...Machiavelli and Kant. 4. Describe what is meant by a social contract. 5. Analyze a given situation and tell why it would be appropriate or inappropriate to lie. 6. Explain the views of Kierkegaard and contrast him from other existentialists. 7. Discuss the concept that ethics cannot be based on religion. 8. Explain the use of ethical reasoning and how it can be used in your professional life. Introduction The major ethical principles accepted in the western world follow guidelines and rules that must be universally applied in all situations. These ethical principles are established primarily on the basis of teachings set forth by philosophers throughout the ages, starting with the great Greek thinkers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. As you might expect, there have been many alterations 修改 to these moral principles throughout the years. What was considered ethically correct by some was rejected by others and replaced with their own concept of what constituted moral or ethical behavior. A Comment about Philosophy: Philosophy, unlike science, addresses issues that cannot be solved. In fact, some philosophers state that if a problem can be solved, philosophers will not even address the issue, feeling that it should be considered by other disciplines. One of the most notable examples of philosophical inquiry is the commonly quoted question posed by Bertrand Russell: “If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, will it make a...
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...Concepts and Theories in Politics Welcome to Introduction to Politics! This lecture will supplement what you will hear in class. I’m going to discuss some important methodological and substantive issues having to do with political science, including the role of concepts and theories, human nature and politics, and ideologies. If you need more background, I suggest taking a look at Sheldon Wolin, Politics and Vision; C.B. Macpherson, The Real World of Democracy; or Robert Dahl, A Preface to Democratic Theory. To begin with, in some ways it is a misnomer to speak of political “science.” One crucial difference between political science and the natural sciences is that in the latter there is normally only one dominant paradigm at a time, while in the former there are what might be called competing paradigms. As T.S. Kuhn establishes in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, there was a paradigm shift from the Ptolemaic to the Copernican universe; in other words, from the idea that the Earth is the center of the universe we move to the idea that the Earth in fact goes around the sun, a radical conception when it was first put forward in 16th-century Europe but one that is now universally accepted. In the social sciences, however, there is no overriding consensus on how to analyze reality (or even on what counts as reality). In political science, for example, three major views may be distinguished on power and authority in the United States: (a) the pluralist model, in which...
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...both the short answer and longer essay questions. Please note that some of the concepts listed under lectures are also covered in the readings, sometimes in more than one chapter. Lec. 1-2 What is Politics? Concepts from the Lecture: Politics ‘Polis’ Plato Machiavelli Modern Age Thomas Hobbes Leviathan Concepts from the Texts: ‘Simile of the Cave’ ‘fortuna’ philosopher-king Behavioural Approach Class Analysis Elite theory Pluralism Institutionalism ‘Power to’ vs. ‘Power over’ Lec. 3 What is the State? Concepts from the Lecture: Treaty of Westphalia Social Contract Legal-institutionalism Branches of State Levels of State Elitism Pluralism Additional Concepts from the Texts: Night Watchman State Neo-liberal state Welfare State Liberal Democracy Lec. 4 The State: Power, Authority, and Sovereignty Concepts from the Lectures and Readings: Power Authority Sovereignty Weber’s Typology of Authority Concepts from Readings: See Lec. 3 concepts Lec. 5 Political Ideologies: Liberalism Concepts from the Lecture Ideology Left vs. Right ideologies John Locke/ Two Treatises of Government J.S. Mill/ On Liberty Tenets of Liberalism Welfare Liberalism vs. Libertarianism Concepts from Readings The Republic State of nature Tyranny of the majority Harm Principle ‘Politics as a Vocation’ Equality Rights Lec. 6 Republicanism, Conservatism and Socialism Concepts from the Lecture Republicanism Roman...
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...Why was Socrates regarded as a man of virtue? Why was Socrates regarded as a man of virtue? Socrates: Man of Virtue (470-399 B.C.E.) Socrates proposed the theory of value in which there are two sorts of good: virtue and happiness. Both are unconditional goods. But happiness is a "self-generated" good in that it "derives its value strictly from its inherent properties;" whereas virtue is an "other-generated" good in that it derives its value from happiness, precisely from its conduciveness to happiness. Virtue is an instinct in all humanity which can be aroused through self-examination. This universal truth is accessible to everyone who thinks and question. Socrates assumes that any person with whom he talks has the resource to answer his question correctly, that is, that no specialist knowledge is required. Socrates thought that knowledge is virtue, and virtue leads to happiness. It makes sense to think that moral people know what morality is. If you know right from wrong, then you might be able to choose to do what you know to be right. It also makes some sense to suspect that our beliefs about right and wrong influence our decisions. If we believe its right to help a drowning child, then it would be fairly shocking to decide not to do so—and it would less surprising when we decide to help the child. It is quite a shocking statement to say that virtue always leads to happiness. Criminals commit crimes that hurt others to help themselves. To think that their crimes would...
