...Wilhelm Leibniz, Hugo Grotius, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau. These philosophers all contributed to the concept of "natural law" which set the stage for wide recognition of human rights and freedoms. Natural law holds that people are born in an innately "good" state, and that certain fundamental rights can be reasonably deduced from this fact. Great precedents in the recognition and protection of specific human rights lie in such documents as the British Magna Carta, the United States Bill of Rights, and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man. Moreover, Human Rights law developed mostly in the 20th century in response to World War 11. Although the world had made great progress in defining human rights, it was the events of the late 1930’s and early 1940’s that threatened humanity’s most firmly held convictions. By the end of World War II, six million Jews of whom more than a million were children, were killed in Nazi concentration camps and extermination centers. In the middle of the 20th century, at the hands of a technologically advanced,...
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...against social topics such as war, sexism, rape to be absolutely and undoubtly immoral, regardless of religious beliefs that may believe these practices are acceptable depending on a situation. In a nutshell, moral absolutism follows the belief that there are set universal principles that are distinctively moral or immoral no matter what. For example, females being paid less than men due to their gender can be considered acceptable in some societies; from a absolute point of view, individuals should be treated equally regardless of their gender, age and religion. Moral absolutism has been shaped by human rights. After all, every indivudal is human, therefore the laws of humanity and its nature should be treated fairly. Moral absolutism can be explained through several perspectives such as rule utilitarianism. Rule utilitarianism states that an action can be moral, just only if it leads to happiness for all individuals (Schefczyk, 2009, Chapter 5, para. 8) Rule utilitarianism relates to absolutism in the sense that the moral absolute principles which individuals abide by benefit them in terms of happiness. Universal absolute principles such as treating others the way you wish to be treated, can be shown through rule utilitarianism; by treating another individual the way you would like to be treated ultimately leads to greater happiness for all people. As a whole, moral absolutism along with rule utilitarianism creates a set of universal principles that can be most beneficial for...
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...Philosophy Study Guide: Nietzsche (On the Genealogy of Morality, First Treatise; Section 11 of Second Treatise): • True goodness is not just being altruistic • To find out real human goodness, Nietzsche goes back to study history and the study of words-etymology • In the words and roots that designate good, the nobles felt themselves to be humans of a higher rank. Call themselves the truthful.esthlos means the one who is, who possesses reality, who is true. Becomes the catchword of the aristocratic and feel like it distinguishes them from the common “lying” man. • *Origin of morality is power* • Justice is a product of power. It puts order in place/creates laws/preserves power so it continues. There isn’t universal justice. • Life is understood as the desire for power. • Nietzsche believes there have been two types of moralities: o The first morality- aristocratic morality-moral reality The “good” are the few. They possess reality. They have power, strength, victory, self-affirming, freedom, possessors of truth, active. They have a healthier expression of life. More beautiful. They look down upon and despise the “bad” The noble human beings live with himself in confidence and openness The “bad” are the many. They are lower in class, weak, simple, restricted, lacking, degenerate, oppressed, plotting, hating, lying, and passive. They will eventually gain power which leads to Nietzsche’s slave morality. The priests are the leaders of this “bad” slave morality...
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...effectiveness and especially our international credibility.“ American leadership must be commensurate with U.S. interests and the nature of the challenges facing the county. The United States should not take the lead on every issue or assume that every problem in the world demands a U.S. response. In the majority of cases, the United States should “lead from behind” or from the side, or sitting in front but rarely by itself”. (Foreign Affairs, Zenko & Cohen, Vol. 91 No. 2.) Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the legal forms of treaties, customary international law, general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law shows the obligations of governments to act in a certain way, or to refrain from specific acts, in order to show and protect human rights and basic fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups. Human rights are the cornerstone of international human rights laws. This principle, as first emphasized in the Universal...
