Utilitarianism Vs Cultural Ethical Relativism Essays -

Utilitarianism Vs Cultural Ethical Relativism Utilitarianism is an example of Consequentialist Ethics, where the morality of an action is determined by its accomplishing its desired results. In both scenarios the desired result was to save the lives of thousands of people in the community. Therefore, a Utilitarian would say that the actions taken in both of the scenarios are moral. Since an (Act) Utilitarian believes that actions should be judged according to the results it achieves. Happiness should not be simply ones own, but that of the greatest number. In both scenarios, the end result saved the lives of 5,000 members of the community. The end result is the only concern and to what extreme is taken to reach this result is of no matter. In these instances the things that are lost are an Inmates religious beliefs or a mothers fetus, on the other hand Thousands of citizens were saved from dying from this disease. In the Scenario I, a Utilitarian would view the inmate as having a higher sense of moral obligation. From a Utilitarian perspective, the inmate should have acted out of a general desire to do what is right for the benefit of all, not simply for his own happiness, even if it meant going against his religion. The Utilitarian would also view the prison officials behavior as moral. This is because one man endured the pain and suffering, but from that, 5,000 other people had much happier lives. Even if the inmate had eventually killed himself, a Utilitarian would still view the acts as moral. In Scenario II, it is more difficult to discern exactly what an (Act) Utilitarian would say about the morality of the choices made since these choices bring pain in suffering to a greater number of people. The loss of three fetuses, that were not otherwise going to be aborted, would have a tremendous effect on many people. The mothers and their families would experience a great deal of pain and suffering over this loss. However, when weighed with the happiness brought to thousand of cured people, a Utilitarian would say the acts were moral. Since utilitarianism states that in any situation where there is a moral choice to make, the right thing to do is that which is likely to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. (B) Since different cultures have different moral practices, it is necessary to specify the culture under examination here. In American culture, and specifically within the 5000 member community, a CER would not take exception to the violation of the convicts religious culture in order to secure his blood. In Scenario 1 the CER could argue that the convict was standing for what was morally right for him and the entire Christian Science religion. Since to refrain from any medical treatment for fear of meddling with gods ultimate plan is their moral practice, and although this may have differed from the other 5000 in the community, the action of performing the transfusion was immoral to the Christian Science religious culture. In contrast to the numbers that could dying due to acting morally, for the culture of the community as a whole it was a moral action risking one individuals personal morals to save the entire population of the community. The CER might see the community as a culture a nd everyone within that community as having the same moral values, since the inmate was a part of that community these morals by undergoing medical intervention by having a blood transfusion and saving the community was the more moral action. (C) The Utilitarian position is not entirely correct in my opinion. One implication of Utilitarianism is that every time one makes a decision, one tries to take into account all the possible results of that action. But those results will be constantly changing, since everything that happens continues to have repercussions that are not known at the time. In which case, there can never be a moment at which it is possible to say that the amount of happiness caused will definitely outweigh the amount of harm. One is never in a position to know with absolute certainty the relative amounts of happiness or pain that any action will cause.

Wutherin Heights Essays - British Films, English-language Films

Wutherin Heights Essays - British Films, English-language Films Wutherin Heights Through the duration of Heathcliffs life, he encounters many tumultuous events that affects him as a person and transforms his rage deeper into his soul, for which he is unable to escape his nature. From the beginning of the novel and most likely from the beginning of Heathcliffs life, he has suffered pain and rejection. When Mr. Earnshaw brings him to Wuthering Heights, he is viewed as a thing rather than a child. Mrs. Earnshaw was ready to fling it out the doors, while Nelly put it on the landing of the stairs hoping that it would be gone the next day. Without having done anything to deserve rejection, Heathcliff is made to feel like an outsider. Following the death of Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff suffers cruel mistreatment at the hands of Hindley. In these tender years, he is deprived of love, friendship, and education, while the treatment from jealous Hindley is barbaric and disrupts his mental balance. He is separated from the family, reduced to the status of a servant, undergoes regular beatings and forcibly separated from his soul mate, Catherine. The personality that Heathcliff develops in his adulthood has been formed in response to these hardships of his childhood. The final sense of alienation and the most implicating occurs with Catherines marriage to Edgar, Heathcliff considers this a betrayal of his love for her, since she wants the social status and existence at the Grange. Heathcliff is however proud and determined and does not cower when opposed by those consider themselves to be superiors. Finally, when he realizes that Catherine has chosen status, wealth and position over him, he disappears for three years and returns in the manner of a gentleman. As he returns to Wuthering Heights, he is engulfed with this passion to revenge himself on all those who have abused him as a child. He ruins Hindley by encouraging his excessive drinking and gambling. His revenge is also directed towards Edgar Linton, whom he sees as having stolen Catherine from him. His sullen, vengeful, cruel and impatient characteristics still exist, which have been present since childhood, but have grown deeper. He is, in reality, a man torn between love and hate. Since his depths of his passions, he hates as deeply as he loves. As Heathcliff approaches death and a reunion of Catherine, he no longer has an interest for revenge. He falls deeply into a spiritual torment. Heathcliff is a many faced character, in his early years he is characterizes by his hot temper, his irritability, his fierce attachment to Catherine and his limit for hatred. The adult Heathcliff, who returns to Wuthering Heights after a three year absence, is a powerful villain driven by revenge, distorted by the sense of the wrongs done to him and made emotionally unstable by Catherines marriage. This later Heathcliff is characterized by coldness by an incapacity to love and ultimately by consuming passion for revenge against those who have abused him and for connection with his beloved Catherine. Just as he begins life, he ends life as an unloved, lonely outsider.