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...in these last five weeks will help and should help us in a decision making process in the future. Virtue Ethics says that a person should make a decision on behalf of them rather than their culture or laws, as long as they are a good person, it is a good decision. It is person based rather than cultural. Virtue, practical wisdom and eudemonia, are the three main concepts that virtue ethics’ enforces. Aristotle and Plato are virtue ethics principle ethicists. Utilitarianism’s principal concepts are: egalitarianism, hedonism, consequentialism. This ethical system is based on a perception that a choice is moral when it has a result that is more positive for people. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-73) who was actually one of Bentham’s students, are, ethicist’s involved in developing utilitarianism. Social contact is that the persons’ moral or obligations are dependent on a contract or agreement. To be polite, not cheat or lie to one another in marriage, which marriage is like a contract. The ethicists that were involved in this were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Individual relativism says that is not a universal standard. “All values are subjective because they are based upon the personal preferences that express one’s own self-interest” (Argosy, 2015). What you says goes basically, what you think is the better option is. The ethicists involved were Manuel Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S.J., and Michael J. Meyer. Deontology...
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..."to provide more accurate information, more powerful, and more relevant answers" to the roots or causes of peace and war (Brecher& Harvey, 54). At the same time, many features of the current realist paradigm can be traced back to the time of Thucydides, Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes. Among contemporary thinkers recognized as major writers and contributors to the realist tradition are Hans Morgenthau, Edward Carr and Kenneth Waltz (Freyberg-Inan, 8). What are then the basic tenets or common features of a realist thinker? Machiavelli would acknowledge that to be a realist one has to look at history as "a sequence of cause and effect whose course can be analysed and understood by intellectual effort, but not directed by imagination" (Carr, 64). Hobbes would persist in the same train of thought and insist that to be a realist thinker one must look at things as they are and not as they should be (Warner, 37). Thus, both of these thinkers direct us to the idea that the creation of the realist paradigm and theories are in fact an inductive process whereby "theory does not create practice, but practice theory" (Carr, 64). Suggestive and provocative declarations such as those of Machiavelli and Hobbes not only make the...
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...No one should ever work. Work is the source of nearly all the misery in the world. Almost any evil you’d care to name comes from working or from living in a world designed for work. In order to stop suffering, we have to stop working. That doesn’t mean we have to stop doing things. It does mean creating a new way of life based on play; in other words, a ludic conviviality, commensality, and maybe even art. There is more to play than child’s play, as worthy as that is. I call for a collective adventure in generalized joy and freely interdependent exuberance. Play isn’t passive. Doubtless we all need a lot more time for sheer sloth and slack than we ever enjoy now, regardless of income or occupation, but once recovered from employment-induced exhaustion nearly all of us want to act. Oblomovism and Stakhanovism are two sides of the same debased coin. The ludic life is totally incompatible with existing reality. So much the worse for “reality,” the gravity hole that sucks the vitality from the little in life that still distinguishes it from mere survival. Curiously—or maybe not—all the old ideologies are conservative because they believe in work. Some of them, like Marxism and most brands of anarchism, believe in work all the more fiercely because they believe in so little else. Liberals say we should end employment discrimination. I say we should end employment. Conservatives support right-towork laws. Following Karl Marx’s wayward son-in-law Paul Lafargue I support the right to...
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...Nietzsche: His philosophy and “Beyond Good and Evil” And Marxists vs. Mill’s view of socialism 1- Describe Nietzsche’s basic philosophy and his “New Morality” as revealed in his “Gay Science”, “Twilight of the Idol’s” books. Then choose one of his writings in his book “Beyond Good and Evil” and describe the philosophy he attempts to reveal. Conclude with your opinion on his philosophy of religion and his view of the Cosmos. Born on October 15, 1844 in the small town of Röcken, near Leipzig, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German poet and philosopher, a classical philologist and a professor of Greek at the University of Basle. He was the author of many works that talked about religion, morality, culture, philosophy, science using a unique style and radical questioning of the value and objectivity of truth. In his writings, Nietzsche called for revision of all values; he rejected organized religion attacking Christianity and other religious institutions as contributors to what he called “slave morality”. He was, also, equally critical of democratic institutions whose singular vision and courage, according to him, produce a “master morality” and he called the rule by mass mediocrity. Nietzsche also believed that European materialism have led to decadence and decline. He died on August 25, 1900. In his works, he voiced the sentiments of radical moralists. He was deeply critical of his own times and he called for a revision of all values. The major...
