...in all areas of the world, there is an ongoing discussion about what it means to be a good person. Every society has different expectations and standards that it’s citizens are expected to adhere to, creating discrepancies in what the “proper” meaning of a “good” person is. Throughout different cultures, a common characteristic of a “good” person is someone that wants to help others and commits acts of a selfless nature; so, a good person is someone that lives not only for themselves, but for others, through selfless acts and the desire and drive to bear fruits of a good nature. Good People and Good Character If someone is to be a good person, they must first have good character. By definition,...
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...achieve ultimate happiness. Happiness is what all of our ultimate goals are, Aristotle saw it as a simple thing that could be in some cases hard to achieve because you have to bring into play pleasure as well. He insisted that at least minimum pleasure was required for ultimate happiness. Because although happiness is desired for itself it is not used to obtain the other aspects in life. The true meaning of life is reaching the ultimate happiness according to Aristotle. But how is this done? What happens if it’s not reached? According to Aristotle’s there are two dimensions in this process, of which is intellectual virtue and moral virtue. Intellectual virtue is defined as excellence of intelligence. In many cases intellectual virtue is seen as an acceptance of reality, but in a good way. It is something that is learned. A person with intellectual virtue is someone who is not tempted to do bad in society or harm anybody. They are here to do good and that is it, they see everything in a positive manner. A moral virtue is defined as excellence of character through choices. Moral virtue is an example of a person that makes good choices out of good faith. Now this does not mean a person that does favors but they end up being bad. It’s as if a mechanic were to fix your car for free and a couple of days later it all breaks down. Now the mechanic had good intentions but it all ended up causing more damage. Also it would not mean doing good by it being a coincidence, such as being...
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...Chapter 1 The Imperatives of Ethics Ethics presupposes some imperatives or sine qua non, those without which Ethics would not be possible. These imperatives are: 1) the existence of God or a Supreme Being; 2) the existence of human freedom; 3) the existence of an afterlife, i.e. life beyond the grave, or the immortality of the soul. 1. The existence of God or a Supreme Being Without the existence of God or a Supreme Being, Ethics would make no sense. There is no reason for man to deny himself evil but pleasurable acts if there were no final judge to dispense justice. When one speaks off morality or the goodness or badness of human acts, one idea, is presupposed: retribution. Retribution means that good acts deserve reward; bad acts deserve punishment. Reward and punishment are presupposed by morality. Who metes out reward or punishment? It must be a Lawgiver or an Arbiter of Morality, One who dispenses retributive justice. Without this being, the whole structure of Ethics will collapse. At this early point, it must be explained that cultures other than the Christian speak of retribution in a different way. In some cases, the Supreme Being is not a personal God in Whom Christians believe, but rather a law or a process. These cultures had been in existence long before the biblical and Christian eras. The people of these ancient cultures arrived at these concepts by way of human reasoning without the aid of divine revelation. The Indians do not accept the...
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...is real. Even though we cannot see God in person does that mean he is not real? There are some that does not have a belief in God even those there is no proof stating there is not a God. This does not mean that one should not listen to others then they try to tell you that there is not a God. But the best thing to do is listen to them and see what proof that they can show to state as to why they think that way. Then there are some that believes that there is a God but does not believe in all that is said that he had done. McCloskey stated in page 62 that, “Philosopher colleagues attribute to much importance to the role of the proofs of the existence of God as a basis for religious belief, that most theists does not come to believe in God as a result of reflecting on the proofs, but come to religion as a result of other reasons and factors.” (McCloskey, 1968) McCloskey used three arguments to support his claims; these three arguments are cosmological argument, teleological argument, and Argument from design. McCloskey had went on speaking about the cosmological argument and about the universe. McCloskey was more into the idea of a big bang. This can be broken down into three ideas from Evans and Manis on their non-temporal form of cosmological argument. The first one is the contingent beings meaning that there is a lot of evidence proving that a powerful being like God exists but there is no real reason as to why God or the universe does exists. The second one is that there are...
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...ENG 101-D23 LUO Professor Desiree B. Sholes 11/12/2012 To be or not to be well-educated: A Narrative Response to Alfie Kohn’s “What does it mean to be well-educated?” To be or not to be well-educated: A Narrative Response to Alfie Kohn’s “What does it mean to be well-educated?” Alfie Kohn’s essay “What does it mean to be well-educated?” begins on a personal note using his wife as an example to substantiate his hypothesis. Encountering Alisa at the very beginning of the essay was indeed a refreshing way to initiate thought into a subject not often considered. Today not everyone ponders the real relevance behind education nor does anyone contemplate just how much of education is needed to be considered well-educated. Alisa has a doctorate in anthropology and is an excellent physician yet her lack of knowledge in basic math and English leads her husband to question the implications behind what true education is all about (Kohn, 2003, pars. 1-4). My first response to this startling line of thought was that something like this had never occurred to me before. One is either educated or not. But where does one cross over from educated into well-educated and what does the latter term encompass? These were interesting premises that galvanized me into Kohn’s text, rapidly seeking a resolution for my questions. The first question that Kohn tackles involves the purpose of education. Is education meant to create better individuals or introduce better...
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...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” or policies are followed not because they are right, but because they will help a person in some way Utilitarianism- the greatest good for the greatest number Utilitarianism--- Whether an action is right or wrong depends on the good or bad consequences produced for everyone affected by the action (not just the affect on oneself or just the affect on others). Three Steps in...
