...It is not easy to act both generally and individually morally, when people are blinded by passion and flourish of romantic love. That is why someone calls romantic love is a moral issue. Morality differentiate actions into right and wrong, and right actions are constituted by permissible and obligatory (Halwani 2010, p.89). We should eschew wrong actions, however, can we summarise romantic love is morally prohibited? Sometimes love hurts people when love is selfish or attachment; while sometimes love also brings happiness and support from outside of us. Romantic love is beyond dualism, just like Halwani (2010, p.92) states ' romantic love is not a basic good...it is not morally suspect either.' Then, how romantic love connects with right actions? If romantic love is our obligation, morality is uncorrelated. Whereas if romantic love is permissible that people can choose may or may not to undertake it, morality would intervene in decision making. 'Romantic love is not under our command, which means it is not something we are able to do at will' (Halwani2010, p.90). Romantic love is accidental; people just can not control the time, the place and the person that they will fall in love with. As a result, we can conclude that romantic love is not obligatory. Therefore, romantic love is neither obligatory nor prohibited; the only probability of romantic love is to be permissible. This appears a question about whether people should undertake it in their lives. To answer the question,...
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...Euthyphro 1. What charges is Euthyphro bringing against his father? Euthyphro is charging is father with murder. Does it seem to you like Euthyphro has a reasonable case? Explain No because Euthyphro did not know the meaning from piety to impiety, he did not really have a statement to charge his farther with murder... 2. Pay attention to tone. How would you describe Socrates’ tone in the first part of this dialogue? You may need to come back to this one after you have read the whole thing. Socrates tone of voice started passive but then it started getting heavy after he found out that Euthyphro did know he was talking about. 3. What are the four definitions of piety/holiness that Euthyphro tries to give to Socrates? (Some interpreters say there are five, what do YOU think?) Euthyphro states that the following means Piety- prosecuting anyone who is guilty of murder, sacrilege, or of any similar crime. Then he goes on by saying that God love is pious and holy, and the opposite, which they all hate, impious. I think the fifth definition Euthyphro states is that piety is what is dear to the gods and impiety is that which is not dear to gods... 4. How does Socrates respond to each of these answers? Socrates stated all the gods hate is impious, and what they love pious or holy; and what some of them love and others hate is both or neither he was trying to say does not mean that is the definition of piety and impiety. Socrates you knew there was a difference between words. 5. Does Socrates...
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...Kant's Moral Philosophy is, as you would expect, difficult to understand. It has become popular in our times, mainly as a viable alternative to utilitarianism. Since utilitarian theory downplays the moral significance of such important elements as respect, human dignity, individual rights, and minority protection, an alternative moral theory might b needed. [Utilitarianism, and consequential theories in general, do not accord an intrinsic and incommensurable value to any element - in other words, nothing - not even human dignity or even human life - is to be valued as morally good or morally valuable in itself and isolated from comparison, or weighing, against other goods. In utilitarianism, in particular, the conversion of all things is to happiness or pleasure or utility or preferences; in this way, everything has a common denominator - and this makes it possible to have a ready-made formular for assessment of what one should do morally [act in such a way as to maximize the overall happiness or happiness of the greatest possible number]; the down-side is that nothing - not even life or rights or human dignity - is to be kept out of the utilitarian calculus. Although utilitarianism is handy when it comes to tough cases and moral dilemmas - it has ample scope and range of cases it can handle in its own way - it is rather counter-intuitive in its insistence that even what we generally hold as the most morally valuable things are just numbers in a calculus. Also, since the greatest...
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...“Moral relativism is a better system than moral absolutism” Moral relativism refers to the normative ethical system which rejects the idea of absolutes and instead believes that “man is the measure of all things”- which was skilfully expressed by Ruth Benedict. The moral relative system surpasses that of moral absolutism and this will be justified throughout this essay. Moral relativist systems exceed moral absolutist systems due to diversity. The system explains the different values that people hold and encourages diverse cultural expressions due to there being no rigidity or fixe ethical code. This allows for a better system as it signifies freedom of expression and people being able to share their opinions with each other, without there being a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. This is due to the system prohibiting dominant cultures from enforcing itself over others simply because of a disparity of opinions. This means that all cultures are valued by a relativist as there is no objective knowledge that one must accept, they instead must accept all actions as equally valid in the society in which they take place. This would then make is difficult for a relativist to criticise religious acts such as Muslim women wearing a hijab in England , which is beneficial to society due to the lack of discrimination and ignorance. In conjunction with diversity, moral relativism is a better system than moral absolutism due to circumstantial aspects. Moral absolutism does not take into account the...
