Preview

Morality and Happiness

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1613 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Morality and Happiness
Morality has been a term of debate for several years by intellectuals who have not come to the final conclusion of its definition. According to Damon (5), morality is an existing, multifaceted construct that may not be pinned down by any single definitional criteria which is flexible. The moral character has long been associated with happiness which is that state of having achieved one's desires although there are some disconnections. Several theories have been forwarded in connection to morality and happiness as far as the society is concerned. In this argumentative paper we shall give detailed analysis of morality and happiness and whether or not moral character is a requirement to happiness.
Morality and Happiness
The concept of morality utilizes the individual's evaluation of events and actions to separate the good from bad and stipulates behavior consistent with the good. This means that there are socially accepted societal values that are promoted by morality. In addition, morality includes the welfare of others beyond our own selfish desires and responsibility to express the same through caring, kindness and mercy. The morality will also include commitment to honest while dealing with all people coupled with concern for their rights and ensuring justice and fair treatment. The more important fact about morality is that it provokes the emotional responses such as guilty, fear and contempt whenever one goes against the good morals (Damon 5).
On the other hand happiness has been described by Kant to mean a constant well-being, enjoyment of life, total fulfillment with one's condition. The happiness is further extended to include the riches, honor, power, good health coupled with satisfaction. Thus it is notes that happiness is a representation of preservation and welfare which is the total satisfaction of all personal needs and preferences. It is important to realize that happiness is not pleasure but rather it is simply obtaining what you want in life.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    For centuries, society has shaped these abstract ideas of what happiness means and how one could achieve happiness in their lives. However, in order to even understand what actions could lead to one’s happiness, one must be able to understand the definition of happiness itself. Having read Charles Dicken’s book Great Expectations, happiness persists as a pleasure or sense of a meaningful and rich psychosocial integration in a person’s understanding of himself or herself.…

    • 74 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Morality, in a descriptive sense, refers to the values, norms and code of conducts that determine right or wrong. Wrong doings are considered to be morally wrong. Evil is known to cause harm and can be triggered by anger or irascibility. Religion and morality are closely intertwined and inseparable. Majority of people who believe in God are likely to have respect and concern people than those who do not. Those who have no religious philosophy usually have different moral viewpoints. Morality does not require religion but religion requires morality. Morality can stand alone without the influence of religion and still have good…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Morals and ethics is part of a person’s life. The more one understands the different factors and theories of ethics and morality the easier it is to conduct them accordingly. Utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue have similarities and differences but are necessary to know when self-evaluation is done.…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is morality? It is defined as standards concerning the significance between right and wrong or acceptable and despicable behavior. In the article "The Moral Instinct" written by psychologist Steven Pinker, the ideology of morality as a sixth sense is analyzed as it pertains to everyday life. Pinker describes how one has learned to accept the standards of morals subconsciously.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Morality is a belief or set of beliefs about what it right behavior and what is wrong behavior. What is acceptable by society, and the degree of ‘rightness’ and ‘wrongness’, varies among different individuals.…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Morality is the human attempt to define what is right and wrong pertaining to our actions and thoughts. Conferring to C.S. Lewis, he describes the behavior on three levels: First is to certify fair play and agreement between persons; second is to help make us better people in order to have a decent civilization; and the third is to keep us in a good connection with the control that created us. We can become moral by ourselves by expanding those things that can help us pursue our dreams and by believing in ourselves which give us a motivation. What motivates our life is the mind behind the physical things. What motivates the mind is the being that permeates everything.…

    • 1697 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author illustrates that people have the moral obligation to increase the happiness in the society,…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Morality is a uniquely human characteristic. As it is something we have created but cannot touch. We can assume it is housed in the inner workings of our mind. Morality moves us to action, but we must first determine its origin. The mind has the…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The sound development of moral reasoning and ethics is an integral part of the growth and maturation of a healthy and productive human being. Without morals and ethics, a person cannot exist within society’s boundaries and would be doomed to be forever barred from its hallowed walls for as long as that person did not conform to the societal norms of having the ability to morally reason and implement a set of ethics. But morals and ethics, as necessary as they are, are relative and not absolute (Brink, 1989). This means that what a particular society constitutes as moral behavior is actually very much like beauty and in the eye of the beholder. The society in which an individual grows up in and is a member of dictates the type of societal rules that must be accepted as part of the price of membership. However, it does not take into account the various cultural differences that must affect which ethics and morals are adhered to in a particular place.…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout history humankind has been trying to define happiness. What is it exactly and how do we obtain it? We always think that happiness is a place to be or a destination and technically, that is the main premise or goal of our lives; to obtain happiness. So our whole lives go by from the minute were born to the last breath we take in a quest to work hard in order to reach that destination. Naturally, many philosophical writers have jumped on the bandwagon and put in their two cents of their views on the matter of happiness. Alexander Pope talks about the relationship and purpose man has to the universe in An Essay on Man, Voltaire wrote about living in blind optimism with a false notion of happiness in Candide, and Samuel Johnson wrote The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, in which the main characters are on a quest to find happiness.…

    • 1483 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King once said, “ The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This quote portrays that morality is something that even the naked eye can’t see. Morality must be expressed through feelings in order for people to be able to appreciate and understand it. Morality will always be a superior to nullify immorality and injustice. No matter how difficult to understand morality, it will always lead to the truth and justice to people.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    If we want to fully understand morality we must analyse the meaning of the key moral terms used, what it means, what it does and how it may be verified. Take the word ‘good’; we may describe it in an absolute way, “this is a good essay” or in a relative way, “compared to the previous one, this essay is good”. Or in a utilitarian way, “this essay will get a good result” However none of these uses or descriptions actually tell us what the word good means.…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The definition of happiness is eudemonia, meaning the realization or actualization of unique human capacities. Happiness is a complete and sufficient good, this implies that it is desired for itself, that it is not desired for the sake of anything else and it’s stable.…

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Chapter 7

    • 2072 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Morality is a doctrine or system of moral conduct, refers to principles of right, wrong, and fairness in behavior.…

    • 2072 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Morality is described as a conduct created by social groups such as religion or even those created on an individual level to affect one’s behaviour (Gert). This impacts every aspect of our lives. It is important to note that morality was not created by man but by a long term behavioural routine of people which led to the beginning of moral duty which influences the actions of people for the purpose of goodness alone, based on the standard of morality being practised (Shipunova). The standard and understanding of goodness varies from culture to culture and all of these changed with the changing times.…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics