Compare Two Deontological Theories Essay Example for Free

Compare Two Deontological Theories Essay Deon means duty in ancient Greek and a deontological theory is concerned with the morality of an act rather than its consequences (or the motive/intention behind the act). Kants theory of categorical imperatives (I ought to do X rather than a hypothetical; if I want to achieve X then I should do Y) consists of three main principles. The first of these is the universal law which states that you must only act on the maxim (principle) when you can at the same time will it to become a universal law. This means that you must be content that if everybody took the same action as you chose in similar situations, it would remain a moral action. The second of his principles asks you to act in a way that treats others as an end in themselves rather than a means to an end. This relates to Jesus teaching to Do to others what you would have them do to you (Matthew 7:12) and says humans should not use other humans to gain something for themselves, as we would not like to be treated in this way. The final categorical imperative is the Kingdom of Morals which says that we should always act as though we were the legislators for the kingdom of morals we are in charge of what is fair and just. Kant placed great faith on human beings as being able to work rationally to such a conclusion and act according to principles. This contrasts with the Natural Moral Law theory which claims that we must find the purpose God has set for us and follow this path accordingly; our own personal beliefs are irrelevant. Natural Moral Law was coined by Thomas Aquinas (influenced by Aristotles idea of the final cause) and the theory states that every action must work to fulfil its purpose; every action against it is immoral. According to the theory natural law is accessible through the natural order of the world and is unchanging. It is arguable that part of the theory is teleological as it is concerned with our end by trying to fulfil our God-given purpose. Both Aquinas and Kant agree that our morals are absolute, a priori truths, however Kant believes that our reason will lead us to these truths whilst Aquinas has set primary and secondary precepts which he believes humans should follow. His primary precepts are to self-preserve and preserve the innocent, reproduce, learn, order society and worship God. These are absolutist as he believes all societies should share these values. He believes that these are universal and so he is fulfilling Kants first imperative. However the theories, when applied work very differently. An example of this is the case of abortion, a girl that is thirteen years old gets raped and becomes pregnant; she cannot care for the child and feels like she would be wrong in keeping it. According to Kants theory she would not be able to abort as she could not will every woman who became pregnant to abort their child, if they did then the human race would not survive, making this a contradiction of the Laws of Nature. Kant also argued that all humans have intrinsic worth and therefore by aborting so that she has an easier life the girl is treating the foetus as a means to an end. As for natural law, abortion goes against two of Aquinas primary precepts, largely the precept of reproduction. But also preservation of the innocent suggests that issues such as euthanasia and abortion would not be permitted. The only acceptance to abortion in the natural law theory would be if the mothers womb had to be removed to save her life consequently aborting the foetus (this is the doctrine of the double effect). Both Aquinas and Kant assume God, Kant says that we must presuppose God, immortality and freedom in order for his theory to function whilst Aquinas believes that God gave us the ability to reason to find our morals which God set. Whilst on surface level they appear similar theories, both being absolutist and deontological, when applied to ethical decisions they usually counteract each other with the viewpoint given. Assess the strengths weaknesses of one of these theories (9 Marks) An obvious problem for the natural moral law theory is that it provides us with legalistic morality, because it is absolutist it means that it does not accommodate for individual circumstances. An example of this is a homosexual couple. According to the theory, the purpose of all sexual acts is to reproduce; any sexual act which does not fulfil this purpose is immoral. We can see that we are biologically set up to reproduce in this way, and so Aquinas believes that masturbation, contraception and homosexual intercourse are all immoral because they do not perform the function that they are destined for. However the fact that it is an absolutist theory also has its advantages it is a source of clear values and moral certainty, it would be very easy to follow, without considering the complexity of circumstances or consequences. Its focus on reason and universalism also helps the simplicity of the theory and can help it to transcend over a variety of cultures and religions. The only problem with it being a religious theory rather than a secular one is that the primary precept of worshipping God will not come naturally to those who do not believe in the Christian God, or to atheists/agnostics. The fact that Aquinas maintains that the absolute laws come from God and that we ought to obey them may lead him into the trap of the naturalistic fallacy obeying God is a value judgement and therefore he is turning and is into an ought. However an advantage is that the theorys emphasis on the purpose of humanity gives people a structure and meaning in their lives, it is humanistic in its assertion that we all have intrinsic worth. Overall I believe that the weaknesses outweigh the strengths of this theory it fails in its precepts which determine how people should live people do not all hold the same values and therefore it is presumptuous to say that our morals were given by God and we all share them. It is also interesting that Aquinas himself went against his primary precept of reproduction by being a celibate priest.