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...Ethics Aristotle defines virtue as “the mean relative to us.” In separate paragraphs, please describe briefly the basic notion of virtue as a mean, and then explain why he believes that such a mean is relative to us. Provide quotations/examples to support your claims. Include a final paragraph in which you explain your views on this issue of relativity. Be sure to take into consideration the counter-arguments we discussed in class. The mean is relative to the person who is trying to find his mean. This is the only way you can look at mean. Everything in life is relative, to one person a situation can be completely different to another. The virtues on a scale of a person can be different to another, thus it is hard to judge another person's relativity. To understand this concept we need to understand means, virtue, and virtue in the moral and the intellectual sense. First off Aristotle does not think the same way as his teacher Plato does. Aristotle comes up with the idea that we should think of the means to get to the ends. Whereas Plato, his teacher, thinks that we should think of the ends to find the means. “the end of the medical art is health, that of shipbuilding a vessel, that of strategy victory, that of economics wealth.” Aristotle shows that not only one thing is under the means there can be multiple means to one end. An example, the making of sails and woodcraft can both go towards making a ship. This shows that the means to get somewhere are numerous, and that...
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...For Persons As A Moral Theory 1. Criterion 1: Consistency and Coherence Consistency Description: The logical compatibility of predictions or judgments, we want a theory that gives consistent instructions Coherence Description: a theory is coherent if it does not contain logically incompatible parts, such as standards, principles, rules, or concepts ► The utilitarianism act had one principle (the greatest happiness principle) which made consistency and coherence fairly simple. ► The ethics of respect for persons, however, uses two principles, which might cause problems. ▪ Kant thinks both principles are just versions of the same idea, the categorical imperative, but we’ve seen it’s not that easy. ► But it doesn’t seem like these two principles will ever conflict with one another, so consistency isn’t an issue. ▪ And since the basic idea is the same for both, all people are equal and deserve to be treated as such, coherence isn’t much of an issue either. 2. Justification Justification Description: Calculation of reasons for believing a moral standard. What certifies or justifies our belief in one moral standard over another? ► The universalization principle can be seen as an extension of the basic requirement of equality that lies at the very heart of morality. ▪ If morality means anything it means that everyone has to play by the same rules. This is what universalization is all about. ► The means-end principle relies...
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...with positive effort on behalf of others. Contrast this with the teaching of a famous Jewish rabbi of Jesus’ day. When asked to sum up the teaching of the law and the prophets, the rabbi responded: “Avoid doing to others what you do not wish them to do to you.” Whereas the message of Jesus is to get involved as the Father has gotten involved with humanity, the rabbi cautions a more conservative approach. The rabbi wants us merely to keep from harming others. Jesus wants us to act, not just react. • Jesus further puts his own special seal on this maxim by stating the two greatest commandments: love God and love one another. To love someone is to seek to do good to them, and certainly, at the very least, to avoid doing them evil. • What is Christian Moral Life? • Misconceptions 1. Reduced to avoidance of sin 2. Reduced to a series of don’ts and dire punishment if we fail • What is Christian Moral Life? • Positive and Fuller Meaning 1. Moral theology should start with God and God’s love - JP II (Veritatis Splendor) : The moral life is a response to the many gratuitous initiatives taken by God out of God’s love - God always acts first: the moral life begins with God’s grace; we respond in freedom to our experience of God - If the moral life is a response to God, then our image of God is crucial because how we imagine God would affect how we respond to Him morally (e.g. the Parable of the Prodigal Son) Parable of the...
