...The Rights of Animals For as long as humanity has been around so has its pursuit of dominion over other kinds of animals remained. Humans have used the animal as resources in many ways. Early humans have been documented to have domesticated dogs to aid in hunting—an implicit contract with us wherein they will obey our demands in exchange for food and shelter as hunting provided fur for clothing and food for both parties. How do we justify, from this simple early collaboration to the massive meat industry our modern society has been arguably dependent on, to the animal exploitation industry in zoos and amusement parks to the animal research and testing labs, the damages and benefits from our monopoly of animal governance? In Steven M. Wise's article “Why Animals Deserve Legal Rights”, he seeks to find the reasoning behind how we distinguish ourselves and our own rights from those animals who are intrinsically unable or unwilling to operate under humanity's rules. The question asked is whether animals "need legal protection", not whether "animals have rights". Those are two different questions, and an affirmative answer to the first does not imply an affirmative answer to the second. I find Wise's proposal vague and lacking in solution, yet the basis of under in which he arrived I find fairly sound. The problem with his conclusion is that most animals are simply unable to interact with a human-based legal system with regularity so rather than the issue be that of the legality...
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...opinions individually, he has to admit that the entirety of his beliefs is wrong. Everything the author accepts as true he has come to learn from his senses, and though the senses can sometimes deceive with objects that are either very small or far away, he admits that our sensory knowledge is sturdy. In the Second Meditation, after making the choice to doubt everything, the author comes to the conclusion that his body and his senses must not exist, but does that mean he himself does not exist either? And if one doubts the existence of his or her body and senses, then the rest of the world must not exist either, therefore, one is persuaded that he himself does not exist. This leads the author to the conclusion that he exists, since he was there to be persuaded. Descartes reasons that while we must doubt everything, "doubting" is a form of thinking, which is solid proof that the he that is doing the thinking exists, and is a thinking thing. If something is believed to be true by the majority or the ruling class, does not necessitate it to be true. John Stuart Mill in On Liberty emphasizes three types of liberty; the first one he discusses to no coincidence is the freedom of thought. Mill argued that for an opinion or belief to be considered true, they must be challenged and debated. The only way one can be confident that he /she is right is to ensure complete liberty to contradict his or her opinions. A minority thought or opinion must not be suppressed simply on the basis of it...
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...Factory farms are used to produce everyday products like bacon, pork, steak, chicken nuggets, milk, cheese, etc. The cost of buying a burger at a local McDonalds is around one to three dollars. If companies were forced by legislation and government officials to practice proper farming techniques, the price of your beloved McDonald’s hamburger will be sure to rise. This could cause a brief stage of net losses for food manufacturing companies. I think it is mandatory to incur these extra expenses for the sake of humanity and animal rights. A small loss in profits is far less important than the pain and suffering these animals have to deal with on a daily basis. In this research paper I will discuss the ethical dilemmas and the conditions of the factory farms, as well as solutions to the problem of animals not having the proper rights. Main Points Animals come in all different shapes and sizes. Society debates how to classify some animals. Scientist view animals as operating equipment. Businessmen see them as commodities. Religious advocates classify them as God’s gift to us. And the majority of Americans see them as food. In America we cannot keep our minds off of cheap tasty food. With an exponential increasing obesity rate at 60 million, the US ranks in as the most obese nation in the world. Meat production has rapidly increased from 44 million tons in 1950, to 211 million in 1997. Also 90 percent of the poultry production is produced from only 10 companies in the US. With billions...
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... to ethics. I. II. To what extent is reasoning possible in ethics? One assumption: ethics is subjective A. If subjective then no disagree: Paul I like my coffee sweetened, Helen unsweetened: no disagreement B. If Paul “drs should sometimes assist their patient’s death, Helen: No (then real disagreement) C. There is a point here about disagreement A characteristic of ethics and ethical argumentation consistency: A. It is always wrong to kill a human being B. Abortion is not always wrong C. I am committed to holding that abortion isn’t always the killing of a human being a. This sets a limit on the subjectivity of ethics b. Another such limit: factual accuracy c. One can enjoy a taste without knowing what it is d. In ethics we have to understand the facts of the matter: patient’s prognosis, wishes etc in regards to resuscitation (2) Ethical relativism A. Similarity to subjectivism: B. Ethics depends upon a group, a culture etc. a. Darius: eat or burn one’s dead b. Herodotus each culture things its...
