Please Answer Three Of The Four Following Essay Questions ✓ Solved

Please answer three of the four following essay questions. Y

Please answer three of the four following essay questions. You MUST answer questions #1 and #2. You may choose either question #3 or #4.

Question #1 (REQUIRED): Please answer the following two questions using the article "Moral Character." First: Explain why character matters in our modern world. Second: Using your understanding of Greek moral thought, explain why virtue is so important.

Question #2 (REQUIRED): Explain how the theorists after the Greeks viewed moral character. Pick two philosophers and explain their views.

Question #3: A: State Noam Chomsky's position or concern in his article, "What Makes Mainstream Mainstream." B: If you agree with his basic position, state why you support his thesis. If you disagree with his thesis, explain why.

Question #4: How does character and virtue come into play when encountering propaganda, censorship, and dishonesty in our daily life?

Paper For Above Instructions

Introduction

This paper answers the required questions on moral character and virtue. First, it explains why character matters in the modern world and, drawing on Greek moral thought, why virtue is central (Question 1). Second, it examines how theorists after the Greeks viewed moral character, focusing on Augustine and Immanuel Kant (Question 2). Third, it addresses how character and virtue affect responses to propaganda, censorship, and dishonesty in daily life (Question 4). The analysis uses course material including the article "Moral Character" and canonical philosophical sources to ground claims (Moral Character, n.d.; Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics).

Question 1 — Why Character Matters Today

Character matters today because it organizes individual behavior, shapes public trust, and sustains social institutions. In contemporary pluralistic societies, formal rules and laws cannot cover every ethical contingency. Character—understood as the dispositional structure of motives, habits, and conscientious judgment—fills gaps where rules are silent and helps individuals act reliably in complex social situations (Moral Character, n.d.; Hursthouse, 1999). Trustworthy character fosters cooperative relationships in business, politics, and personal life; without it, transaction costs rise and institutional legitimacy erodes (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012).

Question 1 — Greek Moral Thought and the Importance of Virtue

Greek moral thought, particularly Aristotle's virtue ethics, anchors the importance of virtue in human flourishing (eudaimonia). Aristotle holds that virtues are stable states that enable rational choice toward the mean between extremes; virtues shape practical reasoning (phronesis) and habituate correct action (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book II). For the Greeks, a virtuous person is not merely rule-following but someone whose character manifests right desires and deliberations. Virtue matters because it integrates reason, emotion, and action into a durable orientation toward the good life; it thereby secures both personal fulfillment and social harmony (Annas, 2011; MacIntyre, 1981). The Greek emphasis on habituation also highlights moral education: character forms through practice, community norms, and exemplary figures, making civic institutions and upbringing essential for moral development (Plato, Meno; Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics).

Question 2 — Theorists after the Greeks: Augustine and Immanuel Kant

Augustine and Kant represent influential post-Greek responses to moral character, each reframing virtue in light of theological or rationalist concerns.

Augustine

Augustine interprets moral character through the lens of Christian anthropology: human will and loves are disordered by original sin, and right character requires divine grace to heal misdirected attachments (Augustine, Confessions; Brown, 1967). For Augustine, virtues are reoriented loves—ordering love toward God and neighbor—which transform desires rather than merely regulating outward acts. Moral character therefore becomes intimately connected with spiritual formation: prayer, sacraments, and communal worship cultivate rightly ordered affections. Augustine emphasizes interiority and dependence on God, contrasting with Greek confidence in human reason alone (Augustine, City of God).

Immanuel Kant

Kant shifts the emphasis from habituated dispositions to autonomy and the good will. For Kant, the moral worth of an action depends on acting from duty in conformity with the categorical imperative, not on consequence or emotive states (Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, 1785). Moral character for Kant involves a resolute commitment to moral law and the cultivation of maxims compatible with universalization. Virtue (Tugend) is the strength of will to act from duty despite contrary inclinations; moral education aims to develop respect for moral law as practical reason (Kant, 1797). Unlike Augustine, Kant locates moral authority within autonomous reason rather than divine grace, and he treats character-building as self-legislation in light of rational moral principles (Korsgaard, 1996).

Question 4 — Character, Virtue, and Encounters with Propaganda, Censorship, and Dishonesty

Virtue and character are central to how individuals and communities resist propaganda, censorship, and dishonesty. First, cardinal virtues—especially intellectual virtues like honesty, courage, and intellectual humility—enable critical evaluation of information and the courage to dissent (Annas, 2011; Hursthouse, 1999). A person with cultivated intellectual integrity will check sources, seek multiple perspectives, and avoid rhetorical shortcuts, thereby reducing susceptibility to manipulative messaging (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012).

Second, civic virtues—such as civic courage and public-spiritedness—motivate citizens to oppose censorship and advocate for transparent institutions. Courage and justice oriented toward the public good can prompt whistleblowing, collective action, and support for media pluralism, even when doing so risks personal cost (MacIntyre, 1981; Chomsky, 1997).

Third, character shapes trust networks: virtuous agents create reputational environments where honest exchange is expected and enforced informally. Conversely, systemic dishonesty corrodes norms, making propaganda more effective because skeptical norms themselves erode (Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012; Pennycook & Rand, 2018).

Finally, virtue ethics suggests practical educational responses. Since character forms through habituation, societies should cultivate media literacy, critical thinking, and moral exemplars to build resilience against misinformation. Institutional safeguards (transparency laws, independent journalism) paired with character formation (education that emphasizes civic virtue and intellectual humility) create layered defenses against propaganda and censorship (Harcourt & Hogg, 2017; Lewandowsky et al., 2017).

Conclusion

Character matters in the modern world because it undergirds trustworthy action where rules alone cannot guide behavior and because it sustains social institutions. Greek moral thought highlights why virtues—stable habits aligning reason and desire—are essential for flourishing. Later thinkers such as Augustine and Kant reinterpreted moral character through theology and autonomous reason, respectively, influencing how we conceive moral formation. In the face of propaganda, censorship, and dishonesty, cultivated virtues—intellectual honesty, courage, and civic responsibility—are necessary defenses; they are built by education, practice, and institutional support rather than by rules alone. Cultivating character remains both a private and public task integral to democratic life and personal flourishing (Moral Character, n.d.; Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics).

References

• Annas, J. (2011). Intelligent Virtue. Oxford University Press.
• Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. (Various translations).
• Augustine. Confessions and City of God. (Various translations).
• Chomsky, N. (1997). What Makes Mainstream Mainstream. In Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies. Common Courage Press.
• Hursthouse, R. (1999). On Virtue Ethics. Oxford University Press.
• Jowett, G. S., & O'Donnell, V. (2012). Propaganda & Persuasion. SAGE Publications.
• Kant, I. (1785). Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. (H. J. Paton, trans.).
• Korsgaard, C. M. (1996). The Sources of Normativity. Cambridge University Press.
• Lewandowsky, S., Ecker, U. K. H., & Cook, J. (2017). Beyond misinformation: Understanding and coping with the “post-truth” era. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 6(4), 353–369.
• Moral Character. (n.d.). [Course article assigned].