...with a strong desire to achieve that goal? Does the end justify the means in every case, every time? These rhetorical questions are asked up front in this paper to elicit an effect on the audience. While there are two worthwhile viewpoints on the subject, the outcome of this specific paper goes down the path of no, the ends to not justify the means—and is simply based on good versus evil, and the end must always be morally justified. When one determines whether the measures taken to meet the end goal are justified, they must start by gaining a solid understanding of the argument. Listening to the facts and answering ‘Why,’ Who’, ‘What,’ and ‘How’ will undeniably make an impact...
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...described himself as a “without gainful employment”(King, 2007, p3). To many, Machiavelli is seen as an ‘evil person’, who is widely known for his maxims of politics, where he believes that for one to be considered as a strong rule, he must possess the necessary guts and bravado to rule with an iron fist, and be harsh to his subjects (King, 2007). His philosophy on politics and how...
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...scenarios. He went out and observed how and why certain people acted the way that they did. He was a humanistic empiricist; he collected observations on people on their own terms. People have the ability to be good willed in nature, but he is only good willed when it is in his self nature to do so. Because of this, most men become evil. Hobbes was a scholar and looked at politics through a scientific sense. He analysed politics through a scientific lense. He presented some of these ideas in de Corpore, where he talked about the philosophical method, mathematics, physics and human nature. He analyses politics on different levels. He reduced everything down to nature. This is called “resolutive-compositive”, and this means dividing it into parts and then composing...
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...9:00 pm ETHICS AND LESSER EVIL Ethics Ethics also called moral philosophy, the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad, right and wrong. The term is also applied to any system or theory of moral values or principles. (http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/194023/ethics) All human activities prompted by desire. Respect for the human person is the basic moral principle that inspires and motivates our desire to live in a world where each single person is recognized for his on her moral worth. Ethics is concerned with reflexive thinking for it seeks and examines core values, norms, principles, and traditions. Ethics is therefore a human discipline of the higher order. (Ethics and Human Dignity by:Christopher Ryan B Maboloc) Ethics investigates the morality of human conduct. It is the task of ethics to examine an act to evaluate its morality. Morality is concerned about rightness or wrongness of human action. By nature, we are able with the capability of human reason that should enable us to know and understand the moral good. As a person we have freedom and rights to enjoy, But we should consider the other people, Exercise our freedom and rights without violating others freedom and rights. The Lesser Evil Michael Ignatieff Published by Edinburgh University Press Must we fight terrorism with terror and torture with torture? Must we sacrifice civil liberty to protect public safety? We may need to kill to fight the greater evil, but we must never pretend...
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...actually knowhow to rule but only know how to influence the “beast” which is the Demos, the public. Aristotle’s views about democracy hold that democratic office will cause corruption in the people, if the people choose to redistribute the wealth of the rich they will end up destroying the state and since the people have no knowledge about governance when they elect rulers they will err. The “Republic” of Plato created a country with strict hierarchy. It has a rigorous legal system and a sound education system. All public good, servicers and desires are controlled by the country. It has its own advantages such as the idealized organized national order, and discussion of country’s justice and individual’s justice;, but it also has its shortcomings, for instance, the discordance between spiritual pursuit and basic material demand. However, it is an “ideal model”, meaning that people have to doubt if it is feasible in the real world. By contrast, the “Politics” of Aristotle are both entertaining and valuable. It is entertaining because Aristotle said many interesting statements and it are not that serious like the “Republic” of Plato...
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...Supervised by: Dr. Jeremy Kleidosty Arguments and philosophical explanations for what justifies power and states, inspired by the European Enlightenment thought, has headed closer toward reasoning and further from faith. The thought of Rousseau and Saint Augustine is a clear representation of the two poles of reason and faith in political thought. Rousseau, outlining the basis of his social contract on the natural goodness of human beings and putting sovereignty in the hand s of people, differs widely from Augustine who addresses the state as an “essential evil” put to discipline men who are sinners by nature. The political arguments of these two philosophers, who lived in two different ages, represent a different kind of Enlightenment for the both ages that they lived in. This essay will discuss Rousseau’s and Augustine’s regards to state, justice and property and will examine the effects of their thoughts on modern politics. Augustine and Rousseau in Comparison Wrapping his political and social beliefs with virtuous, deist and theological Christian discourse, Augustine, the Christian bishop, presents a leap in the Western thought at a time close to the beginning of the middle ages. His political views in his writings are interpreted differently by various scholars as he rarely expresses direct positions in regards to the political organization of states and the legalization of authorities. A famous quote from his book “City of God”, which highlights key political ideas in...