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...Secularist thinkers peace has been a major concern, though, their basic assumptions and the motivating force behind it may be totally different. The post-capitalism mind set, with its deep commitment to economic development, individualism and ethical relativism, gradually developed a belief that war, can not help, in the long run, in achieving the social and economic targets of the industrialized world. Pacifism, in due course, as an individual commitment to non-violence was projected further and extended to other areas of concern. The strategic use of armed conflicts and wars, directly related with the capitalist urge to control sources of raw material and to create markets for its products, was reconsidered. A new strategic thinking put forward the thesis that peace and pacifism can also pave the way for free trade movement and help the capitalist powers in achieving their objectives, for which, conventionally, bloody wars were waged. In the post-world wars era, a functional approach of trade, travel, and democracy was considered as basis for internationalism. In an era of search for peace, efforts were made to avoid physical wars, considered enemy of free trade and travel. The age of cold war offered new opportunities for development of regional economies, mutual understanding, and nuclear deterrence. Emergence of the institution of United Nations, theoretically, was materialization of pacifism at a global international level. Leaving aside the success or failure of this international...
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...At this point, when discussing positivist and naturalist approached to the administration of justice in the aftermath of the II World War, it is worth quickly mentioning Gustav RADBRUCH. He lived through the Nazi times and “converted” from legal positivist into legal naturalism. He concluded that Gesetz als Gesetz (law is law) was dangerous in the sense that autocratic regimes could use it as a tool to violate elemental human rights. He would finally advocate for the inclusion of humanitarian morality within the legal framework: positive laws cannot be valid if in opposition to basic morality. In a similar way, FRANZ NEUMANN also lived during the Nazi regime working as a lawyer. For TOPALLI he is an example of another supporter of the non-existence of Nazi law. He also viewed the potential hazards from a pure positivist justification of any law when wrote: “There is no kingdom...
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... 1 Final Exam 1. Universal responsibility. I’d like to start out by defining the two.1. Universal-means of or pertaining to the universe, all nature, or all existing things. 2.Responsibility-to make one's actions and task their own, the willing acceptance of the consequences of my actions. Individuals, Institutions, Governments and International organizations make judgment about what is just and what is unjust based on a complex and general frameworks of moral and political values. These frameworks vary considerably across cultures and over time, but through the centuries prophets, philosophers and other intellectuals have repeatedly attempted to identify common ground that would allow all human beings in their own and in successive generations to agree on definitions of right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust. By far the greatest single danger facing humankind – in fact, all living beings on our planet-is the threat of nuclear destruction. I would like to appeal to the leaders of the nuclear powers who literally hold the future of the world and their hands, to the scientists and technicians who continue to create these awesome weapons of destruction, and to all the people at large who are in a position to influence their leaders I appeal to them to exercise their sanity and began to work at dismantling and destroying all nuclear weapons, because we all know that in the event of a nuclear war, there are no victors, there will be no survivors...
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...Some time ago, one of us asked, "Where is the theory of spacepower? Where is the Mahan for the final frontier?"1 Over 10 years later, such an exhortation still has resonance as the realm of spacepower still lacks a "space focused strategic theory" and a "binding concept" that can "aid understanding of what it is all about."2 This chapter seeks to provide an explanation, or at least plausible reasons, as to why such a theory of space-power has yet to transpire. First, we shall discuss the difficulties involved in creating a theory of spacepower that is able to endure the test of time and that has universal applicability. The chapter then examines recent attempts at theorizing on spacepower by James Oberg, Everett Dolman, and John Klein. Lastly, the chapter outlines what a theory of spacepower should look like, and just as importantly, what it should not look like, as a guide for future theorists. It should be noted that an exhortation of an "Alfred Thayer Mahan for the final frontier" is not to be confused with an endorsement of a Mahanian style of theory. Such a style of strategic theory may yet suffice (for the present, at least) for the purposes of guidance for spacepower, but we do encourage all plausible methods of elucidating a theory of space-power, be it directly influenced by the thought and style of either Mahan or of any other strategic theorist. Instead, the call for a Mahan for space-power is in fact a call for a theory that can match the stature of Mahan's collected...