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...Professor Date Aristotle’s concept of the right Introduction Moral reasoning is philosophical aspect that includes the determination of the difference between wrong and right. This is done on the basis of logic. Moral reasoning plays a vital role in the daily today lives of human beings as people are always in constant decision making processes of what is right and what is wrong. There are dilemmas that people face daily with whether they are to say the truth or to lie on certain situations. The consequences of actions are usually weighed against the morality. Moral behavior has four major components. This includes the moral sensitivity that includes the ability of humans to discern ethical dilemmas. Secondly, moral behavior deals with the ability to have a correct reasoning on what is supposed to be done in various circumstances. Moral action commitment and taking the responsibility of actions is yet an aspect of moral behavior. Lastly, moral character forms the fourth aspect. Several philosophers have exploited aspects of moral reasoning. Among them is Aristotle who greatly exploited the concept of the right. Aristotle’s concept of the right One may wonder what ‘right’ means or what is meant by actions being right. According to Aristotle, an action is considered to be right if the action is done in a way that it corresponds to virtues that are moral. He further emphasizes the fact that there is need for the agent who does an action to be in the right mind alongside maintaining...
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...there are objective values (i.e. moral facts). Moral realism is the theory that moral statements have a truth value and there are moral facts to determine said truth values. Moral realists believe moral facts can exist independent of our knowledge of them, therefore moral facts need no proof to exist and we do not necessarily know any moral facts to determine a statements truth value. This theory belongs to cognitivism which is a collection of theories that claim that moral statements have a truth value; however moral realism differs from other cognitivist theories like error theory. Error theory states that while moral statement have a truth value there are no moral facts so all positive moral statements are false. Although both theories state that moral statements have a truth value they disagree on whether or not moral facts exist to determine the truth value of a statement. The implications of moral realism are that moral statements like “abortion is wrong” can be objectively true and they are not just simple matters of opinion. This means that people can hold false views on morality just as people who believe the earth is flat hold a false view; therefore this implies that moral knowledge and moral ignorance are possibilities. Some people, like Martin Luther King, seem morally knowledgeable which fits in with the idea of moral realism as they believe in moral facts and facts must be able to be learnt. However, we cannot know what the moral facts are to be learnt so although...
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...Business Ethics UTALITARIAN What are the most important types of ethical standards to apply in business activities? Utilitarian ethic claims that something is right to the extent it diminishes social costs and increases social benefits. Ethic of rights, closely associated with Kantian duty ethic, claims that one should always consider and respect people’s rights to freedom and well-being. Aristotelian virtue ethic evaluates the moral character of persons or groups. As articulated by Mill and Bentham, utilitarianism aims not for the pleasure of the individual but the “greatest good for the greatest number” of people. Refined by its later interprets, utilitarianism also rejects a simplistic belief in pursuing the most pleasure possible in favour of the view that incorporates qualitative standards and elevates pleasures of the mind over pleasures of the body. The term “happiness” seems to capture this broadened sense best, and Utilitarian philosophers sometimes call their principle the “greatest happiness principle.” To apply correctly the utilitarian approach, one should avoid several possible misunderstandings of the utilitarian principle. First, the principle does not refer to that action which produces the most utility for the person performing that action; rather, an action is right if it produces the most utility for all persons affected by the action (including the person performing the action). Nor does the utilitarian principle say that an action is right so long...
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...defines good in a great many different ways: 'having the right or desired qualities; satisfactory, adequate. (of a person) efficient, competent. (of a thing) reliable, efficient. (of health etc) strong. kind, benevolent. morally excellent; virtuous. charitable. well-behaved. enjoyable, agreeable. thorough, considerable.' Moral philosophy also uses the word 'good' in a variety of ways, sometimes as a noun, sometimes as an adjective. GOOD CAN MEAN: A. An inherent quality which is widely beneficial.. B. The opposite of bad or evil. C. Something one person (or more) approves of. D. Useful, in that the good action/concept/attitude enriches human life. E. God-like, or what God wants. For each of these five types of usage (and the list is not exhaustive) it is possible to see room for differences of interpretation. Usage A will vary, depending on how 'widely' and' beneficial' are defined. 'Widely' could mean anything from 'often in the life of one person' to 'universal, to every being'. 'Beneficial' could mean any of pleasant, healthy, productive, useful, life-enhancing/ enriching. Usage B depends entirely on the person's view of what is evil. Usage C will probably be different in detail for every single individual, and will be dependent .on the background of the person concerned. Usage D depends on the long-term and ultimate goals that a person has in life. A person aiming primarily for monetary wealth will regard training for increasing earning power as...