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...about what occurs after death, the thought of death can be scary. Nobody, except for perhaps God (if He exists), knows what happens after death. But if death is defined as total, permanent annihilation, then it really is not bad for the person who dies. I do not mean for this statement to be confused with the attitude that there are no bad aspects of death. Death is not bad for the person who dies because they no longer exist, and therefore anything that happens in any world no longer affects them in any way. Also, one does not need to be afraid of death, because in the state of permanent annihilation, they will not be aware of their loss of life. Before discussing why death is not a bad thing for the person who dies, it should first be noted why total, permanent annihilation is not a bad thing. Permanent annihilation means just that; everything is completely destroyed and non-existent forever. In regards to the asymmetry problem, if pre-natal non-existence is not viewed as something bad, why should post-mortem non-existence be viewed as something bad? Non-existence is not bad thing. There is an infinite list of people, objects, and events that have and will never exist. Is it bad for these people and things that they are non-existent? Many argue that the asymmetry problem does not work because pre-natal non-existence occurs before life, while death is the taking away of one’s life. This brings us to the argument of why death is not a bad thing for a person who dies...
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...http://www.allaboutweybridge.co.uk/aaw/waitrose.htm Waitrose Recruitment process Job description This part is where Waitrose have to tell their applicant the requirements of the job they are going to be advertising and also its duties. The way that Waitrose does its Job description is through the website where the applicant can log into the website and then look at the vacancy then the job title which is then followed by the Job description. The key features of the Job description of Waitrose is • Job type • Summary of role • Salary • Full /part-time • Location • Closing date • Contact Person specification This part of the recruitment process that will give Waitrose the chance of getting the right candidate for the job they are advertising. It will also show its candidates what Waitrose is actually looking for. The way Waitrose do this is by showing the criteria that are needed for the job for instance the skills or education or even experience is needed. The way Waitrose does its Person specification is through its website as well and it’s included in the job description. The person for Waitrose depends on the type of job they are advertising for example sales assistant. Therefore the person specification for this vacancy in Waitrose would be like ‘If you are able to offer outstanding...
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...“Virtue ethics is of little use when dealing with practical ethics.” Discuss. It is often argued that 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...
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...Christians fear that they might go out of the will of God or miss out “on God’s best.” Many believe that there is only one person whom the Lord has selected for each Christian and it is up to each Christian to find that person. This person is the “right one” according to the will of God. Finding the “right one” is the key to finding God’s will and marital happiness over a lifetime. Many believe that If a Christian should marry someone else by accident or by desire, then he or she will not be in God’s will. They can still be happy, but will not have God’s best. However, those who marry the wrong person also risk the possibility of divorce. Christians often feel that couples get divorced because they have married the wrong person. Are all these beliefs true? Are these principles what the Bible teaches? The answer is no. They are not true and the Bible nowhere teaches these views. "Is he or she the right one?" is the wrong question to ask. "Is he or she the right one?" is the wrong question to ask. The right question, which the Scriptures teach is this one, “Is he or she the right kind of person to marry?" Prov.18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds what is good, and receives favor from the Lord." In other words, it is good for a man to find a woman and get married. The converse is true as well. It is good for a woman to find a man and be married as well. This means that getting married is beneficial and a blessing for humans. However, it is not just marrying any woman or man, but...
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...RELIGIOUS LANGUAGE ‘Good’ is difficult to define. The dictionary 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...
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...absolutely NOTHING existed? 2 What is ultimately (or REALLY) real? [Appearance -v- Reality] 3 Is reality fundamentally one or many? [Monism -v- Pluralism] 4 What, if anything, endures through change? 5 Is reality primarily material or spiritual (or mental)? [“Materialism” -v- “Idealism”] 6 Is the “external world” objectively real, or is its existence mind-dependent? If the latter, what mind is it dependent on? My mind? Your mind? The divine mind? 7 Is there a “supernatural” reality, or is nature “all there really is”? [Naturalism -v- Supernaturalism] 8 What is the difference between necessary and contingent being? Is there a necessary being? Is there only one necessary being? Philosophical cosmology 9 What is the cosmos made of? How is it structured? 10 Did the cosmos come into being? If so, how? 11 Will the cosmos cease to be in the future? If so, what does that mean for us? 12 What are the philosophical implications of scientific answers to cosmological questions? Philosophical theology (and the philosophy of religion) 13 Does God exist? [Theism; Atheism; Agnosticism] 14 What is the nature of God? 15 What about the existence of evil (pain, suffering, and disorder)? How can evil exist in a world created and governed by an all-knowing, all-good, and all-powerful deity? [“The Problem of Evil”] 16 Is God good? 17 Can God be less than perfect in any respect? 18 What (if any) is the relationship between...
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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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...UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIAN MORALITY • Fundamental Principle of Morality • The most basic principle of morality is deceptively simple: do good and avoid evil. • Jesus states his version of this adage which is found in the Sermon on the Mount. It is known as the Golden Rule – “Treat others the way you would have them treat you: this sums up the law and the prophets.” (Mt 7:12) • This is message is concerned with action, 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...
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...Assessment of Outliers Contrary to what some believe, success is not obtained by solely hard work and determination, one must also have another thing. Luck. Luck in this scenario does not refer to winning the lottery or stumbling onto success, it is referring to where the person comes from. According to Gladwell, a persons background has almost as much to do with their success as how hard their work does. Gladwell’s central argument in Outliers is that a persons background plays an extremely heavy role in determining their future and their success and he is completely right. In Gladwell’s book Outliers, he uses many different examples to convey the point: where you are from does matter. He uses a broad spectrum of examples to show...
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