Abosede Akinleye

Ms. Carroll/ Mr.Kelly

American Literature

21 April 2017

Criteria for Being a Good Person

You're walking down the street and you see an old lady about to trip over a big branch a

couple of feet ahead. From the way she's walking she obviously can't see very well. Do you warn

her about the tree branch or continue on your way? That's a question of ethics. Ethics can be

described as a way people choose between what is right and wrong. There are three different

ways that one might make a decision which are called frameworks. The three frameworks are

Consequentialist, Duty and Virtue. Ethics can be as simple as deciding whether to help someone

mow their grass to deciding your presidential candidate vote. There are also different obligations

that we owe to people which also play a part into how decisions are made. In order to further

study ethics, class discussions were based off excerpts from ​Justice: What’s the Right Thing to

Do?​which is a philosophical book that describes further into decision making. Justice can be

easily described as a person getting what they deserve. Being a good person means that you

make decisions according to what is right and what is wrong regardless of the consequences.

The first rule of being a good person is being patient even if things aren't moving at your

speed or the speed you would like for them to. This rule is important because in life you don't

always get what you want when you want it. As a person after a certain point you begin to realize

that life doesn't revolve around you so things won't always happen in the way that you would
desire. Justice states “So if this account of obligation is right, the average citizen has no special

obligation to his or her fellow citizens, beyond the universal natural duty not to commit injustice

(Sandel 223-225)”.This trait must be shown in a good person because you have to take yourself

out the center of the universe and take the time to think about others.

The second rule is being honest even if you don't get the desired consequences. This rule is

important because no one likes a liar. This connects to Justice because it states “According to

Kant, the moral worth of an action consists not in the consequences that flow from it, but in the

intention from which the act is done (Sandel 116-124)”. This quote shows that if you only tell the

truth because it benefits you, then it doesn't mean anything that you're telling the truth because

you're doing it out of selfish reasons. This rules shows that a person is considered good because

you're choosing to do what is right regardless of if it helps or hurts you as an individual.

The third rule is to respect others even if disrespect is shown to you. This rule is important

because everyone deserves respect. Justice states “Natural Duties are universal. We owe them to

persons as rational beings (Sandel 116-124)”. The quote shows that there are certain things that

humans owe each other just because and this rule falls into that category. This rule has to be

shown in a good person because without respect you cannot have healthy relationships with

anyone.

The fourth rule is being independent doesn't mean you can't ask for help. This rule is

important because every person has to have self advocacy. Self advocacy can be described as

being able to speak up for the things that you need when you need them. It's important for a good

person to have self advocacy because if not they will be easily waived and will have a hard time

standing their ground. Justice states “Unlike natural duties, voluntary obligations are particular,
not universal, and arise from consent (Sandel 223-225). This quote shows that some things that

people do are voluntary meaning that you will have to vocally talk about to one another. This

shows why it is important to have self advocacy because you don't automatically know what it is

that someone else needs without them speaking up.

The fifth rule is being outgoing doesn't mean competition. This rule is important because in

many scenarios these two terms can get mistaken for each other. There is nothing wrong with

being outgoing but a good person will be able to tell the difference between pushing yourself to

be the best you can be and trying to be better than everyone else. Justice states “More than this, it

fails to capture those loyalties and responsibilities whose moral force consists partly in the fact

that living by them is inseparable from understanding ourselves as the particular persons we

are… (Sandel 223-225). This quote is basically saying that although we don't have to do these

things we do them because we are part of a larger group than just ourselves.

The sixth rule is be generous unless you're being taken advantage of. This rule is important

because it's always good to share but you also can’t be a fool. Generosity is a great trait to have

helping someone in need because it shows how selfless you are. Justice states “Though we must

respect the dignity of all persons (a natural duty), beyond this, we owe only what we agree to

owe (Sandel 223-225)”.This quote shows that generosity is something that shouldn't be taken for

granted because it's not something that necessarily has to be done.

The seventh rule is always listen even if you don't think it's important. This rule is important

because sometimes people tend to tune out information that they don't think is relevant to them.

This is a problem because in order to be a good person because you have to make yourself
available which could sometimes mean lending an ear to a friend. It doesn't matter if the subject

is appealing to you personally, but just the fact that you're there could mean a lot to somebody.

Justice states “In this account of obligation, these identities are not contingencies we should set

aside when deliberating about morality or justice; they are part of who we are, and so rightly bear

on our moral responsibilities (Sandel 223-225)”. This quote is saying that we can’t forget about

our special relationships we have with each other and how we might have special obligations to

them. The quote is saying that we can't forget about those particular groups because they make

us who we are.

The eighth rule is be optimistic even if things are going badly. This rule is important because

part of being a good person is the ability to pick yourself back up after something bad has

happened. That is not only good for the individual but also others who might look up to that

individual because that's setting a positive example as to how to hold yourself up. From Brown

University, Justice states “We are concerned with what kind of person we should be and what

our actions indicate about our character”. This shows that being a good person isn't all about

what you do for others but it's also about how others perceive you so you have to keep a positive

mindset no matter what.

The ninth rule is being considerate does not mean neglecting yourself. This rule is important

because just because you want to be a good person does not mean you throw yourself to the back

burner. As being a good person, it is important that you keep yourself up as you help those

around you. If you can't help yourself how do you expect to help anyone else? Justice states “

SInce they arise from an autonomous will, or from hypothetical social contract, they don't

require an act of consent (Sandel 223-225). This quote is basically saying that you don't
necessarily owe anyone this trait but it also shows that the fact that you do embody the trait you

can be considered a good person.

The final rule is do no harm even if they deserve it. This rule is important because it is

important for a person that is considered to be good, to have self control. Although it may be

hard at times, a person that shows self control is definitely a good person because they are

thinking about the bigger picture. The text states “If the action is represented as good in itself,

and therefore necessary for a will which of itself accords with reason, then the imperative is

categorical (Sandel 116-124)”. This quote shows that this rule is not conditional and that it

applies to everyone. This rule is important for a good person to have because violence is usually

looked down upon and you can't be good if all you want to do is smash others faces in.

The process for creating this list was not hard the first time through. I just thought about a

good friend and started jotting down traits that they have. I also thought about positive traits that

people have told me I have and I added those to the list as well. The hard part came when the

ideas would overlap. Since they overlapped they would have to get merged together and then my

list would be very short. I also struggled a little bit with making rules that didn't contradict each

other. I didn't have to make too many revisions though. The first revision that I had to make was

merging together my rules of “be honest” and “be trustworthy”. Although these two are different

they usually go hand in had so after peer review I ended up grouping them together to come up

with rule number one. I made that decision because I felt like since the rules overlapped, when

justifying the two, I would be talking in circles.

Life would be way less complicated everyone including myself lived by these rules because

they all fall under the same category. All of these rules basically have to do with natural duties.
These rules are rules that we owe to each other just for being human. They aren't overly dramatic

or flamboyant and they basically all boil down to just being there for one another. I would

definitely be a nicer and more pleasant person if I lived by these rules. I think it's never too late

to try to change our ways and work on becoming a better person.