John Stuart Mill Essay Example for Free

John Stuart Mill Essay James P. Sterba writes about how people can become more ethics, challenges environmentalism, feminism, and multiculturalism when pursuing their goals in school, work place, and relationships in his book â€Å"Introducing ethics: for here and now. Moreover, he also has a concern that ethics are a personal set of principles that conduct right and wrong. This can be based in religious beliefs, based on a fear of the law and its consequences or just behavior. What is ethical for one person may not be the same for someone else. Someone who is ethical may or may not be religious but have a high ethical standard (a feeling of right or wrong) but that does not mean that you have to have a religious belief to be ethical. Ethics are a personal set of principles that conduct right and wrong. This can be based in religious beliefs, based on a fear of the law and its consequences or just behavior. What is ethical for one person may not be the same for someone else. Someone who is ethical may or may not be religious but have a high ethical standard (a feeling of right or wrong) but that does not mean that you have to have a religious belief to be ethical. As Chin-Ning Chu wrote in the book â€Å"Thick Face, Black Heart†: â€Å"you can succeed the way you are† (107). So, it is pretty clear that the result of doing all things will be greater when prompted by intrinsic motivation rather than external forces. Everyone has his or her own personal ethics, for me this means being honest to my self in everything I do. I use my personal ethics to help in making choices that affect every aspect of my life. Personal ethics for me mean that I choose to be who I am and don’t let others effect the way I think or behave. Ethics are what makes us who we are and how we react to situations. In school it is important to have personal ethics, this helps us to be honest, uphold the academic integrity, and be able to follow the rules that are set for us. When at work, home or while dealing with others your personal ethics come into play. People don’t even realize that they use these every day to make choices that will affect them. Ethics is important for too many ways: its standard code of living, it is a code by which we live by, ethics help determine what is right or wrong in our individual cultures. It also is an important factor in the way people see each other’s and do stuff together. Ethics its also important because it decides what action we will take. It is the foundation for any civilized society. Also because ethics help us to remain on stable ground in an ever-changing world and that a person’s ethics can be changed. It means this challenge could only effectively be met by a non-question begging argument that favored morality over both egoism and altruism(Stebra 48). People are fully willing to do what they love, and they embrace the activities with a sense of interest and commitment. Moreover, autonomy is the opposite of being controlled. The distinction between â€Å"I choose to do this† and â€Å"I have to do this† is the essence of autonomy. But, first thing they have to think that its right or wrong to do it. John Stuart Mill, in his book Utilitarianism, claims, It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied [Mill JS: 1863]. This will show that the advantages of being a human dissatisfied are better than those of a pig satisfied. But before this can be proven, we have to understand the metaphor that compares humans to pigs. Mill compares two types of people: people who prefer to be humans according to his definition, and those that prefer to be pigs. As pigs would eat up anything that comes their way, those who choose to live the life of the pig, accept all that they are exposed to. They live unexamined lives [Mill JS: 1863] in that they do not question anything, but rather accept all that they are told. A human on the other hand, doesnt just accept everything, but questions what there are exposed to. This type of person lives an examined life, and it is that life that Mill proposes that we should strive for. But besides this fact, pigs and humans do have something in common. This is consciousness, as both humans and pigs are aware of their surroundings and can interact with their environments by basic instinct. This common factor helps in making an intelligent comparison between the two. The consciousness though, that they both have, is of a different character. A humans consciousness has character, and can be broken up into three main faculties. Firstly a human has conscience: the inner voice that tells between right and wrong. Secondly a human has free will, in that humans can override instinct in order to make free choices. In addition, if you have good ethics you will have good business. Business ethics are a moral code that people conducting any sort of business should feel honorably obligated to follow. People are definitely morally responsible to follow a code of ethics and should never cheat each other. Parts of this code of ethics should be honesty, integrity, fidelity, charity, responsibility, and self-discipline. Those ethics should apply both to a person buying something, and a person selling something. I dont believe that a person should be forced to follow the caveat emptor policy, on the basis that it is unfair and unjust both to the buyer and seller. If you are an ethical person, you should not have to warn people to beware. A person selling something is morally obligated to inform the purchaser of several things: the value of the car at cost, faithfulness to the client, and be able to answer any questions honestly, without any holdbacks. In The Grapes of Wrath, it is obvious that the car dealer was not ethical at all. For example, they used to coerce women into liking specific cars, so the husband would have to feel forced to buy the car to impress their girlfriends/wives. Another example is how the car dealer used to put lousy parts into the cars and sell them, knowing that the car would break down 5 miles down the road. He took advantage of the peoples necessity to get out of Oklahoma for his own personal gain. Also, the buyer has a certain responsibility too. They need to make sure to not completely trust the seller, because not everyone is ethical. They should examine the goods carefully, ask educated questions, and read up on the topic before going ahead and buying something. For example, in The Grapes of Wrath, the car dealer was able to take more advantage of the people because he can see the raw need on their faces, and how they didnt really ask anything to make him give them a better deal. So, people become successful easily when they have good ethics. We will do it better and enjoy it more than those told to do it for reward. In the world, many people succeed because they feel comfortable and enjoy what they have done. Life has many ups and downs, but we can survive in our life because we are who we are and we believe in our abilities to do everything; this will help us overcome our problems. Like me, I chose my own way because I enjoy learning about business and believe that I can do it the best. My personal ethics can support me while I achieve my goals in life. Works Cited Chu, Chin-Ning. Thick Face Black Heart. Beaverton, Or: AMC, 1992. Print. James P. Sterba Introduction Ethics: for here and now. Pearson; 1 edition (February 8, 2012). The Grapes of Wrath. Penguin Classics; Revised edition (March 28, 2006). I define myself as an individual who is strong and possess a will that motivates me make any sacrifice to satisfy my inner perfection that I desire. Others see me as someone who is analytical, organized, and self-conscious. And yet, those characteristics that I have can help me become mature and understand this world with different points of view. I have a dream to be successful. . Even though I only spent five hours a week, I really enjoy and am proud with this job. Her experience also taught me an invaluable lesson: â€Å"Never give up. † Therefore, I can be better if I try my best and keep going on the way I chose.