Extended Definition of Honor - Essay Example

People look for honor regardless of the types and mode of acquisition there seem to exist. The first type of honor that anyone would associate with is that gained from dignity, respect, and status among his or her peers or a certain clique of people. The other two honors arise from the philosophical type described as the one that has a relationship with integrity and principles, while the third type is actually the recognition that one could get as a token of the high regard in an accomplished task.

Usually, the last bit is the ultimate for anyone as it would have directly identified and acknowledged one’s achievement of honor, but before this, many forget that the former two are the major steps towards attaining the peak of the definition: the recognition award (Bowman, 4). The ultimate formal acknowledgement of any action that is related to honor is usually a final landing after a mandatory achievement of the honors related to integrity and principles, and honor defined from respect and dignity among peers.

The perspectives that people view honor could vary in a direct proportion of the people that would dare think about it. Dignity and respect, the first type of honor identified in this context arise from the command one would get from his or her peers, not by dictatorship, but from the type of actions performed. A steady show of positively identified actions among the society eventually earns one respect and bestows dignity in the person that would make him or her maintain such shows. This type of honor puts that individual in high regard and such individuals could easily earn the position of a leader in that particular environment.

The status award of leadership could be identified as the ultimate reward as stated in the thesis. This should however not be misinterpreted by the honored person to take an about-turn in his actions. This would completely defy the essence of honor conferred to him or her.Upholding someone’s status as described in the first type of honor would demand high standards of integrity and principles. This two are the pillars that guide any given individual in the actions he or she takes. This definition could easily be taken as the major influence behind honor, however, many would not identify with this as they would rather directly relate honor with actions performed, ignoring the fact that beneath the actions, lies the individual’s integrity and principles.

Honor earned from highly characterized integrity and principles are usually the highest rewarded as integrity would provide the highest form of independence and selflessness in anyone performing actions that would contribute to others’ well-being. On the other hand, principles would make one maintain one’s course in performing various duties. Integrity and principles are usually rewarded highly in any given society and this would still lead to the ultimate achievement of being ‘honored’ with an acknowledgement reward.

What derails most people in their objective to attain honor is the last definition that the word carries. This end of the definition usually justifies the means to which many take the wrong and short route to reach. This thus overrides the previous two steps of attaining honor of integrity and principles and respect and dignity. In the long run, an ‘honor’ attained in such a way would lose the real meaning of honor.