The good and the lesser good

A detailed Summary of The good and the lesser good


Barbara Harrison once said, "The toughest choices in life are not those between good and evil, but those between the good and the lesser good." She makes a good point given that those are the only types of choices that we must make. Sadly, there is a third type of decision that we fear the most, the decisions between the bad and the lesser bad. Distinguishing the lesser of two evils is far more difficult than identifying the greater of two goods.

Many times we are faced with situations where we are compelled to lie. Lying is wrong, but in many cases is less destructive than telling the truth. Take a police officer, for example, who has just apprehended a known criminal. He's taken away in an ambulance before the officer could finish reading his rights. In court the officer is asked if the criminal was read his rights in full. At this point the officer could either tell the truth and let the crimina


Often those decisions that we recall as the hardest decisions in our lives are those that force us to pick among several choices, all with unpleasant outcomes. We need to look past the small everyday decisions in life when deciding what is truly difficult. Although what Barbara Harrison said was true, she forgot to tell us that decisions between the bad and the worse are infinitely more difficult to make.

Although extremely unlikely, while possible, this situation invokes the most feared type of decision imaginable. Most people, including myself, would choose not to answer on the basis that it would never happen. It's only natural for us to avoid something that we are absolutely terrified of.

l get away or lie and have him put behind bars. In this case lying would be wrong, but telling the truth would be even worse.

Hypothetical situation: You are staying in a quaint, forest cabin with your family. An earthquake hits in the middle of the ni

Some common words found in the essay are:
Guilt It's, Barbara Harrison, India Save, Aaron Period, lying wrong, barbara harrison, decisions bad, type decision, lesser evils, telling truth,

Approximate Word count = 648
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • Comparing the good and the lesser good, based on a statement by ... Barbara Harrison once said, ampquotThe toughest choices in life are not those between good and evil, but those between the good and the lesser good.ampquot She makes a ... 644 words
  • The good and the lesser good1 ... Barbara Harrison once said, The toughest choices in life are not those between good and evil, but those between the good and the lesser good. She makes a ... 648 words
  • The Good and Bad of the Internet ... Wendy Lesser talks about the good points to the internet in her essay ampquotThe Conversationampquot were she points out how easy it is to keep in touch and communicate ... 741 words
  • The Lesser Evil ... Evil Barbara Harrison once said, ampquotThe toughest choices in life are not those between good and evil, but those between the good and the lesser good.ampquot She makes ... 648 words
  • Plotinus on Good and Evil ... weak. Why is it that men react so strongly against Evil if it is merely a lesser Good the face of simple nature itself The answer ... 1931 words

Professional Essays

  • Ethical Philosophy ... and evil. Instead, one chooses between good and good, or, in the familiar phrase, between the lesser of two evils. The history of ... 1965 words
  • Aquinasamp39 Proofs for Existence of God The purpose of this research ... ... And yet Aquinas seems rigorous in his application of reason and logic to the problem of explaining the greater or lesser good with reference to the existence ... 6145 words
  • Historical Speculations on Nature of Humankind ... Concepts of good and evil evolved. All remained tied, to greater or lesser degrees, to the religious orientation of the earlier stages of development still ... 1945 words
  • Aristotleamp39s Ideal State ... Each of these can also degenerate into a lesser form: monarchy into tyranny, aristocracy ... common interest to the degree that it contributes to the good life of ... 1545 words
  • PR in Sports Industry ... Whatever you do, assume the media will ultimately find out about it Lesser 14. ... experts argue that one of the biggest reasons for a lack of good PR among ... 1691 words
  • Nietzschean Conception of Ressentiment ... kingdoms so named but to the dominant power in society and the lesser element, the ... The meek and powerless have good reason to fear the strong and powerful, and ... 1535 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.