...Ethical Relativism 1. Ethical Relativism: In this lecture, we will discuss a moral theory called ethical relativism (sometimes called “cultural relativism”). Ethical Relativism: The view that what is morally right or wrong is dependent upon what one’s culture believes is right or wrong. In short, if your society or culture BELIEVES that some action is morally wrong, then it IS morally wrong for everyone within that society. Businesspeople often claim something similar. They say, for instance, that businesses operate under their own system of morality. What is deemed to be right by some business IS right for that business. This makes morality relative. For instance, if one society says cannibalism is morally wrong, while another says it is morally permissible, then the fact of whether or not cannibalism is morally wrong will just be a relative one—namely, whether or not it is wrong for someone will just depend upon which society they are in. We will now ask the question: Does some action become right or wrong just because one’s society, or employer, SAYS it is right or wrong? Or rather, is it the case that there are some moral standards that apply to ALL businesses and societies, regardless of whether or not those societies believe in those standards? 2. The Argument From Disagreement: Why believe that morality is relative? Relativists often say that widespread moral disagreement proves that their view is true. They say: 1. Different people have different beliefs...
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...Life of Pi & Speluncean Explorers: A Reaction Paper In the light of this most recent event of cannibalism, the question of right and wrong has arisen once again. A young boy by the name of Piscine Molitor Patel experienced a shipwreck, where he was later stranded on a lifeboat with his mother, a French cook and a Taiwanese sailor. They drift for several weeks before the cook butchers Pi’s mother and the sailor and eats parts of their flesh. Left alone with the cook, Pi stabs him to death and eats his heart and liver. The facts of the case stated above are a reminder of the precedent case of the Speluncean Explorers. In the case of the Speluncean Explorers five men who ventured out to explore caves, happened to get trapped in one for many days. As the days passed the men were getting frantic and decided that their best chance of survival was if one of them sacrificed their lives in order for the others to feast on him. Subsequently, Roger Whetmore the man who initiated the idea was killed and fed upon by his fellow explorers. When the other four were finally rescued and brought back to civilization, they were tried by the court of Newgarth and were convicted for the murder of Roger Whetmore and were sentenced to be hanged. On reading the facts of the cases we can draw strings of both similarities and differences. If we were to go with the ruling of the precedent case even if we might not agree with the decision then this would be an open and shut case where Pi would...
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...Moral Relativism Moral relativism is the “view that ethical standards, morality, and positions of right or wrong are either culturally-based or subject to a person’s individual choice” (Klement, 2006). Most people hold to the concept that what is right and what is wrong is not absolute and that morals can be altered from one situation to the next based on these subjective choices. Individual moral relativism views that what is ethically right is relative to each individual person according to their own moral standards or ethical system (Yount, 2012). To elaborate: if a John Doe believes that stealing office supplies for personal use is ethical, it is; if Jane Doe believes that stealing office supplies for personal use is unethical, it is. Alternatively, cultural relativism views that what is ethically right is relative to one’s culture (Yount, 2012). For example: if Culture 1 believes cannibalism is ethical, it is; if Culture 2 believes cannibalism is unethical, it is. The main advantage of moral relativism is that it can allow people of different cultures or ideologies to co-exist together. However, disadvantages of relativism in morality would result in having no common framework for resolving moral disputes because the fundamental principles governing what acts are morally right or wrong vary from culture to culture or individual to individual (Klement, 2006). The third level of Kohlberg’s (1971) stages of ethical development asserts that individuals consider the expectations...
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...As of June 2013, the world population was approximately 6.9 billion (Wikipedia). That substantial number means that there is the potential for 6.9 billion deviations of the definition of morality. There are potentially 6.9 billion opinions, emotions and intuitions involved in deciding what is “right” and what is “wrong.” How we choose what is right and what is wrong is based on personal principles. Two of these principles, consequentialist and categorical moral reasoning, are presented in this video. Consequentialist moral reasoning is based on the idea that one’s actions can be decided as right or moral if the consequences of those actions are lighter in weight than the action itself (Justice). The examples presented included the trolley car cases where, in one case, one, being the operator of a trolley with no brakes, must decide whether or not to change the course of the trolley car in order to only sacrifice one life or let the trolley car continue on its course and end five lives. In such a situation, one has to truly examine one’s outlook on life and the differences between right and wrong to come up with an answer. In this example, the idea of inevitability comes to mind. The...
