...Moral absolutism is the ethical belief that there are rules that are absolute and should be followed under all circumstances. Moral absolutist do not take into consideration the context of the act, as having the absolute rules allows them to judge the moral question fairly. Moral absolutism is a deontological belief. This means that there a set rules and one action must either be intrinsically right or wrong. Intrinsically wrong means there is no information or circumstances that can be provided to a wrong doing to make it right at all. Killing/ murder/ euthanasia is an example of something that is intrinsically wrong. Even if the person where slowly dying and were in large amounts of pain and asked you to help them by stopping they’re suffering, even done with the right intent to do something good, it is intrinsically wrong. Intrinsically wrong is the opposing of intrinsically wrong. In the eyes of a theist, absolute laws come from God. For Christians, the Ten Commandments are an example of absolutes. They believe that these are the laws that god told us to follow and so are absolute. The ten commandments reads ‘do not steal’, so for a Christian following the 10 commandments, stealing will always be wrong, even if it were the only option and you had to do so in order for you and a loved one to survive. Christians also follow a believed hierarchy of absolutes. There is a duty of god, then the duty to others and lastly the duty to property. ...
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...the widely held view of ethical relativism. Benedict writes, “Normality...is culturally defined,” and “the concept of the normal is properly a variant of the concept of [the] good” (Benedict [from“Anthropology and the Abnormal,]” qtd. in Rosenstand, p. 146*). So, in essence, what Benedict is saying is that what any culture or society deems to be good, right, or correct action and morally good, or at least morally appropriate, behavior will in fact be such with respect to that culture or society. This leaves the door open for a wide variety of ways of life, of ethical codes, of individual behavior to be acknowledged not only as acceptable, but also as morally good. By contrast, Christina Hoff Sommers (depicted on the left, above) argues that there are basic human virtues that are not relative to time, place, circumstance or situation. Sommers writes, “It is wrong to mistreat a child, to humiliate someone, to torment an animal. To think only of yourself, to steal, to lie, to break promises, And on the positive side: it is right to be considerate and respectful of others, to be charitable and generous.” (Sommers, qtd. in Rosenstand, p. 480*). You may want to read "Why Can't a Woman Be More Like a Man," an article written by Sommers published in the March/April, 2008 issue of The American, a publication of the American Enterprise Institute. You can link to this article by entering the "Garden of Feminist Ethics" located in the Center for Ethics & Moral Philosophy. Explore the distinctions...
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...Ethics is doing what is right even when there is no one looking. Also, Ethics is knowing the difference between right and wrong. Growing up, Ethics is a learned process in figuring out whether something should or should not be done. For instance, I know it is wrong to shoplift, that is having good ethics. Good morals are those looked upon positively by others and by society in general. A lack of morals would lead one to behave in a manner unacceptable to others or society. But, knowing it is wrong and still doing it, is immoral. Having good ethics can also mean being a person with good morals. It is ethical to obey the law whether the law is based on morals or not. For example, having car insurance is ethical and legal but not immoral. Going to work or school on time every day and doing what is asked of you is a good job ethics and study...
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...• Ethical Relativism • Moral Differences • Not everyone shares our idea of what constitutes decent/moral behavior. • What we believe to be immoral behavior in fact can be grounded in an ethical code. – 9/11 for example. Al-Qaeda’s code of ethics identify their action as morally justified and mandated • Terms • Moral nihilism – View that there are no morally right or wrong viewpoints, that the whole moral issue is a cultural game. – Neither your nor my opinion matter because there is no moral right or wrong. – Difficult to uphold because it’s extreme. • Terms • Moral skepticism – We can’t know if there are moral truths or not. – Problem, how do you make moral judgments • Moral subjectivism – Moral views are to each individual and we can’t know the inner states from one person to another. – Problem, this approach has no problem solving capability. • • Soft Universalism • Belief that deep down, despite cultural differences, there exist basic moral principles that can be agreed on. • Allows for problem solving capability between cultures and ideas. • Hard Universalism • AKA…Moral absolutism • Holds that there is one absolute and universal moral code • Most often supported by ethical theories. • Descriptive and Normative Ethics • Important terms for any ethical theory • Descriptive ethics – An ethical theory that merely describes what is seen as fact. – Describes what is actually done or thought • In the US it generally isn’t considered...
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...the operational activities of a business 9 Current ethical issues affecting business 10 Solutions 10 Understand business objectives from an ethical perspective 11 Explain how business objectives are affected by ethical considerations 11 Evaluate the implications for a business and its stakeholders to operate ethically 11 Value of Company 12 Solution in 1.3 effects on the value of Vinaphone: 12 Executive Summary Business ethics is concerned with the result that each decision affects operating-governance impact on others, both inside and outside the enterprise. It is also considering the rights and obligations of each individual, humanistic principles to be followed in the decision making process and the nature of the relationship between man and man. Vinaphone Company Telecom Services is a subsidiary of Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) activities in the field of mobile communication, providing services GSM, 3G, messaging, ... and many other fields. By researching the company, Vinaphone faced with two difficulties with ethics. So here is the task of writing a report on issues for companies to help them better understand the issues they are facing. Background Vinaphone mobile network is a mobile network using modern technology with GSM 100% of Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT). Vinaphone coverage 64/64 provinces and cities in Vietnam and international roaming connections to more than...
