A careful study reveals that even thinkers credited with advocating pacifism, including Gandhi, Thoreau, and Martin Luther King, and at least one Buddhist sect, advocate self-defensive force as moral, necessary and courageous. This makes sense, of course, because the need for self defense will persist until everyone in the world non-aggressive. Therefore, the most pragmatic and ethical position is one of conscious non-initiation of violence, which at the same time does not preclude forceful self-defense if necessary.
In my experience, many people do not have a well thought out position regarding interpersonal violence and self defense. The prevalent attitude seems to vary between two extremes; a naive type of pacifism on one hand, or a let's get em’ type of aggression on the other. Both positions are unreasonable in different ways. This post provides a deeper examination of the ethics of violence and self defense. When properly understood, non-aggression and forceful self-defense are not morally incompatible.
A careful study reveals that even thinkers credited with advocating pacifism, including Gandhi, Thoreau, and Martin Luther King, and at least one Buddhist sect, advocate self-defensive force as moral, necessary and courageous. This makes sense, of course, because the need for self defense will persist until everyone in the world non-aggressive. Therefore, the most pragmatic and ethical position is one of conscious non-initiation of violence, which at the same time does not preclude forceful self-defense if necessary.
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No one is born perfect. But the goods news is that we can all work to learn certain positive traits and behaviors that will improve our relationships, our happiness and our character. Cultivate this list of 21 personality traits that form the basis of a good character: 1. Generosity: Generosity is the opposite of miserliness or cheapness. Generous people are giving towards others financially and interpersonally. Generous people are charitable. Charity is one of the five pillars of Islam, and is recognized as a virtue in Christianity an most other religions. When you think about generosity, money and material goods come to mind, but you can also be generous with your time, your friendship and your support of others. Generosity does not mean having no boundaries, being a pushover, or giving too much when you can't reasonably afford to do so.
![]() Really you ask? Is it possible to tell whether something is right or wrong in less than 10 seconds? Yes it is, and I'm about to show you how.
The fact that determining right from wrong is usually a straightforward matter of common sense might seem hard to believe. There isn't a lot of clarity today about about questions of morality. Many people seem to confuse ethics with purely political, religious, or cultural beliefs. While there are many ethical components to matters or politics, culture and religion, not all are very helpful when it comes to everyday decision making. It turns out that applying the Golden Rule and the Silver Rule can allow us to quickly determine if an action is right or wrong regardless of our politics, religion or culture. The Golden Rule (and its inverse counterpart the Silver Rule), might actually be closest thing that we have to a common sense ethics, across cultures and throughout history. Let's discuss the Golden Rule and Silver Rule and how they can easily be applied to every day life. |
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