The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

Containing His Articles, Observations, Thoughts, Meanderings,
and some would say Wisdom (and some would say not).

A Life Worth Living

A Basis for Determination

As I am now firmly ensconced in my senior years, I have the luxury of reminiscing on my life and taking stock of it. The question that I have often asked myself is what makes a life worth living, and how do you determine if your life is or was worth living? Some people believe it is a happy marriage and children, a successful career, a few good friends, and many associations that have been fulfilling. Others take stock in their charity activities, social activism, church or synagogue activities, enjoyment of their hobbies, or their appreciation of the fine arts, music, literature and poetry, theater, movies, sports, or other forms of entertainment. Other people take pride in how they have improved the lives of others. Often, it is a combination of these items that makes for a worthy life.

I, myself, have taken pride in my attempts to increase my Information, Understanding, Intelligence, Experience, and Wisdom, as I have written in my Article on "Knowledgeable – From Information to Wisdom". As to the knowledge I have gained, I have attempted to impart this knowledge in my various web pages. As to the wisdom I have gained, I have tried to live my life based on this wisdom, which I have written in my web pages on Pearls of Wisdom and Principles, Truisms, Locutions, and Rules.

Thus, the question is, how will you determine if your life is or was worth living? For me, the ultimate answer is if you have lived a moral and ethical life and have acted with virtue and character in your life as follows:

Morality and Ethics

It is an unfortunate fact that many people interchangeably utilize ‘morality’ and ‘ethics’. However, they are distinct concepts, as can readily be seen by their definitions:

Morality - Concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong conduct.
Ethics - A system of principles governing acceptable conduct.

Ethics require Morality for them to be beneficial. If your morals are disreputable, then your ethics will be reprehensive. Therefore, we need to distinguish between the morality of a person and their ethical conduct and properly utilize Criticism vs. Critique of a person based on their morals and ethics.

It is also easier for a person to correct ethical lapses if they have good morals, while an immoral person will not change their ethics as they have no basis for a change. We should also not resort to the excuse of legal versus illegal activity to justify immoral or unethical behavior, as I have written in my Article, "The Law is Not All".

This distinction between morality and ethics will help us better understand a person’s behavior, and we will know how to judge a person and perhaps guide someone to become a better person when they have moral or ethical lapses.

Virtue and Character

Virtue is the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. It is also a test of one’s character, which is the inherent complex of attributes that determines a person's moral and ethical actions and reactions. To be virtuous also requires that you do what you think is proper, notwithstanding all the pressures for you to do otherwise. As been said by one of our Founding Fathers (who practiced what he preached):

"Always stand on principle, even if you stand alone."
- John Adams

As to character, we should remember what an American author who was best known for his inspirational book, ‘Life's Little Instruction Book’ has said:

“Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.”
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

But both virtue and character require that you confront and admit the truths about yourself so that you can make a virtuous decision and act with character. However, if you should do this, then be forewarned:

"Man is always prey to his truths. Once he has admitted them, he cannot free himself from them."
- Albert Camus

When adjudging a person’s virtue or character, we should always bear in mind:

"The words of a person are important to adjudge their virtue. However, the deeds of a person are important to judge their character. And deeds have much more of an impact than words. Or, as Benjamin Franklin has said, 'Well done is better than well said.'".
- Mark Dawson

The strongest test of Virtue and Character is when it becomes necessary to confront wickedness or evil. Any person unwilling to confront wickedness or evil or to temporize or excuse wickedness or evil is a person without virtue or character. Such people who do so are complicit in the wickedness or evil of others. As two of the great Philosophers of the Enlightenment have stated:

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
- attributed to Edmund Burke

“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”
- John Stuart Mill

Conclusion