"Humanitarian intervention, which is ruled out by realism and the morality of states, can only be justified by a cosmopolitan morality." Discuss.

Lucy White War, Peace and International Ethics Tutor: Mr. Barry Holden Spring 2001 Essay 2: "Humanitarian intervention, which is ruled out by realism and the morality of states, can only be justified by a cosmopolitan morality." Discuss. The concept of humanitarian intervention has been an issue in world politics ever since the Cold War. Since the Gulf War it has been argued1 that there is a need for increased thought about when humanitarian intervention is justifiable. One of the main arguments against the idea of humanitarian intervention is that it contradicts the concept of the sovereignty of states. The leading characteristic of the world political scene in recent centuries is the place of the sovereign state as its chief component. By definition, sovereignty denotes complete exclusion of other states from a state's domestic affairs. Intervention by other states into those affairs thus challenges the essential nature of a state and has consequently always been regarded as a hostile act. Nevertheless intervention has in practice been a common feature of international politics. This essay will discuss whether humanitarian intervention can be justified in relation to the morality of states, realism and cosmopolitan morality. It is widely accepted that there is a clear overlap between human rights and the justification of humanitarian intervention. Most say that,

  • Word count: 2609
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
Access this essay

"If Science never proves anything right, why do we trust it so much?"

"If Science never proves anything right, why do we trust it so much?" To the majority of the Western World, Science can be called upon when something cannot be explained in straight forward means. Science over the past has had the ability to explain creation, disease and death, just to name a handful. Unfortunately, humans do not have the ability to answer things beyond doubt totally, and there is always some ambiguity in all of the arguments put forward, this stands in science just as much as any other area. In this case, the word proves refers to an inductive proof which is predominantly found in the areas of science. Inductive proof is when the proof is based on experience and is not simply an idea. Inductive proof is only probable which is its weakness, opposed to deductive proof which is certain as it is a tautological argument. 'Right' in this case is what could be seen as truth. Truth is a misused word but it can be meant to mean, three types of truth, correspondent, coherent or pragmatic. In this case the truth is of the correspondent type because it is widely accepted and as is not necessarily truthful to an extent to be considered totally true. 'Trust' in this case is that of faith and reason. There is a difference because faith can be considered believing in something that is not necessarily right. Faith is usually referred to as something which people just

  • Word count: 1048
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
Access this essay

"Islam cannot be understood without reference to angels" Discuss The statement shows that an understanding of Islam would be incomplete without covering angels

"Islam cannot be understood without reference to angels" Discuss The statement shows that an understanding of Islam would be incomplete without covering angels. This suggests that their role is far beyond seen in any other religion. I will be investigating the statement in more detail and finally deciding if it is a fair comment or is the role being overstated. Angels are a specialised creation of Allah. In Arabic they are known as Malaikah. They are created from divine light (Nur) to perform specific functions. Angels do not have any gender. Allah did not give them any gender since the angels themselves are asexual and do not reproduce. However in the Qur'an, Archangels are referred to as "he" or "he is", because in Arabic the word for angel is a masculine noun. The angels are different from the human race in the way that they do not contain any of man's physical attributes (although they may appear in the shape of a man.) They do not sleep, procreate, eat or drink. Angels themselves do not possess free will, therefore they do not have any desires nor do they commit sins or misdeeds. They always obey Allah and can never disobey Him. Whenever Allah commands the angels to do something, it is always done. Angels are known to be "innocent servants of Allah's will". They are known to help men in the use of free will, and carry out the decision that men decide. Some angels guard

  • Word count: 2418
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
Access this essay

"It is essential for Hinduism to reform but the most important issue was the nature of the reformation" Discuss this claim with reference to the activities and teachings of A) Ramakrishna and B) Daynanda Sarasvati.

