Nagel: Introduction to Philosophy – Part 3: Right and Wrong 

Thomas Nagel – A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy | Part 3: Right and Wrong

The chapter talks about what is right and wrong when a person has to decide if they should help someone find a hard-to-find book in the library. It looks at different parts of being good and asks important questions about what is right or wrong and if moral rules apply to everyone.

It says that calling something bad is not just about following rules. There may be rules that are either not fair or do not make sense. Knowing what is right and wrong is different from simply following rules, and we should judge rules and actions separately. Ethical behavior is about how it affects others, not just the person doing it.

The passage also talks about how it is important to think about how our actions can hurt others, even if they do not know about it. It asks us to consider if it is right to help someone steal. This way of thinking comes from the "How would you feel?" argument, which explains how empathy works. It says it is important to not hurt others and to think about how we would feel if we were treated the same way.

In addition, it is about how where you come from influences what you think is right or wrong. It looks at the challenges of making fair moral decisions and asks if what is considered right or wrong can change in different societies and times. It also questions the idea that there is only one truth about what is right or wrong. The passage says that doing good things can make people happy, but being good is not always just about feelings. People are driven by different things, like what they like and knowing the importance of others.

I would probably not help a person steal an important book from the library. For me, the quality of the item is not important, but the ethical features of behavior.