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...Gorgias is a detailed study of virtue founded upon an inquiry into the nature of rhetoric, art, power, temperance, justice, and good versus evil. As such, the dialogue both maintains independent significance and relates closely to Plato's overarching philosophical project of defining noble and proper human existence. It exists in the form of a mostly friendly (though at times scathing) conversation between Socrates and four fellow citizens. Chaerephon, an apparent contemporary of Socrates, is found speaking with Plato's teacher at the beginning of the dialogue, yet says little else throughout the conversation. Callicles, another of Socrates's peers (and here his harshest insulter), plays host to Gorgias as well as opponent to Socrates near the discussion's close. Gorgias is the famous orator (for whom this text was named), the questioning of whom serves as catalyst for the debates around which Gorgias centers. And Polus is Gorgias's inexperienced, overeager student. One must remember that although the dialogue depicts a fictitious interaction, Socrates was indeed Plato's teacher. As a result, this character's words for the most part should be taken as indicative of the actual Socratic framework and presentation, in addition to serving as an expression of Plato's own positions. Though Plato himself did not split his writing into sections, the text nonetheless divides quite smoothly into general topics. The first vague section (ending at 466) finds Socrates and his friend Chaerephon...
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...Devil’s Advocate Critique In the play “Devil’s Advocate” by Donald Freed, it talked about people making choices between the good and evil. Making decisions is a very hard thing to do between the choices. It makes people have a hard time to making decisions or escape from those choices. The play takes place in Panama in 1989. It is in the Christmas Eve of 1989 and the time of the American invasion of Panama. There were only two characters act on stage in the play. Those characters are General Manuel Noriega and Archbishop Laboa. General Manuel Noriega is the Panamanian strongman who had worked for the Central Intelligence Agency since 1960. Archbishop Laboa is a famed Jesuit luminary. In the United States invasion of Panama on Christmas Eve 1989, President George H.W. Bush had woven together a tissue of lies and provocation to justify bombing and occupying a sovereign nation, Panama, in order to make what appeared to be a drug bust. General Manuel Noriega was the target of the cosmic sting. He refused the demands of the Ronald Reagan administration. Archbishop Laboa offered him sanctuary, but General Manuel Noriega had to against him. It is hard for him to made a decision. The playwright’s purpose was trying to tell people about the politics. However, the play also told people that when you have to make decisions, you should follow your heart. Do not let others take control of your decisions. If we do not make decisions by our own, we might feel regret about it. I think...
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... To answer that question I would like to take a look at our book. Thomas Aquinas says this, “[Now] the first principle in practical matters, which are the object of the practical reason, is the last end: and the last end of human life is happiness or beatitude…. Consequently, law must… concern itself mainly with the order that is in beatitude. Moreover, since every part is ordained to the whole as the imperfect to the perfect, and since one man is a part of the perfect community, law must… concern itself properly with the order directed to universal happiness. Therefore Aristotle mentions both happiness and the body politic, since he says that we call those legal matters just which are adapted to produce and preserve happiness and its parts for the body politic.” (Q90) He goes on to say, “Thus,… Law is nothing else than an ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by him who has the care of the community. The natural law is promulgated by the very fact that God instilled it into man’s mind so as to be known by him naturally…. The promulgation that takes place in the present extends to future time by reason of the durability of written characters, by which means it is continually promulgated.” (Q90) Simplified we can take a few things from this excerpt such as that Natural Law is instilled in us by God, and directs towards a final end which is happiness and well being. It also can be derived that because it is instilled by God into man that men can guide themselves...
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...order and individual happiness Power must remain with ruled Humans are natualy equal, free, and capable through reason of defining the common good Humans are born without pre-existing qualities, natural state one of perfect freedom People have, by their nature of humans, the right to life, liberty & property Believed if a ruler is oppressive, people have right & obligation to rebel. Served justification for “Glorious Revolution 1688” & revolutions in American and France toward the end of the 18th century Believed in the notion of government as product of social contract between ruler & ruled. Idea has become dominantly of modern western, Eastern European & Asian political life Jean-Jacques Rousseau Believed humans may be good by nature but corrupted by society & institution, "God makes all things good, man meddles with them & they become evil" Safeguard individual liberty from a contract among yourself, "man is born free & everywhere he is in chains" General will done can direct the state according to the object for which it was instituted that is the common good. Whoever refused to obey the general will should be contained to do so by whole society; that is all humans should be forced to be free As nature gives each man absolute power over all members the social contract give the body politic absolute power over all members also --- Might have contributed to newly developed theories of democracy Propose changes in education (Emile theory) ...