Quotes from Harry S Truman

Quotes from Harry S Truman Harry S Truman served as the 33rd president of the United States during the end of World War II. Following are key quotes from Truman during his time as president. On War, the Military, and The Bomb In the simplest terms, what we are doing in Korea is this: We are trying to prevent a third world war. If there is one basic element in our Constitution, it is civilian control of the military. Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima...The force from which the sun draws its powers has been loosed against those who brought the war in the Far East. It is part of my responsibility as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces to see to it that our country is able to defend itself against any possible aggressor. Accordingly, I have directed the Atomic Energy Commission to continue its work on all forms of atomic weapons, including the so-called hydrogen or  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹super-bomb. The Soviet Union does not have to attack the United States to secure domination of the world. It can achieve its ends by isolating us and swallowing up all our allies. On Character, America and The Presidency A man cannot have character unless he lives within a fundamental system of morals that creates character. America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. Within the first few months, I discovered that being a President is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed. Its a recession when your neighbor loses his job; its a depression when you lose yours.

India class structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

India class structure - Essay Example The ruling class or the dominant class is the most important and the most benefitted class. The dominant class determines the utilization of the economic surplus and majorly comprises of business bourgeoisie, rich landlords, politicians etc. Lying between these two extremes is the middle class who benefit partially from the growing economy and who also are major contributors to the labor force of the country. Another major important point of difference between the three is their contribution to the working force. The lower classes that provide most of the man power are engaged in physical work whereas the middle classes are engaged in most of the work that involves the government and private sectors and are huge contributors to the economy. The higher classes hold positions of importance but this class particularly contributes much less manpower but are particularly responsible for controlling and management of the other classes below it. The primary factor responsible for the three different class systems in India is determined by the economic surplus and the growing economy of the country and the contributions of each class too depends on the development and fully fledged of the annual

Book and Movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Book and Movie - Essay Example Discussed below is the impact of hazardous waste on the environment, regulations of municipal and industrial waste, possible interventions to environmental degradation in relation to the movie and the novel. The world’s population is steadily increasing due to improved access to health care and technological advancements in the healthcare sector. These in turn reduced infant mortality and prolonged the estimated lifespan of both males and females. The rapidly increasing population generates large amounts of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. In the US, a 2012 study done by the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed that the US population generated 251 million tons of municipal waste recycling only 34.5% (87 million tons). EPA’s estimates propel the US to the top of the list with regard to highest waste output per person. The high waste output automatically strains existing waste management measures instituted by both the federal and state governments. As a result, common to all states are landfills scattered all over each state containing heaps of non-biodegradable waste, which contributes to the rapid degradation of the environment. Worsen ing the situation, is the large amounts of industrial waste output from the vast number of industries operating in the US. In her novel, Paretsky (40) contrasts Chicago’s polluted industrial districts with the posh Coast. Apted’s depiction of the rolling mountains and scenic backdrop in the Native American reservation in South Dakota contrasted against the rusting automobiles and dilapidated houses mirrors Paretsky’s description. Due to the hazardous nature of industrial waste, the government’s way of managing industrial waste differs from the management of municipal waste. Legislative directives compel industries to find suitable methods of disposing their waste guaranteed not to pollute the environment. For example, unsanctioned dumping of

