Dilemma- Ann Allan

Ethical Dilemma- Ann Allan

To homework or not to homework?

With the busy life that I have, it's difficult to find the time to just relax. On an average day I'm at the school from 7am to 5pm and I can't waste a moment of it. To do well in all my studies I have to work my hardest at each one, however these leads to a lot of stress and burn out. Many times my family and friends urge me to take a break, however this is not always possible if I want to keep up my academic routine. On the other side of the argument, working as hard as I do 24/7 can cause serious repercussions. This leads me to my dilemma, do all of my work to the best of my ability, whist sacrificing my physical and mental health? Or take a break at the expense of my prized routine and grades.

My answer to this particular question is the former, for a couple reasons. Doing all my work at the best of my ability could be seen as the more moral thing to do. In this case, I'm taking the opinion of Hume, and his materialist values. I have two desires, one to do well, and one to rest. The higher of these two desires is clearly to do well, and it is in this case that desire is a good thing. This desire can motivate a person to do good, because they know they will be rewarded for doing so. Along with this, I also put a lot of value into people who work hard, and it is my desire to be as celebrated as they are. Also, it is in this case that the work will not last for ever. It is better to power through and reap what I sow than to relax and be dissatisfied for longer than I am tired. While the desire to rest is also good in the way of being a more relaxed and happy person for a time, it is not the best choice I could make.

This also taps into moral philosophy. In this case, the moral thing to do is also in my higher self interest. Although I want to relax, which is indeed in my self interest, I also want to succeed. This leads to a battle of what I truly want more, and in my case it is to do the higher action of working. This shows that me self interest is not at war with my morality, just as Plato states.

With Humes Materialist values and Platos understanding of morality, it is easier to come to the conclusion of workings hard over taking a break, since it is both in my self interested and the morally right thing to do.