...SEXUAL MORALITY Phil 150, Intro to Ethics What is it when we refer sexual morality? The word sex has two general meanings. First, it refers to whether one is female or male, and second, it refers to lovemaking or genital contact between two people, as in having sex. For the sake of this essay, I will broadly identify sexual morality as principles for sexual pleasure, desire, and activity. In the discussion for this paper, I will give my aspect on things regarding sexual morality that would be morally objectionable according to Kantian morality. I will also discuss a few factual matters that would be relevant for consequential arguments. I will conclude this paper showing how ethical theories address issues of homosexuality. According to Kantian morality, moral concerns will not be about the consequences of sexual behavior, but about whether they enhance or use people fairly or unfairly. If govern by Kant’s principles, ones sexual morality would be either right or wrong or justifiable or unjustifiable sexual behavior. In a sexual relationship using these principles, both persons should do that which is acceptable to both persons; each person must put themselves in the shoes of the other. Also, under the Kantianism position, anything is permissible as long as both participants agree. The key concern would be whether or not the agreement is real. Therefore, one must take to issue things that would be morally objectionable. Lying, deceit, and refusal to inform...
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...Legislating Morality: There Oughta Be a Law! In this film I learned the difference in ethics and morality. I was one of the people mentioned that would often use the words interchangeably. However, I learned that ethics has to deal with a group of people whereas morality deals with the individual. Ethics deals with the beliefs of a number of people and morality is to be determined by each individual in the group. This film left me feeling pleased about our current laws. Morality is dependent on the individual and because of that we can never have too strict of a law that imposes a particular sense of morality, and to me that is a wonderful thing. Our freedoms the country is founded on are dependent on the laws that we enforce. If our government...
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...Relativism and Morality: The Truth of Universal Morality SOC 120 Monica Jones August 13, 2012 Relativism and Morality: The Truth of Universal Morality Lenn Goodman explains in Some Moral Minima that there are many norms in terms of morals. Such subjects that Goodman mentions is slavery, polygamy, rape, incest, clitoridectomy, terrorism, hostages, child warriors, genocide, famine, and germ warfare. These topics send a shiver down the spine of most people. There is a deep moral understanding of right and wrong when it comes to such things as Goodman mentions. These topics expand past any country or culture boundaries. This is a matter of being human and understanding what penetrates the core of our humanity. Things such as slavery, hostages, and forced famine are all things that strike at the very heart of humanity. Humanity is the basic connection between all races, cultures, and connects our overall existence as a whole. Once our humanity is chipped away at by another we can see where the wrong doing lays. The preservation of life and the freedom to live life is what is most wrong to take away. Essentially a moral norm is things that our universal human morality should prevent that rob others of life, dignity, survival, and one’s own will. The targeting of one culture for mass murder is universally wrong for robs others of life for something completely out of their control. Genocide is a destruction of a race or culture past, present, and future generations. Morally, this...
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...with the accepted standard of morality based primarily on self-denial. Lord Henry also states that the result of this abnegation is only a stronger passion for that which has been refused. He continues with this ideal when he says, “Resist [the temptation of sin], and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and...
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...it changes to a narrative from the cross itself. That made it more difficult for me to understand. I believe that in this poem the author wants the audience to feel many things, outrage over the injustice being primary. The author paints a picture for the audience so not as to elicit our pity but rather our sense of morality. The line 'Clearly this was no criminals gallows, but holy spirits were beholding it there, men on this earth, all that mighty creation' (P33, L20) intrigued me as I believe it was intended to do. The audience is supposed to see implicitly that the tree was not being used for a criminal but for someone holy, that it was being forced to take part in the death of an innocent man. I believe the role of the audience is to feel outraged and stand up against the injustice. The narration is almost that of a resigned story teller but it has the undertones of anger, like he wants the audience to feel his pain and anger. 'Then the warriors left me there standing, blood all over me, pierced everywhere with arrows.' (P34, L60), this line almost sounds like he wants the audience to understand that he was betrayed. The cross did his job as he was forced to do it and then they just left him there. I believe the audience is supposed to feel this sense of betrayal. I believe the nature of the audience is supposed to be diverse. It doesn't seem to be a story simply for Christians but rather anyone with a sense of...