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...Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift I/ Introduction A. Writer: Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift is the greatest satirist in the history of English literature. He was the contemporary of Steele, Addison, Defoe and other English enlightens of the early period; however he stood apart from them. The greatest satirist in the history of English of the bourgeois life came to the negation of the bourgeois society. Swift's art had a great effect on the further development of English and European literature. The main features of his artistic method, such as hyperbole, grotesque, generalization, irony, were widely used by the English novelist, the dramatists, by the French writers, by the Russian writers and others. Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin, Ireland, on November 30, 1667. He studied theology at Trinity College at the age of fourteen and graduated in 1688. He became the secretary of Sir William Temple, an English politician and member of the Whig party, at the age of 21. At Moor Park, Sir William’s estate, Swift made friend with Hester Johnson, the daughter of one of Temple’s servants. His letters to her, written in 1710 – 1713, were later published in the form of a book under the title of Journal to Stella, the name he poetically called Hester. In 1692, Swift took his Master of Arts Degree at Oxford University. In 1694, he had begun to write satires on the political and religious corruption surrounding him, working on A Tale of a Tub, which supports the position of the Anglican...
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...Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 6(3), pp. 46-70 www.ejop.org Is It You or Is It Me? Contrasting Effects of Ridicule Targeting Other People Versus the Self Leslie M. Janes Brescia University College James M. Olson University of Western Ontario Abstract In this paper, we describe a program of research on the topic of ridicule, which explored the differing effects of observing either ridicule directed at other people or selfdisparaging ridicule. In three studies, participants listened to humor that either ridiculed another person, ridiculed the self (the person expressing the humor), or involved no ridicule. Results in two studies showed that observing ridicule that targeted another person led participants to conform more to the alleged attitudes of others and to behave in ways suggesting a heightened fear of failure, compared to self-ridicule or no ridicule. In contrast, results in a third study showed that observing self-disparaging ridicule led participants to generate more creative ideas, compared to other-ridicule or no ridicule. The implications of these “inhibiting” effects of other-ridicule and “disinhibiting” effects of self-ridicule are discussed. Keywords: ridicule, disparagement humor, self-ridicule, conformity, creativity Ridicule is defined as “the act of making someone the object of scornful laughter” (Webster‟s New World Dictionary, 2002). This type of humor is common in modernday society. It is a staple in late-night comedy shows, political...
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...DAVIS is an associate professor of philosophy at Tyndale University College and the coeditor of 24 and Philosophy. R I C H A R D B R I A N D AV I S AND PHILOSOPHY Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has fascinated children and adults alike for generations. Why does Lewis Carroll introduce us to such oddities as a blue caterpillar who smokes a hookah, a cat whose grin remains after its head has faded away, and a White Queen who lives backward and remembers forward? Is it all just nonsense? Was Carroll under the influence? This book probes the deeper underlying meaning in the Alice books and reveals a world rich with philosophical life lessons. Tapping into some of the greatest philosophical minds that ever lived— Aristotle, Hume, Hobbes, and Nietzsche—Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy explores life’s ultimate questions through the eyes of perhaps the most endearing heroine in all of literature. B Y WONDERLA ND R E D I T E D WILLIAM IRWIN IN Can Humpty Dumpty make words mean whatever he says they mean? Alice Should the Cheshire Cat’s grin make us reconsider the nature of reality? E D I T O R : $17.95 USA/$21.95 CAN Cove r D e si g n : Pa u l M c Ca r t hy Cove r I m a g e : © G e t t y I m a g e s EDITED BY...
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...PHIL 127: History of Ancient Philosophy Socrates and His Mission When is a Question Philosophical? Philosophical questions have answers. (A question that has no answer is not a question; it just masquerades as one.) But a question is philosophical for a particular culture at a particular time when no means of answering it are available – or, none of the prevailing methods have any authority. A problem is a philosophical problem when the way to go about answering the question is in question. An issue is a philosophical issue when the right way to settle the issue is at issue. A Philosophical Crisis If the claims in the previous paragraph are true, then 5th century Greece was in a philosophical crisis. It was a crisis in morality. In our culture we think of morality as being concerned with rules. Here are some rules – You should not kill. – You should not steal. – Don’t hit people. – Lying is wrong. – It’s wrong to promise to do something and then not do it. – You should not covet your neighbors wife, or his ox or his ass or his male or female slave, or anything that is your neighbor’s. – You should not lie with a man as with a woman. – Thou should not wear fabric woven of wool one way and linen the other. – Do (imperative) unto others as you would have them do unto you. – Help (imperative) other people who are in need when you can do so at no great risk or cost to yourself. Why do we think of morality as consisting of rules? This question is important...
