Morality and Sacrifice Essay Example for Free

Morality and Sacrifice EssaySacrifice is the surrender of a greater value for the sake of a lesser unity or of a non value. Thus, altruism gauges a mans virtue by the degree to which he surrenders, renounces or betrays his values (since help to a odd or an enemy is regarded as more gross(a), less selfish, than help to those one loves). The rational principle of conduct is the exact opposite always act in accordance with the hierarchy of your values, and never resign a greater value to a lesser one. Sacrifice does not mean the rejection of the worthless, but of the precious.Sacrifice does not mean the rejection of the evil for the sake of the ingenuous, but of the good for the sake of the evil. Sacrifice is the surrender of that which you value in favor of that which you dont. If you exchange a cent for a dollar, it is not a sacrifice if you exchange a dollar for a penny, it is. If you get through the career you wanted, after years of struggle, it is not a sacrifice if you then renounce it for the sake of a rival, it is. A sacrifice is the surrender of a value.Full sacrifice is full surrender of all values. If you wish to achieve full virtue, you must seek no gratitude in return for your sacrifice, no praise, no love, no admiration, no self-esteem, not even the pride of being virtuous the faintest trace of any gain dilutes your virtue. If you pursue a course of action that does not taint your life by any joy, that brings you no value in matter, no value in spirit, no gain, no profit, no rewardif you achieve this state of total zero, you have achieved the ideal of moral perfection.If you wish to however the last of your dignity, do not call your best actions a sacrifice that term brands you as immoral. If a mother buys food for her hungry child sooner than a hat for herself, it is not a sacrifice she values the child higher(prenominal) than the hat but it is a sacrifice to the kind of mother whose higher value is the hat, who would prefer her child to starve and feeds him only from a sense of duty.If a man dies fighting for his own freedom, it is not a sacrifice he is not willing to live as a slave but it is a sacrifice to the kind of man whos willing. If a man refuses to conduct his convictions, it is not a sacrifice, unless he is the sort of man who has no convictions. Sacrifice could be proper only for those who have nothing to sacrificeno values, no standards, no judg mentthose whose desires are irrational whims, blindly conceived and lightly surrendered.For a man of moral stature, whose desires are born of rational values, sacrifice is the surrender of the compensate to the wrong, of the good to the evil. The creed of sacrifice is a morality for the immorala morality that declares its own bankruptcy by confessing that it cant impart to men any personal stake in virtues or values, and that their souls are sewers of depravity, which they must be taught to sacrifice. By its own confession, it is impotent to teach men to be g ood and can only subject them to constant punishment.