...Examine the View that Morality is Dependent on Religion. (21 Marks) There are three main views for Morality and religion: Morality is dependent on religion, morality is Independent of religion and morality is opposed to religion. There is a myriad of reasons for and against each of these statements. Many people do believe that morality does depend on religion for reasons such as that western law was originally based on Biblical principles, for example stealing and murder. For many however the question is how morality should be linked with religious faith, even though this causes problems between secularists and religious believers. The view I’m going to explore mainly in this essay is the view that ‘morality is dependent on religion’. People who believe that religion and morality are linked would argue that you cannot have morality without religion and that all rules come from God as he is the source of Religion. This is backed up by the fact that even social laws created to run western countries are taken from religious books such as, the Bible. Many people who believe the statement morality is dependent on religion would be Absolutists and believe that we should never question moral codes or there is ever a time when moral codes should be lenient. Absolutists would have no emotion to a situation and would therefore condemn situation ethics as they would believe the answer to a problem is always the same no matter the situation. This is because an absolutist would...
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...Forced into Morality Cesar Galvez One may wonder what society would be like if people did not follow any sort of moral codes. People would not feel any guilt for any wrong-doing. Obligations, awareness of duty, and rights would not exist, perhaps in only the legal sense. Thankfully, most, if not all, human inherited rules of right and wrong that were not given by anyone, they are inherent morals that each human is given. However, another way a person can look at morality is religion. Furthermore, there is a considerable amount of people that believe morality and religion are fundamentally linked. According to Landau (2010), “Religion has always been the most popular source of morality.” (Landau, 2010, p.61). Humanist, atheist, and agnostics cannot identify a connection between religion and morality, arguing that is possible to be moral without a religious status. However, others argue that ethics and religion are inseparable. Religion creates a moral motivation to seek a greater moral life. If believers desire a better life and afterlife and continue to follow the religious beliefs, “God deeds will be rewarded, if not here on earth, then in another worldly paradise.” (Landau, 2010, p.62). Therefore, believers have strong reasons to be moral. According to Wainwright (2005), “Religious belief is necessary for moral motivation.” (Wainwright, 2005, p.4). On the other hand, not only motivation for a better life triggers the initiative to be moral. Fear has the...
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...In an organized religion debate, Alan Dershowitz and Alan Keyes contended many issues on religion and morality. Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor, believed that “morality can be maintained without religion.” He also stated that it must be maintained without religion because times have changed. He said that if religion is not separated from state it could have severe damage, such as the Crusades and the Holocaust. Dershowitz believes that there is a difference between morality and religion. When people are moral without religion, they are being virtuous on their own, not because they are afraid of God. He stated that religion should not consist of a Cost-Benefit Analysis. Alan Keyes, a former Republican presidential candidate, stated that religion sets the standard for what’s moral. Keyes argued “power only ultimately respects another power,” and Martin Luther King Jr. was not a preacher byaccident. Dershowitz also stated that not everything in the Bible should be believed word-for-word, even George Washington said “indulge religion with caution.” Keyes believed that if state and religion should be separated, then why does the Declaration of Independence contain so much about religion? Alan Dershowitz and Alan Keyes would have argued endlessly about religion’s role in society if there were not a moderator to stop them. Religion and morality exist together in parallel according to Alan Keyes. Alan Dershowitz stated that if religion and morality are not separated, it could...
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...Relationship Between Religion and Morality The sense of ‘doing the right thing’ is a generally unifying concept held by the majority of humanity. Morality is a more or less uniform concept; for religious believers, this unity comes from a greater power pointing humanity in the right direction on decision making. For non-believers, the opposite applies. Possibly the most famous opponent of the link between religion and morality is Richard Dawkins. Dawkins takes the argument in the complete other direction claiming that religion leads to evil. Religion serves as a virus that corrupts human minds; on the matter Dawkins said religion is, ‘an indulgence of irrationality that nourishes extremism, division and terror.’ Dawkins assault on religion is aimed primarily at extreme Islamists and Evangelical Christians. Dawkins strongly dislikes the idea of educational institutions being misused to teach what are in his view, lies, such as creationism and biblical texts over evolution; likening it to ‘child abuse.’ The link to abusing children is an extreme one to make; but for Dawkins to mislead children and fill their head with lies is wrong. To take that further; Dawkins hates the fear installed in children through religion such as the concept of hell and eternal damnation. Education is a tool that allows practices, belief, and knowledge to continue and to be passed on; for Dawkins this means that the divisions insinuated by crossing paths with someone of a different religion is worrying and...