Employment Law Essay examples -- Law

Introduction In many countries the state’s role in employment relations is not something that can be ignored. The state, which is characterized by a set of institutions made of the executive, legislature, the judiciary, the local government and the police, is a system of political domination that exercises power with the legitimate usage of violence, money supply and taxation. The presence of the state in any aspect of life of its citizens is pervasive, whether it is through macroeconomic policies or its role as an employer or even through legislation. In the capitalist world we live in today the state cannot be left out in any aspect pertaining to its citizens. The state (government) is applying policies on the basis that other participants in the employment relations system (employers and the trade unions) cannot manage to take control of all the aspects involved in the work system (Palmer, 2007). Since the federal elections of 2004, the policy of industrial relations issue has been all over. The competing goals of the employees and employers are evident through the trade unions and third parties. The managements’ objectives are paramount with regards to market efficiency with limited space for other interests. Therefore, curtailing trade unions’ activities and setting tribunals to regulate conditions and wages in the name of free markets is increasing. The states talks of advocating for democracy, having limited interventions s as to bring about industrial harmony in certain sectors of the economy, but in practice it has intervened in almost all the sectors of the economy (Adams, 200 ). This therefore begs the question, should the state play an intervening role in employment relations, and if so, to what extent and why? .. ...the sectoral and national interests are integrated to increase productivity. The collective bargaining system should also be independent to develop a more equitable and balanced tripartite relationship (Adams, 2001). Works Cited Adams, J. (2001) .Comparative Industrial Relations: Contemporary Research and Theory. London: Harper CollinsAcademic. Creighton, B. & Stewart, A. (2005). Labour Law. Annandale: The Federation Press. Dunlop, T. (1998). Industrial Relation Stystem.New York: Holt. Keller, K. (2001). The Role of the State as Corporate Actor in Comparative Industrial Relations: Contemporary Research and Theory. London: Harper Collins Academic. Ozaki, M. (1999). Negotiating flexibility: the role of the social partners and the state. London: international Labour Organization. Palmer, G. (2007). Employment Relations. New York: Macmillan Education.

