Carl Kafka                                                                                                      Honor

On a broad scale, honor is simply doing what someone believes is right. Being honest to oneself about ones values and acting with these values in mind allows individuals to do what they think is right. Although many different people have contrasting values, all one can do is to do what they think is right. There is no universal moral code. Different people across the world have different opinions about what is moral so the only thing people can do is to attempt to act with what they believe is moral. Some people inflict harm on others because they have different values that tell them to do this. Honor does not always have positive results for the world but the respect for individuals following their moral code is better then individuals who deviate from their moral code. The attempt to act on ones beliefs is respectable throughout all cultures. When a person demonstrates honor, it is one of the more inspirational actions. Believing in something that is greater then oneself and adhering to ones beliefs even over personal gain and interest. Acting when others are acting immorally is part of honor. If someone sees something they believe is wrong, like a person being mugged, they have an obligation to become involved. People put their body in danger like this because of they believe in adhering to their values at all times. In this sense, honor is very similar to integrity. Honor is to understand ones values and acting on them always.

Honor is also similar to loyalty. An honorable person remains faithful to whatever group they identify themselves with. In order to further the interests of these groups, people sometimes do things that some would consider immoral. This is especially true in places like Rome, Medieval Europe, and Shogun Japan. The protection of a group in which one is loyal to, sometimes a nation, can lead to violence. Unfortunately, if a society values violence and warfare, military expansion would be considered an honorable endeavor. Although honor can cause violence, it allows people within a society to cooperate and thrive. Honor within a society, creates a standard in which people act. This standardization creates strength and prosperity within a group. Without the standardization of values and actions society could not function and even if these communal values were in place, no one would follow them without honor. If people across the world believed in identical values, honor, or the adherence to values, would allow all people to be able cooperate. In other words, honor allows for increased cooperation within a type of community but sometimes causes conflict with other cultures. An example of this is the democratic peace theory, which states that democracies do not and have not fought against each other. Not only do they not fight each other but they also tend to trade and cooperate with each other. The reason for this is because they have similar values. Honor allows these people to follow their values. Fortunately most of humanity follows certain values that are innate in people. This is not true of all people, but most people have similar basic values such as murder is abominable. To a degree even these basic values are different but the similarities between all people allow for global interactions and cooperation. Although honor, as the definition of adhering to certain values, can lead to conflict, it can also lead to peace.