Morality, Happiness and Duty

Paper Summary:

This paper examines and compares Mahatma Gandhi's work, "Hind Swaraj", Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's play, "Nathan the Wise", and Svetlana Palmer and Sara Wallis' book, "Intimate Voices from the First World War", in an effort to explore how these philosophers viewed issues of morality, happiness, and duty. After examining each of the works, the paper poses the question, "is there happiness in fulfilling ones duty?". The paper then answers that each man has to determine that for himself.

From the Paper:

"Gandhi was a true believer in the laws of karma. Causation and retribution he believed linked all people together. He believed that through an action there is personal growth and moral awareness. Gandhi firmly believed that man reaps what he sows. One of his most famous quotes reflecting how man should behave is as follows: "An eye for an eye is a terrible way to blind the world." How does this relate to happiness, duty and morality? Morality is easy to see in Gandhi's ideology."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gandhi, Mohandas. Hind Swarai or Indian Home Rule. Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House, 1938.
• Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim. Nathan the Wise with Related Documents. Ed. Ronald Schechter. New York: Bedford/St. Martin Press, 2004.
• Mahadevan, T.K. Dvija: A Prophet Unheard. New Delhi: East West Press, 1977.
• Palmer, Svetlana and Sarah Wallis, eds. Intimate Voices from the First World War. New York: Harper Collins, 2005.

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