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...While the three types of ethical theories contain great meaning, time has shown that universal ethical principles cannot be achieved because ethics is a learned behavior and cultural relativists will argue that right or wrong is decided by each individual culture. Deontological Theory Immanuel Kant is a philosopher most famous for his rationalism of the deontological theory. According to Kant, deontological theories are based on a duty that humans have a moral obligation to behave according to certain principles or laws. Kant questions what the fundamental source of morality and duty is, as well as what actions are committed by humans to justify an evaluation of those actions as right or wrong. Kant’s conclusion is that the ability we possess to rationally make decisions and our free will is the source of morality. Kant further concludes that rationality is the only action that can dictate the rules of morality (Kantian, n.d.). Kant’s categorical imperatives are certain rules that are a requirement or demand of how humans need to act and there are no exceptions to the rules. Kant provides several versions of the categorical imperative and an idea to the rules. Structures much around the “Golden Rule”, Kant suggests that you treat humanity as ends and never as means, treat each other as you would want to be treated, and give the same respect you would want to receive (Mosser, 2010)....
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...In giving her brother a proper burial, Antigone is disobeying the power hungry king Creon. Creon is a self involved king that works more to maintian his pride and respect rather than protecting a serving his citizens. Antigone knows it’s dangerous to go against Creon and in doing so will more likley result in her execution. Peter faces similar dangers. Peter reconizes the murderous and monsterous nature of the rising Nazi regime. Throughout the film it grows more and more obvious that harm and death comes to those who criticize the Nazi’s. For those who reconize the atrocities of the Nazi’s, they often are taken from their homes, sent to work camps, forced into the army, tortured, or even killed. At one point Peter even finds himself delivering the ashes of fathers who have objected to the Nazi presence to their families. Throughout the film Peter faces an internal struggle of whether to join the savagery of the Nazis and be safer or to continue to oppose them and risk death. In the end Peter finds that the fear emmited by the Nazis is not enough to subject himself to join and support their regime even though this could easily catalyze his death. Antigone and Peter also commonly share the desire to oppose the dictator force oppressing them whereas nearly all other citizens have to some degree have...
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...Durkheim’s theory states that a society is like an organism with different structures and functions, he acknowledges the presence of individuals and social solidarity. He believed that a society is held by a division of labour and that the structure can be changed over time. His basic argument is that there are two types of social solidarity, mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity.. Societies with limited division of labour fall under mechanical solidarity and societies with high division of labour fall under organic solidarity.In both societies individuals act according to what they are obliged to do for others,so each person is recognized for their contributions to the society.Social morality in this sense is ‘strictly necessary’ for solidarity between people to occur; without morality, “societies cannot exist.’” (Grabb, p. 79).According to Giddens (p. 73), the main substantive problem for Durkheim stems from “an apparent moral ambiguity concerning the relationship between the individual and society in the contemporary world.” Mechanical solidarity is the solidarity that comes with likeness,the early societies tended to be small and simple.Durkheim also adds that mechanical solidarity mean the common ideas and tendancies of members the societies are larger in number than individual ideas and tendencies.The division of labour was little and it was divided by sex and age.In this type of society everyone carries out their similar tasks and work and the work is normally...
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...Victoria Allred Prof. Olson ENG 2309.007 September 18, 2013 Morality Play In A Clockwork Orange written by Anthony Burgess, we read about a fifteen year old boy, named Alex, from Britain in the nineteen-seventy’s. He goes through many obstacles and many questions arrive in the readers mind about the treatment of citizens and the control of government. We watch this boy go through some many harsh times and the biggest question is if humans should have their free will to choose good or evil, or if the government should be able to choose that there will be nothing but good in the world. And as the prison Charles and F. Alexander said, “A man who cannot choose ceases to be a man” (pg. 100). I believe that moral depravity is much better than forced morality. The main point that Burgess makes in this book is that a humans right to choose good or evil is essential to society. During the book, Alex goes through a treatment that is supposed to cure his desire to be evil. This treatment was a liquid substance that was injected into his bloodstream that made Alex became sick at the sight or thought of evil. When Alex tells F. Alexander, a writer, about the things he went through, he says, “They have turned you into something other than a human being” (pg. 100). Alex cannot do as he pleases without getting that horrid sick feeling. And sometimes he even feels as if he wants to end his own life. The treatment does keep Alex from doing evil but it also keeps him from defending himself...
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...as a philosopher comes because of his originality, the depth of his thinking, and the influence he has had. This is true of his basic theories of knowledge and reality, and also of his influential moral theory. In each aspect of his thought, Kant moved to a position centering on human contribution. We contribute, he believed, to the "reality" of the world around us by our mental activities; likewise, morality does not come from outside us, by divine command or by cultural conditioning, but from human freedom and reasoning. Students of philosophy also know that Kant is sometimes as difficult to understand as he is great. So we will approach his moral view slowly and carefully, seeing how well it accords with some of our basic beliefs about moral experience. Being Morally Praiseworthy We have all read reports about people who act heroically. We typically believe that such people deserve moral praise. But if we find out that they did the deed for a reward, or for praise, or by accident, or were somehow forced to do it, our sense of admiration diminishes. Some acts that look morally praiseworthy may...