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...that they are objective. Objective means that I am not bringing in any personal opinions or bias, so the rules that I work out are rules that anybody else would rationally come up with. We may come to work out these rules by use of reason and so any rational human being would be able to use his/her reason to come up with the same set of rules. For example, I may, using reason, work out that it is wrong to lie. An absolutist would think that it is therefore always wrong to lie, in any situation and in any culture. So it is just as wrong for me to lie about cheating on my boyfriend as it is to lie about the fact that Santa isn't real. And I can never think it is right to lie, even, to use Kant's famous example, if there was a murder at my door enquiring as to the whereabouts of my friend. If I knew my friend was hiding in my house, I would have to tell this to the murderer. In this situation, Kant would say that if I had lied to the murdered, and then in some strange coincidence my friend had left my house and was met in the street by the murder who then killed him, I would be held morally accountable, since I had lied. Relative morality refers to the opposite theory. Whereas absolute means unchanging and universal, relative means your theory of morality can change. Relative morality means that different cultures can believe different things, and people across different time periods may also believe...
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...that they are objective. Objective means that I am not bringing in any personal opinions or bias, so the rules that I work out are rules that anybody else would rationally come up with. We may come to work out these rules by use of reason and so any rational human being would be able to use his/her reason to come up with the same set of rules. For example, I may, using reason, work out that it is wrong to lie. An absolutist would think that it is therefore always wrong to lie, in any situation and in any culture. So it is just as wrong for me to lie about cheating on my boyfriend as it is to lie about the fact that Santa isn't real. And I can never think it is right to lie, even, to use Kant's famous example, if there was a murder at my door enquiring as to the whereabouts of my friend. If I knew my friend was hiding in my house, I would have to tell this to the murderer. In this situation, Kant would say that if I had lied to the murdered, and then in some strange coincidence my friend had left my house and was met in the street by the murder who then killed him, I would be held morally accountable, since I had lied. Relative morality refers to the opposite theory. Whereas absolute means unchanging and universal, relative means your theory of morality can change. Relative morality means that different cultures can believe different things, and people across different time periods may also believe...
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...Does Granting Animals Human Rights Make Sense? University Does Granting Animals Human Rights Make Sense? Throughout history, there has been any number of people belonging to various groups that for one reason or another were persecuted, oppressed, or otherwise denied equality with the rest of society. Over time, these groups have either formed their own activism or received sponsorship from another group with the goal of achieving equality in the eyes of society, if not in the eyes of the law. Workers, women, minorities, and homosexuals are examples of such groups where the pursuit of what we have come to call human rights has both made history and changed society. This document will explore the question: “does granting animals human rights make sense?” While it is understood that human beings, the species Homo sapiens sapiens, are members of the animal kingdom, for the sake of this discussion use of the term “animals” will refer to those that are non-human. Much of the rhetoric emanating from the animal rights debate is highly emotionally charged. By approaching the issue from the perspective of a reasonable person, it is possible to strike a balance by ensuring the humane treatment of animals where human culture and purposes intersect with the animal kingdom. Often, the animal rights debate is referred to as though there were only two sides to the argument. One side would grant rights to animals that are equivalent to the rights humans strive to afford one another...
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...or universality in morality, but rather to a change in those norms which have been built on the basis of some universally moral values that everybody shares in any beliefs’ system. There are several accounts on this moral issue, as well as considerable amounts of arguments in favour of relativism. In particular, this essay will examine the cultural differences argument which has been outlined by the philosopher Rachels. The latter assessed the argument not only highlighting its flaws, but also keeping in consideration the morally right points raised. However, the cultural differences argument infers a normative conclusion about the inexistence of an objective truth in morality, from a merely descriptive premise about different cultures having different moral codes. It goes without saying that there is empirical evidence of disagreement among moral systems, as there are several instances in which what is regarded as morally right for a culture is morally wrong for another. One of the most known examples is the male circumcision, accepted largely by Jewish communities, but not so broadly shared with the rest of the world. Accordingly, because of the presence of such wide differences, people may be led to believe in relativism as it rightly raises tolerance and flexibility which are necessary open-minded attitudes for the recognition of cultural diversity. Yet, logical and critical thinking sheds light on how impractical relativism is and demonstrates how a universally moral truth...
