don't covet: This is a bad idea. You will never be happy if you constantly want more
8) Don't take the Lord's name in vain: Be nice to your creator. It's common courtesy, people!!
9) Remeber the Sabbath: everyone needs rest. Rest people, rest!
10) Don't make a carved image: This is just a duh. Who would want to worship a carved image of a cow or something. I wouldn't. You can not make up a god, in other words.
In closing, it is my belief that Ethics are necessary and not just wanted, but desperately needed in the society of violence and war we live in today. Whether you believe in God or not, being Ethical is a good idea for you own personal health.
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"Ethos-latin for Ethics." Torture me not with your latin... (shudders) Why oh why didn't I just take spanish?
"Are ethics really needed in our Society. Socrates stressed the need for good ethics in our life to build good habits of character." I beieve that ethics are, in fact necessary for a society to exist in the first place.
"He constantly feared the world going into a state of Ethical complacency. Ethical complacency is that state at whilch someone stops growing in character." Always stive to better yourself. It is that drive that keeps humanity going.
Skipping down a bit... :He believed in the natural goodness in people and their innate ability to determine right from wrong with or without the laws." I agree, natural. No need at all for supernatural intervention to create ethical behavior.
"In the Bible it states the ten commandments. What better moral standards than those commandments from God. Some may believe that these commandments are restricting their freedom. However, it is just the opposite. " And we were agreeing so nocely until now.... Such a pity. I think that some of these commandments are worth following, but those did nor originate with the bible or the ten commandments. Some, I don't think are particularly reasonable to follow.
"1) have no other gods before me: Don't become obsessed with any one thing. Obsession is bad for anyone " .....................................? I think the meaning of this is very clear. Worship this god. Don't worship anything else. Accept this god as your ultimate ruler. Dedicate your life to this god. Sounds prettry obsessive to me.
"2) Love your neighbor: Love is something everyone needs." Sounds good to me. The obvious origin of this sentiment is that it is condusive to the social behavior of humans.
"3) don't steal: Stealing if caught can seriously restrict your freedom by you being put in jail" Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. That's a good thing to follow. If you steal, stealing invites repriasals from the people who's stuff you stole. In a society, it is best for people to cooperate, not exploit other members of the society.
"4) don't kill: Killing can do the same thing as stealing. And you are chained by the regret of taking another's life. " Agreed.
"5) don't commit adultery: Okay, one this is completely unfair to your spouse, and you might regret it financially later" What if you aren't married?
"6) honor father and mother: this is common sense people. Upset parents= noooo freedom whatsoever " Agreed. Common Sense. Who needs god to tell us this sort of thing?
"7) Don't covet: This is a bad idea. You will never be happy if you constantly want more " Everyone strives for more. You even talk about it right here in this blog. It is that desire for more that drives on the human race. The point of this is to not have an unhealthy desire of what others have. Be happy with your life, but not too happy to try and better yourself.
"8) Don't take the Lord's name in vain: Be nice to your creator. It's common courtesy, people!! " I don't make nice with fictional deities. I only talk nice to things that have the decency to prove they exist.
"9) Remeber the Sabbath: everyone needs rest. Rest people, rest!" I rest at night. Why be forced to rest every Saturday or is it Sunday?
"10) Don't make a carved image: This is just a duh. Who would want to worship a carved image of a cow or something. I wouldn't. You can not make up a god, in other words."..........................................Can you say hypocrisy? I mean, really, who'd want to worship some deity based on a two thousand AND five thousand year old book? Honestly?
"In closing, it is my belief that Ethics are necessary and not just wanted, but desperately needed in the society of violence and war we live in today. Whether you believe in God or not, being Ethical is a good idea for you own personal health." My problem with this is the suggestion that non-believers aren't ethical people. This, of course, is completely untrue.
"Every man makes a god of his own desire."
-Virgil
Thanks. At least we can agree on some things. I think that God just didn't want anyone to create a God..We don't worship the bible, rather, we use it as guidelines for our life sent to us from God. I was trying to explain the commandments so that they can apply to anyone, religious or not. I would never suggest that non-religious people do not have moral standards. I just get my standards from God, rather than my own heart.
I am the Lord thy God is not going to apply to non-believers. And the craven images thing will only aply to followers of certain religions.
"Every man makes a god of his own desire."
-Virgil
Those two might not, but the others will.
...what happened to not bearing false witness?
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~Fallon~
"I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud of thoughts which were not their thoughts" -Lord Byron
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I didn't put them exactly as they are in my bible, because I was trying to make them apply to everyone. I just copied and pasted some I found on the internet and then commented on them.