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...family, friends, mentors and society at large. Philosophers stand outside this “circle of living,” to observe the hows and whys of what we do and become who we are, and try to interpret that. So do artists, poets and novelists. But philosophers choose to situate individual beings and their actions within larger theoretical settings, called principles. They search for the defining principles that guide our actions, and for general descriptions that will explain the way things are and what they mean. This effort is to help us both understand ourselves better and act better. As philosophers have considered human experience, three fundamental areas have been elicited: How and what we know, think or understand ------> theory What we create, produce or make -------> arts How we act, what we do or should do -------> practice The third strand will be the focus of our exploration in this seminar: How should we act? What should we be, or become? This debate is known as “moral theory” or ethics. As the semester moves along, we will narrow our focus by asking these precise questions in the context of the business world: how ought we to act; what kind of person should we be as we fulfill our roles as managers, employers, employees and what is the nature of a corporation as a moral entity. The goals of this course include the following: 1....
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...Applying Moral Philosophies to Business Ethics Moral philosophies - present guidelines for determining how conflicts in human interests are to be settled and for optimizing mutual benefit of people living together in groups. --There is no one correct way to resolve ethical issues in business. -- Each type of philosophy has a distinct basis for deciding whether a particular action is right or wrong. -- Ethics issues analyzed using different philosophical theories generally have the same appropriate outcome. Role Morality — people have a moral responsibility to fulfill their role in the organization Do employees have a moral responsibility to “do their jobs?” What are their responsibilities? Do employers have a moral responsibility to “do their jobs?” What are their responsibilities? How do employers handle conflicts in the different roles they perform? What if your superior wants you to carry out some responsibility, and your workgroup thinks this is unfair? What if some personal role conflicts with a work role? (Others roles include: student, parent, child, organization member, etc.) Moral Philosophy Perspectives 1. Teleology — egoism - enlightened egoism - utilitarianism 2. Deontology 3. Relativist Perspective 4. Virtue Ethics I. Teleology — consequences (consequentialist theories) egoism — right behavior is based on good consequences for the individual enlightened egoism — some basic “rules”...
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...virtue ethics is of little use when dealing with practical ethics. Virtue ethics does not focus on actions being right or wrong, but on how to be a good person. Virtue ethics raises three questions “who am I?”, “Who I ought to become?” and “How do I get there?”. On the other hand Practical ethics describes situations where an action is needed. Firstly virtue ethics goes back to Plato and Aristotle. Plato’s moral theory centres on the achievement of man’s highest good, which involves the right cultivation of his soul and the harmonious wellbeing of his life (Eudaimonia). Plato seemed to consider that certain virtues such as temperance, courage, prudence and justice (cardinal Virtues) are in balance a person’s actions will be good. It motivates people to want to be good. It shows the importance of education in showing that good actions are their own rewards. When these virtues are in balance a person’s actions will be good and therefore would disagree that virtue ethics is of little use. Aristotle’s ethical theory is known as virtue ethics because at the centre of his description of the good, which are the virtues which shape human character and ultimately human behaviour. However this good human life is one lived in harmony and co-operation with other people, since Aristotle saw people as not only rational beings but also as social beings. Aristotle saw two types of virtues, intellectual virtues and moral virtues. Aristotle compares the virtues to skills acquired through practice...
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...TELEOLOGY and DEONTOLOGY You ever heard the saying “the ends justify the means”? What exactly does this mean? Well it means just because you do something bad as long as the result is good the action can be forgiven. If one man kills another man he is a murderer. But what if the man he killed, killed others? Or done worse crimes? Was he a rapist? Possibly, and if he is then was his actions justified? The saying does say if the result is good the action is justified but how good of a result does it have to be? If you rob a bank and give the money to the less fortunate is that justified? How about killing one to save the lives of many? Let’s use teleology and deontology to help us figure this out. First let’s define what deontology and teleology mean. The word deontology comes from the Greek roots deon, which means duty, and logos, which means science. Which means deontology is the "science of duty." Deontology focuses on independent moral rules or duties. In order to make the correct moral choices, we simply have to understand what our moral duties are and what correct rules help us regulate those duties. The word teleology comes from the Greek roots telos, which means end, and logos, which means science. Which means teleology is the "science of ends." Teleology focuses on the consequences which our actions might have. When we make choices which result in the correct consequences, then we are acting morally. When we make choices which result in the incorrect consequences, then...
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