Reaction to Philosophy - Essay Example

A rule is something which is instructed and just like any other rule, it has a tendency to be broken and rejected. This is contrary to a principle which is more inclined towards the norm or the belief of what should be done. According to Poland and Graham, “The mean between an excess of self-love and a deficiency of self-love is to count what is in our own true interest and is in the true interest of each and every person as equally important (263).” With the latter statement being a reference of what the golden rule implies, the principle is more of promoting lesser attention and love be given to the self and give more importance as to what would be the better implications that an action can give to the majority.

Taking the principle on a more literal manner, one should also think of what will happen to others when a particular decision is made or when an action is done. Though others may say that the self does deserve to be pampered every once in a while, it is also important to take note of the majority who will be affected even with the slightest implication. When it comes to a point that a major decision is needed to be done, one should think of what will be the implications the decision will make for the majority rather than just for the self.

The happiness of the self is also important yet how can one achieve the ultimate happiness when more people had been negatively affected or devastated by just one person’s seek for happiness. A statement of Poland and Graham worth pondering on is “Loving people as we love ourselves means taking them as we find them as opposed to how we might want them to be (264).” The latter describes as to how a parent would care for their children or how a husband will look after his wife. Unconditionally, one can give up everything just to ensure the security and well-being of their loved ones even if it means that their own happiness will either have to wait for another time or it may be modified for the moment.

Yet the self would not be the main focus anymore since it would be the others or the majority who will benefit from the action or the decision. It can be hard to make or not easy to accept however when there will be more people thanking the self for what one has done, it will all be worth the dilemma and sacrifices. If there is a golden rule, there is a golden word to achieve the goal of the ultimate principle. This word is the adjective unconditional. One can accept another despite of the flaws or the baggage that is being carried.

This is unconditional acceptance. A person can love his enemy and this is pertained to as unconditional love. There are so many actions that can be associated with the word unconditional. Life is too precious to be filled with anger, grief and sorrow. If a person can consider the self to be happy, can he share the happiness with other people who most of their lives have been experiencing grief? When a person is in love, is it necessary that one is waiting for that emotion to be reciprocated? Can love be just given unconditionally without any expectation of getting anything in return?

When a person has exhibited unconditional actions that resulted to happiness for the others, could one conclude that the person has achieved the ultimate happiness? Question #2 One person cannot exist with just the self alone. There will be times that one will need the assistance or the company of another person. This is more on the worldly manner. However, a