F
Fr0st2k
Guest
this is the intro to my paper, i was just wondering if it was a good intro, and if you could think of a word to replace despair at the end...responses and help would be great! ( ) means ill probably change the wording
the essay question is asks for a 8-10 page paper that would relate St Augustines 2 cites, city of god and man to the books we read during the semester, which are listed in my essay...anyway hope you enjoy it
In theology class, we started going over the idea of human conscience, and morals. The professor presented the classic example of the man and his sick wife. The general idea was that the man needed medicine for his wife. The only medicine that could help was sold by a doctor for two thousand dollars, but the man only had one thousand dollars. We were then asked if the man should resort to stealing it. I sat in the back listening and analyzing what the others in the class thought. After a few students opinions had been offered, I began to (feel annoyed). It seemed like people could not understand the concept of this example. They werent putting themselves in the mans position, like the question asks us to. Such outrageous answers were being spat out by one after another. When the correct answer was made by few, their reasoning was off tremendously. I related this to Lawrence Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development.
He imagined six stages of moral reasoning, ranging from the idea of punishment and obedience orientation, at stage one, to the universal ethical principle orientation at stage six. The simple minds of my peers could easily be identified as stage one, caring too much for laws, and obedience of those laws, going along with what others were saying. According to Kohlberg however, they would be placed into the third stage, or good boy/girl, doing what would be socially accepted by others. According to Kohlberg, this is the stage most people never get past. Upon placing my classmates into a group, I then decided to place myself. I first decided to see if I fit into Stage five, under the Post-Conventional Level, which is defined by Kohlberg to be The Social Contract Legalistic Orientation. This stage is for people who put the welfare of others above themselves. Therefore, people in this stage would have two views on the aforementioned example of the man and the medicine. They would say, the man should steal it, to help his wife, or the man shouldnt steal it, to help the doctor and make sure the medicine could be bought fairly. Analyzing these two options, I found that I agreed with neither. I then tried to place myself in the final stage, stage six, The Universal Ethical Principle Orientation. Kohlbergs definition for this stage is lacking severely due to the fact that there are simply not enough people at this level to form a definite conclusion. However, he formulated this basic guideline for stage 6. He believed the last stage is based on respect for universal principle and the demands of individual conscience. To try and fit myself into this category I stated my exact opinion of what the man should do. Because the question asks for my opinion, I put myself in the mans place. I know that if I marry someone, I would have done so because I truly love her. She would give me happiness, enjoyment, and love in return. These things are something that all human beings desire. These are the things that human beings live for. So I would steal the medicine to secure these desires. I would steal it in an instant, not for my wife, but for myself. The meaning of life is the general idea that all of the books we have read this semester have been describing. It is the idea of obtaining ones desires. The bible tries to explain how we came to be, and serves as a reliable guideline on how to reach pure happiness, or heaven. Plato tried to create a city that would cater to mans desire for possessions, or greed, but do it justly and fair. Alberti wrote about two of mans most popular desires, money, and family, similar to Shakespeares Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare writes about mens need for money, love, power, and their dedication to culture. Augustines idea of two cities, the City of Man, and the City of God, can be looked at as the City of despair (word to describe the opposite of happiness) and the City of Happiness, respectively.
the essay question is asks for a 8-10 page paper that would relate St Augustines 2 cites, city of god and man to the books we read during the semester, which are listed in my essay...anyway hope you enjoy it
In theology class, we started going over the idea of human conscience, and morals. The professor presented the classic example of the man and his sick wife. The general idea was that the man needed medicine for his wife. The only medicine that could help was sold by a doctor for two thousand dollars, but the man only had one thousand dollars. We were then asked if the man should resort to stealing it. I sat in the back listening and analyzing what the others in the class thought. After a few students opinions had been offered, I began to (feel annoyed). It seemed like people could not understand the concept of this example. They werent putting themselves in the mans position, like the question asks us to. Such outrageous answers were being spat out by one after another. When the correct answer was made by few, their reasoning was off tremendously. I related this to Lawrence Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development.
He imagined six stages of moral reasoning, ranging from the idea of punishment and obedience orientation, at stage one, to the universal ethical principle orientation at stage six. The simple minds of my peers could easily be identified as stage one, caring too much for laws, and obedience of those laws, going along with what others were saying. According to Kohlberg however, they would be placed into the third stage, or good boy/girl, doing what would be socially accepted by others. According to Kohlberg, this is the stage most people never get past. Upon placing my classmates into a group, I then decided to place myself. I first decided to see if I fit into Stage five, under the Post-Conventional Level, which is defined by Kohlberg to be The Social Contract Legalistic Orientation. This stage is for people who put the welfare of others above themselves. Therefore, people in this stage would have two views on the aforementioned example of the man and the medicine. They would say, the man should steal it, to help his wife, or the man shouldnt steal it, to help the doctor and make sure the medicine could be bought fairly. Analyzing these two options, I found that I agreed with neither. I then tried to place myself in the final stage, stage six, The Universal Ethical Principle Orientation. Kohlbergs definition for this stage is lacking severely due to the fact that there are simply not enough people at this level to form a definite conclusion. However, he formulated this basic guideline for stage 6. He believed the last stage is based on respect for universal principle and the demands of individual conscience. To try and fit myself into this category I stated my exact opinion of what the man should do. Because the question asks for my opinion, I put myself in the mans place. I know that if I marry someone, I would have done so because I truly love her. She would give me happiness, enjoyment, and love in return. These things are something that all human beings desire. These are the things that human beings live for. So I would steal the medicine to secure these desires. I would steal it in an instant, not for my wife, but for myself. The meaning of life is the general idea that all of the books we have read this semester have been describing. It is the idea of obtaining ones desires. The bible tries to explain how we came to be, and serves as a reliable guideline on how to reach pure happiness, or heaven. Plato tried to create a city that would cater to mans desire for possessions, or greed, but do it justly and fair. Alberti wrote about two of mans most popular desires, money, and family, similar to Shakespeares Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare writes about mens need for money, love, power, and their dedication to culture. Augustines idea of two cities, the City of Man, and the City of God, can be looked at as the City of despair (word to describe the opposite of happiness) and the City of Happiness, respectively.
