Generosity and Beneficence According to Cicero and Their Relationship - Essay Example

Political Thought Introduction Ethics has played a large role in how we interact with one another in today’s’ society. Different acts have been described to be ethical whereas others are not. However, our relation with others today’s society is governed by different traits and attitudes we posses towards to others. This paper will examine acts of generosity and beneficence as highlighted by Cicero and further look at the rules governing acts of generosity within the society. Likewise, the paper will give reasons why individuals are required to be generous and give out an opinion with regards to Cicero’s rule son generosity and generosity being an obligation. Generosity and Beneficence According To Cicero and Their Relationship According to Cicero (2000), generosity should be an act that is directed towards others taking consideration if all factors that ensures that both sides are rendering it and the sides receiving benefits from it. Here, Cicero means that different acts of generosity should be measurable as there are some acts of generosity which are shown to others and they always do have a motive behind them. Likewise, Cicero beneficence means that any acts of help rendered to one should always consider both the welfare of the first party and that of the second party. The relationship between the two elements of generosity and beneficence is that the two to be effective has to work together or as one to achieve the desired purposes. An act of generosity which does not take into consideration the needs for others is self centered and eliminates the meaning of generosity from the intended purpose. Moreover, at many times when we decide to render acts of generosity to others, it should always take care of our welfare before taking into consideration the welfare of others. A good example is that when one decides on helping a homeless person, he should be able to do that out of his means as it is only practical when he renders the help within his capability (Cicero & Walsh, 2000). Reasons Why We Should Be Generous According to Cicero (2000), we should be generous to eliminate all acts of discrimination which may be experienced by individuals because of one factors or the other. Generosity to a larger extent reveals our moral character because the world as a society is based on morality. One who renders an act of generosity to the other is driven by the need to do well to the other base on such factors as the level of friendship one shares with the other. Secondly, we should be generous as an act of requiting someone or paying back to a good done to use before by others. Any good man who has a sense of moral characters has the conscious to pay back a good done to him by one in the society. The world is described as a community where individuals live together for the benefit of one another. Therefore, one can not live independently without ever requesting the help of another because at some point in life we are always assisted in one way or the other by those whom we know and those whom are strangers to us. Lastly, we should be generous in order to strengthen our relationship with others in the society. Today, good friends are described by how much they will ready to show acts of kindness to you when faced with different situations. When one receives acts of a generosity from friends or strangers, a bond is developed between the two as the person whom has received an act of generosity shares the notion that one helping out shares his pain of problems therefore grows to love and develop a positive attitude towards him or her (Cicero & Walsh, 2000). Cicero’s Rules on Generosity According to Cicero (2000), certain rules should govern how we direct our generosity. The first rule is that when rendering an act of generosity, we should be able to weigh the sincerity and discrimination towards the person whom we are assisting or rendering acts of generosity. This implies that when being generous towards one we should be able to determine their perception towards us by looking at things like their character towards us, the level of friendship existing between us and how generous they have been to us in the past. Cicero argues all acts of generosity should be based upon this rule in order to tale care of all the welfare of the parties involved in the process. Secondly, Cicero lays out the third rule that our acts of generosity should not be out of our capabilities. This implies that when being generous towards one, we should not do it at the expense of our kin or relations. A good example is that one can not assist one in dire need of financial assistance with all of his money as his kin will have nothing left for them. Likewise, individuals rendering acts of generosity beyond their capabilities are showing traits for misappropriation of resources hence are not considered as responsible person in the society. Lastly, acts of generosity should not be driven by the desire to receive eminence or glory at the expense of others. When one decides to take forcefully from one person with whom he shares no relationship and provide to those with whom his close to or shares an interest then the act is not considered to be generosity since as much we are helping our friends or those close to we are causing harm to others (Cicero & Walsh, 2000). Opinion on Cicero’s Generosity Being an Obligation and the His Rules on Generosity In my opinion, I believe that Cicero is right in claiming that generosity is an obligation because it makes the world a better place. A world without acts of generosity is not a moral world because when one assist or shows acts of generosity at his peril, and then many would be forced to suffer in different aspects whereas they are in positions to receive help from others around them or close to them. Moreover, generosity is an obligation because it brings our character as humans. It shows the power of reason we posses hence differentiating us from animals as it shows our ability o share in the pains and joys of the other. Likewise, I strongly support Cicero’s rules on generosity because it defines show how and why we should be generous to others. A good example is that when we decide to show acts of generosity to those who have a negative attitude towards us or has refused to show acts of generosity to us in the past, then we do our self great harm as they may repeat the same habits in times to come or be the cause of our problems in future. However, I do believe this should only apply to those who have showed wicked acts to us in the past and not everyone because in so doing we take away our ability to be humans and shows acts of kindness or humanity to others (Cicero & Walsh, 2000). Conclusion In conclusion, as placed forth by Cicero, generosity is an act which each and every living human being should show to individuals living in a society irrespective of whether they are known to us or not. Moreover, we should also be very keen to determine the extent to which we show different acts of generosity as it has to take into consideration the different welfares of individuals concerned. Reference Cicero, M. T., & Walsh, P. G. (2000). On obligations =(DE officiis). Oxford [u.a.: Oxford University Press. Read More