Ethics is a requirement for human life. It is our means of deciding a course of action. Without it, our actions would be random and aimless. There would be no way to work towards a goal because there would be no way to pick between a limitless number of goals. Even with an ethical standard, we may be unable to pursue our goals with the possibility of success. To the degree which a rational ethical standard is taken, we are able to correctly organize our goals and actions to accomplish our most important values. Any flaw in our ethics will reduce our ability to be successful in our endeavors.   Philosophy can be used to help convince people that you are right, and (sometimes, when it's done correctly, and depending on your opponent's view) that they are wrong. For example, if you want a raise from your boss, if you know what good reasons are, such as increasing the sales of the company, the quality of the product, the efficiency of the company, etc., and how to show the way in which these elements are vital to the company's well-being, you would stand a better chance of getting a raise than if you were to argue with your boss using bad reasons, such as: "My poor family cannot live on my salary alone, and I really need to have more money or "If you don't give me a raise, I'm going to quit and take my friends with me." The reason the first appeal (about your poor family) is a bad one, is that it is an appeal to pity or emotion, and if you haven't benefited the company lately, then it doesn't really matter if your family is going hungry “it is not the company's responsibility to feed your family" (it's yours).   The second appeal ("I'm quitting ) is an appeal to force. The company should not give you a raise out of fear because you're threatening it; the company should give you a raise because your work merits it. In short, if you have a job (are looking for one, or even if you do not), philosophy can help you argue well for your position. And in order to be able to argue well for your position, you need to think. As just one of its many specializations, philosophy contains the study of ethics, which is the study of happiness and how best to attain it (or indeed if and how that is possible). The main questions of ethics are "What is happiness?  and "How should I live? There are, as you might guess, many and