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...12J03EBA011 : PENINAH MBUTHIA : GEORGE OLIWA QUESTION : Discuss the ethical issues in research? DUE: 8 JULY 2013 LECTURER: HANIEL NJOGU MUCHIRI INTRODUCTION When most people think of ethics (or morals), they think of rules for distinguishing between right and wrong, such as the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’’. This is the most common way of defining "ethics": norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in other social settings. Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during childhood, moral development occurs throughout life and human beings pass through different stages of growth as they mature. Ethical norms are so ubiquitous that one might be tempted to regard them as simple commonsense. On the other hand, if morality were nothing more than commonsense, then why are there so many ethical disputes and issues in our society? Ethics emerge from value conflicts. In research these conflicts are expressed in many ways. i.e. individual rights to privacy versus the undesirability of manipulation, openness and replication versus confidentiality. Each decision that is made in research involves a potential compromise of one value for another. Research must try to minimize risks to participants,...
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...Ethics can be defined as a set of principles of right conduct, or a theory or system of moral values. High ethical values are very important to have as individuals, and even more important to have within a corporation. Yet ethics do not always seem to get the focus that they deserve. All one has to do is turn their attention to high-profile scandals [that] cast a shadow, reminding us about the consequences of unethical behavior and shady business practices to realize that high moral ethics are not getting the attention that it deserves. When most people think of ethics (or morals), they think of rules for distinguishing between right and wrong, such as the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"), a code of professional conduct like the Hippocratic Oath ("First of all, do no harm"), a religious creed like the Ten Commandments ("Thou Shalt not kill..."), or a wise aphorisms like the sayings of Confucius. This is the most common way of defining "ethics": norms for conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in church, or in other social settings. Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during childhood, moral development occurs throughout life and human beings pass through different stages of growth as they mature. Ethical norms are so ubiquitous that one might be tempted to regard them as simple commonsense. On the other hand, if morality were nothing...
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...Herzberg's Theory of Motivation The motivation of employees is important to organizations since it is one of several factors that significantly affect the productivity of employees. Raising the level of motivation increases profitability through greater creativity and commitment in employees. Herzberg's Two Factor Theory, also known as the Motivation-Hygiene Theory, was derived from a study designed to test the concept that people have two sets of needs: 1. Their needs as animals to avoid pain 2. Their needs as humans to grow psychologically Herzberg's Study There are two hundred engineers and accountants in Pittsburgh were interviewed. To test the hypothesis, engineers and accountants were interviewed to assess events that led to significant changes in their job attitudes and to determine the factors that caused those changes. Herzberg's study consisted of a series of interviews that sought to elicit responses to the questions: (1) Recall a time when you felt exceptionally good about your job. Why did you feel that way about the job? Did this feeling affect your job performance in any way? Did this feeling have an impact on your personal relationships or your well- being? (2) Recall a time on the job that resulted in negative feelings? Describe the sequence of events that resulted in these negative feelings. RESEARCH RESULTS It appeared, from the research, that the things making people happy on the job and those making them unhappy had two separate...
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...popular and won him many awards. Tim O’brien is very know for his books and stories but how does his past life influenced on much of his writing. Tim O’brien has gone through very tough times in his life which has greatly contributed to the ideas that are displayed in his work. The most important and most popular of his work was “the things they carried”. This was one of his most successful piece of work that skyrocketed his carrier as an author and writer, a successful story about the experience and atmosphere during World War II. Tim O’brien used his experience in combat to recreate a story of himself that goes into the smallest details about war and how it felt to be in it. Many of his other stories and novels that he has written as well talk about War and his experience in it. So what do we know exactly about him, the story that goes behind all his work. This is the story of a man who’s past has shaped his future. A man whose ideas shaped his life, his work, and his success. Tim O’Brien was born on October 1, 1946 in Austin Minessota. His father was was William Timothy O’Brien, a salesman. His mother was Ava Eleanor, a school teacher. Both of his parents served in the U.S Navy during the World War II. Tim O’Brien lived in Austin only to the age of nine. Later he moved to Worthington Minessota. He was enrolled at Macalester college in St. Paul, Minnessota. Here is where he developed his sense for leadership and activism. In the biography of Tim O’Brien by H.W Wilson it states that...
