1. James Rachels:

Psychological egoism is the view that all men are selfish in everything that they do, that is, that the only

motive from which anyone ever acts is self-interest. I think that this is true because I find that in most

people even if their actions looks like it is done for the benefit of others it is actually only for their own self.

Ethical egoism on the other hand is a normative view about how men would usually act in a way that

would benefit himself.

I think James Rachels’s discussion about egoism was good. He was able to state clearly his observations

on how people react or take action for the benefit of their own and sometimes of others. James was also

able to link egoism with ethics and how people decide whether their action was ethical or not based on

their ego.

2. John Dewey:

Many people think that Religion has

been a motivation for a lot of people to do the right thing. But John Arthur argues that people do the right

thing because they were raised to do good and because they are worried about the consequence.

Some are driven

by conscience and some are driven by fear but obviously religion is not the only motivation to do the right

thing. John Arthur also argues that religion is not a good basis for determining what is right and what is

wrong. One reason is because religion itself is unclear. There are a lot of religions out there and it is hard to

determine which ones to follow or is real.

In my opinion religion can still be a basis

for what is right and what is wrong for the things that needs guidance like stealing and killing. Almost all

religions condemn stealing and killing and there are still a lot of people refuse to kill because of their

religion.

3. Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich

Nietzsche thinks that a healthy society should allow people who are wealthy and influential to exercise

their ability to grab power. Friedrich Nietzsche thinks that a strong person follows a “master-morality” and

a weak person follows a “slave-morality”. I don’t entirely agree with Friedrich Nietzsche on his view of a

healthy society. I think that it is ok for people to exercise their will for power if they can but it must be done

with a good motive.

4. Mary Midgley

In this essay Mary Midgely criticized

moral isolationism for being immoral. Mary argued that it is immoral because there is no justification or

any moral reason on why people criticize cultures that they do not understand. I agree with Mary Midgley,

people should not criticize cultures that they don’t understand because there is no reason for doing so.

People should morally criticize something if they find it immoral or wrong but if there is nothing wrong with

it then just leave it be.

5. John Stuart Mill:

Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is determined

solely by its contribution to overall utility that is, its contribution to happiness or pleasure as summed

among all persons. Basically it is the action with the greatest good for the majority. This is the ethical

theory that I agree with. I think that the right thing to do is the one that would benefit the majority.

Utilitarianism is also about actions which would bring happiness to the majority.

6. James Rachels:

James Rachels objected to the ideas of utilitarianism based on three

propositions. The first proposition is about judging whether an action is right or wrong based their

consequences. Basically it is like choosing the lesser evil. James Rachels argued that this is not entirely

correct because commons sense is used in choosing right and wrong with Utilitarianism and common

sense cannot fully be trusted. It cannot be trusted because what is right in common sense is based on

merit and not what is entirely right. The second proposition is about happiness. The right action is the one

that creates more happiness then misery. James Rachels argues that this is wrong because the right

thing to do is not the one that causes happiness but the one that causes less suffering. The third

proposition is about consequences. According to utilitarianism the right action is the one that has less

negative consequences. James Rachels argues that this proposition is flawed because it is not

compatible with justice. An action can have less negative consequence to the doer but it can cause

damage to other people.

7.Immanuel Kant:

The main topic in his essay was about The Categorical Imperative. The Categorical Imperative

according to Immanuel Kant is a supreme rule where our moral duties can be derived. Immanuel Kant

expressed great disapproval with Utilitarianism and this is why he devised the Categorical Imperative

which according to him will correct the shortcomings of Utilitarianism. Categorical Imperative allows

people to act based on what is right for ourselves and for others. Kant argues that the highest form of

good is good will. To have good will is to perform one’s duty. To do one’s duty is to perform actions which

are morally required and to avoid those actions which are morally forbidden. Kant said that we should

perform our duty because it is our duty and for no other reason.

8.Aristotle:

The topics discussed in this chapter

were happiness and virtue. According to Aristotle happiness is not pleasure or wealth but an activity of

the soul in accordance with virtue. Pleasure will only bring happiness for a short period but its

consequence will last longer. An example is drugs or sex. People think that if they have the most pleasure

they become happy but the truth is pleasure brings misery. Pleasure can only bring true happiness when

it is done in moderation or at a reasonable time. I think that this is true because if a person is virtuous

then that person’s conscience is clean and with a clean conscience a person can be happy.

9.Joel Feinberg:

In this essay Joel Feinberg wants to demonstrate or

show how important rights are in connection with morality. Without rights people will be deprived of

freedom and voice out their concerns. If they are unable to do this they will be deprived of justice and

without all these freedoms people will become miserable. I also found Joel Feinberg’s example really

interesting.

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