...this being against the law. In this case it is ok to lie in order to keep the Jews safe because they are lying for the greater good. When making a decision one must weigh the pros and cons and when it comes to Corrie's decision the good most definitely outweighed the bad. Corrie continues to lie in order to save the Jews because they are still...
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...Christine M. Korsgaard’s position about lying to the murderer at the door. I will also discuss the two problems that arise when discussing her reasoning, neither of which come from any propositions central to Kant’s argument. Then, I will argue that though these problems may be objected by Korsgaard, she is ultimately incapable of creating neither a persuasive argument nor defense. I will begin by introducing several crucial terms that will aid in the understanding of these arguments. First, the Categorical Imperative may best be defined by its first formulation or the Formula of Universal Law: to act only in accordance to a maxim so that you should will it to become universal law1. Secondly, the second form or Formula of Humanity: acting so that you should treat humanity (as a whole) as an end and never a means2. The next term, maxim, will be referred to as a set of principles that simply govern our actions. Lastly, Kantian...
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...ethics and morals. In the paragraphs below I will be defining unqualified absolutism, conflicting absolutism, and graded absolutism and give examples of different scenarios involving all three ethical systems. Then finally I will conclude by identifying which ethical system that I use most often when making ethical decisions. Unqualified absolutism is defined by the book as the view that there are many moral absolutes that never actually conflict; all alleged conflicts are only apparent, but not real. Under unqualified absolutism it states that we are able to avoid doing wrong. Under this system it states that right and wrong is determined by Gods laws and those laws are what we should follow in order to not do wrong. Under this system lying is not permitted because it is wrong. Under no circumstance should you lie to solve any issue that you might incur. The philosophy of this system tells us that there are no true moral conflicts, because God always provides us with the solution to our problem (Geisler, 2010). To me the best example of unqualified absolutism would be a young child. I say this because as a child I could not lie to my Father. I told the truth no matter what it was just who I was and how they raised me. I was always told even if you do something bad you tell the truth, because if you lie you are going to get in more trouble than if you just told that truth. When it...
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...the other families scattered across Maycomb, later in the novel atticus accepts the task to defend a black man named Tom robinson. During the trial tom robinson is accused of rape but atticus provides evidence that the defendants Bob Ewell and Mayella are lying and Mayella actually propositioned tom robinson then her father caught her and beat her but in court Mayella is just trying to hide the shame and guilt so she accuses tom robinson. Mr Ewell felt rage and swore revenge for atticus making a fool of him in court so Bob Ewell attacks jem and when that happens boo radley saves and stabs Bob Ewell and carries jem back to the finch house and in order to protect boo the sheriff insists that Bob Ewell tripped over a tree root and fell on his own knife. After watching the kids boo once again disappears once again into the radley house. In the end Two themes that can be found throughout the story are the...
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...The Death of Marat Painting The Death of Marat is created by French artist Jacques-Louis David in 1973, in the size of 6550”(1.65 1.27”m), oil on canvas. Marat was a doctor, scientist and journalist. He fought for the freedom and democracy in France so that strongly supported by the middle class and lower class people, but also made enemies of the aristocracy. The picture depicts an on-going event. Figure lying in the bathtub in the painting is Marat. He was stabbed by Charlotte Corday, a Girondin from a minor aristocratic family against Marat, into the heart with a small blood splattered knife dropping on the ground, bleeding from the wound to the canvas covered on the bathtub. He laid on his side uncomfortably from the posture in the painting, and his right arm hung down the bathtub but holding a quill in the hand while the left hand tightly gripped a letter with blood, says”Please send this five francs to the mother of five children. Her husband gave his life for his country.” The money, the ink, another quill and a piece of paper placed on the khaki counter, which contrast to the dark blue blanket covered on the Marat’s naked body. The light, structure and space of the painting arranged appropriately but ordinary. The spot light plays from left to right, highlighted on Marat’s face, arms and letter in his left hand. Therefore his facial expression in sublime become more easy to see.In the meantime, the direction of the spot light also component of the whole structure...
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...Not only does she have the doctor lying to her, but she also has two daughters who are in on it all too. Her primary nurse, must decide if she will go along with them as she was asked to do, or if she will go against them and possibly lose her job. We also must decide if lying to the patient is morally justified. After just going through a painful divorce, one could say that it is in the best interest of the patient to not know how serious her illness is. With her not knowing the truth it may have been what was best for her mental health, which means the lies her justified. That would mean that the medical staff handled the situation to the best of their ability. However, one...
