Civil Disobedience - Essay Example

Philosophy 24th Nov. Writing Exercises Question Civil Disobedience As a form of political protest, civil disobedience is normally a controversial ethical issue because it entails disobeying certain laws as a way of agitating for some denied rights. As such, civil disobedience raises the moral question: can the disobedience of the laws instituted by a legally instituted body be morally justified? In my view, civil disobedience can be morally justified and it is, indeed, morally right to disobey some laws if the laws are against the principle of the common good, and if the disobedience will lead to the granting of the hitherto denied rights to the citizens by the government. This view, however, is contrary to the deontological ethical tenet that states that we have a duty to always obey the legally instituted laws. On the Unitarian grounds, however, civil disobedience can be justified because the utilitarian theory of ethics advocates for choosing the action that will maximize the happiness for the majority of people when we are faced with a moral dilemma; civil disobedience can, indeed, and does lead to the maximization of happiness to the citizenry, and for that reason civil disobedience can be morally justified on the utilitarian grounds. Civil disobedience cannot, however, be justified under all circumstances. For civil disobedience to be regarded as morally right, the civil disobedience should be motivated and guided by the right motive, and the disobeyed law must be unjust. On the motive, Aristotle gives a perfect way of judging the morality of actions on the motive grounds: when faced with moral dilemma, we should ask ourselves, what would a wise moral agent with good character formation act in such a situation? This Aristotelian criterion, therefore, can help us in judging the motive of a given act of civil disobedience. To judge whether the disobeyed law is just or not, we should ask ourselves whether or not the given law is against the principle of common good and discriminatory. Any law that doesn’t ensure justice for all people and is against the principle of common good is unjust law and can be disobeyed; disobedience of such laws is morally right. Question 2: Aristotle on Wisdom In book VI of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle views wisdom as one of the five intellectual virtues. Aristotle viewed the aim of the intellectual virtues as helping the soul to arrive at the truth. The five intellectual virtues are science/scientific knowledge, practical/technical skills, prudence/practical wisdom, intuition, and lastly wisdom. Aristotle conceived wisdom as a combination of scientific knowledge and intuition. Science or scientific knowledge helps us to arrive at the eternal truths through induction and deduction. Intuition, on the other hand helps us to grasp first principles from which we derive the eternal truths, i.e. scientific truths. According to Aristotle, a combination of science/scientific knowledge and intuition helps us to arrive at the highest form of truth. This, therefore, is the Aristotle’s conception of the nature of wisdom. In the Aristotle’s exposition of the intellectual virtue of wisdom, I find the following three points quite valuable and practical. To begin with, Aristotle claims that, although, moral virtues are quite important in living a happy life, the moral virtues alone, however, are not able to make us to live a happy life. It is the combination of the moral and intellectual virtues that will enables human being to reach their goal (telos), which is happiness. This is because while the moral virtues predispose us to actions that morally right (actions that are just and admirable), the intellectuals virtues helps us to know the actions that are morally right so that we can choose them. Without the intellectual virtues, therefore, it is not able to know the morally right actions so as to choose them. I find this point quite valuable. The second point that I find quite important and valuable in the Aristotle’s exposition of wisdom is the point that intuition is an integral part of wisdom. The concept of intuition as an integral part of wisdom helps to solve the problem of universals. The Epistemological question of how we come to know the universal and the eternal truths is a big controversy in Philosophy. The concept of intuition as an intellectual virtue and an important component of wisdom help to solve the problem of universals. Lastly, I find Aristotle’s distinction of wisdom and prudence quite important and practical. While prudence is the virtue that guides us making practical choices that lead to happy life, wisdom is the virtue that leads us in knowing the eternal and the unchangeable truths of reality. I find this point quite important. Question 3: The Film “Crimes and Misdemeanours” 1. Judah. In reference to Aristotle’s, Judah’s moral values include incontinence, unfaithfulness, callousness, and selfish. Despite being married, Judah engages in an affair with Dolores Paley, the flight attendant. This fact shows that Judah was incontinent and had no control over his sexual emotions. This fact, again, shows that Judah was selfish and unfaithful to his wife. Judah, also, was callous and did not mind the affairs of other people. This is why Judah hired Jack to murder Dolores Paley when she threatened to reveal her affair with Judah to Judah’s wife. 2. Dolores. Just like Judah, Dolores also was unfaithful, selfish, and inconsiderate. Since she knew that Judah was married, Paley should never have got into an affair with Judah, despite this fact, however, Paley got into an affair with Judah and threatened to reveal the affair to Judah’s wife when Judah refused to break her marriage with his wife. This fact shows that that Dolores Paley was unfaithful, selfish, and inconsiderate of the interests of other people. 