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...power’s influence. He wants the ring to become more powerful so that he may defeat the true evil that is Sauron. His intentions were just but by desiring the Ring, which is the epitome of evil, it took control of him and pushed its own will on him. Saruman did not have direct contact with the Ring, but he did communicate with Sauron through the orb, dooming himself....
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...503479 14 EJT0010.1177/1354066113503479European Journal of International RelationsSolomon E IR J Article The affective underpinnings of soft power European Journal of International Relations 2014, Vol. 20(3) 720–741 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1354066113503479 ejt.sagepub.com Ty Solomon University of Glasgow, UK Abstract The concept of soft power occupies a prominent place in International Relations, foreign policy, and security studies. Primarily developed by Joseph S. Nye, the concept is typically drawn upon to emphasize the more intangible dimensions of power in a field long dominated by overtly material (i.e. military) power. Recently, some scholars have reframed soft power — specifically the key notion of attraction — as a narrative and linguistic process. This literature, however, has downplayed some of the other deep-seated underpinnings of soft power, which this article argues lie in the dynamics of affect. Building upon the International Relations affect and aesthetics literatures, this article develops the concept of soft power as rooted in the political dynamics of emotion and introduces the concept of affective investment. The attraction of soft power stems not only from its cultural influence or narrative construction, but more fundamentally from audiences’ affective investments in the images of identity that it produces. The empirical import of these...
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...Philosophy Wroclaw, 2009-12-18 Institute of Electronics Wroclaw University of Technology What is Philosophy for Fernando Wieliczko Wednesday 17:05 First year Philosophy should not be seen as a subject or a specified study like medicine, biology or physics. Philosophy is present in our lives and in our decisions. It changes the way we look through physical objects or even human thoughts. Philosophy is present in the past, which is the history, in the present and in the future. We can clearly see how present it is to every human thought. When we discuss about ethics, we discuss about Philosophy; when we discuss about politics, we also discuss about Philosophy. Philosophy is behind the decisions we make, it is behind the laws of a State for example; because one day, someone, or a group of people, faced a bad situation, or saw the possibility that this same situation would happen in the future, and decided to make a law, so that people would live better in the society. When they made the law, they had to think and understand that a law would prevent that bad situation to happen again, or even for the first time, which makes of them thinkers. If they think, they exist, that makes of them and all of us philosophers: “I think, therefore I am” – by René Descartes. Some people work so hard to make so much money but they forget that the money stands for their own comfort. So if they work too hard, they end up having not much time to relax...
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...everywhere. It is like cancer in public life, which has not become so rampant and perpetuated overnight, but in course of time. A country where leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Lai Bahadur Shastri and Kamraj have taken birth and led a value-based is now facing the problem of corruption. The basis of all corruption starts from the nature of humans. People in general crave luxuries and comforts and are ready to go through numerous unscrupulous means to obtain all their materialistic desires. They may outwardly talk about morality and value based life yet their inner voice says different. In the modern society a man who possesses the right principle is hardly recognized yet alone giving him the respect he deserves. Every job, goods and even educational seats are given to the people with deep pockets and the common man who works hard to get it is left out with nothing. Years of complaining but receiving no help in return, who can blame them when they resort to bribery and other immoral means to get their goals. After all who wouldn’t choose the...
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...Zarqa Private University Faculty of Art Candidate: Yasmin Mahmoud Research Proposal Indicative Title: Corruption and Evil in Human Nature: Analysing How Crisis Affects Human Nature in "Lord of the Flies" and "Blindness" Aim of the Study: The aim of the study is to highlight the roots of evil in human nature, and how crisis can change a lot of things in a human being when it strikes by analysing two novels: "Lord of the Flies" and "Blindness". Abstract: "Lord of the Flies" tackles the theme of human nature. Throughout the novel, William Golding illustrates how sick and twisted human nature can get when faced by crisis. On the other hand, "Blindness" which is a novel by the Protégées author Jose Saramago, questions the good and conscious part in the heart and brings it to test. Both novels dig deep in human nature and go under the surface to reveal the source of evil in human nature. This study is designed to employ scenes and events in both novels to prove how fragile the sense of civilisation is in human beings, and how easy it can be to fall in the ambush of savagery as a last resort for survival. The research will analyze both novels separately from a psychoanalytical point of view then compare the findings of the two works. Introduction: The research is about two novels that tackle the same crucial theme of the evil nature in human beings. The two novels were written in different eras and as a result of different circumstances which in one way or...
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