OPPapers.com Essay Index >> Philosophy >> Thomas Aquainas
We have many free term papers and essays on Thomas Aquainas. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
thomas aquainas. Five Easy Principles? It's not enough to know what to
do. Understanding why is important, too, so the Ethics Guy ...
Submitted by hondacivic1904 on April 29, 2007
Category: Philosophy
Words: 1011 | Pages: 5
Views: 171
Popularity Rank: 71,158
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
Five Easy Principles?
It's not enough to know what to do. Understanding why is important, too, so the Ethics Guy explores the deceptively simple guidelines that govern behavior
by Bruce Weinstein, PhD
Over the past four weeks, this column has looked at some ethical questions that arise in professional and personal life, such as the ethics of New Year's resolutions, whether it's O.K. to lie to help the company, and collecting for kids at the office. By now, you might be wondering, "On what are you basing your analyses, Ethics Guy?" After all, it would be easy for anyone to shoot from the hip and say what he or she feels is the right thing to do when presented with an ethical dilemma.
As a professional ethicist, however, my responsibility is not merely to explain what we ought to do, but, perhaps more importantly, to say why we ought to do it. My ethical obligation to you is to provide good reasons for how we ought and ought not to act.
For the next several columns, I will present an account of the five fundamental ethical principles that are the foundation of right conduct in any arena of your life. They are:
Do no harm
Make things better
Respect others
Be fair
Be compassionate
These principles reveal the secret to living a rich, satisfying, and happy life, and we have known about them for more than 5,000 years. Every religious tradition in the world teaches them, as do parents in every country. Without them civilization would be impossible because there would be nothing but chaos everywhere. These principles have a transforming effect on who we are and where we go in life, and for that reason, we can rightly refer to them as "life principles."
Values We're Tempted to Ignore
You might wonder, "If these principles are so commonplace, why should I waste my time reading a column about them?" It's true that they're commonplace, but it's also true that...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!