I-phone and I-teach Essay Example for Free

I-phone and I-teach Essay The highly anticipated and much celebrated release of the newest and perhaps hippest cellular phone on the market has spurred a number of discussions on the applicability of these devices to other forums. With an increasingly large number of prepubescent teens and children carrying cellular phones everywhere they go, a number of educators have begun to inquire as to its applicability as a teaching aid while there are some who argue that cellular phones have no place in today’s educational institutions. There is certainly no clear yes or no answer to this issue and instead it is important to arrive at a certain compromise in order to resolve this issue. There are basically two schools of thought behind this issue, the pros and the cons. The first argues that the changing times and evolving technology necessitate the use of these new devices in order to improve educational methods and take advantage of the ever decreasing attention span of students with regard to traditional teaching methods. The second school of thought, on the other hand, argues that the older methods which have been tested and tried are always better and thus these distractions (cellular phones) should be strictly kept out of classrooms. In order to, however, come up with a reasonable discourse concerning this topic it is first important to examine just how these devices have affected classroom activities. â€Å"Cell phones connect friends and families. In a moment, across the country or oversees a parent can call his son to see whether he is doing alright†. Businessmen can make their business deals and get everything done when away from office. Newer programs event take advantage of the cameras that most of today’s cellular phone models have by allowing one to take a picture of a page and have that file converted into a document that can be edited as reported in the October 29, 2007 issue of Newsweek entitled, â€Å"How to Make the Cellular Phone a Portable Scanner. † (Ellison, 2007, p. 1) In the same way that businessmen take advantage of the ever increasing conveniences that cellular phones have provided, students at schools all over the country communicate frequently with each other through the use of cell phones and this is the case of concern for most of the country’s school administrators (Armbruster-Sandoval, 2005, p. 64) The first school of thought, as presented earlier, argues that instead of banning these cellular phones from classrooms, an alternative can be reached. There is no need to reject this technology advancement but rather there is a need to embrace it and take advantage of it. With the average classroom attention span in the United States dropping, more and more educators have come to realize that there is a pressing concern to come up with new methods of teaching that is able to reach out to these children and one of these solutions is the cellular phone. In response to this, however, detractors have argued that this instant method of communication has its own drawbacks as well. Cellular phones are said foster interpersonal relationships as opposed to direct communication which provides a certain level of personal interaction. The essential factor or edge of having the instructor or teacher personally present to ensure that the student is able to learn will certainly be diminished by using cellular phones as a mode of conveying lessons and learning modules. The second bone of contention with regard to cellular phone use in the classrooms has arisen out of the recent traumatic events that have rocked the American educational institutions. The Columbine tragedy and even perhaps 9-11 have made parents more concerned over the safety of their children and have demanded that schools allow the children to bring these devices into the classroom. In response to this rising safety issue, more and more schools in the United States have begun lifting the ban on cellular phones in classrooms (Shaw, 2005, p. 1). When Mayor Bloomberg banned cellular phones from New York public schools, most of the uproar that resulted from the institution of that policy came, not from the school children as previously anticipated, but rather from concerned parents who argued that the lack public payphones in the area made it more dangerous for their children (Williams, 2006, p. 1). While certainly it may not have an effect on the lessons that these students learn in classroom, it does affect the quality of education a child may receive since a concerned parent may relocate the child to safer place which may not provide as good a quality of education as the previous school. While there is certainly no doubt that the safety of children is of the highest priority, there is also a need to educate today’s youth if they are to stand a chance of surviving in this world. Another issue that has been presented is that cell phones lead to the deterioration of writing skills as the use of the text messaging feature leads to what has been termed txt-lingo. For some, â€Å"text messages, a popular phone feature has affected the English language† â€Å"That is (that the use of) abbreviated messages has also affected the use of vowels† (Silin, 1999, p. 20). This issue has even been made worse by the fact that the new dictionaries or rather predictive text feature on cellular phones make it easier for students to just tap away at the keypad with the phone doing the corresponding spelling changes. The loss of not only personal but grammatical communication skills is indeed an issue which must be tackled in response to the topic on whether or not children should be allowed to bring cellular phones into the classroom. It is important to remember, however, that even though the above argument may present a grain of truth, learning is simply much more that just missing vowels and spelling. Education has never been confined to the teaching of English but rather even to the discussion of the propriety of bringing cellular phones into the classrooms (Shaw, 2005, p. 1). As such, to even argue that cellular phones should not be brought into the classrooms because it leads to bad spelling skills would be totally disregard the other benefits that can be derived from the use of such a device. Benefits such as being able to send images of certain objects that may be used for a lively and scholarly discussion in class, encouraging discourses between students over certain topics and certainly the building of foundations for the educational improvement of today’s youth, far outweigh the simple problem of lacking vowels which can be easily remedied (Shaw, 2005, p. 1). Perhaps the answer to this problem lies in the students themselves who use these devices as argued be certain concerned parents. There are some parents, who can claim that their children are very responsible, and they know when to put on or put off the cell phone and therefore should be allowed to use cell phones even in schools (Fretcher, 2000, p. 69). According to Armbrustor-Sandoval, â€Å"Teenagers have learned to heavily rely on cell phones† thus transforming this into a serious issue. This is why the government is contemplating on banning cellular phones in not only classrooms but inside campuses as well. Banning cellular phones in most educational institutions is a good idea but some exceptions should be allowed since cellular phones can be used in reporting emergencies and the like (Armbrustor-Sandoval, 2005, p. 71). If parents cannot control their own children with regard to the use of cellular phones in education institutions, the question that begs to be asked therefore is whether or not the government is more qualified to make that decision and enforce is it for the students. There is no doubt from this brief discussion that there are indeed a number of pros and cons concerning this issue. On one hand, allowing the use of cellular phones promotes the safety of students and minimizes the concern that parents naturally have over their children and at the same time, the use of cellular phones presents new opportunities to extend teaching to beyond the confines of the classroom. The cons of this issue can be basically be summarized in a single thought which is the concern over the deterioration of quality of education a child will receive in an environment which may no longer be perceived as conducive for teaching if the use of cellular phones is allowed. Cellular phones have improved dramatically over the last few years. With the rate of technological advancement today, it is not far off into the future when cellular phones will be able to do certain things that were but unimaginable in the present. The question, however, is whether or not all these advances will remain to be benefits for just a certain group or if they can be used to improve every aspect of life (as most of the cellular phones are currently trying to do i. e. I-phone). The benefits and drawbacks are certainly very clear. The problem for the government and most educational policy makers is on how to balance these benefits and drawbacks so as to be able to take full advantage of the situation (Shaw, 2005, p. 1). As such, the only solution that remains is coming up with a well thought out cellular phone policy for the school in order for them to be able to continue to reflect the society which they serve. References: Armbrustor-Sandoval, R (2005): Is Another World possible? Is another classroom possible? Radical pedagogy. Activity and social change; social justice, vol. 32 Foust, R. C. , Soukup, C. (2006); Do I Exist? Transcendent subject and secrets in the sixth sense; Western Journal of communication, Vol. 70. Fretcher, H. G. (2000); Power up, Don’t Power Down: Barring students form cell phones, my space, and other communication technologies. Once they enter, the classroom is the wrong approach. A better move would be integrating. Those tools into instructions; The journal (Technological Horizons in Education), Vol. 33 Luke, A. D. (2005); Getting the big picture; community science. Methods that capture context; American journal of community psychology Vol. 35. Shaw, Katherine (2005) Students and Cell Phones: Controversy in the Classroom from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/4903/students_and_cell_phones_controversy.html