Good Country People

In the short story â€Å"Good Country People,† Flannery O’Connor utilizes the characters Joy Hopewell and Manley Pointer to expose how believing in nothing makes a person isolated and spiritually empty. Joy Hopewell is a well-educated, thirty-two year old atheist with an artificial leg. Joy's lack of belief causes her to lose all the human civility and decency she has. She even changes her name to Hulga. Flannery O'Connor's use of the mythological Trickster persona to seek, attract, and repulse the protagonist Joy-Hulga leads to her spiritual enlightenment. Manley Pointer through the Trickster persona seeks out the Hopewells, specifically Hulga.From the beginning the Bible salesman uses the svelte and persuasive words used by the Trickster. Pointer maneuvers himself inside when he tells Mrs. Hopewell, â€Å"Lady, I’ve come to speak of serious things. † He continues, using her own thoughts and feelings to manipulate her, telling her, â€Å"I know you belie ve in Chrustian service† and â€Å"People like you don’t like to fool with country people like me. † The Trickster knows that Mrs. Hopewell is just being polite, but he persists, taking advantage of her desire to avoid all conflict and her love of â€Å"good country people. † Manley craftily gets himself invited to dinner out of sympathy.Knowing that Joy-Hulga has a heart condition, the Trickster deceives Mrs. Hopewell by telling her, â€Å"I got this heart condition. I may not live long. When you know it’s something wrong with you and you may not live long, well then, lady†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Through deceit and smooth talking, Pointer guarantees he'll spend the evening at the Hopewell's home. The Trickster has found his way inside and can now focus on his target Hulga. The Trickster has found his target and continues to use his mythological persona to attract Joy/Hulga. Pointer uses his silver tongue to convince disagreeable Hulga to accompany him on a picnic the next day.The con-artist tells Hulga, â€Å"I think you're brave. I think you're real sweet† and then later asks her, â€Å"Don’t you think some people was meant to meet on account of what all they got in common and all? Like they both think serious thoughts and all? † Manley is establishing a connection between Hulga and himself to make himself seem more attractive. Manley Pointer further personifies the mythological Trickster persona when he shows up the next day for their picnic in a broad-rimmed hat, and he's also described as very tall, â€Å"Then suddenly he stood up, very tall, from behind a bush on the opposite embankment.Smiling, he lifted his hat which was new and wide-brimmed. † These are two physical traits of the mythological Trickster persona. As they reach the barn, Pointer tricks Hulga and baits her into climbing up to the second floor where the climax of the story occurs. The Trickster fools Hulga by acting innocently as he â₠¬Å"pointed up the ladder that led into the loft and said, ‘It’s too bad we can’t go up there,'† implying that she can't do it because of her handicap, so she quickly proves him wrong.Hulga's pride and feeling of superior intellect blind her from seeing that she's being duped by the Trickster. Flannery O'Connor uses the Trickster persona to repulse the protagonist bringing her to spiritual enlightenment. After Manley Pointer lures Hulga up into the loft of the barn, he becomes more demanding, using Hulga's feelings for him to manipulate her into giving him what he wants, he says, â€Å"'I known it,' he muttered, sitting up. ‘You're just playing me for a sucker. † The Trickster starts to show his true character more and more now that he has Hulga where he wants her. Manley manipulates Hulga into giving him her fake leg which symbolizes Hulga/Joy's soul. As the Trickster takes Hulga's leg, he starts to bring her back into the light and give her a new start. You see it happening when Hulga says, â€Å"When after a minute, she said in a hoarse high voice, ‘All right,' it was like surrendering to him completely.It was like losing her own life and finding it again , miraculously, in his. † Pointer takes Hulga's leg and leaves her there stranded in the loft to ponder her new spiritual enlightenment. Flannery O'Connor uses the Trickster persona to seek, attract, and repulse the protagonist, thus bringing her new enlightenment on her life. Hulga/Joy had lost all human civility and decency in her life using her intellect as an excuse. As Hulga sits in the loft, she is finally forced to realize the error in her ways.

Technology And Its Effects On Our Lives Essay - 1792 Words

Everyday technology is manipulated and used by many people around the world. Technology describes the usage of technical means to interact with life, society, and environment, through an electronic device that is applied by science. Many people are slowly becoming attached to technology and relying on more of these resources because it makes their life easier. However, technology is slowly hurting a ton of people by being smartphone dependent, reducing our communication skills and disabling people from being productive. Many people are dependent on their smartphones. First of all, various individuals who use these cell phones are regularly on it. These problems happen when people are giving their undivided attention to their smartphones which causes them to ignoring the people nearby and not paying attention to their surroundings while they are moving from one place to another. Additionally, smartphones are slowly transitioning to our life where everyone will have a need for them and rely on them for any problem that arises in their life. Smartphones are becoming more advanced with the limitless supply of better quality phones, accessibility to the Internet, different apps, and other entertainment. As a result, the numerous commodities present in the technological development of smartphones is a distraction to everyone who uses one. The evolution from the first cell phone called the handheld Motorola to the unbreakable Nokia then the flip phones and the making of theShow MoreRelatedTechnology And Its Effect On Our Lives1199 Words   |  5 PagesTechnology is helping us to advance in the world. 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However, people do not realize all that we are losing, as we gain techn ological knowledge. In the eighties having a cellphone was a luxuryRead MoreEffects Of Technology And Media On Our Lives958 Words   |  4 PagesEffects of Technology and Media in our lives With the advancement in media and technology, almost anything is possible nowadays. Looking back a couple years ago, people did no have cellphones, computers or televisions to occupy and make their lives easier. With the development of these products and more, people are able to communicate and do work much faster and more efficiently. Society has come a long way with technology and media and to say that there are no negatives to them would be falseRead MoreThe Effects Of Media And Technology On Our Lives1828 Words   |  8 Pagesyou can to survive. Notice, I stressed the word â€Å"seem†, because I want us to explore the current generation of growing African American males and the effect of media and technology in their lives. Studies show that media images have a large impact on perceptions when the viewers have less real world experience with the topic. In an age where technology brings together different ideals, cultures and belief systems through the Internet and soc ial media, one can assume that accurate stories are being