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...our attention to the six dimensions of religion: doctrines, rituals, myths, ethics, experience and society. These are very important elements of religion. All religions have doctrines which are at the center of their activities. The doctrines involve the codes, creeds and the cult. Again, all religions have the performance of rituals. The rituals are performed in physical terms but have spiritual implication for the believer. It is these rituals that enable man to identify with the spiritual world. Examples of such rituals include libation, prayers, sacrifice, etc. Furthermore, all religions have a mythological element that makes it difficult to explain the inexplicable. Countless stories abound in the world religions about their founders, their experiences and their concept of the spirit. There are myths that are not easy to comprehend. Again, every religion has an ethical dimension. They all emphasize on good conduct or morality. No religion encourages bad or unacceptable conduct. Believers are enjoined to live a way of life that reflects the philosophy of the religion. The codes are expected to be followed religiously by members. The day to day activities of believers and what they perceive as the interference of the spiritual is seen as the experiential dimension. Issues like miracles and healing are linked to religious experience. Most religions have these elements. Lastly, religion is society based. There can be no religion without society. It takes place in society...
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...“Critical Thinking – Hinduism Worldview” Hinduism is the world's oldest extant religion, with a billion followers, which makes it the world's third largest religion. Unlike other religions, Hinduism is a way of life, a Dharma, the law that governs all action. It has its own beliefs, traditions, advanced system of ethics, meaningful rituals, philosophy and theology. In this paper I will attempt to explain my view on Hinduism worldviews and will also elaborate on differences between Christianity and the Hinduism religion. The question of Origin asks "How did life begin?", "How did I come into existence? There is no central person to whom Hinduism can trace its origin unfortunately. The word “Hinduism” is not to be found in the scriptures, making it difficult to present a moment in time when the movement launched. Hinduism is a system that “attempts to maintain a complex polytheism on the one hand, and an earth-based worship of nature on the other” (Hindson and Caner, 263). Somewhere in the middle, these two religious impulses collide, and Hinduism is born. The question of Identity seeks to identify "What does it mean to be a human?" Hinduism states that humans are the highest of all creation. Souls can take many births in lower forms to get the eligibility to be born as human. Life can form lower than human beings, such as insects, plants and animals to name a few. The question of meaning/purpose asks, "Why does mankind exist?”, “Why do I exist?" In Hinduism they...
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...Foundations Questions Micaela Diaz-Period 5 1. What is the definition of religion and what do we use in our lives to try to understand it? The definition of religion can be an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and worldviews that relate to humanity to understand the supernatural and spirituality. Religion can also be defined as the human notions regarding the sacred, numinous, spiritual and divine. We use many things to try and understand religion such as scriptures, sacred texts, religious traditions or customs and various other practices. 2. When examining scriptural writings, what kinds of forms do they come in, and what were they generally used for? Scriptural writings came in several forms such as texts and books like the Bible or the Quran, scrolls such as the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Torah. They also came in wall writings such as the Egyptian pictographic Hieroglyphs and many other forms of scrolls, books, papers, or pictures. They are generally used for the worship of a deity or deities, to recount or retell the events of a specific religion or religious foundation, or they tell of deity or deities pertaining to that religion. Scriptural writings can also be used for understanding the articles of faith, moralities, and ethics of that religion, or rules that one must abide by and follow. Scriptural writings can also be written in a way where the reader learns lessons through the sacred text, through stories or prophecies or anything of the...
