In Praise of the F Word

Virtue is very similar to morality in it’s purest definition. Morality has no one true definition it is relative to the individual. Someone who is part of the same religion as another person may have an entirely different view of the Ten commandments for example. In contemplating why we believe what we believe, we must ask ourselves what is behind our virtues. Are we really doing something for the good of somebody or something else or do we have something to gain from helping others? People have been asking this question since the time of Plato and before. “ It appears that in fifth-century B.C.E. Athens, all moral discourse presupposed some form or other of egoism, the view that all acts are motivated by self-interest. So, among the Greeks, if morality ever required sacrifice of one’s own interest for the interest of others, then the question Why should I be moral?   Was raised. Plato, in The Republic, has his spokesman, Socrates, argue that the virtues ultimately always benefit their professor. He does so by analyzing what he takes to be the three parts of the soul-the rational, the spirited, and the passionate.” (Why it’s hard to be good, p.314)
There are many different beliefs in society. Some people are more traditional while other are progressives. Progressives are usually more liberal and believe in a more modern way of political thinking versus a traditionalist. In the article “ Business and Intellect” we can see that the intellects that the article is refering to are college professors and likeminded people. The businessmen are more traditional and feel that they carry the burden of society. Here we can see a conflict of morals and virtues. Both groups of people derive their beliefs from politics but they carry a different set of morals altogether. By morality I’m refering to the fact that we choose our political beliefs by our moral beliefs.
“….The portrait of the businessman offered in the social novel in this country conveys the general attitude of...