What Kind Of Person Would You Like To Be?

What is a person's character? How would you descibe your character? How would a friend descibe your character? How would you descibe that friends character? If you died today, in fact right this moment, how would someone describe your character?

A dictionary might define character as ones attributes and traits. Ones moral or ethical strength. What about weaknesses? What determines moral or ethical strength?

Utilitarianism would say, "Everyone is obligated to do whatever will achieve the greatest good for the greatest number." Kantism would say, "Everyone is obligated to act only in ways that respect the human dignity and moral rights of all persons."

Would that mean my morals and ethics are determined by my environment or geographic culture? Should I lie for the good of many? Or Should my character be shaped by universal principles?

Some claimed emphasis on moral principles smacks of a thoughtless and slavish worship of rules, as if the moral life was a matter of scrupulously checking our every action against a table of do's and don'ts.

Obsession with principles and rules emphasis on principles ignores a fundamental component of ethics 'virtue'. By focusing on what people should do or how people should act, the "moral principles approach" neglects the more important issue 'what people should be'. In other words, the fundamental question of ethics is not "What should I do?" but "What kind of person should I be?"

How would you describe a persons character? How would you want others to describe your character? What kind of person would you like to be?