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...B.A. (HONOURS) ENGLISH (Three Year Full Time Programme) COURSE CONTENTS (Effective from the Academic Year 2011-2012 onwards) DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH UNIVERSITY OF DELHI DELHI - 110007 0 Course: B.A. (Hons.) English Semester I Paper 1: English Literature 4(i) Paper 2: Twentieth Century Indian Writing(i) Paper 3: Concurrent – Qualifying Language Paper 4: English Literature 4(ii) Semester II Paper 5: Twentieth Century Indian Writing(ii) Paper 6: English Literature 1(i) Paper 7: Concurrent – Credit Language Paper 8: English Literature 1(ii) Semester III Paper 9: English Literature 2(i) Paper 10: Option A: Nineteenth Century European Realism(i) Option B: Classical Literature (i) Option C: Forms of Popular Fiction (i) Paper 11: Concurrent – Interdisciplinary Semester IV Semester V Paper 12: English Literature 2(ii) Paper 13: English Literature 3(i) Paper 14: Option A: Nineteenth Century European Realism(ii) Option B: Classical Literature (ii) Option C: Forms of Popular Fiction (ii) Paper 15: Concurrent – Discipline Centered I Paper 16: English Literature 3(ii) Paper 17: English Literature 5(i) Paper 18: Contemporary Literature(i) Paper 19: Option A: Anglo-American Writing from 1930(i) Option B: Literary Theory (i) Option C: Women’s Writing of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (i) Option D: Modern European Drama (i) Paper 20: English Literature 5(ii) Semester VI Paper 21: Contemporary Literature(ii) Paper 22: Option A: Anglo-American Writing from 1930(ii) Option B:...
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...HAPPINESS – justification for improving society. What do you have to have to be happy? What is happiness – PHI 101 – happiness according to whom? Lack of misery; literally the elimination of misery. Secondly, food – gives pleasure – Happiness is lack of human misery and maximizing /pleasure and happiness. Bliss 24/7 – hedonism Epicureanism – eliminating misery and maximizing happiness. The justification of utopianism = why did plato want the republic? Justisifcation for improving human society among the Greeks? Poor always poor, always unhappy, death claims everyone - it is rational to maximize pleasure and eliminate misery. Do eternally accouding to plato. Opinions – 1. Relativism is a retreat in the 20th century. Can’t voice own opinion – can’t change the world – retreatist. Lazy persons out – often times used as avoidance. DO NOT USE AS IMMEDIATE THE POOR MANS WAY OUT OF ARGUMENT. If use, have to have massive justification for it. 2. a. Define the difference between Greek utopian experiments (2 of them) Plato and Homer refuge Plato – more of an activist Homer - the nostalgic Garden of Eden...
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...P LA T O and a P LAT Y P U S WA L K I N TO A B A R . . . Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes < T H O M A S C AT H C A RT & D A N I E L K L E I N * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * P l at o a n d a P l at y p u s Wa l k i n t o a B a r . . . PLATO and a PLAT Y PUS WA L K I N T O A B A R . . . < Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes Th o m as Cat h c a rt & Dan i e l K l e i n A B R A M S I M AG E , N E W YO R K e d i to r : Ann Treistman d e s i g n e r : Brady McNamara pro d u c t i on m anag e r : Jacquie Poirier Cataloging-in-publication data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress. ISBN 13: 978-0-8109-1493-3 ISBN 10: 0-8109-1493-x Text copyright © 2007 Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein Illlustration credits: ©The New Yorker Collection 2000/Bruce Eric Kaplan/ cartoonbank.com: pg 18; ©Andy McKay/www.CartoonStock.com: pg 32; ©Mike Baldwin/www.CartoonStock.com: pgs 89, 103; ©The New Yorker Collection 2000/ Matthew Diffee/cartoonbank.com: pg 122; ©The New Yorker Collection 2000/ Leo Cullum/cartoonbank.com: pg 136; ©Merrily Harpur/Punch ltd: 159; ©Andy McKay/www.CartoonStock.com: pg 174. Published in...
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