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...definition of the term argument. The purpose of an argument is to (Points : 4) explain complex ideas. win adherents to a position. refute the positions of other people. support or prove conclusions. Question 4.4. (TCOs 2, 3) In Chapter 2, we learned the meaning of inductive arguments. The support that the premises provide for the conclusion of an inductive argument is best described in terms of (Points : 4) valid or invalid. sound or unsound. provable or unprovable. strong or weak. Question 5.5. (TCO 1, 2) In Chapter 2, we learned the meaning of the three modes of persuasion, as defined by Aristotle. Logos refers to arguments based on (Points : 4) ethics and moral character. experiment and observations. passions and emotions. logic and reasoning. Question 6.6. (TCO 6) In Chapter 2, we learned how to analyze arguments. The first step in trying to understand arguments is to find the(Points : 4) nonargumentative materials attached to it . elements of confusion....
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...explain moral principles. It is concerned with the question of right or wrong in human behavior. It explains how men ought to behave and why it is wrong or right to behave in a certain way. Ethics weighs human actions or inactions on a moral scale to determine whether the action is morally good or morally bad. Thomas Hobbes on ethics explained it as the science of “virtue and vice.”1 Morality and ethics cannot be divorced. Morality is the basis of ethics, the latter is the explicit reflection on, and the systematic study of the former (Joseph Omoregbe 1993 p.3)2. How then do we decide what is morally right? Is it based on universal laws or divine instructions? Are laws truly universal? If they are not, how then can the rightness or wrongness of culturally divergent societies be determined? Philosophers agree and disagree in varied proportions on answers to these questions. It is normal if you disagree too. For the purpose of this paper, an attempt will be made to look into the concept of ethical relativism, its importance and areas of deviation from ethical absolutism. History of Ethical Relativism Though moral relativism did not become a prominent topic in philosophy or elsewhere until the twentieth century, it has ancient origins. In the classical Greek world, both the historian Herodotus and the sophist Protagoras appeared to endorse some form of relativism. The early Sophist Greek philosopher Protagoras provides an early philosophical precursor to modern Moral Relativism...
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...Alfred North Whitehead’s statement “What is morality in any given time and place? It is what the majority then and there happen to like, and immorality is what they dislike” (Solomon & Higgins, 2009, p.273). As for business, it can have ethical standards, even though businesses are not moral agents. This statement is true because to work well, any business has to incorporate an element of morality. Morality in business is evident when a company provides equal opportunities for all employees. As a result, morals in a business setting act as a guide for employees and managers to work conscientiously. The value of ethical standards in business is that it provides employment opportunities for potential personnel without putting into consideration such aspects as sex, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, nationality, and color. If business adopts the above ethical standards, it concurs with Whitehead’s statement of morality. The reason is that people will like this business and associate it with terms of work and consumer relations. In my opinion, the profit alone cannot be the bottom line of business, even though it is essential for any commerce to make a profit to prove that it is operating in the right direction. To be successful, business has to balance its goals and client service as vital aspects that contribute to a good return. The most significant goal of business is to make money, but there are other less tangible goals that are intrinsic. For instance, when business...
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...There are a several similarities and differences between the republican party and the democratic parties. The similarities include their purpose and their logos. The differences include their current view-points and the time the parties were made. There are a few similarities between the republican and democratic parties. One of the similarities is their purposes. Both the republican party and the democratic party are political parties. According to CliffsNotes, “The basic purpose of political parties is to nominate candidates for public office and to get as many of them elected (into seats in the government) as possible.” Another similarity between the republican and democratic party is their logo. The logos for the republican and democratic parties...
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...NORTHCENTRAL UNIVERSITY ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET Learner: LaChara S. Hill THIS FORM MUST BE COMPLETELY FILLED IN Please Follow These Procedures: If requested by your mentor, use an assignment cover sheet as the first page of the word processor file. The assignment header should include the Learner’s last name, first initial, course code, dash, and assignment number (DoeJXXX0000-1) justified to the left and the page number justified to the right. Keep a Photocopy or Electronic Copy of Your Assignments: You may need to re-submit assignments if your mentor has indicated that you may or must do so. Academic Integrity: All work submitted in each course must be the Learner’s own. This includes all assignments, exams, term papers, and other projects required by the faculty mentor. The known submission of another person’s work represented as that of the Learner’s without properly citing the source of the work will be considered plagiarism and will result in an unsatisfactory grade for the work submitted or for the entire course, and may result in academic dismissal. | | | |CJ7011-8 |Gabriele Suboch | | | ...