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...taken control and society has devolved to a state of survival. Without the constraints of society, morality becomes increasingly simple and the lines between right and wrong more clear. The man's moral code for being a good guy can be summed up with the following rules: don't eat people, don't steal, keep your promises, help others, and never give up, which together define the man's maxims the he can will to become universal law in line with Kant's definition of the Categorical Imperative. While much of humanity has devolved into a state of cannibalism, eating others is never even considered by either the man or the boy and is in fact the only rule to which the man consistently holds. Early in The Road, the man and the boy come across a barn with three bodies hanging from the rafters and find a ham in the adjacent smokehouse. Though both choices of meat are dry and dusty, there is never any consideration of frying up strips of human flesh the way they do the ham. (pg 17) Even when they are starving, the boy desperately asks his father if they would ever eat somebody. The man's response is that they would never eat anybody, no matter what, because they are the good guys (pg 128). This conversation demonstrates the father's commitment to maintaining morality as he instills the ideal in the boy that resorting to cannibalism would be worse than death. Soon after, the man and boy come across an uninhabited, underground bunker stocked with a bounty of food and supplies. When the boy sees...
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...to increase, the modern agricultural practice of factory farming also continues to increase to meet the food consumption of humans. Factory farms consist of a large number of animals confined in small spaces to minimize operation costs; this mass production has decreased the price of meat as the factories produce an excess amount of meat to satisfy the demand. However, although Americans are fulfilled with the abundant amount of cheap meat, the practice of factory farming causes serious consequences for animals, humans, and the environment. This unhealthy practice has led to problems such as pollution, inhuman animal treatment, and human illness. Therefore, for all these reasons, many people have stated that factory farming is morally and ethically wrong. Since factory farms wield tremendous power in our society, they have become a controversial topic, with many people questioning whether they are detrimental or beneficial to our society. While opponents believe that the costs of factory farming outweigh the benefits, supporters rather believe that factory farming is needed in our current society. The factory farming agriculture today differs drastically from the traditional animal agriculture. While animals in traditional American farms graze and are able to exercise, animals in factory farms are forced to live in cramped, filthy, unnatural conditions to process food. This confinement agriculture emerged in the middle of...
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...John Smith English Composition Morals According to the English dictionary, the definition of morals is as follows: “of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong”. The way we as human beings interprets this is entirely based on our community, religion, parents, government, and the society we were raised in. But what really defines what a moral is? Who’s to say that this is right and wrong? How do other cultures view our morals compared to theirs? These are but just a few questions I will be addressing in this essay. Let’s start from the beginning and break down some of the key components of this definition. Pertaining to the rules or principles of what’s right and wrong. In the United States what we consider morally right and wrong is determined by our government and the court systems. If we plunge deeper into this topic we can take into account our religious up-bringing, the views of our parents and friends, what we see and hear from the media. What was morally wrong fifty years ago is now on everyday television and exposed to children day after day. Fifty years ago women were shunned from their families and friends if they were to sleep with one person promiscuously. Now men and women are taught to sleep with multiple partners to determine if you are sexually satisfied and can see yourself being with only that person for the rest of your life. If you look at Muslamic culture, women have absolutely...