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...“Religion poisons everything” Religion can be defined as the human need for meaning and purpose of life which is concerned with the supernatural power of the creator, the inevitable forces of the natural and spiritual world and how we interact with mysterious forces. It is a society or community based on similar beliefs, friendship, companionship and support network. Religion has made significant contributions to the lives of individuals as well as society as a whole. Religion proposals an individual’s answers to life’s philosophical questions. It explains the story of creation, human nature and the purpose of life. Also, it gives the individual an identity within a certain religion. It gives the person a logic of belonging which helps for them to understand what their role in life is and the nature around them. Religion has made significant contributions to the life of a person in areas such as the personal search of meaning, ethical guidance, sense of belonging and ritual meaning. These areas have specifically impacted on individuals. The primarily contribution would be the personal search for meaning. A person examines for a better understanding of key questions in life. These questions of life include a human’s origin, purpose and destiny. People will look at religions at times of many diverse situations where they want to discover the answers to their questions particularly during times of personal trauma or crisis. E.g. someone who might be struggling with family problems...
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...philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe. It regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts. Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche both felt that life is irrational. They were problem thinkers who chose not to follow the systematic approach to philosophy as their predecessors did. In this regard, they stood on common ground. Both realized that no system of philosophy operates in isolation of its creators inherent prejudices. Any subjective viewpoint is biased; therefore, objectivity is impossible in any moral example. They both recognized that God no longer exists in religion in present-day expression. Men and women go about their daily lives in a manner irreverent of the possibility that there is an all-powerful God governing their affairs. Surprisingly, they proclaim their devotion to God when questioned about it. However, in their attempts to resolve this moral affliction Nietzsche and Kierkegaard are different in their quest for a cure. The very foundations of their moral constitutions were built upon conflicting ideologies: Kierkegaard put his in Christianity, while Nietzsche’s in individualism and self-determination. Kierkegaard saw the problem of religious downfall as an opportunity for renewal in Christian beliefs. Kierkegaard was born May 5, 1813 in Kopenhagen Denmark and died November 11, 1885...
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...22/03/2014 Lecture outline Teaching and Learning in COMM101 What is a Corporation? The Business of Business Sources of Morality The Importance of Moral Principles Past Cohort Performances HD Autumn 2013 (607) Spring 2012 (440) Autumn 2012 (674) Spring 2011 (528) 15% 6% 13% 13% D 31% 25% 28% 22% C 32% 34% 29% 25% P 12% 19% 18% 25% F 8% 10% 7% 9% TF 2% 5% 3% 6% Avg. 69.75 65.36 69.02 65.88 Autumn 2011 (701) 10% 24% 26% 25% 7% 6% 65.38 1 22/03/2014 Critical elements in a teaching episode people learning processes context learning outcomes Adapted from Biggs and Tang, 2007 T & L Challenges in COMM101 Interdisciplinary subject Based on ethics Subjective Multiple perspectives A feeder subject for other faculty subjects Questions for teachers... 1. How do we know whether learning is occurring in the subject? 2. What is my (implicit) theory of learning? 2 22/03/2014 Students’ developmental journey Developmental Level Reliance on external [Foundations] Student traits Knowledge viewed as certain references Reliance on authorities (e.g. professors, parents) as source of knowledge Externally defined value system and identity Act in relationships to acquire approval At the crossroads Evolving awareness of multiple perspectives [Intermediate Learning] and uncertainty Evolving awareness of own values and identity and of limitations of dependent relationships Self-authorship [Capstone] Awareness of knowledge...
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...Cynthia Crawford MGT 216 January 6, 2011 Frederick Pringle Today’s business world is experiencing changes concerning ethics. This paper will give an overview of the differences between moral and ethical issues pertaining to the business world and review differences between personal and business ethics. Finally, I will give real-world examples of common ethical problems past and present in the business world. According to DeGeorge, “Morality consists of rules of human behavior and specifies that certain actions are wrong or immoral and that others are right or moral” (p. 6). Issues of morality are often linked to religion. Moral issues can have serious or immediate effects. Moral issues deal with personal values established by individuals’ upbringing and background. Moral issues are also dependent upon ones social background. Moral views are on a broader level than ethics. According to Shaw and Barry, “Business ethics are mainly concerned with morality in the narrow sense.” Etiquette can have an interaction with morality depending upon the situation. Ethics is refers to a philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness a badness of the motives and ends of such actions (Gale, par 1). Ethical issues generally deal with the breaking of laws and rules established by a governing board for an organization. Ethical issues have become more complex because of global business...
