Jackson Barry January 27, 2014 History Period 2 Belief System Belief Systems? Why?

? Imagine a place where people were not taught moral values and did not know right from wrong. People would not know what to live for, and there would be chaos. What if people did not know why they were put on this planet and did not know the importance of themselves? For example, when the Romans lost moral value, everything started to go wrong. People did not know who/what to believe in, and everything deteriorated. This is the product of not having anything to believe in or anything to pray/hope for. A belief system is so important to a civilization, and a civilization would not be able to survive, nevertheless thrive, without a belief system. A belief system shares moral values and tells people what is right and what is wrong. It also gives people an idea why they are important to their civilization. A belief system is essential to a thriving civilization because people would not know the difference between right and wrong with one. In order to better understand the importance of belief systems within a civilization and how they can influence the actions and decisions of a people, please consider the following moral dilemma:

A Callous Passerby Roger Smith, a skillful swimmer, is out for a leisurely stroll. During the course of his walk he passes by a deserted pier from which a teenage boy who apparently cannot swim has fallen into the water. The boy is screaming desperately for help. Smith recognizes that there is absolutely no danger to himself if he jumps in to save the boy; he could easily succeed if he tried. Nevertheless, he chooses to ignore the boy's cries. "Why should I inconvenience myself for this kid," Smith says to himself, and passes on.

If Roger Smith were a Buddhist, then his belief (Buddhism) would help him in deciding what he should do in this situation. The Eightfold Path contains the rules/principles for Buddhism and explains what a person should do. The Eightfold Path then relates to the Four Noble Truths, which explains suffering. According to Frey, the Eightfold Path states, Right Purpose: Live a life of selflessness (not selfishness), love, and nonviolence (159). Frey is saying that Roger should save the boy. He should save the boy because Buddhists believe in a life of selflessness, which suggests the man should save the boy. Also the Eightfold Path mentions, Right Effort: Promote good actions and prevent evil actions (Frey 159). The Eightfold Path is telling Roger to save the boy because he has to promote good actions, according to the Buddhist way of life. If Mr. Smith were a Buddhist, he would save the child. If Roger Smith were a Hindu then his belief (Hinduism) would help guide Roger Smith to make the decision if he should save the boy or not. Mr. Smith would save the boy because he would not want bad karma. As Frey states, Souls were rewarded or punished for the good and evil they had done (149). Karma is all the good and bad added up in your life, and you are reincarnated in a higher, or lower class. Mr. Smith would not want bad karma, because he would not want to be reborn into a lower class or even as an animal. Also Mr. Smith would save the boy because he would follow his Dharma. One rule of Dharma is to follow your duties. He would jump in and save the boy because that would be following a duty. Although Buddhists believe in right effort and purpose, Hindus believe in karma and dharma. If Mr. Smith were a Hindu, he would save the child because of dharma and karma. If Roger Smith were practicing Confucianism, he would save the boy because he would want done to him what he would do to the boy. As Confucius states, Do not do to other what you would not done to you (Frey 208). This is saying that Mr. Smith should not do to the boy what he does not want done to him. For example, if Mr. Smith were drowning, he would not want someone to walk by him and ignore him. While Buddhists believe in right purpose and effort, Confucians believe in not doing what you dont want done to you. This is the main idea that Confucians value.

If Mr. Smith were a Confucian, he would save the boy because he would not want the boy to do the same for him if he were drowning. As you can see, belief systems are essential for civilizations because they teach moral values. Without moral values, civilizations would not be able to know the right from wrong. The civilization of Jacksonopolis wants to be known for these three things: humor, fitness, and health. Humor would keep the civilization running because it would put smiles on peoples faces, even in bad times. Fitness would be important because it would keep people in shape and let the civilians have fun by playing sports. Lastly, health would be crucial for the civilization of Jacksonopolis. It would be crucial because it would keep people healthy and fewer people would die in the civilization. In Confucianism, Confucians are taught to respect themselves. In the civilization of Jacksonopolis, fitness is one of the major values and that is like respecting yourself because you are keeping your body healthy. Belief systems are so important for a civilization to thrive.