What is considered beautiful?
Within society, women are told to be smaller, and more graceful. Men however, are told to be bigger, stronger, and masculine. The pressure that this puts on young peoples heads is too much, and very harmful. In my opinion, we shouldn't be classifying whos bodies are beautiful and who's aren't. This becomes very toxic towards children and they will think that they need to do whatever it takes to look like that.
My Personal Philosophy About Aesthetics:
I believe that everyone, and everything is beautiful in their own ways. That may seem like the most generic answer ever, but it is really what i think. Nobody should have to change themselves to fit into society's standards. After all, we are just people living on a giant rock. I also believe that a peice of art can be anything. If someone gets crafty and produces something that they're proud of, whether that's painting, cooking, or singing etc, they should be able to call it art.
Utilitarianism: An action is okay if it benefits society.
Utilitarianism kinda humbles my thoughts of my place in the world. It prevents me from playing "God". When I have to think about the greater good, it prevents me from meddling in places where I shouldn't because only I think it's okay.
Are our actions deemed okay if it is for the greater good? In my opinion, I think they should be. I can't even count how many times I've kept my mouth shut because that would be better in the long run. By not saying what I wanted to say, even though it would have benefited me, it benefited everyone else.
Abortion rights are a big argument in the world right now. The two arguments are called Pro-Choice, and Pro-Life. People who are Pro-Life fight on the side that thinks that abortion should not be legal. They think that its not ethical, or fair to the "child" to be "killed" without their consent. The people who are Pro-Choice believe that the woman who is pregnant should have the ability to choose what happens to their body. The "child" at the stage most people would be getting abortions at is basically a clump of cells.
I personally am Pro-Choice, and i think that this reflects that one of my values is to let people do what they please with their own life. I don't think it is ethically okay to take the ability to get rid of the pregnancy away, because it might be worse for the person if they actually do have the baby.
Metaphysics: A branch of philosophy that uses broad concepts to help us define reality.
Is God Real? In my opinion, no. It's hard for me to think that there is a higher power in the sky who controls everything we do. However, i can see how people can believe in it. With all of the different versions of creation stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, and different cultures that worship them, they might have gods that I've never even heard of. If I've never heard of them, how will I know its there? I can't. So i stick to my belief, that my place in this world is to just be a human. To work with others to make the world we live in now a good one.
What is the meaning of life?
I believe that my meaning of life is to love, and be loved. This is quite possibly the hardest question I've had to answer in this course. It has changed with each unit we've gone over, but I think this is the one that sticks the most. Being loved makes me feel the most valid and in touch with reality. More than absolutely everything else. That feeling is what makes it the meaning of life to me.
Do we have free will?
Kinda, but not really. Canada is considered a free country, because you can believe what you want, or whoever you want. It is also a country that protects it's citizens. This is because of the social contract that Canada follows, "Liberty for Safety". We are paying taxes and following laws, so that they protect us, and that is our "role". Having absolute free will would be able to whatever we want, when we want. Because we have laws in place, we have to follow them and can't do absolutely everything.