Reflection VIII: The Reflection To End All Reflections 

11/03/2019 

Amongst us stands two men. One man says “The ends justify the means; no 

matter whose feelings I hurt, I must accomplish what I set out to do by any means 

necessary.” The other man looks upon this man with disgust. He exclaims “the well being 

of every man must be put above all else!” He continues on saying, “this other man is 

responsible for our shortcomings in life, he does not care about us; only himself!” All 

of us fall into one of these two categories of morality; slave or master. These two 

concepts are subject to change; one or both of these moralities can appear parallel to the 

other. We as students look up to those more educated than us; especially in the fields we 

want to go into. I, for one, look up to doctors and pharmacists; as this is the profession 

I want to go into. Anytime I see or speak to a doctor, I can’t help but feel inferior to 

them. They present a master morality, and I feel inclined to have a slave morality. On 

the other hand, anytime I am with someone who has not been to college, or is a 
subordinate at work, I display a master morality. They are not as experienced or educated 

as I am, so they look up to me, and I, in a sense, look down on them. I want them to see 

me as a “noble,” the same way I see doctors as nobles.  

When Christ resisted the three temptations by the devil, he gave us freedom of 

choice. This was not a gift; to some it’s considered a curse. Some would much rather have 

security, than have to make decisions for themselves. We would find a sense of happiness 

in not having to make our own choices. So this begs the question; is it better to have 

this feeling of happiness by having security in our life, knowing the right choices are 

being made for us, or is it better to be on our own, in search of our own happiness by our 

own choices. My first thought, of course, was that to have definite happiness would be 

ideal. Is this truly happiness though? What would be the point of being on this earth if we 

were controlled by a superior being? Whether I choose to accept it or not, I do believe we 

need free will to justify our existence. If we were controlled by God, then why would he 

control someone to no believe in him; to use his name in vain? We as humans are 
searching for true happiness. This is what makes our lives worth living. I do believe that 

our power of free will being revoked in certain situations is fine. There are some 

instances where being in control would harm ourselves and end our lives or other’s 

lives much sooner than it should. ​Free will is a gift to justify our existence, yet it is also 

a curse because many of us will never find true happiness.