"It is essential for Hinduism to reform but the most important issue was the nature of the reformation" Discuss this claim with reference to the activities and teachings of A) Ramakrishna and B) Daynanda Sarasvati At a time where India was facing social, economical and political reform it was absolutely vital that Hindu religion and culture developed in a way that would not only preserve Hinduism but also withstand foreign religious and social criticism. Reform at this stage was inevitable but more important was the nature of this reform. The key aim was to enhance and preserve the development of Hinduism and so different people reacted to this in different ways depending on their faith and key ideas. Ramakrishna focused on spiritual development and allowed a liberal view of God. One main theme that was reinforced by Ramakrishna was his desire to "see in God in all". Ramakrishna believed that true self-realisation only came when everything was transformed into a manifestation of God. "I have now come to a stage of realization in which I see that God is walking in every human form and manifesting Himself alike through the sage and the sinner. God in the form of the saint, God in the form of the sinner, God in the form of the righteous, God in the form of the unrighteous." For Ramakrishna all the religion led to the same destination. This has become one of the modern

  • Word count: 1584
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
Access this essay

"It is impossible to describe Allah

"It is impossible to describe Allah in human terms" The word God has so many meanings, however the most simplest is that God is a Supreme Being, creator and ruler of the universe. One God in particular is worshiped by millions around the world and is known as Allah. Allah clearly through his many names is portrayed as a role model to many and has power to create life and take as he pleases. Therefore it is clear to say that Allah is mighty and the power which he controls is endless. So why is it then that so many humans find it easy to describe this exceptional role model with human terms? After all are his qualities so unlike humans that he can never be described through the same words used to describe us who are nothing compared to him? This is one opinion which many people believe in however others think differently. Other people think that Allah being described in human term in not at all inappropriate. After all Allah is the one who created us therefore we have a strong bond with him, therefore it isn't surprising that this bond has lead to people feeling that Allah is like one of us, a fellow brother. Describing Allah in human terms can also be justified by the fact that Muslims calling Allah in human terms are their own individual way of being closer to Allah who gave us life. The one and only thing which we would be nothing without. Some agree and some do not which I

  • Word count: 1771
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
Access this essay

"It is Impossible to Describe Allah in Human Terms".

Every person in this world has one important belief. Be that in religion, money, power or family life. Many people have this one belief in particular. One that causes conflict, but also brings about happiness and celebrations. Religion and God. It has existed over thousands of years. Islam is the second largest religions among the world with approximately 1.3 billion followers. Many people have their own views on Allah and they can neither be described as true or false because we humans do not have the answer. People even in the same religion have different beliefs on God. The statement "It is impossible to describe Allah in human terms", is a personal belief, but is still talked about. Some people may say they agree to the statement and others may disagree. But if Allah is not described in human terms then how are we to understand anything about Allah? If we can relate Allah to humans it will be easier to understand as we can understand ourselves as we are humans too. But if Allah is transcendent, then it is impossible to describe Allah in human terms as transcendent means out of this world and beyond all human knowledge. So if this is the matter, then how do we understand Allah? Some people may think that it is impossible to describe Allah in human terms because Allah is Transcendent- that is beyond our reach, knowledge and understanding, beyond the world and outside of

  • Word count: 956
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
Access this essay

"It is not possible to be a disciple of Jesus in the modern world".

"It is not possible to be a disciple of Jesus in the modern world" I disagree with this statement, although I recognise that it is not always easy to be a disciple I believe it is possible for those who have faith. We are first called to discipleship at Baptism where the father of the child lights a candle from the Pascal candle as a sign of his responsibility to enable his son/daughter to grow in full faith. I believe that faith makes everything possible, if we have faith in God and his teaching we can achieve our hopes and dreams. If we have faith then living, as a true disciple is part of our way of life, we as Christians in today's world should try to live our lives as Jesus lived his. Without faith what meaning would life itself have for us, what would be the use in perusing life if it had no meaning to us. If we believe then we can reach goals and discipleship can bring joy and purpose to our lives we can achieve goals and targets we set for ourselves. "Nothing is impossible to he who believes" Faith in God is not always easy to maintain; if we pick up a newspaper what headings do we usually see? Usually something related to drugs, alcohol, kidnapping, and murder. What example is this setting to children? While there parents are teaching them about how caring we should be, and how we should love our neighbour as ourselves, these children look at the newspapers