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...Sexual moralities have varied greatly over time and between outlines. A society’s sexual norms, standards of sexual conduct can be linked to religious beliefs, or social and environmental conditions, or all of these. Different religions have different codes of sexual morality, which regulate sexual activity or assign normative values to certain sexually changed actions or thoughts. Majority of young people consider casual sex or hook-up sex morally wrong in some circumstances and some of them consider it always to be...
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...MKT 444 Class Notes – Week 4: * Ethical Issues In Marketing Research * Ethical questions are philosophical questions * Marketing ethics: the application of morals to behavior related to the exchange environment * See the marketing ethics statements in BlackBoard * Conceptually, marketing ethics are just regular ethics applied in a marketing context. * Moral standards: principles that reflect beliefs about what is proper behavior and what is improper. Morality varies among people. * Cultural/religions aspect * Ethics and morality are not the same thing but related * Ethical dilemma: a situation in which one must choose from alternative courses of actions, each with different ethical implications. * Moral Stances * Absolutism * There is only one valid moral standard (and the person know which one it is) * Relativism * Rejects absolute principles in favor of situation-based evaluations, but within boundaries * Acknowledges that other views my be valid * Moral Behavior * Reflects the degree to which one bases ones decisions on moral standards. * Example: the golden rule (there are two with different inferences for behavior) * General Rights and Obligations of Concerned Parties * Everyone involved in marketing research can face an ethical dilemma * The people actually performing the research...
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...favorite toy and to hate the feel of diaper rash or loud noises. Why is it that when we grow older we learn to turn love in passion and hate in pure loathe and rage. Perhaps it because love and hate is ultimately a feeling that evolves through experience of society In Andrew Sullivan’s New York Times Article “ What’s So Bad About Hate?” The question of whether making laws of morality should limit the personal rights and feelings of an individual are discussed and analyzed. In another New York Times Article Steven Pinker, “ The Moral Instinct”, the idea of how to measure ideas between right and wrong by looking at how decisions about morality are made and whether it is a natural tendency or a conditioned characteristic learned through development are discussed. These questions can be summarized as the main debate of whether hate is moral or immoral. In the past decade a few hate crimes that involved homophobia ( the suicide of Rutger’s student Tyler Clementi) and morals dealing with race and ethnicity ( the shooting of Trayvon Martin) are microcosms of hate and morality in general. When questioning the morality of hate the act of hatred or the person committing the act’s morals is discussed when deeming a hate as immoral. The deep emotion of hate towards individuals, entities, objects, and ideas has been experienced by most human beings at some point in their lives. Andrew Sullivan states in his article “ What’s So Bad About Hate?” that “ Hate is everywhere. Human beings generalize...
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...Critical Thinking Assignment Buddhism/Christian Worldview Robert Barbour, Jr. Liberty University Online APOL 104 Professor Robert Hunter September 29, 2014 In Aspect I of this essay, I will make an effort to respond on several concerns regarding the overall viewpoint from which Buddhists see and understand the world. I deem that the Buddhists worldview can be very fascinating and complicated in several ways. In addition, in Aspect II, I will display how the Buddhists worldview makes a large comparison in comparison to a/the Spiritual / Christian worldview. Aspect I Presenting Buddhism’s Multiple Viewpoints on Worldview The question of Origin: Buddhism is a religion that involves a wide range of customs, values and methods mostly depending on lessons linked to Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhist believe the world have no beginning or end. “The Buddha added the notion that all creatures, including man, are fictions: there is really no "self"; only a series of occurrences that appear to be individual persons and things.” (The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error 2. Compiled by Steven Cory. Copyright 1986, Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. ). The question of Identity: Buddhism instructs that there is no self, but instead there are individual, ever-changing elements that create who we are. Buddhists also believe “what keeps man in this cycle is known as Karma. Although good Karma can have a positive effect, it is still viewed as a curse; since good and bad Karma keeps a person...
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