He was so damn cute! standing there wanting me to open the box so we could both see the gadget together. And it was just the three of us in that room. Him, myself and Hope. But Hope had no voice, no opinion, she just lit up the room with her beauty and life.
I didn't care to open the box really, I was already happy, happy just to see his smile and know, that my actions had made his day, for I had seen him smiling when he thought no one was looking. I did not care about the gadget. For the gadget did not make me happy, but his smile did. That smile was my happiness, it was my gratification.
Later, I would witness the happiness of yet more people and I would feel gratification yet again, and all because I had made a choice, to share, what little I did not have. Almost making a sacrifice of sorts.
So then, the thought of Utilitarianism as described by John Stuart Mill entered my mind. He believed, that we should always do what ever we can do, to the affect that when we do so, it will ultimately cause the greater good. That our actions be driven by the end result of making the greater amount of people happy.
I thought to myself that his philosophy, was influential to me. And although I don't agree with all his teachings, in my mind, his thoughts on how we should always live in a way that our actions should cause the greater good. All of a sudden, made so much sense. Then I thought, that I shouldn't only apply his theory to the things that I do for those who I truly care about like in this case, but that I should also, try to live my life in a way that my actions wherever I may be, the affect of those actions always be for the greater good.
John Stuart Mills argued, that any good that we do, no matter if we think we are making some sacrifice because of it, we are actually doing it because in the end, we are also causing the greater good to ourselves. He believed that we should sacrifice things, if the end result of our actions is for the greater good of a lot of people, because even when we are sacrificing something, we are in turn feeling gratification that we acted right.
When we think of humanity and our very nature, we can all agree that this is correct. A good deed even when we feel we might have to sacrifice something; once we do it, it feels good. When we think of this further, we can all recognize as conscious people that whatever sacrifice we believe we are making is not such, because in the end, there is some sort of self gratification. Therefore whatever it is we do, ultimately, is for our own greater good as well.
I like John Stuart Mill, and I believe that in life, should it feel like we are doing things for others and what's in it for us? We should think that what's in it for us, is the gratification we feel when we take that action. This sounds very selfish, but it's true. Everyone wants to be happy. Sometimes, we will do things for others and later feel that that person was so un appreciative. We shouldn't feel this way, we should always just do what causes the greater good. The cause of our action made that person happy and made you happy and in the end you did what was right for the greater good. That is our own true nature. What actions they take is on them.
So, start giving more, we all have something we can give. Time, love, advice, blood (for blood drives), money. No matter how poor you think you may be, I bet there is something you can share. Just think how gratified you will feel if you do such. The greater good! Imagine if we all did a little extra every day, how much better this world would be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5vz6iwV38U
I didn't care to open the box really, I was already happy, happy just to see his smile and know, that my actions had made his day, for I had seen him smiling when he thought no one was looking. I did not care about the gadget. For the gadget did not make me happy, but his smile did. That smile was my happiness, it was my gratification.
Later, I would witness the happiness of yet more people and I would feel gratification yet again, and all because I had made a choice, to share, what little I did not have. Almost making a sacrifice of sorts.
So then, the thought of Utilitarianism as described by John Stuart Mill entered my mind. He believed, that we should always do what ever we can do, to the affect that when we do so, it will ultimately cause the greater good. That our actions be driven by the end result of making the greater amount of people happy.
I thought to myself that his philosophy, was influential to me. And although I don't agree with all his teachings, in my mind, his thoughts on how we should always live in a way that our actions should cause the greater good. All of a sudden, made so much sense. Then I thought, that I shouldn't only apply his theory to the things that I do for those who I truly care about like in this case, but that I should also, try to live my life in a way that my actions wherever I may be, the affect of those actions always be for the greater good.
John Stuart Mills argued, that any good that we do, no matter if we think we are making some sacrifice because of it, we are actually doing it because in the end, we are also causing the greater good to ourselves. He believed that we should sacrifice things, if the end result of our actions is for the greater good of a lot of people, because even when we are sacrificing something, we are in turn feeling gratification that we acted right.
When we think of humanity and our very nature, we can all agree that this is correct. A good deed even when we feel we might have to sacrifice something; once we do it, it feels good. When we think of this further, we can all recognize as conscious people that whatever sacrifice we believe we are making is not such, because in the end, there is some sort of self gratification. Therefore whatever it is we do, ultimately, is for our own greater good as well.
I like John Stuart Mill, and I believe that in life, should it feel like we are doing things for others and what's in it for us? We should think that what's in it for us, is the gratification we feel when we take that action. This sounds very selfish, but it's true. Everyone wants to be happy. Sometimes, we will do things for others and later feel that that person was so un appreciative. We shouldn't feel this way, we should always just do what causes the greater good. The cause of our action made that person happy and made you happy and in the end you did what was right for the greater good. That is our own true nature. What actions they take is on them.
So, start giving more, we all have something we can give. Time, love, advice, blood (for blood drives), money. No matter how poor you think you may be, I bet there is something you can share. Just think how gratified you will feel if you do such. The greater good! Imagine if we all did a little extra every day, how much better this world would be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5vz6iwV38U
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