To Educate a Person
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An Important Subject to Study
“To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society”, this quote by Teddy Roosevelt from the early 1900s still applies today. He seems to be saying that if a person is without moral education they will have the tendency to act self-centered and are probable to ignore the consequences of their actions on others and the welfare of the society. As we almost always live and have contact with other people, we must learn to have moral understanding of our actions. With this quote in mind, being educated in Philosophy will train our minds to think more clearly and logically. The study of Ethics will show us how to reason well in our thought process and speaking about any ethical matters, helps to enable ourselves to listen to others views which will aide in eventually establishing our own opinions on certain subjects and also provides us with tools to examine our own life as well as the world we live in.
Ethical reasoning is when we make a moral judgment, we need to have reasons and be able to explain our view. Our reasons dont necessarily have to be logical but we must be able to give grounds for our position. To simply make a judgment or feel strongly on the subject is not adequate. In ethics we learn to reason well in our thinking and speaking. We can form a good sound argument that has a justifiable result if reasons that are given, are true. Its the most difficult part of an argument to supply true and moral presumptions. There is quite a difference
in explaining why we believe in something and being able to justify that belief. The study of ethics will develop that skill.
An ethics class will give us the patience and tolerance to listen to other views and their reasonings. We may be undecided about certain subjects and need more information to really form an opinion. We may also be certain of our belief on other subjects and disagree with others. An explanation for this is that individuals understand and relate in different ways because of their own values and experiences in their lives. Either way, we can open our minds, listen to other individuals opinions and reasoning thus allowing our minds to consider other options of what we feel is morally correct.
Without giving it a thought, ethics touch every part of our lives. From the simplest decisions of whether to lie and call in sick to work to the difficult choices made when money is involved. Most of us were brought up from a young age to have morals. We as human beings dont always seem to bind with ethics. The study of ethics will open our minds. As a result, we will be able to study our own lives and give us a better understanding of the differences in the