David Torres

Mrs,Carroll

April 4, 2019

American Literature-Period 1

Inside a Consequentialist Mind

What is a good person? This question has been around for many years and it has recently

been brought to my attention. When I hear the word “good” I actually think of it as the word

“ethical”.This is because the literal definition of ethical is relating to moral principles, in other

words being concerned with what is right or wrong. Now, I do not know about you but when

someone is concerned with making the right or wrong choice, I believe that they are trying to

produce the most justice. This is because justice, in simple terms, is fairness. Why? Well because

when someone is fair they are providing what is right for that certain situation. They are

basically giving any given cause an equal effect. Now, to make things quick, I created a list in

which there are ten rules that any “good” person should live by. I developed these rules under

what is known as being a consequentialist. This is because I believe that those who fall under the

title of a consequentialist are the most ethical as they are able to provide the most justice out of

any given situation.

First and foremost, as briefly stated above, I believe that in order to genuinely call

yourself a “good” person you will have to develop a consequentialist mindset because its main

motivation is to “produce the most good” (Brown University 1). In other words, if you are a

consequentialist you would try your best to do no harm, which so happens to be my number one
rule. Secondly, my next rule is to consider the feelings of others. This is the literal focus of a

consequentialist as their main goal is to “direct attention to the future effects of an action”

(Brown University 2). So when you are trying to become a “good” person you are in essence

taking into consideration all of the consequences of your decision, and an example of these

consequences are the feelings of others. Which leads me to my next similar but different rule in

make others feel better. The difference is that now that you have taken into consideration of

those who may be affected by your decision, you are now actually trying to make other feel

better about themselves and not just thinking about those other individuals’ feelings: thought vs.

action. My next rule is very simple yet most people have trouble following it: no envy. This is

because when people get jealous, they develop this resentfulness toward an individual who may

or may not deserve it. So when you follow this rule and get rid of this jealousy you are basically

extinguishing this unnecessary hatred that was developed out of something that isn’t fair and or

unjust. This leads me to the fifth rule of do not steal because if you have this jealousy it can lead

to one trying to steal another human beings’ belongings. Stealing is not only unethical but unjust

because those belongings that you took without permission can and would probably have been

very valuable to that person; you are in essence taking another individuals’ riches.

Additionally, this list consists of five more amazing rules. For instance, my sixth rule is

to take necessary action. This is because if you are not able to actually do something “good” then

there is no point in thinking about doing “good” things, a consequentialist focuses on “...the

possible courses of action” (Brown University 1). Next, my seventh rule is integrity because if

you do not tell the truth at any and every given moment then you are basically deceiving an

individual; you are diminishing trust. This leads directly to my eighth rule of loyalty as if you
diminish a trust then you are essentially being unfaithful. When you become unfaithful you

become a liar and a liar will never be a “good” person as the truth is always the right thing to say.

Next, as stated previously, I believe that justice means fair, so it would only make sense that my

ninth rule is fairness. This is because if you are not fair then you are not giving the cause the

correct or equal effect. You have to basically give an eye for an eye because a consequentialist is

always asking “...what outcomes are desirable in a given situation” (Brown University 1). Last

but certainly not least, my tenth rule is forgiveness. You can not truly define yourself as a good

person if you are never able to forgive because if you don’t ever forgive then this hatred or anger

can lead to something very detrimental such as murder or just simply any type of harm which

would go against everything that relates to being a “good” person.

Now that you know the rules, you probably want to know how I was able to come up

with them in the first place. Well when I first started to brainstorm, I basically thought of all the

people that I know who I consider to be “good” and basically tried to pin down their

characteristics. For example, many of these rules are what I see in my parents and siblings as

they were the main model for me growing up. I eventually started to read articles on things such

as the bible and what messages it tries to perceive because I believe that the bible is basically the

hand book for anyone trying to become a “good” person. Subsequently, after I had developed

this list, I tried to improve it by basically simplifying or making the rules very blatant and clear

so that anyone who would read it can successfully follow it. But other than clearing up a couple

of phrases here and there such as courageous to take necessary action or do not steal valuables to

simply do not steal, I did not feel that I had to make any further revisions. This is because none

of my rules contradict one another and were all able to fall under one obvious framework.
 Thus, my list of ten rules were all compiled from the framework of a consequentialist,

indicating that in order to give yourself the title of a “good” person you would have to aim to

produce the most good. After finally finishing and analyzing all of my rules, I started to think

about the life that would come with them. I realized that if I followed all of these rules that I

would essentially be another version of my relatives. I also figured that if I was able to produce

the most good then it would make me the happiest man alive because it is a personal life goal to

become the best version of myself and I truly believe that the only way I can achieve this is by

being a “good” person. So if I not only followed these rules but the whole world did, then

everyone would feel and perceive others as equals. This is because if everyone is constantly

trying to become a “good” human being then there can be no one who can say that you or anyone

else is different. The question of what makes a good person will disappear as the answer will

inevitably be all around you.