Great Traditions In Ethics Essay

The overcoming of the misgiving of wipeout figures as a key comp 1nt of Epicurean philosophical system. Because the Epicureans valued above solely other accomplishments, the living of a good life and that pleasure is the goal of all morality and that real pleasure is attained through a life of prudence, honor, and justice the acknowledgment in Epicurean school of thought that the revere of death intrudes upon individual happiness is non at all the similar as admission that worship of death is an insurmountable condition, (Epicureanism).To the contrary, the epicurean philosophy seeks forts to identify the root causes of the reverence of death, which are 1) The fear of being dead. 2) The fear that one will die, that ones life is going to end. 3) The fear of premature death. 4) The fear of the process of dying and for each of these considerations, Epicurean philosophy provides a response. The intention of epicurean philosophy is to persuade its adherents that death is not bad for the psyche who dies although death is inevitable and is the total annihilation of that person despite the belief in total annihilation Epicurus held no compute for death itself.The basic center of the Epicurean refusal to fear death lies in the epicurean belief that God should not concern to us. Death is not to be feared and these circumstances are unchangeable despite ones subjective, aroused reactions. because death means the end of consciousness and the total annihilation of the individual, cryptograph exists beyond death which may cause fear at all,(Warren 4-7). It is provided by admitting the fear of death and addressing it straight on through employ logic rather than religion or mysticism that the fear of death can be conquered.The Epicureans regarded the overcoming of the fear of death at the very knocker of their ethical project. They identified the goal of a good life as the removal of mental and physical upset. Mental pain they further characterized as anxietie s and fears because fear of death causes pain to the individual it must be defeat and it can be overcome by logical acceptance of the fact that death holds no pain for the person who experiences it. (Warren 6)Just as the fear of death prevented many individuals from achieving happiness in life, justice (or lack thereof) provides antagonism to happiness in the Epicurean ethical tradition. For Epicurus, laws and justice are a matter of personal bearing and dignity as well as intelligence and experience. Under an Epicurean ethic, in a world full of Epicurean sages there would be no need for written normative laws. Everyone in that case would be able to see and remember what contributes to the service of the community and would act accordingly (Warren 183).The judgment of breaking a incur of justice is wrong because it causes the eventual pain or threat of pain or disturbance to oters happiness as well as ones own. Unlike Epicurus, St. Augustine sees the need for rigid law to con trol kind-hearted society and he envisions this law emanating directly fro the Divine. In his distinction amidst the City of God and the City of Men he makes clear that the perform is divinely established and leads humankind to eternal goodness, which is God and that in the prototype city, The state adheres to the virtues of politics and of the mind, formulating a political community.Both of these societies are clear and seek to do good. (Bonner 54) By contrast, the City of Man exists to serve selfishly driven needs and does not partake of the Divine spirit of universe of discourse and Divine Law. The idea of self-love against the love of God separates the two cities an idea which springs from what Augustine was afterwards to regard in The City of God as the designer of the Earthly Citylove of self to the contempt of God (Bonner 54).