Narrative, Thought Experiments, and Cases: Essay Structure 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Find your case/scene. Determine the facts from the case/scene. Determine the suggested outcome (if any) by the author. Determine which character you will be or comment on. Write Intro (stating pro or con if a suggested outcome is in the case. If there is no suggested outcome, then state roughly where you will go) Set out the key practical facts of the case. Set out the key moral, epistemological, metaphysical, and/or aesthetic issues. Apply the relevant moral, epistemological, metaphysical, and/or aesthetic issues to solve the case or to resolve the problem and go through your solution in an introspective fashion. Conclusion (significance and general import of this policy that guided your solution). Criteria for Grading: A. Is the essay written from a clear standpoint that reflects the personal worldview of the central character chosen? B. Does the essay engage and develop relevant practical, professional, and ethical principles? C. Is there an analysis of the embeddedness of the practical, professional, and ethical principles? D. Is there a connection to an ethical theory, epistemological, metaphysical, or aesthetic principle? Is the connection adequately developed? E. Is the context of the personal and shared community worldviews set out? F. Is there a clear conclusion to the conundrum of the case resolved in a decisive way that is supported by developed argumentation? ESSAYS ARE TO BE IN TWELVE POINT TYPE AND DOUBLE SPACED. Surname 1 Name Professor Course Date Being Good Introduction The question of whether a person is good is strictly sociological. It involves interacting with other individuals. Even when the individual is acting alone and is pursuing a consequence that would affect him alone, the discernment of whether that person’s act was good or not involves the approval or disdain of the greater society. The book that will be reviewed in this paper will be ‘The good, the true and the beautiful’ by Michael Boylan. In the book, he discusses the concept of goodness. In the book, he goes on to analyze what we as a society know to be truly good. In looking at what can be said to be true and the good in identifying those things, Boylan goes a step further to write on the two themes and in extension finds what truly defines beauty. This discourse therefore attempts to go into the perceptions of the human character and how our value systems are built, both as individuals and under the influence of society. The book makes a stimulating inquiry into the accumulation of knowledge that creates the value systems in society. These value systems are then shown to form the basis of ethics. The book philosophizes on the daily lives of human beings. In so doing it establishes a methodology that directly correlates the ‘good’ notions and concepts in society to the true purpose human interactions. The functional mergers of these two are then depicted as being beautiful. Through the examples offered, it therefore becomes clear to the reader that the values of humanity are inextricably tailored towards aesthetics. And that the aesthetic value (and in extension desirability) of concepts and notions is pegged on their truth; this being the mere application of widely common beliefs. Seeing as Boylan takes the truth to be self evident and universal, he uses the text to argue for the use of these truths to act as a basis for the designation of things as ‘good’ or otherwise. Case Scene: an Introduction The case study in this paper shall be made of a member of an Olympic team. The facts of the case scene are that the individual is approached with an undetectable performance enhancer. In order to understand the facts properly, it is imperative that a total recall is made. Joining the Olympic team of a nation portends glory. For the team player that has gained admission to this select group of individuals, managing to place a medal is a lifelong dream. Actually winning one will give the Olympian much pride. In other words, garnering a medal at the Olympics is good. This comes with high esteem and financial cushioning until the next Olympics. These aspirations exert a strong pressure on the individual to perform and actually excel. The nature of training is that it is difficult. What magnifies the exertion even more is the fact that there is always the stress to achieve more for a showcase that is very short. During training, he body is tested to its very limits in the expectation that this will be good for the increased performance. If this individual is approached by his contemporary that has in his possession a drug that is undetectable by the current testing standards that would greatly increase the odds of him succeeding. There is only one consequence to taking the drug. One is almost certain to die. The justification of the action is that after winning the Olympics there is a very good and aesthetic life to be had in the four years after winning the Olympics. These facts provide ample fodder for the discussion to center on what society considers good. In discerning what is good the case scene will also show the pressure of achieving that which we consider beautiful. The aesthetic value of success in the society is then juxtaposed with the truth that individuals have to deal with just do