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..."Now, we must all fear evil men. But, there is another kind of evil which we must fear most... And that is the indifference of good men" (Duffy). This quote by Troy Duffy makes a statement about an evil that one often overlooks. Throughout history, evil men have committed horrendous crimes deserving of death. However, people often forget that the apathetic man has something to be blamed for. In Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, he shows how good men become desensitized and leave all logic, decency, and concern when removed from civilization. Conrad's novel illustrates a plethora of themes about man when placed in such a primitive environment. In his novel, Conrad uses the literary elements of symbolism, characterization, and setting to illustrate the theme that humans become depraved when removed from civilization. The literary concept of symbolism is exemplified in people, places, and things in order to portray how depraved humans can become. One primary example is the heads of the "criminals" atop of poles outside Kurtz's hut (Conrad). This symbolizes Kurtz's physical and mental downgrade from domesticated to savage. He has figuratively and literally become an animal at this point in time. He is so broken off from decency that he no longer cares how violent and brash his actions are. Furthermore, there is another example...
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...Actions that are absolute fall under the group of ‘categorical imperative’, while actions that are purposeful fall under the group of ‘hypothetical imperative’. The categorical imperative states, “An action is objectively necessary in itself without reference to any purpose, i.e. without any other end, is valid as an apodictic (practical) principle” (409). The act of lying, as previously stated, can be considered categorical so long as it is an act in itself and done with no purpose. On the other hand, there are actions that are done with a purpose. Thus, “according to the hypothetical imperative only says that the action is good for some purpose, possible or actual” (409). This can go back to the act of lying, but instead of just lying one would be lying for a purpose, so they might lie to get out of a day of work. We can then see that there is an action performed with a clear purpose in the end. These are the differences between categorical and hypothetical...
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...Katie Lewis Mrs. Miller English 11, Period 1 26 November 2014 The Good, the Bad, and the Witches Buddha once said, “There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.” His words describe how there is both evil and good in the world. There is also both good and evil in Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible. In 1692, the witch trials played a huge role in the lives of people in Salem, Massachusetts. The townspeople feared witchcraft so much that it created confusion regarding who was actually a witch and who was not. Many accusations were made leaving innocent people responsible for the mysterious acts of witchcraft. Abigail Williams reveals her impurity by doing just this. Abigail constantly lies to the court and does everything in her power to save herself, even if it means falsely accusing others. In Miller's play The Crucible, Abigail Williams proves her impurity of soul by having an affair with John Proctor, lying to the townspeople, and attempting to kill Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail first reveals her impure heart through her love affair with John Proctor. Although Abigail is aware that John is married to Elizabeth Proctor, she does not let their relationship get in the way of her own selfish desires. Johns fends off Abigail when he says “Abigail, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. We never touched Abby” (15). Abigail argues, “Aye, but we did” (15). Here Abigail shows no guilt...
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...There are times when it is acceptable, in the face of evil, to break God’s laws. When you are trying to protect others from people that might be after them. When you or someone else is in danger or being threatened. Make sure when you do this that it doesn't become a habit and that you do it only if you absolutely have to. It’s sometimes allowed to break God’s laws in order to protect one or more people. Let’s say that someone came to your house and was looking for a loved one that committed a crime. Now there are many verses in the Bible that says that God hates a lying tongue and that it is wrong. In order to protect a loved one would you lie and say that he/she is not here. In The Hiding Place Corrie says “And it isn't logical to say the truth and do a lie!” (Ten Boom 91) By saying this Corrie says that saying and doing a lie is the same thing. Stealing ration cards is doing a lie and saying “We have no Jews here” is a...
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...multiple points and arguments regarding the topic of evil and whether God why God would allow it to exist. The two points that have intrigued me the most are the types of evil and the use of evil to create virtuous character. These points have caused me to rethink my views on evil as well as how other people view evil. Until the topic lecture, I have never categorized evil into different typologies. Previously, I have always thought of evil as one generic category instead of multiple categories. The typologies that evil is divided into are are moral evil, natural evil, and radical evil. Moral evil is person-to-person evil. It is intentional and is bent on the person's detriment. When people here the word "evil," this is usually what some to mind. Moral evil includes acts that are meant to intentionally hurt someone such as lying, attacking, gossiping, etc. Natural evil is the evil that is free from human agency, and consists of natural disasters. Natural disasters are natural evil because they cause pain and suffering, however, there is no human agency causing them. The final type of evil is radical evil. Radical evil is extreme, gratuitous, and beyond normal experience. A perfect example of radical evil...