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...Without the ability to time-travel, we cannot make assumptions that free will exists because there is not a way to test this theory. Furthermore, all things are the result of previous events as well as our choices and even the way we think. Assuming that our way of thought is affected and the principle of alternate possibilities is false, then Frankfurt is incorrect when he says, “A person may well be morally responsible for what he has done even though he could not have done otherwise.” (Frankfurt). Although incorrect, many do have morals and may result to them when forced with a tough decision. On the other hand, morality should not be a thought that crosses a mind when reminiscing because there is no evidence of alternate...
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...The Poisonwood Bible is a political allegory. Political allegories are stories, poems, or pictures that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. This particular type of writing is supposed to make readers question the political norms to shine light on the morality of decisions made by today’s leaders. When America was first starting up, African slaves were brought over to work. This began with triangular trade, which is the America sending sugar, tobacco, and cotton to Europe. In exchange for these things, Europe would send rum, textiles, and manufactured goods to Africa, and in return, Africa was in charge of sending slaves to the Americas. In the early days of the United States, triangular trade...
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...The word “pornography” has caused a lot of arguments lately. Some people think that pornography is good, some think it is bad and some simple do not know what to think for they do not completely understand what is the exact definition of pornography. Whether it is a perversion or not is not even the issue. The issue is that the moment these films start being exposed to large audience they start hurting the morality of the society and degrade the men’s attitude towards women. So, should it be banned? Pornography videotapes are popular and available as they have never been before or may be also called “home pornography”. Such video pornography is usually sold or rented and often include extra-violent tapes where women are hurt by being penetrated by unhealthy objects, raped, and forced to do humiliating things. So, basically saying, the tapes include obviously illegal acts of a sexual character. In such tapes women are depicted as sex objects for the satisfaction of men’s primitive sexual needs and entrained into degenerate conversations. Such hard-core pornography shows women being raped by several men or even beaten. It comes as no surprise that there are even pornography motion pictures having the NC-17 rating and TV pornography that is on special pornography channels on cable television. And the worst thing is that such channels are almost never censored and may contain any type of violence. Internet pornography is a separate case for it has everything listed above. Cyber-porn...
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...(1) What is Morality, And where it comes from: What is Morality? Morality is defined as a system or code that we humans use to differentiate between right and wrong. This system could be derived from a number of factors: Religion, Culture, and upbringing. It is difficult enough to determine what an individual’s morals are, but going further to determine how we came to possess those morals is even more ambitious. Still, regardless of its difficulty, this subject consumes many philosophers and psychologists. Most moral psychologists further believe that complex social structures such as religion and politics as well as our need for social structures affect ones personal structure of morals. Some even theorize the possibility of evolution causing ones morals. Personally, I have great interest in philosophy and ethics, but the theory that evolution over time has affected morality today is one theory I have not read about. Where does morality come from? One major belief, of which I will personally emphasize on, is about Cultural relativism, in accordance with the source of morality, is the ideology that each culture has its own source of morality and therefore each culture has its own particular morality. An example of cultural relativism is that one culture believes that murder is bad while another culture believes that murder is not bad. This applies to the case in a big way, the people in Thailand believe that the sex tourism business is a reputable enterprise, but other countries...
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...Book Review #2 Night By Elie Wiesel The atrocities that were committed against Jews during WWII will hopefully be remembered forever. This seems a bit counterintuitive for me because when something so terrible happens I would just as soon forget about it. History as we know has a tendency to repeat itself and the only way to prevent that from happening is to keep our history in mind as we consider what our future might hold. With that in mind, I can say that I enjoyed reading Night and imagine that I will read it again one day. In class we did not go into great detail about the Nazi’s “Final Solution” and what it really meant to the people who it was pertaining to. Our book only briefly touches on this subject as well, almost as if it is avoided in our textbook. The opening setting of Night is in the small town of Siglet in northern Transylvania which was annexed by Hungary in 1940 with Eliezer a 15 year old Jewish boy who narrators the story. Eliezer lives with his Mother, Father, and three sisters. His father was a prominent Jewish member of the community often being called upon by others for council. They all knew about Hitler and had heard about his intentions for the Jews, yet they did not believe that the world would allow such hatred and blatant disregard to humanity. Essential they had hinged their livelihood on hope and the goodness of mankind. By autumn of 1941 Hitler was the master of the continent of Europe and he used that power to carry out his...
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