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...Pain and Pleasure:An Evidential for Theists Problem PAUL DRAPER FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY I. THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM I will argue in this paper that our knowledge about pain and pleasure creates an epistemic problem for theists. The problem is not that some proposition about pain and pleasure can be shown to be both true and logically inconsistent with theism. Rather, the problem is evidential. A statement reporting the observations and testimony upon which our knowledge about pain and pleasure is based bears a certain significant negative evidential relation to theism.' And because of this, we have a prima facie good epistemic reason to reject theism-that is, a reason that is sufficient for rejecting theism unless overridden by other reasons for not rejecting theism. By "theism" I mean the following statement: There exists an omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect person who created the Universe. I will use the word "God" as a title rather than as a proper name, and I will stipulate that necessary and sufficient conditions for bearing this title are that one be an omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect person who created the Universe. Given this (probably technical) use of the term "God," theism is the statement that God exists. Some philosophers believe that the evils we find in the world create an evidential problem for theists because theism fails to explain these evils (or most of what we know about them). (See, for example, (Hare 1968).) This position...
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...arguments involve primarily the disciplines of epistemology (the nature and scope of knowledge) and ontology (study of the nature of being, existence, or reality) and also the theory of value, since concepts of perfection are connected to notions of God. A wide variety of arguments exist which can be categorized as metaphysical, logical, empirical, or subjective. Does God exist? Is there a god? The existence of God is subject to lively debate in philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and popular culture. The Western tradition of philosophical discussion of the existence of God began with Plato and Aristotle, who made arguments that would now be categorized as cosmological. The field of theodicy arose from attempts to answer this question. Other arguments for the existence of God have been proposed by St. Anselm, who formulated the first ontological argument; Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Aquinas, who presented their own versions of the cosmological argument (the kalam argument and the first way, respectively); Descartes, who said that the existence of a benevolent God was logically necessary for the evidence of the senses to be meaningful; and Immanuel Kant, who argued that the existence of God can be deduced from the existence of good. Thinkers who have provided arguments against the existence of God include David Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, and Bertrand Russell. In modern culture, the question of God's existence has been discussed by scientists such as Stephen Hawking, Francis Collins...
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...Mentoring is the social foundation of research. The mentor has the opportunity to draw the best from the junior person by acting as an adviser, teacher, role model, motivator, and supportive advocate. Mentoring is an ideal way to pass ethical and professional values to others in the field. Institutions that pursue long-term development and growth must foster an encouraging, jointly supportive environment. A key element in that cultivation process is creating a mutually respectful relationship between mentor and trainee. Learning Objectives After reading this module, you should be able to: * Clarify the roles and responsibilities of mentors and those that they mentor. * Provide guidance to assist all who participate in research to avoid problems and to optimize the mentoring experience. * Describe barriers to mentoring, particularly for women and minority researchers, and potential solutions to these barriers. * Describe the importance of mentoring and the way in which mentoring occurs. ------------------------------------------------- Foundation Mentoring is one of the primary means for one generation of researchers to impart their knowledge to the next generations. More than textbooks and formal classes, the relatively informal dimensions of research, including the relationship between mentor and trainee, prepare the next generation of professionals. In her 1977 speech at the Nobel Banquet, prizewinner Rosalyn Yalow addressed the students of Stockholm, identifying...