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...In the wake of Obama Care, United States battled with the questions of universal health care for all. Why do other countries less influential like Cuba have universal health care and we do not? What is the stakes behind not having that kind of coverage for all U.S. citizens? Investigating country of France, there are plenty of reasons why we should as Americans have universal health care. What are some pros and cons of universal health care? Pros of universal health care are the number of uninsured U.S. residents has grown to over 45 million. Health care has become increasingly unaffordable for business and individuals. We can eliminate wasteful inefficiencies such as duplicate paper work, claim approval, insurance submission, etc. Medical professionals can concentrate on healing the patient rather than on insurance procedures, malpractice liability, etc. Free medical services would encourage patient to practice preventive medicine and inquire about problems early when treatment will be light; currently patients often avoid physicals and other preventive measure because of the costs. Cons of universal health care are there is not a single government agency or division that runs efficiently; do we really want an organization that developed the U.S. Tax Code handling something as complex as health care? Free health care is not really free since we must pay for it with taxes, expenses for health care would have to be paid for with higher taxes or spending cuts in other areas...
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...in the midst of World War II background in Casablanca, Morocco. The lead protagonist, an American expatriate Rick Blaine, owns a nightclub Café Americian in Casablanca and in the movie must choose between his love interest or helping his love interest’s husband, a renowned leader of Czech Resistance movement, in fighting against the Nazi occupation in the Czech Republic. While Rick appears politically neutral, he is shown in the movie as having helped Ethiopians fight against fascist Italia hence his neutrality is only a cover. The thematic concepts that run through the course of the movie show that Rick must choose between his own individual happiness of reuniting with his love interest who is now married to the Resistance leader, or helping her and her husband in their fight for a greater common good that is the liberation of Czech Republic from the horrors of the Nazi regime that is taking over Europe. This paper examines the ideas that intersect between the characters and scenarios from the motion picture Casablanca, and philosopher Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative, as well as how the motion picture supports the claims of Immanuel Kant and of philosopher John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism by making examples of the good and evil within Casablanca. Background on Casablanca Rick Blaine is the protagonist character in Casablanca that seemingly only lives by serving his own self-interests while maintaining his cynical world view while the World War II rages. Casablanca...
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...The Six Branches of Philosophy Charlene Murray PHI 201 UNIT 1 IP AIU Humans are such complex individuals. Learning what makes each individual to think, and react has been widely studied. Philosophy is the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct and a personal outlook or viewpoint. The six branches of philosophy will help address questions often asked daily during human lifetime. Metaphysics is the study of existence Epistemology is the study of knowledge Ethnics is the study of action Politics is the study of force Esthetics is the study of art Social is the study of social behavior What is real? Scientist has based findings that the brain may distinguish between reality and fantasy, because real things tend to have a higher degree of personal relevance than something that is fictional. My personal experience with real; can you communicate with the dead. I can remember as a child my grandfather dead. He appeared to be sleeping but he died in his sleep. I can remember talking for hours the day before he died. He told me to always come to him if I needed to talk about anything or if I was having a problem. My reason for questioning this is every time I had a problem I would dream about my grandfather. And in every dream he always gave me sound advice which always solved the problem. So I do believe that you can communicate with the dead, but it is a spiritual connection. Ernst Mach (1836-1916) thought that the only real...