Don’t Shoot the Sheriff: An overview of Rastafarians and the Legal System :: essays papers

Don’t Shoot the Sheriff: An overview of Rastafarians and the Legal System Rastafarianism is a way of life†¦ for many it is the only way of life. Growing up under a certain religion instills varying values and understandings into one’s moral fiber. These values are what shape a human’s character. In some countries, the government is trying to tell these peaceful people to disregard their upbringing and to conform to alien ways. Every religious sect has its own traditions and historical rituals that they abide to. In religions, almost everything has significance to it. And anyone concerned about the future of his/her religion, will continue to ensure that these traditions are followed, to preserve their own way of life. Now, most countries have religious freedom clauses in their constitutions that state that anyone living on their soil has the right to practice the religion of their choice. Now this might seem a minuscule fact for someone of a common religion, but to someone of a minority religion, this is all the protection they have from the legal system. This paper is only a taste of the justices and injustices that Rastafarians have faced in legal systems across the globe. Some instances a loophole for the "misfortunate", others an outcry from the oppressed. Every country’s legal system has problems. Some problems are masked with legal terms. Theses are the hardest to overcome. The "land of the free" is what the United States is sometimes referred to as, but for some, this statement seems phonier than an Ed McMahon sweepstakes. In the U.S. case, Belgrave vs. Coughlin, an inmate of the Sing-Sing Correctional Institution in New York, claims his religious rights were revoked. Nekyon Belgrave, a Rastafarian, says the Department of Correctional Services ("DOCS" hereinafter) denied his request to wear his religious head covering known as a crown. A crown is a loose-knit, circular hat that covers the wearer’s dreadlocks (Anderson, 1). Belgrave’s appeal reached the Second Circuit where acting Justice Anthony A. Scaprino Jr. sent the matter back to DOCS saying they overlooked their own regulations denying Belgrave’s request. The matter had already been solved in the precedent of Benjamin vs. Coughlin, 905 F2d 571, where the Second Circuit had agreed with a lower court ruling that denying a Rastafarian’s request to wear a crown did not break the First Amendment, ruling that is was an interest of security (Anderson, 2). This precedent and an August 8, 1990 memorandum stating that regulations allowed the wearing of certain head-coverings, was enough to send the matter back into the hands of the DOCS.