Phil-100-302-F20 Group Project Paper

First, to mention, I discussed these questions with my sister Betsy and my other

sister Viola. We are all pretty distant in age but it was interesting that we all thought very

similarly. To the first question, we all came to the same conclusion that it is not an

ethical duty to give money away that we earn that is not spent on meeting our basic

needs. We did, however, agree that it should be encouraged as it could make you a

better person. Betsy was very quick to mention that rich people should give as they if

anyone has more means to help. She stated that if every rich person would combine

their money or give even a percentage of what they earn, we could solve world hunger

and poverty. Then on top of that, the rich would remain rich. Viola explained as well that

many people are hesitant to give money because they do not know what it will be used

for nor want it to be wasted. At the end of the day, money was earned by the worker

and it is ultimately their choice what they do with it.

The second question, again we all unanimously agreed that it is not unethical to

eat meat. Betsy added that we should worry about taking care of the animals we eat

and that they are not treated horribly. Viola agreed that everything comes from

everything. She reasoned that those who are vegetarian, end up eating plants which

could end up hurting the ecosystem. Eating plants could take away from the animals

that eat it too, so either way, something is hurting. I concurred that small animals are

being eaten by bigger animals and that is just the circle of life.

To combat this, I brought up that it is unethical to eat meat because are we not

on the same level as animals? Animals have feelings and they are already fighting their
own battles, so why should we kill them. Viola brought up the idea of hunting is

malicious and what is the difference between that and a person killing someone. Betsy

stated that many will argue that we have vegetarian options for everything and mass

production poses a safety risk. We all realized that some animals are getting extinct and

us eating them could increase their risk of extinction. We did not believe it was not

unethical to eat any type of food because it puts animals in a hierarchy. How is that fair,

to say it is okay to eat cows but unethical to eat horses. Arguably, some people say that

some animals are just made for eating and others should not be bothered. As a whole,

again, it is a choice made up to the eater.

For truth, Betsy identified that it is realized within yourself because the truth is

usually a big part of what you experience. So, it is something very personalized to

yourself and what can make you feel whole. She believed that is when we know that we

arrived at truth as well. She agreed that truth is relative because it is made up of what

you have experienced including the trials. It is a long process because of this, it is not

something realized overnight. Viola had a similar answer but she mentioned that truth

can be like a rollercoaster. It can change your emotions and cause them to go up and

down. She stressed that you will understand when you have arrived at truth by how you

are feeling inside when you know that it cannot be swayed. Truth is something that is

not black and white, but there is a lot of grey area. Due to that, there is not a set of

knowledge of the truth.

Viola brought up a good point that truth is not relative when it comes to logic.

That certain things are exactly what they say they are. It can be physical objects or even

simple truths that are facts. Other versions of truth are relative because every person
has a different definition of truth. I agreed with both Betsy and Viola and included that

your truth is happiness. We discussed that many may argue that truth cannot be relative

because there are basic morals that everyone knows or should know is wrong. And

again, these could be factual things, that can be proven to a point.

My group agreed that good behavior and bad behavior is relative. We believed

that good behavior has to do with being kind and bad behavior has to cause pain to

yourself or others. We all were unanimous in thinking that our intentions matter most

and then actions because bad actions can be done with the right intentions. We did

discuss the reasons why actions matter most. We came up with the idea that people

can say and think whatever they want but never act on it. For example, someone can be

racist but no one would know unless they said or did something racist. It was a very

interesting idea which makes sense when you think about it because acting it out can

make everything worse.

Now for the next question, this is where our group had few different answers.

Betsy and I did not think it was less moral to do the right action for the wrong reason to

an extent. To a point because, if it has the potential to hurt a person then it would be

less moral. We thought about those in poverty who are forced to desperate measures

just to survive. Viola, on the other hand, believed it did make it less moral. She justified

her reasoning by saying that it shows your morals are twisted or that you don’t even

have morals. She brought up a great point that who is to say these twisted actions and

intentions can lead to something worse.

Looking at it vice versa, on whether bad actions completed with good intent are

less moral, we thought that it does not make them less moral. If we go back to the
example of those stealing in poverty to survive, it could help bring awareness to the

bigger picture. Like the lack of resources to that country’s poverty or others would see

this behavior and point out resources for those stealing to use. Many individuals do not

know that there are other ways to do the right action. If we think of the other side to this,

if someone is looking at this question black and white then yes, it can be less moral.

Yes, there are other ways for people who need help to get that help.

Happiness to Betsy was whatever you make it. To her, having stability and

freedom is what the good life was made up of. She brought up a good point that living a

good life means living well with the law because they intertwine with one another.

Countless people have said we are good citizens and therefore we are happy. Viola and

I believed that happiness is contenting with yourself and the things around you. Viola’s

idea of the good life was not working or just being okay where you are working. She

thought of working because so often we contribute working to paying bills and having

bills meant stressing.

Viola thought that living a moral life has a lot to do with your happiness. The

reason being that some good choices may be hard to make but they need to be done

for one’s happiness sometimes. I thought living the good life consists of family and good

food because when I think back to my happiest moments, it was always with my family

eating good food. I think it depends on where you are on whether happiness relates to

living a moral life. There are communities where those who are part of it do not like

society’s rules. These types of people are living their best lives to their definitions, so in

this case, it is relative. This is the opposite of what we described as happiness. A lot of
people like to be stressed and overworked because it gives them the drive to live their

idea of a good life.

The qualities of a superior individual, we believed to be hardworking,

persevering, understanding, and empathetic. We understood that superior individuals

have to go through failures to get to these qualities of superior individuals. It is the

whole perspective that we cannot know how big successes feel without understanding

failure.

We must be kind and respectful to our neighbors is what we concluded. We

could all agree that we are the best versions of ourselves, which includes being kind

then we can spread that kindness to our neighbors. It goes back to the golden rule of

“Treating others how you would like to be treated”. So we all hoped that our neighbors

would be kind to us as we are to them. We talked about people not believing they have

a duty to their neighbors because they only care for themselves. Some may not trust

their neighbors or just anyone in general and so they only wish to look out for

themselves.

Wisdom to us was things learned through experiences and in that same

sentence that those who have experienced life are wise. Betsy suggested that people

become wise by having an open mind to other’s experiences as well. They do not

discredit other’s experiences because they were different from others. Some think that

only older people are wise because they have lived a long life.

The group discussions did not change my answers. They did add reasons to why

I felt certain ways about some topics. For the most part, I think because we all thought

similarly to each answer, there were no other ideas brought about each of the
question’s topics. I am not sure if that is because we grew up in the same household or

were raised semi the same.

I believe that some of the philosophers we learned about in class had impacted

my views. In particular, Socrates is who I felt like I identified the most because of how

he lived his life. Through his beliefs of questioning everything, it made me question the

things I believed in especially when it came to these questions. Specifically regarding

questions 4-6. Those were really difficult questions for me because I automatically

assume everyone has common sense and thinks like myself. But that is not true, there

are a lot of people who do not ask questions and continue to live an unhappy life.

Socrates helped me to understand that asking questions is what gets you thinking about

life itself and if you are happy with your life.

The Hedonist was also another example that caused me to think beyond myself.

Because they believed that pleasure was the key to happiness, it opened up my

thoughts to different ways happiness can be interpreted. That not everyone thinks

having a good family or eating good food is what a good life consists of. Most

importantly, it also helped me to recognize that it is okay if people do not agree with

you. Their beliefs also helped me with the idea of one’s duties. That maybe it is okay to

think about yourself because doing so, will help you to think of others.