Essay #5 Rough Draft
I have never known anyone to be honest, but I have known many to be moral. This seemingly paradoxical statement separates two words from their synonymic connotations, and defines a difference between honesty and morality. I look at honesty rather literally, and even though it is not always bad to lie, it is always dishonest. Sometimes lying is imperative to retaining ones morality, and in the right situation, lies are less hurtful than the truth. By definition though, a lie can never be more honest than the truth. A person cannot be considered honest if they tell lies, but a person who only tells the truth can be considered less moral than someone who lies.
The word honesty assumes two definitions that are similar in nature, but when looked at closely enough, do not always mesh. Many people see an honest person as someone who is sincere, genuine, and trustworthy. I instead see that same person as someone with a good morality, but not necessarily an honest history. I look at it this way; In court, witnesses and everyone else involved in a case have to take an oath. They have to solemnly swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and once they make this vow of honesty and are expected to keep it true. If a witness tells a lie in order to save their friend from a fruitless punishment, but later is found to have lied, they are said to have acted dishonestly. Even if the accuser is a millionaire, and the one thousand dollars he sues the poverty stricken mother for would put her into hopeless debt, saving the friend from this punishment by lying is a dishonest act. Even though it may be the moral thing to do, being moral does not mean being honest.
I am having trouble thinking of what else to write my body paragraphs on. I am going to finish the first one, but I don't know where to go from there. Do you guys have any suggestions?
3 comments:
This is a good section you have here. I like your view on dishonesty vs morality. Your literal stand on honesty kind of limits what you can talk about, so maybe you could take that part out and you would be able to talk about, honest people, liars, and the similarites and differences that aries when people lie in "good/moral" situation where it would be the right thing to do.
1. The thesis of this essay is that nobody is considered honest due to the fact that everybody tells lies, but many people are considered moral which is much like honesty.
2. He cites examples from the real world of where honesty takes place, such as in the courtroom and how if they lie they can still be moral but no longer honest.
3. It is defintitely displayed in this essay. Not everyone believes the same way about the meaning of the word honest, but with his opinions thrown into the essay it makes it stronger, and it made me believe his reasons.
4. The whole concept of being moral rather than honest is his good way of bringing a counter part to the essay.
5. Maybe he could tell whether he feels that there are different levels of honesty.
6. I do not know of any other counter claims because there is only one claim: Lying is dishonest.
Great essay. The problem with your ideas of any lies causing dishonesty is that nobody would ever be honest so why would there even be a word for it.
I like your idea as well, the whole dishonesty vs morality concept is good. I like your examples of real life situations and how one might use honesty or morality to handle a situation. Be careful not to contradict yourself with the concept, not saying you have just sounds like it could be an issue. I agree with your literal views, but at the same time I find it hard to comprehend. Your essay is a strong support for your thoughts so far. I clearly understand which question you're responding to and what your stance on the issue is.
Post a Comment