Locke

On Sunday I watched an episode of the fox television show American dad. In this episode the father Stan had views that I felt related to Locke. Stan told his family that he did not like how america has turned out since democrats have been in office. Stan told his family that he did not like how america was helping people and bailing out everyone. Stan's wife told him that she was going to help out at the local soup kitchen, which he disapproved of because he said that those were very capable people of helping themselves if they put in the same amount of work that he and his family did. So Stan went to the soup kitchen to stop his wife, and as she was serving someone soup Stan interrupted and said I stirred that soup therefore it is mine. This ideology that Stan had very much coincides with the Locke's ideology of property.

Locke's theory of property is that the only thing that you own is your body, your body produces labor therefore whatever you put your labor into that becomes your property. Therefore what Locke is stating is that everything on earth is of common use and belongs to everyone, it is not until someone puts their labor into an object and that object becomes that person's property. Thus in this case the only thing that Stan owned was his body and his body produced labor by stirring the soup therefore that soup became Stan's property. Although the soup kitchen is a communal place for homeless or needy families, if Stan wanted to charge the people at the soup kitchen for stirring the soup than he could simply because he instilled his labor into it. In Locke's theory his ideology is that money is a form of stored labor that a person has and can be used in order to gain property.

In life we encounter Locke's theory daily, for example, when we purchase vegetables from a local farmer, those vegetables become ours, although the farmer has put his labor into the crops we used our money to purchase them which makes it our property. Can you think of something that you do that relates to Locke's theory?

Aristotle in the News

According to Aristotle he believes that there is the greater pleasure in doing a kindness or service to friends, guest, and/or companions, with this being said there is no greater time then right now to adopt this belief into ones life, with the earthquake that occurred in Haiti. It is best to share or give something that you have to someone in need, when a person has the means to share i.e., food, clothing, money, and/or time. When a person gives to someone in need from their heart it is the most fulfilling and pleasurable feeling, and it makes that person that is giving an even more virtuous person, which is something that we all strive to be. In a perfect world everyone would assist the people of Haiti right now in their time of need, however we do not live in a perfect world and there is that thing called reality, which makes us realize that everyone does not strive to be virtuous, caring, and selfless. I can only question that if everyone felt and conducted themselves this way where would we be as a people, considering that we all are have been given something by someone else in life rather it be food, clothing, money, shelter, or even the kind words of inspiration or compliment of someone. Maybe this is what gives us our individuality, and what separates the caring and selfish.