[size=85]n the following discussion the letter E will stand for: Ethicist – by which is meant ‘a teacher of Ethics’ – perhaps a professional who gets paid to teach it; or a researcher in the field. And the letter L will symbolize ‘a philosophical layman.’[/size]
E: Do you mind if I talk theory for a moment?
L: No, go ahead.
E: You’ve heard the expression “to live a moral life.” What do you suppose it means? What does it mean to live a moral life?
L: I dunno. You tell me.
E: It means Be true to yourself. Shakespeare, in the year 1510, knew the truth of this. He said: To thine own self be true… Yet how does one be true to one’s true self?
By having some good principles; and living up to them ! Okay?
L: Okay. I’ll go with that.
E: Logically, the question then arises: What makes a principle a good one? How can we tell what a good moral principle is?
L: How?
E: Good question! You have a healthy curiosity!! What makes a principle a good one? Well, as I’m about to explain, it’s richer in values than other principles and it fulfills its purpose. The true self is also at once the morally good self; someone or something is morally good or right when it supports the creation of greater net value in reality, and morally bad or wrong when it diminishes or destroys net value in reality. For example,
Murder and thievery are morally wrong (“evil”) because they take away net value. Love is morally good because it adds value.
Something- anything- is good when it fulfills its purpose. So you might ask: What’s the purpose of a moral principle? And I would answer: [size=120]A good set of principles helps us live harmoniously with other people – both in our family and in society. It enables us to avoid quarrels even before they start. It shows us how to get along with other members of our human species; how to have sweeter cooperation to solve our problems.[/size] Can we agree that a principle that does that is “a good” one?
L: Yeah. I guess so. You’re telling me that[size=150] to live a moral life we need to have some high principles and put them into practice.[/size]
E: Exactly !! You get it. That’s what I mean if I use the term “morality.” Earlier I mentioned the feature “richer in value” when we were discussing how to tell the difference among principles. That’s how we tell something is better: it has more qualities than what you are comparing it with, doesn’t it? A good moral principle would have everything a moral principle should have. …It would put people first – over things and stuff. And it would give a higher priority to things and material than it would give to numbers and passing thoughts of the mind. Good principles show us which way is “up.” They help us get our priorities straight. Okay?
L: Yes.
E: You’re right. Once we have a good set of moral principles we know that all the systems and ideologies in the world aren’t worth one material thing; and all the things in the world aren’t worth one human life !
Any questions? Do you see why we should care about living a moral life? How do you feel about all this? – I’m listening……
E: So let’s go beyond theory now, and I’ll ask you a practical question:
Do you want a better quality of life than you have now? …Here’s one way to get it …
As Peter Demerest, a wise man, once told us: "“Beyond survival, the goal is to thrive – to go beyond just staying alive and to increase quality of life. Since your brain is already wired to think in terms of creating value, you’ve already got what it takes. All you need are the keys to help you take full advantage of how your brain naturally works so you make better decisions and take more effective actions more often.” I have to agree with him. He’s right.
And I would add this: If we can master our mind, perhaps we can think, learn, and act in new and better ways.
We know, in our hearts, that we can’t truly maximize the quality of our own lives unless we maximize the quality of other people’s lives as well. From this perspective, quality of life – and life itself – is not just about ‘my own narrow self’; it’s about all of us. Life is fundamentally about creating value and our conscience knows it! So let’s figure out how to create more and better value! And let’s put policies into effect that do that! What do you think?
Comments? Critiques? Concepts? Suggestions?
“This above all- to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
W. Shakespeare – as spoken byPolonius in HAMLET.
You kind of sound like a personal guru here. 