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...those decisions are bigger than other times. Those decisions are sometimes made because the choice is to do something right or wrong. We say that a moral person will make the right decision and the immoral person will make the wrong decision. An example of this is that if I was raised in a culture that says killing is wrong. I am a Naga from Northeast India. Just over 100 years ago, we Nagas were headhunters. Killing was more than tolerated – it was expected. Men would raid other villages nearby and kill other men, bringing back heads. Even children’s heads were special trophies. This sounds very bad, even to me, but if I was born over 100 years ago, I would be okay with it. So is killing others right or wrong? Even in enlightened cultures, wars happen and people kill each other. These questions always come up when people talk about morality. In any debate, the arguments tend to take two extreme sides, which means there is not much middle ground left for the discussions. The slippery slope fallacy is often used to talk about morality. According to Richard Nordquist at about.com, the slippery slope fallacy is “A fallacy in which a course of action is objected to on the grounds that once taken it will lead to additional actions until some undesirable consequence results” (para. 1). In other words, we say something is right wrong because it can lead some something bad, not that the one behavior by itself is bad. The abortion debate in America is one of the most controversial, and it...
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...agreement. Kant says we need to act out of duty of moral rule. When we treat criminals, the only reason to be regarded as praiseworthy must be nothing else than the crime itself. Then we should consider the 1st form of categorical imperatives, which says “act only on the maxim that you can will as a universal law”. Next, we must take the 2nd categorical imperatives into account. It says “always treat humanity whether in your own person or in that of another, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end”. On the retributivist view, legal punishment is justified as a means of making those who are responsible for a crime or harm pay for it. According to the retributivist view, payment must to be made in some way that is equivalent to the crime or harm done. There are two arguments, proportional equivalency and egalitarian equivalency. For proportional equivalency, one is required to pay back something proportional. Egalitarian equivalency which is another view of retributivist holds that what is required in return is something identical or almost identical to what was taken. 2. First particular case to be examined (Case 1) 2.1 Case description The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) was a military conflict fought primarily between China and Japan. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in...
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...2009 > hot topics 69 TOPICS HOT L e g a L i s s u e s i n p L a i n L a n g u a g e This is the sixty-ninth in the series Hot Topics: legal issues in plain language, published by the Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC). Hot Topics aims to give an accessible introduction to an area of law that is the subject of change or public debate. International law 1 overview What is international law? – difference between international law and domestic law – Why do States obey international law? – subjects of international law – How do international law and domestic law interact? 4 sources of international law Jus cogens – international conventions and treaties – Australian treaty practice – custom – general principles of law – judicial decisions and writings of publicists – ‘hard law’ and ‘soft law’. 8 states What is a State? – rights of States – self-determination – creation and recognition of new States – case studies. AUTHOR NOTE: Jane Stratton currently leads corporate social responsibility programs in a leading Sydney law firm, teaches law students at a Sydney university and independently, undertakes community development projects in Western Sydney. Her work has included legal and policy roles in the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, the Australian Human Rights Commission, UN High Commission for Refugees and the ICTY. She has experience in litigious and political advocacy. Jane holds qualifications in law (Honours)...
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...HOW PEACE MAY PREVAIL IN MY OWN PERSPECTIVE’’ DOCUMENTATION PRESENTED BY EZEJI GODWIN IKECHUKWU FROM DEPARTMENT OF GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS IN PEACE STUDIES AND DIPLOMACY AT SIAM UNIVERSITY ON 24TH SEP. 2011 = UN PEACE DAY. Fellow citizens of the world, lets make the world a better place for you and for me, for this is and should continue to be the cardinal reason for our coming together. Society is formed when people as social animals, live in group. The person that exercises the state power is known as government. The government issues rules and laws and regulations to govern the realm as well as relationship with other nations, bilaterally and multilaterally. economic, social and religious interest are factors that affects the making of these laws, rules and regulation and its interpretation and implementation locally and internationally which often results to conflict and war hence there comes need to proffer solution for peaceful coexistence in this world we have found ourselves. Peace can be said to be an ideal freedom and happiness within all people and nations. It is a state of non-violence either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that prevents warfare. Peace therefore means cessation of all sorts of hostility by all persons and nations. In certain cases, world peace has been seen and argued as unattainable because human by nature is violent hence rationally men choose to be violent. It remains also a proven fact that human being can change even...
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