  • Word count: 1234
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
Access this essay

So the Gospels should be regarded as myths that convey moral and truths rather then records of facts

A grade Essay on the Bible Statement Three - The Gospels should be regarded as myths that convey moral truths rather then record of fact. Question - Explain and assess this claim with reference to the different approaches to the New Testament and evaluate the consequences for Christians of holding such a position. Several of reasons have to be looked to see why was the Gospels written and what effect has it got on the Christian communities. When I have answered this question I can only then know whether the Gospels should be regarded as myths that convey truths then records of fact and what the outcomes has on Christians. Regarding the Gospels there are two misconceptions. The first is that they are historically correct and second of all that they are eye witness accounts throughout the whole. These were written to strengthen the faith. The second are not eyewitness accounts but are reports and refection on the impact of Jesus on the Christian community. The four main reasons that the Gospels has been 'divinely inspired' is the following: . Preaching - Illustrations of Jesus was used for the early Christians What the preachers preached is what is in the Gospels. Theses illustrations are different from one preacher to another and also depends on the climate the preacher was in. 2. Apologetics - The first Christian converts were Jews. The people who would

  • Word count: 1283
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
Access this essay

“Christians should not take part in sporting events or go shopping on a Sunday”Do you agree, give reasons for your answer showing that you have thought about more than one point of view.

"Christians should not take part in sporting events or go shopping on a Sunday" Do you agree, give reasons for your answer showing that you have thought about more than one point of view. 400 Words 8 marks Christopher Fitzsimons 11Q The commandment " Keep holy the Sabbath" Is very vague in what it says. The commandment tells us what to do, but where the problem lies is that it does not tell us how to do it. In today's society more so than at the time of Jesus, the commandment is open to interpretation. There is little doubt any more that Sunday is fast losing its holy day status. Some devout, orthodox Christians still live as people did at the time of Jesus with regard to the Sabbath and would fully agree that we should keep Sunday holy, refrain from all unnecessary work on the Sabbath, and that shopping stores should not open on a Sunday. However in modern day society it is accepted that to devote a full day to God is very difficult and something which is, sadly not very common anymore. The majority of 21st century Christians would probably agree that Sunday is a day of leisure nowadays and to go to Mass on a Sunday is regarded enough to keep the commandment. They would also agree that it is not at all practical in this day and age to relax and cease work of all kind for one entire day. People generally believe that once we have gone to the Church for an hour we should

  • Word count: 585
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
Access this essay

Describe three characteristics of mental states which are held to distinguish them from physical states. Asses the view that the characteristics of mental states make it impossible for those states to be within the physical world.

Describe three characteristics of mental states which are held to distinguish them from physical states. Asses the view that the characteristics of mental states make it impossible for those states to be within the physical world. There are both physical and mental states going on in space and time. We can always locate physical things, events and processes-they take place somewhere. Unlike physical states, mental states do not appear in physical space. Mental states are not visible to the public world and are only real in the sense that they occur in your experience. Physical objects, processes and events are all publicly observable while mental states are private to the individual and cannot be experienced by anyone other than the experiencer. Mental states are known from direct or immediate acquaintance. Intentionality is the feature whereby many mental states posses a representational content. They seem to be about or directed upon other states of affairs. Some intentional states, such as beliefs, portray how the world actually is. If a the world is as a belief represents it as being, the belief is true, otherwise it is false. Other intentional states, such as desires and intentions, represents how a person wants the world to be. Desires and intentions that do not succeed in bringing about the state of affairs at which they are aimed are frustrated or unfulfilled.

  • Word count: 555
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
Access this essay