Epilogo

I loved how Savater finished his writing. I think as a parent I would have said the same to my kids. I agree that by expressing his feelings in that way he's passing on how he lives ethics himself and at the same time he is able to transmit it to other generations.

I think we all try to do this the same way not just as parents but as teachers as well. Teaching with the example, speaking our minds whenever we have the opportunity to do so in front of a class in order to share experiences which might be profitale for others to know. As he mentions life is short, and it is a gift to be on the living side, and be willing to live life the best we can, choosing the best options we can think of and be open minded towards the future.

Chapter 10

I've always been quite reluctant towards politics, firstly because I do not know much about the subject and secondly because throughout my short life span voting and being able to choose people who helped organize our country, province or neighbourhood (in Savater's words) I've always felt disappointed.

Anyway, what Savater tries to put across is pretty true and the connection he shows between ethics and politics is real and acceptable. However, I think none of the points he metions politicians are supposed to carry on are so and in consequence, none of people's ethical considered actions are carried on either. Why? I believe it must be a circular story having consequences in others actions because what others did first and so on and so forth.

What I do agree with, is that ethics has to do with choosing well within one's freedom, taking other individuals into account whatever action we perform , being conscious of the fact that if what we do may be harmful for others should not be done. So, having this idea in mind who teaches us to be ethical??? Politicians with their own example??? Neighbours??? Teachers??? Parents??? I can speak just for myself and on behalf my own experience and I think, the first steps in ethical behaviour, to give it a kind of name, is what we receive at home and how the people who raise us , parents, grandparents, etc... give us examples of good living. As we grow, we can tell the differnce between ethical and non ethical actions according to our own background. It seems quite simple and there must be many exceptions, for as Savater says, we are all "unique", so there are millions of unique examples, theories, and ways of living to take into account. However,after all the reading , and according to my unique, personal conclussion, I think there is something which must be shared in common for every single person and that is living one's life, taking into account there are millions of people who share this planet with us, and no matter their race, religion or personal believes they all have the same right as us to live their good life too and "that" should be solemnely respected.

Chapter 8

I totally agree with Savater, the answer is as simple as¨ happiness¨. Anyway as simple as it might seem, it is one of the most difficult things to experience and keep! For not anyone learns to find simple happiness in simple things. Sometimes we, humans chase some objective we think will bring happiness and on the contrary we do not find what we are looking for. It is another skill we learn while living, learning to find happiness everyday in simple things, aware of not beeing extremist with things.

Chapter 7

So many thoughts lurk into my mind after this chapter. Phrases sucha as: humanization, human treatment, reinforcement of humanity, giving and receiving... all of them bring a different reflexion to develop. Anyway, in order to organize these thoughts and clarify my ideas in order to make mysel clear enough, the most important comment which is extremelely relevant and why not the key of this controvertial topic which is ¨ethics¨in this chapter and throughout the book as well is : ¨how important it is to be able to place oneself in the other´s shoes.¨ Why? Simply to able to understand one another´s actions better, to reason out different people´s behaviour, to try to be more simphathetic towards those things we have prejudices against and to become more interested in living this good life Savater talks about.

Now, what a task! I guess the first thing we need to make this come true is GOOD WILL and GREAT INTEREST, and these elements do not come through osmosis but working a little on them every single day.

Chapter 6

Two main points called my attention and self reflexion after reading this chapter.

On the one hand, I wondered a lot about this question of ¨moral stupidity¨that Savater talks about. I reflect upon those kids at school who want to be loved, taken care of , and be paid attention to but they do not get these things thoughout their actions. In fact, they do things just to get the opposite: be disliked by others and even become unbearable at times. So, I think, how wise we need to be to read these actions a little further and react in consequence! A really difficult tast a teacher has to be ale to perform when it comes to education these days!

