PHI 208 Wk 1 discussion 1 pt 1
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Ashford University *
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PHI 208
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Philosophy
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by prprincess1426
Provide 4 reasons for obeying the law or ethical principles that do not involve punishment or reward
The four reasons that are discussed in the textbook “
Understanding Philosophy”
by Kurt Mosser are beliefs, culture, religion, and tradition. Beliefs because you believe that if you do not
you will experience karma. Culture because we are taught by our elders that it is not what is expected of us in society. Religion because of the golden rule, do unto others as you would have
them do to you. And lastly, tradition. This particular one is tricky because in some instances, tradition can teach us wrong as well. The reason I say this is because if you come from a long line of thieves, their traditional values are passed down to the child and so on and so forth. Then on the other hand, you have people who teaches their children to follow a certain rule of society.
Is there a difference between people who obey the law out of fear and people who obey the law out of sense of duty or character?
I believe that there is a difference between both types of people. With a person who obeys the law out of fear, they live their lives by a schedule or routine. They do everything in life to conform to what is expected by an upstanding person in their community, they are comfortable with their chosen lifestyle. But, if that person’s comfort is threatened, this particular
type of person can also react out of fear. For example, let’s say that the person has worked for company X for over 20 years. They are comfortable with their position. Now, that person loses that job after so many years, the fear of not being able to maintain their status and their comfort level. This person can be pushed to a life of crime.
Now with a person that obeys the law because of sense of duty does so because of their moral teachings. No matter the situation a person is forced into. The choices in their lives benefit others and not so much on themselves. For example, let’s say that this type of person is in a store. As they come around one of the aisles, they notice that the store is being robbed. Their first thought is not to go hide or try and get help, their first thought is to help. Not taking their own safety into account.
Reference
Mosser, K. (2013). Understanding philosophy [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/
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