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Cassandra Sanchez
English 114b
Professor Vana Derohanessian
08 May 2014
Duty to Ones Heart
In today's generation, when the word responsibility comes up, most people would think it
means to do ones chores, or to do ones homework or to do even the simplest of daily tasks. But
what some people tend to forget are the responsibilities concerning our inner beings and
dedications. According to Timothy O'Connor, Most philosophers suppose that the concept of
free will is very closely connected to the concept of moral responsibility. Acting with free will,
on such views, is just to satisfy the metaphysical requirement on being responsible for one's
action. Thus, Moral responsibility can differ from person to person depending on how one was
raised, their beliefs and even their religion. Majority of our society thinks they are only
responsible for the physical actions, such as taking care of a pet, but they forget about the
internal responsibilities of being a good person, making the right decision and the duty to your
spiritual being.
In the viewpoint of a vegan or vegetarian, they believe it is morally wrong to eat animals
because it is disrespecting and murder. These people consider animals to be equal creatures that
are to be treated as fairly as humans would. So for them, it is internally sinful to eat animals as
meat. Dr. Steiner, a vegetarian, states her strong opinion on the issue and says, that the notion
of a moral obligation toward animals is [a] very powerful kind of commitment that we ought
to recognize ourselves to have. This shows how vegans find it a difficult and big obligation to
themselves to live a life without meat. Restraining from meat may not be any easy choice, but it
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is possible to choose the non-meat life style. Dr. Steiner also says that If we recognize that
animals and humans are similar to each other morally then we have to recognize that we have the
same sorts of obligations of non-harm and non-violence and obligations of respect toward
animals that we have toward humans. The idea that animals and humans are all living creatures
is something I can definitely agree on. Although, I am a meat eater, I do understand the
perspective of a vegan and why eating meat is bad to them. For most non-meat eaters, they think
that animals are on the bottom of this food chain while humans are almighty and on the top of
this chain. These individuals need to change their perspective and at least understand that
animals are living creations of God and even though we may eat them for food, they should be
respected. Sadly that is not the case, most non vegans have the idea that they should be the
hunter and strike first instead of being the prey and get hurt. The world has been raised to believe
meat is the only way to go, but the truth is, meat eating is just the easy choice. Vegetarians
restrain from meat to make sure that no innocent living being is being harmed because of their
selfish actions. Nevertheless, Vegetarians set high standards of tolerance and rules for
themselves; they believe every innocent creature should be given an equal chance to live.
In a different perspective, such as a religious one, it would go like this. For most
Catholics, they would have certain aspects that they would have been raised with. Catholics and
other groups are raised to believe sex is a sin unless married, but yet there are so many people
who break that moral every day. To some, sex is a sacred act that God has bestowed onto us for
one reason and that is to continue to grow and have kids when married. Nevertheless, it is
common for people to break this notion on a daily basis. For those who commit themselves and
stay pure from sex have strong morality. Very few people appreciate or give credit to those who
abstain from sex. This is one of the moral responsibilities that should be credited for, even
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though it is a secret struggle between a persons physical and moral needs. One of the hardest
conflicts are the ones within ones self. Overall, having sex before marriage is a morally wrong
act according to those with this religion or for those who believe it is a special act that should be
shared with only that one true love. Abstinence is an obligation for a numerous amounts of
people, but not everyone feels the same about it.
In addition to religious morality, there are people who are raised with this inner
consciousness that helps us determine right from wrong. Law is a rule of conduct enacted by
competent authority for the sake of the common good. The moral law presupposes the rational
order, established among creatures for their good and to serve their final end, by the power,
wisdom, and goodness of the Creator..."2 (Catechism) Catholics have this Catechism book and
Bible that they abide and live their life by. From this catechism verse, it states the example that
Catholics believe in a higher being that gave us rules and guides to live by. The rule God has
given us, is to basically live a moral life and do everything as if Jesus would do or do only things
that would hold His name in glory and not in shame. Ultimately, Catholics or Christians try to
live a good life that praises God. Not only do religious people have this, but others do too, they
just have different opinions. From experience of being raised in a Christian and Catholic school,
I was taught to always be the Good Samaritan. I grew up with the mindset, that if you could go
just a little bit more out of your way to help someone or make there day, you do it, because the
world is very sinful, so everyone should just try their best to make it a better place. But you see,
this is my own personal responsibility that I am holding accountable for myself. Although others
might disagree, I feel it is my moral duty is to be the best example in life and to live life in Gods
image.
Basically, Id like to emphasize the fact that there are many different types of
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responsibilities that we must take account of that effect people on a daily basis. For Plato, the
issue of moral responsibility primarily arises as a result of the investigations into the connection
between knowledge, desire, and right action; his discussions generally center around whether
those who desire evil do so knowingly or due to ignorance or error. (Hsieh) Every person
depending on how they were raised have different moral responsibilities and I am not saying one
way is the only right way, but I am saying that staying true to ones moral obligation is hard and
it is important we keep this in mind. These inner responsibilities and guidelines are the base of
many good and bad decisions in life. However just because someone believes they have a moral
responsibility, it doesnt always mean its the right thing to do. Individuals tend to forget the
most important type of responsibility; the obligation one has to live morally and to make the
right choices to fulfill the duty one has to their heart.












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Works Cited
Catechism of the Church. Part 3 ed. N.p.: n.p., 1951. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Hsieh, Diana M. Aristotle on Moral Responsibility. N.p.: n.p., 1995. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Steiner, Dr. Gary. A Vegan Diet is a Moral Obligation. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Strawson, Peter. Free will to Moral Responsibility. N.p.: 1962, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Machina, Kenton. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.