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...What is Human Dignity? By Mette Lebech, Faculty of Philosophy, National University of Ireland, Maynooth The English expression ‘human dignity’ consists of the predicate ‘human’ and the noun ‘dignity’. The adjective qualifies the noun, thus determining the kind of dignity in question as the human kind. The adjective has a similar function in the expression ‘human being’: Here it qualifies the noun ‘being’, to determine the kind of being in question as a being of the human kind. ‘Human’ is etymologically related to the Latin for earth, humus, so that ‘human’ means what is ‘earthly’ (as an adjective), or an ‘earthling’ (as a substantive). Generally speaking it means what is proper to the kind that ‘we’ are, or to the species of rational animals, referring in particular to their kindness (humanity) and their fallibility (‘all too human’). ‘Dignity’ comes from the Latin noun decus, meaning ornament, distinction, honour, glory. Decet is the verbal form (which is impersonal), and is related to the Greek δοκειν − to seem or to show. The Latin participle form decens, -tis, has survived in the English language in the adjective ‘decent’. But dignity means, generally speaking, the standing of one entitled to respect, i.e. his or her status, and it refers to that which in a being (in particular a personal being) induces or ought to induce such respect: its excellence or incomparability of value. Paradoxically, dignitas translated the Greek αχιομα, when Latin was adapted so as to deal with...
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...Chapter 2 Understanding Culture Introduction Culture is important because it is everything and everywhere. In a very real sense, your culture is part of who you are. What makes culture so unique is that you share culture with other people. Culture is a group worldview, the way of organizing the world that a particular society has created over time. Nolan This framework or web of meaning allows the members of that society to make sense of them-selves, their world, and their experiences in that world. You do not arrive in this world knowing how to dress, what to eat, what to strive for, or how to spend your money and your time. In modern society different people communicate in different ways, as do people in different societies around the world, and the way people communicate is the way they live. It is their culture. When the elements of communication differ or change, the elements of culture differ or change. Communication and culture are inseparable. According to Hanson, Behaviour is governed by many factors, socioeconomic status, sex, age, education etc, each of which will have an impact on cultural practices as well. Individuals may differ by the degree to which they choose to adhere to a set of cultural patterns. Some individuals identify strongly with a particular group; others combine practices from several groups. In this chapter, we (1) explain why cultures develop, (2) highlight the essential features of culture...
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...OF MORALS. In his autobiography, Hume writes:— "In the same year [1752] was published at London my Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals; which in my own opinion (who ought not to judge on that subject) is of all my writings, historical, philosophical, and literary, incomparably the best. It came unnoticed and unobserved into the world." It may commonly be noticed that the relative value which an author ascribes to his own works rarely agrees with the estimate formed of them by his readers; who criticise the products, without either the power or the wish to take into account the pains which they may have cost the producer. Moreover, the clear and dispassionate common sense of the Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals may have tasted flat after the highly-seasoned Inquiry concerning the Human Understanding. Whether the public like to be deceived, or not, may be open to question; but it is beyond a doubt that they love to be shocked in a pleasant and mannerly way. Now Hume's speculations on moral questions are not so remote from those of respectable professors, like Hutcheson, or saintly prelates, such as Butler, as to present any striking[Pg 198] novelty. And they support the cause of righteousness in a cool, reasonable, indeed slightly patronising fashion, eminently in harmony with the mind of the eighteenth century; which admired virtue very much, if she would only avoid the rigour which the age called fanaticism, and the fervour which it called enthusiasm. Having...
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...book. So, you will read nothing of "The Traditional View of Guidance" (Part 1) nor our critique of it (Part 2)--alas. We also had to omit the final section (Part 4) which applies biblical principles of decision making to major decisions such as: marriage, ministry, missions, vocation, giving, and issues where Christians differ. What is left? The heart of the book-a biblical approach to understanding the will of God as it pertains to decision-making. This version is a condensation of those chapters (Part 3) which set forth "The Way of Wisdom." It is a "no frills" presentation of four principles which apply to all of life's choices, whether great or small. It contains the reply we give when we have thirty minutes to answer the question: "What does your book say, anyway?" Actually, we've given quite a few of those half- hour introductions. So we know from experience that a summary presentation such as this can be a helpful way to...
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