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...Utilitarianism, Kantian Ethics, Natural Rights Theories, and Religious Ethics A “utilitarian” argument, in the strict sense, is one what alleges that we ought to do something because it will produce more total happiness than doing anything else would. Act utilitarianism (AU) is the moral theory that holds that the morally right action, the act that we have a moral duty to do, is the one that will (probably) maximize “utility” (happiness, welfare, well-being). AU is not to be confused with egoism. The egoist really only cares about his own happiness. AU says that everyone’s happiness counts equally. Suppose that executing Joseph would in the long run produce more total happiness than letting him live would. Then according to AU, we ought to execute Joseph. Now if Joseph is a convicted serial murderer who would probably escape and commit more murders if we tried to incarcerate him, then it’s reasonable to think that executing him would be the right thing to do. But what if he has committed no crime? What if he is simply an extremely irritating person with no friends or loved ones, and the many people with whom he has contact in his life are very sensitive and dislike him intensely? Since more total happiness is produced if Joseph dies (the increased happiness of the many who no longer have to endure him outweighs his unhappiness about dying) than if he lives, AU says that it’s right to kill him. This example illustrates what is probably the main objection to AU: it tells us to violate...
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...girls get away, the reverend’s daughter Betty, and his niece Abigail. After this scene fear gets its biggest part in the movie. Betty falls into a coma nothing can wake her. The town including her father believes that the devil has got hold of her. I believe that Betty is just scared to get in trouble, and there are pieces of evidence that prove it. First off through the entire movie all the girls of the town are lying that they can see the devil. Why would this be untrue for this small girl? Second during church Abigail and the girls march up to Betty’s room and explain to her that everything is ok, her father knows and is not angry. Remarkably she wakes and says she wants her mom. If Betty was truly possessed I am sure she would not wake at the first instance that she is not in trouble. Frustrated with the girls Abigail threatens to kill them if they speak of what she did. And strangely Betty falls back into her trance. Lastly, when reverend Hale is upstairs examining Betty. She overhears Abigail saying that Tituba forced them to dance in the woods with her evil spirits. Betty suddenly wakes when she feels she will not be in trouble, and blames...
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...our individual worldviews, and decide what we will let affect those beliefs. Media can have a large effect on a person’s worldview; this is especially true for the TV show Breaking Bad. After proposing the question, “What is Breaking Bad?” to ten ORU students, over half replied with “It is a show about meth” (Garland, personal interview). While most see Breaking Bad as nothing more than a show about meth, it has a powerful plot full of biblical persuasion that conveys the importance of morality and the negative impact egoism can have on a person. The TV show Breaking Bad, produced by Vince Gilligan, has become a well-known piece of media that thousands of people have spent watching countless hours of. It has taken the plot of good versus evil to an entirely new level. The show starts out focusing on the main character, Walter White, who is a family man and high school chemistry teacher. Walter struggles with the inferiority he feels towards his colleagues and lack of accomplishments. Walter lives a simple, quiet life until he takes a visit to the doctor. He is told that he has cancer and has two years or less to live. Walter...
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...he separated into the four working presumptions and the six fundamental principles otherwise known as propositions. In this essay I will be examining four of Joseph Fletchers six fundamental principles. The first fundamental principle is ‘only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love: nothing else at all’. Only love is good in itself. Actions are not intrinsically good or evil as they are good or evil depending upon whether they promote the most loving result. Love is intrinsically valuable it has inherit worth. Nothing else has intrinsic value but it gains or acquires its value because it happens to help people making it good or hurt people making it bad. Actions are not intrinsically good or evil depending upon whether they produce the most loving result. They are extrinsically good depending on their circumstances and consequences. Joseph Fletcher said that actions are extrinsically good depending upon the circumstances. According to Joseph Fletchers first principle actions such as lying can be justified if the action itself is extrinsically good. Natural law states that actions such as lying are always wrong regardless of the circumstances. Joseph Fletcher said “circumstances alter cases', situationism holds that in practice what in some times and places we call right is in other times and places wrong”. A lie is not intrinsically wrong it is only wrong if it harms people however it may sometimes be right. For a Situationist what makes a lie right is its loving purpose...
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