On the other hand, Savater refers to our own freedom as regards feeling ¨remorseful¨andwhen I read this I feel we are going back to the starting point: ¨decision¨, learning how to choose our ¨good life¨, which is not an easy task either, however, it is the way we are supposed to live. I do believe that experiencing different events in life, will give us wisdom to be able to tell whether to choose one thing or otherans even if we choose wrongly, we have to learn something out of that wrong decision. After all, as Borges said: ¨no man has lived in completely favorable times¨.

Chapter 5

I guess Savater wants to make a point in this question of ¨living the good life¨making it clear that material things are just a tiny part of this good life. However, deeper elements, such as moral values, human relations, giving to and receiving from others, respecting our peers are part of the growth of human race and are also things that are part of our way of living, while material things might change our mood, be temporary or permanent but not the most important expectation in life.

Chapter 4

I think what Savater tries to convey in this chapter has to do with our ¨freedom¨and our ¨responsibility as regards freedom.¨ What I am able to reflect upon this , is learning to live the best we can, taking our time to take decisions and building self'-confidence so as to feel satisfied with the things we choose and with what we decide to do with our lives. As Savater explains, this does not mean ¨doing the first thing that comes to our minds¨but thinking very well before deciding on the different options we come across.

On the other hand, he mentions culture and language as part of this difficult process of ¨having a good life¨. I think it is a process because not everyone learns at the same time and we all need to go through different experiences so as to learn some lessons as human beings.

Chapter 3

I totally agree on this matter of taking a decision being aware that we are not only doing so but also accepting the consequences of it. However, when it comes to this broad issue of considering a person as ¨good or bad¨, Savater explains in his point of view, that nobody can tell whether a person is good or not. He says a human being can be good at something or doing something but he makes a point in that as it is not known what human beings are for, it is difficult to determine who acts well or not. I personally do not agree with him or at least I do not agree with what I understood from this chapter. He does not take into account religious matters, so that those who follow a religioius doctrine: are or not included when he says that it is not known what human beings are for? As far as I am concerned, those who believe in God and have a faithful life have some clear ideas of what is ¨good or bad¨to do as a human being.

Chapter 2

In this second chapter, the author wries about the different behaviour a person may have in a given situation. He makes a clear distinction among reacting to a situation which ¨orders, customs or whimps.¨He also explains that these kinds of reactions depend on the moment at wich we need to make decisions and how we feel at that precise moment. I elierve that what the author wants to the reader to reflect upon is in how conscientous we are when we make a decision to sort out a problem in a given situation. Do we make a decision just thinking of what the normal or frequent procedure would be, or do we decide what we usually do in that kind of situation?
Now, what happens when we come across a problem or difficulty we have never experienced before and the solution depends entirely on our reaction ? How do we define what the best thing to do is? Savater explains, based on a clear example, that sometimes what we thinfk is not an appropriate solution to a problem can turn to be the other way about.

I feel he wants to make the reader aware and reflect upon being a bit more open minded when it coms to choosing or preferring an option.

Chapter 1

Reflecting upon the first chapter , a key word that comes to my mind is ¨freedom.¨Freedom to choose among the different options or to make decisions at critical moments. As regards education,I believe teachers must be wise enough when they have to take decisions at the right time, which is not as easy as it seems. Who can tell what the best decision is? I do think that common sense, firm conviction on one´s decisions and experience are important ingredients when it comes to ¨deciding¨what the best thing to do is. This also involves learning from our everyday asserts and mistakes , being aware that what works for a person does not work for another. As the say goes: ¨one man´s meat is another man´s poison.¨

Etica para Amador ' Prologue'

My first impression after reading the prologue of the book was admiration for this author who wrote a book on Ethics not just as a writer but as a father as well.

It was really meaningful to me as a reader , but as a mother and teacher mainly, this question of people begging for 'attention' in their actions and how important our reaction towards them it is. I wonder how much we understand when analysing a person´s behaviour. Do we really understand or have a slight notion of what they want to express or show through their acts? And more important still, are we able to do so or we just see the surface of what people show and do not try to go deeper?