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...JORIND 10 (2), June, 2012. ISSN 1596 - 8308. www.transcampus.org./journals, www.ajol.info/journals/jorind NOLLYWOOD MOVIES ANDNIGERIAN YOUTHS-AN EVALUATION J. O.Nnabuko Department of Marketing. University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus,Nigeria and Tina C. Anatsui Department of Mass Communication. Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Nigeria E-mail: chinyere_06@yahoo.com+234-805-2422-918 Abstract This paper is an advocacys on the impacts of Nollywood movies as the two-edge sword for the national development. It contends that its establishment has helped greatly in developing talents, and serves as a medium of entertainment and communication. It also highlights various critics that praised the ability of Nollywood industry in the past, and expresses concern on the reverse focus on the negative themes and its negative impact on youth behaviour and the image of Nigeria. The qualitative and quantitative data analysis based on the empirical secondary and primary data were employed. The data collected on both were presented in tabular form and analyzed using simple percentages. Purposive random sampling technique and questionnaire as an instrument were used during the class-meeting. Keywords: Nollywood, behavior, youths, movies Introduction Film was introduced into Nigeria in the 1900’s by the British colonialist who used it for propaganda purposes, while the church used it to spread the Gospel.The Colonial Administration and the Church saw film not only as a medium of entertainment but as...
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...This essay will demonstrate that it is not “always morally worse to kill than it is to let die”. It will be argued that passive euthanasia (i.e. letting someone die) is not morally wrong and that active euthanasia (i.e. accelerating their death) is no less moral. However, the many complications associated with the legalisation of active euthanasia (and euthanasia in general) must be identified and addressed. These identified complications may be eliminated with an appropriate regulatory regime. Assuming that identified complications can be overcome, and having established that it is not always morally worse to kill than to let die, it will be demonstrated that active euthanasia should not be banned. Morality, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour”1. Hinde states that the principles are influenced and changed by one’s society and culture but also “based in human nature”2. As morality is influenced by society, public opinion is important when it comes to controversial issues. Morality differs from place to place and evolves over time. To compound this diversity, changes in medical treatment, and discoveries which enhance medical knowledge evolves rapidly and what was not even conceivable in some cultures or at certain points in history are now commonly accepted. Developments in end of life care fall within this category. With our increased ability to prolong life, arguments can now be made...
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...JORIND 10 (2), June, 2012. ISSN 1596 - 8308. www.transcampus.org./journals, www.ajol.info/journals/jorind NOLLYWOOD MOVIES ANDNIGERIAN YOUTHS-AN EVALUATION J. O.Nnabuko Department of Marketing. University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus,Nigeria and Tina C. Anatsui Department of Mass Communication. Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Nigeria E-mail: chinyere_06@yahoo.com+234-805-2422-918 Abstract This paper is an advocacys on the impacts of Nollywood movies as the two-edge sword for the national development. It contends that its establishment has helped greatly in developing talents, and serves as a medium of entertainment and communication. It also highlights various critics that praised the ability of Nollywood industry in the past, and expresses concern on the reverse focus on the negative themes and its negative impact on youth behaviour and the image of Nigeria. The qualitative and quantitative data analysis based on the empirical secondary and primary data were employed. The data collected on both were presented in tabular form and analyzed using simple percentages. Purposive random sampling technique and questionnaire as an instrument were used during the class-meeting. Keywords: Nollywood, behavior, youths, movies Introduction Film was introduced into Nigeria in the 1900’s by the British colonialist who used it for propaganda purposes, while the church used it to spread the Gospel.The Colonial Administration and the Church saw film not only as a medium...
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...There are countless theories behind the story of everything, the story of how we exist and why. If one is not a believer in science, typically the next best choice would be religion, and the concept of a higher spiritual entity or "god". The article by Stephen Hawking unleashes a brilliant statement about how science is inherently progressive and religion is inherently conservative. Religion is relatively close minded and illogical, and is based on fundamental beliefs as opposed to empirical facts. Clearly we know that God or Gods is (are) not necessary to imagine the beginning of the universe, in our modern understanding science lays out the groundwork for what I believe to be the most viable explanation of the universe. Although, I am only a fraction of the percentage of humans who believe in these theories, as many of us do need some sort of higher entity or religion to put the universe into perspective. With so many different opinions and beliefs about the story of everything, we can start to understand the why and the how of these beliefs and empathize with the believers. In the last century alone we have begun to strung together more scientific facts about our existence than ever before, and are beginning to answer the questions that have perplexed our ancestors for so many years. Now here is the tricky part, we can understand the concept of molecules and the universe, but science states that all of this simply materialized out of nothing, otherwise known as "The Big...
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