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Caylea Alvarez
Ways of Knowing
October 20th, 2015
Morality Within
When first asked the question Why be moral? I thought there would be a simple and
easy answer. After much deliberation I couldnt come up with one single answer. There are many
reasons we should be moral. Its the right thing to do, it makes the world a better place, it keeps
everything in order, and much more. However, there are just as many reason why we shouldnt
be moral. I dont necessarily think there is a correct answer to the question of why we should or
shouldnt be moral. Like Glaucon said, The nature of justice and injustice have not yet been
made clear. (Plato, 535). Morality has a different meaning from person to person. In this essay I
intend to argue why we should be moral.
While Glaucon claims all men who practice justice do so against their will, of necessity,
but not as a good. (Plato, 535), I would argue that not everyone that is moral does so because
they are being forced or because they enjoy the praise they get from doing acts of kindness and
generally being a good person. Some people are genuinely moral. They dont do it because they
get something out of it, they do it because they believe its the right thing to do. Colin McGinn
would agree by saying What reason is there for being a good person? The answer is, there is no
reason (95). These few people that do believe in being moral dont need a reason to do so, they
do it out of their own kindness. This disproves Glaucons claim that people are just against their
own will. If one is just, I believe they do so because they chose to.
In addition, McGinn would also state that each person must decide for himself, in good
conscience, what kind of person he is and allot his time and energy proportionally (98). In the
end it really comes down to you. You have all the power to to become a moral person or an
immoral person. If you decide to become a terrible person you would have to be willing to focus
all your time and energy into doing terrible things. They dont have to necessarily be huge things,

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Caylea Alvarez
Ways of Knowing
October 20th, 2015
but I feel as though its just as much work to be immoral and do terrible things as it is to be a
moral person and devote all your time and energy into doing good. If that is the case, then why
would anyone purposefully choose to be immoral when they could be moral and do good just as
easily? Although being immoral may seem like an easier way to live your life you dont have to
drop everything else in a supreme effort to be good. (McGinn, 98). Just because you decide to
be moral and good doesnt mean you have to drop everything and change your life completely.
You can make small changes and small decisions that have an impact whether theyre big or
small its still making a difference.
Being moral doesnt necessarily mean that every single action you do or choice you make
is moral as well. Despite agreeing with most of McGinns ideas, there were some that I had a
hard time wrapping my head around and agreeing with. McGinn claims that Good is good and
bad is bad (96). I would argue that not every good decision or action is entirely made from good
intentions and not every bad action or decision is made from bad intentions. Sometimes people
make bad decisions or do bad things with good intentions. They believe they are doing the right
thing. On the other hand, some people do good things with poor intentions. They arent doing it
out of their kindness, theyre doing it for personal and/or selfish reasons. In this case, I suppose
that Glaucon would agree with me in saying the best of all, which is to do injustice and not be
punished, and the worst of all, which is to suffer injustice without the power of retaliation
(Plato, 535). The ones who do good things with awful and selfish intentions dont get punished
for their actions. They get to carry on with their life and not worry about how what theyve done
has effected other people. If they dont get punished for what they do, then why should they be
moral when they can carry on being immoral without retribution. On the contrary, if an overall
moral person does something with good intentions and it ends badly, should they still continue to

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Caylea Alvarez
Ways of Knowing
October 20th, 2015
be moral even though they will be punished for their actions? According to McGinn, A
physically ugly face can give off moral beauty, and a physically beautiful face can be marred by
inner corruption. (97). Although, someone may seem to be doing good they could, in reality, be
doing terrible things and be plagued with immorality. Also, a person doing great and moral
things can be given the faade of being immoral and corrupt.
Even though good isnt always good and bad isnt always bad, I still think that people
should continue to be moral. With that in mind, I would like to go back to McGinns ideas that I
do agree with and will help support my beliefs. Some people will naturally give more of their
time to moral activity that others; their lives will be more centered around ethical concerns.
(McGinn, 98). These kind of people are the people that will continue to be moral even if they do,
at some point, end up getting punished for an action that was made with good intentions. They
wont give up when things start to get tough. They will keep giving and giving until theres
nothing left to give.
How important is it to develop a good moral character, relative to all the other things
you can do in life? (McGinn, 97). Despite the fact that there are probably many other things that
are a lot more fun and enjoyable, being moral should still be a priority. You can still enjoy doing
other things in life, but you should always come back to your morals and take them into
consideration. Is what youre doing in your life at the moment against your morals at all? Are
you still staying true to your morals and what you believe in? its easy to stray from morality, but
its not as easy to get back on track. So I believe that it would be much simpler to keep yourself
in check and stay with your morality.
One thing, however, that I do agree with on the opposing side is Glaucons idea that the
nature of justice and injustice have not yet been made clear. (Plato, 535). Although I do believe

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Caylea Alvarez
Ways of Knowing
October 20th, 2015
that people should be moral, I also believe that there is no real answer to what morality actually
is. Morality has different meanings and changes from person to person. Theres no way to really
define it and say whether or not what each person is doing is moral or immoral. In the end we
dont really need a reason to be moral. Like McGinn said, Virtue is, if you like, its own
justification, its own reason: you can cant dig deeper than it. (95).

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Caylea Alvarez
Ways of Knowing
October 20th, 2015
Work Cited
McGinn, Colin. Moral Literacy or How To Do The Right Thing. 1992: pages 95-98.
Plato.; Jowett, Benjamin. Plato: Why Be Moral (from the republic) The dialogues of Plato.
1937: page 535.