that they can get the acclamation of society. The Morality in the Case The concept of morality is central to any discussion about philosophy and forces that crate behavioral conformity in society. Boylan makes out morality to be the standards that proclaim things or achievements to beautiful, valuable by some independent standard of justification (Boylan 3). Morality ascribes a certain aesthetic value to the achievement of certain goals in society or for the possession of certain things among one’s peers. He posits that this culture is normalized in human beings from the time that they are young. Children want to play with others that have the most desirable toy (5). Teenagers think that they are cool for dressing in the latest fad, owning the latest electronic gadget and so on. Full grown adults with families go on vacations, drive behemoths, live in exclusive areas just for the same effect on the society; too be seen as being ‘good’, to be seen as ‘doing well’ (6) . What then seems to be moral, and in extension good, therefore seems to be what has the highest aesthetic value in the society that one lives in. Moral good and aesthetic therefore become synonyms in this context. Using this methodology to consider the hopeful Olympian, one begins to understand exactly what force drives him or her to want to be an Olympian medalist so badly. To develop the discussion further, one begins to understand the attraction of the doping plan to the athlete. Epistemology in the Case Study Michael begins the chapter on ‘The Problem’ by asking how people become good. He then goes on to provide a nomenclature that traverses both age (as detailed in the example above) and the social demographics. He categorizes the good things in society to include what we do in the presence of society and what we do when behind closed doors. He says that there are actually two different conceptualities that are involved here. For the former he argues that human beings are conditioned to seek out moral, ’good’, ends. He notes that as children we are conditioned to seek out the smile or pat on the head from our parents to know that we have been good. As teenagers, our cliques then take the place of our parents and in adulthood fame, fortune and longevity become the standard. Knowing how the various age demographics in society relate to each other is therefore crucial to finding out which fleeting aesthetics are self evident to all of society, hence are true. The glory of sports is short lived, just like the external ‘goods’ in society (Boylan 6). People tend to be attracted to these quantities because of the acceptance of society. In sports, the chance of doping therefore gains lustre, even in the face of long term debility (7). People tend to ignore the long term negative effects of their actions because they do not consider the external goods in conjunction with the equally important internal truths. A metaphysical Approach to the Inner Truth The athlete will not live long after choosing to dope. In spite of the negative effects and the certain death, he (and many other individuals in life) choose instant successes at the expense of long-term good. It is important that we note that what is moral in the holistic aspect of the word encompasses the aesthetics and wellness of both the inner being and the outwardly manifested traits of an individual. With this in mind, I dare say that it is immoral to enjoy success and be the envy of society on the outside if one is ugly, untruthful and bad on the inside. Taking the drugs would most assuredly give the athlete victory at the Olympics. With the achievement of this outward good, the accolades and respect of the society would be close in tow. These would be enjoyed by the individual but it is important to keep in mind that all these goods would only b true to the society. After all, proof of the truth that the athlete won the race at the Olympics would be in the official records of the relevant institution. Society would take the truth of his Olympic exploits to be evident from the ceremony, medal and ensuing celebrations. The beauty of his achievement will be paraded throughout society for the next four years. But then what about the truth, the good and ultimately, beauty within? Conclusion The answer to that question is no. Inside, the athlete would be dying. There is no beauty in death that comes as a consequence of a lie; a lie that favored a temporary moment of brilliance over longevity. The reason this is not beauty is evidenced by the fact that men tend to gravitate towards permanence (Boylan 6). That is why religion’s promise of eternal life gives it such an aesthetic appeal. Doping therefore makes the athlete immoral, it makes the success that they enjoy superficial because it is not wholesome. Thus the conclusion of this essay, to reaffirm the thesis that immorality is ugliness. This ugliness is the absence of beauty, which translates to good. That which is good is essentially that trait or possession that society aspires to, a form of excellence in other words-just like the sportswoman (8). And excellence can only be achieved when both the person and society converge to celebrate, not one in the absence of the other. Work Cited Boylan, Michael. The Good, The True And The Beautiful. London: Continuum, 2008. Print.
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