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...WHY SHOULD I BE MORAL? PLATO Jorge Mendieta •Meta-ethical positions -Nihilism -Absolutism -Relativism •Nihilists debate whether or not one can justify morality without appeal to religion •Certain people believe that one must appeal to God to support moral beliefs •Religious moralists argue that without God, life has no meaning and there is reason to be good or just •Secular moralists claim that morality is independent from God and religion. Pascal’s Wager •Blaise Pascal claimed that we do not need to have decisive proof of God’s existence in order to adopt a religious morality •Should we believe in God or not? •We can act as if God exists, or we can act as if God does not exist •Belief requires finite sacrifice for the infinite reward, while disbelief gets one finite rewards on the threat of infinite punishment •According to the diagram, in the absence of knowing whether God does or does not exist, we should act as if he does since the benefits ultimately outweigh the costs •“Why should we be moral when it is our self-interest to be immoral?” (Plato, 53) •Egoism is a challenge to morality •Two forms: Egoism Proper & Ethical Egoism •Egoists admit that occasionally it is in our interest to be moral ORIGIN OF JUSTICE •“They say that to do wrong is naturally good, to be wronged is bad, but the suffering of injury so far exceeds in badness the good of inflicting it that when men have done wrong to each other and suffered it, and have had a taste of both...
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...operate ethically 7 3.1 Assessment of the role of the company acting as moral agent: 8 3.2 Analysis of the development of mechanisms for achieving employee involvement and empowerment 9 Employee Involvement Model 9 4.1 Research a current ethical issue affecting your selected business: 10 4.2 Report on how this business could improve the ethics of their operations whilst meeting their objectives and ensuring good employer/employee relationships: 10 4.3 Design a suitable ethical code: 11 Task 1: Ethical Perspectives in Business ------------------------------------------------- 1.1 Business Ethics: Business ethics is knowing right from wrong in the workplace setting. It concerns the effects of products and the needs of people who have an interest in the company (called stakeholders). Business ethics also focuses on the well-being of everyone because of the power over society that modern businesses hold. Business ethics can be difficult to understand because there are many schools of thought that list different ways to be ethical. In attempting to understand business ethics, it's best to start with universal ethics and then move on to more specific ethical philosophies. ------------------------------------------------- 1.2 Absolute and Relative ethics Business Ethics reflects the behavioral aspects and a common culture which have been accustomed in any organization. It is a specialized branch focusing on how moral standards apply to business organizations and behavior. There are some...
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...requirement * Lecture & discussion (F2F) | Main text - Thiroux, Jacques P (2008) Ethics: Theory and Practice. 9thed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. | 1 | 4 | Topic 1: Introduction to Ethics * The Concept of Ethics * Ethics & Morality * Sources of Morality * Ethics & Reason * The Importance of Study Ethics | * Lecture & tutorial(F2F) | Thiroux, Jacques P (2008) Ethics: Theory and Practice. 9thed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. | 2 | 4 | Topic 2: Ethical Theories * Consequentialism & Non-Consequentialism * Ethical Egoism * Utilitarianism | * Lecture & tutorial(F2F) | Thiroux, Jacques P (2008) Ethics: Theory and Practice. 9thed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. | 3 | 4 | Topic 2: Ethical Theories * Kant’s Moral Theory * Natural Law Theory * Virtue Ethics | * Lecture & tutorial(F2F) | Thiroux, Jacques P (2008) Ethics: Theory and Practice. 9thed....
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...* Utilitarianism * Virtue Ethics * Deontology * Natural Law Utilitarianism: Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are the most important utilitarians. Their theory has had an important impact on philosophical work in moral theory and on approaches to economic, political and social policy Utilitarianism is one of the best known and most influential moral theories. Like other form of Consequentialism, it core idea is that whether actions are morally right or wrong depends on their effects. More, specifically, the only effects of actions that are relevant are the good and bad results that they produce. A key point in utilitarianism concerns the distinction between individual actions and types of actions. Utilitarianism believe that the purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the amount of good things, (such as pleasure and happiness) in the world and decreasing the amount of bad things (such as pain and unhappiness). Utilitarianism thinks that what makes a morality be true or justifiable is its positive contribution to human. The difference between Act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism is that the Act utilitarianism stresses the specific context and the many individual feathers of the situations that pose moral problems, and it presents a single method for dealing with these individual cases. Rule utilitarianism stresses the recurrent features of human life and the ways in which similar needs and problems...
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...policy and theory: the policy or theory that minority groups within a society should maintain cultural differences, but share overall political and economic power Tyranny- A government in which a single ruler is vested with absolute power. arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority. Absolutism – political system: a political system in which the power of a ruler is unchecked and absolute theory of objective values: a philosophical theory in which values such as truth or morality are absolute and not conditional upon human perception something absolute: a standard, principle, or theory that is absolute Utilitarianism: ethical doctrine of greatest good: the ethical doctrine that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the criterion of the virtue of action doctrine based on value of usefulness: the doctrine that the value of an action or an object lies in usefulness utilitarian quality: the quality of being designed primarily for practical use rather than beauty Libertarianism: advocate of individual responsibility: somebody who believes in the doctrine of free will advocate of individual freedom: somebody who believes in the principle that people should have complete freedom of thought and action Categorical Imperative: Kantian moral law: according to the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant, an unconditional moral law applying to all rational beings and independent of all personal desires and motives Communism: Class...
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