3. Jack. Jack was a cruel and malicious person. This is because Jack was the man hired by Judah to kill Paley when Paley threatened to reveal the secret of her affair with Judah to Judah’s wife. Jack went ahead and murdered Paley as instructed by Judah. This fact shows that Jack was, indeed, cruel and he did not mind the interests of other people as long as he achieves his goals. 4. Cliff. Cliff was a, unfaithful, arrogant, boastful, and self-centred man. This is because, despite being married to Lester’s sister, Wendy, Cliff wooed Lester’s Halley Reed, who was Lester’s associate producer. This fact shows that Cliff was unfaithful to his wife, and he was self-centred. Cliff was also arrogant and self-centred because, this arrogance and selfishness is shown in how Cliff related with Lester. 5. Halley. Halley reed was a disciplined, wise, and principled person. Halley flatly declined Cliff’s advances and she refused to have any affair with Cliff. Halley did not fall prey to the Cliff’s lies. These fact shows that Halley was disciplined, wise, and principled. 6. Lester. Lester was also a disciplined and just man. Despite Cliff hating him and attempting to date his associate producer, despite the fact that Cliff was married, Lester did not take any revenge on him. This is a proof that Lester was a disciplined and just man. 7. Rabbi. Rabbi was a morally upright person; he was a person with good moral formation. This is why advised Judah to be faithful and open to his wife. Rabbi advised Judah to reveal his secrete affair with Paley to his wife. This fact shows that Rabbi was a person with the disposition to speak the truth always, irrespective of the circumstances. 8. Professor Levy. Professor Levy was a wise man, but he had a bad character formation. That is why he committed suicide. He was, however, because he was very learned. Question 4: Themes from Nicomachean Ethic’s books 8, 9, and 10 Book VIII. The theme of the three types of friendship in book eight of the Nicomachean ethics is quite relevant to my ethical system. In book eight of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discuses three types of friendships: friendship based on utility, friendship based on pleasure, and lastly, friendship based on goodness. Among these three types of friendship, Aristotle argues that the friendship based on goodness is the best form of friendship. This is because friendships based on utility and pleasure is temporary because they are based on temporary values. On the contrary, friendship based on goodness is permanent because goodness is a permanent value. For this reason, Aristotle Advocates for friendship based on goodness as the ideal form of friendship. I find this theme quite important in my ethical system because friendship is an important element of human relationships. As we relate with people, it is important to know the basis on which our relationships and friendships are based. The basis on which our relations with other people is based is bound to have a big influence on how we relate and treat other people. For instance, people in a friendship based on utility or pleasure are likely to treat each other as means to some ends, while people in a friendship based on goodness are likely to treat each other as ends and not as means to some end. This is why I find this theme quite important in my ethical system. Book IX. I find the theme of the dissolution of friendship. In book 9, Aristotle contents that friendships based on pleasure and utility will automatically break, once the parties in the friendship no longer find any pleasure or anything useful in their friends. On the contrary, as we have seen in book 8, Aristotle continues to argue in chapter 9 that a friendship based on goodness cannot dissolve even when the parties in a friendship no longer find anything useful in their friends. I find this theme quite important in my ethical system because it is quite important in explaining why many human relationships, especially marriage, break so often in the modern time. The reason for the shaky human relationships in the modern world is that many of the relationships are based on utility and pleasure. To overcome many of the unethical behaviour among people in friendships in the modern world, we should teach the people to base their relationships on goodness, rather than on utility or pleasure. Book 10. The theme that I find quite important to my ethical system is the theme of intelligence as being the highest human good. In this chapter, Aristotle refutes the Platonic view that pleasure is the highest human good. In this refutation, Aristotle argues that pleasure cannot be said to be the highest good because there are other things, for instance eye sight, that human beings value more than pleasure, and yet these things are not pleasurable. Aristotle contends in this chapter that human intelligence is the highest human good. This argument is perfectly in line with Aristotle’s view that human intelligence is the essence of man. I find this theme quite important to my ethical system because whatever we hold as the highest good in our lives will have a bearing on how we behave and relate with other people and the world in general. The people who are of the view that pleasure is the highest good in life and an end in itself are likely to pursue pleasure at all cost, and this can easily lead them to unethical actions. On the contrary, the people who hold the view that intelligence is the highest good are likely to pursue intellectual virtues, and this will definitely enable them to relate with other people in a morally right way. That is why I find this theme quite relevant to my ethical system. Work Cited Rackham, H.(trans.). Nicomachean Ethics. USA: Harvard University, 1926. Read More