Is Christ a Kantian?

(My name is: Sim Yong Kiat. My email address is [email protected]. This work is on Kantian Ethics for university students.) Is Christ a Kantian? A Kantian must believe that happiness needs to be deserved, yet Christ says, "Ask and you will be given," not "Do and you shall deserve." Is the moral man really one who merely does moral acts? Remember Christ also says, wash the inside of the dishes and the outside will also be clean. Thus, Christ does distinguish between a moral man and one who merely acts morally. A moral man must do what Kantian Ethics says, for Kantian Ethics is indeed the correct description of ethics, though a man who obeys Kantian Ethics every time need not be a moral man at all. What I want to say is that, Kantian Ethics is only a description of ethics, rather than an explanation, for ethics is also about the man, not only about the act. Kantian Ethics can only be half-completed in answering the question, What is a moral act? The other half i.e. the question on, Who is a moral man? (or Why be moral?) is still unanswered. For as a human being, one needs not only to know, but also to be inspired. If the task of describing ethics is more important than the inspiring of man to be moral, Christ would have chosen to be a philosopher. And that is why Kant's contribution to ethical philosophy is as great as the contribution of Newton in Natural

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Modern life-prolonging technologies have sharpened some ancient dilemmas on the value of life.

Modern life-prolonging technologies have sharpened some ancient dilemmas on the value of life. Our ability to sustain vital signs virtually as long as we wish pointedly raises the question whether we value life for its electrical efflorescence or for qualities that might be enjoyed by the person whose life is in jeopardy. In fact, it raises the question what the life is that we value. Is it biology or biography? Our legal norms and moral intuitions evolved before we had techniques to separate vital signs from interesting personality, before we could hold the dying in a living death and perpetuate a hopeless limbo of darkness and electricity. They developed during the long pre-technological age in medicine when the cessation of breath and pulse always coincided with the cessation of brain function and consciousness. But these no longer coincide. Nearly every hospital in the country has the equipment, and occasionally the incentive, to preserve heartbeat and respiration in bodies not brain dead but subject to a permanent and total loss of higher brain function. Because many states have not accepted brain death as their legal definition of death, it also happens that hospitals occasionally have the incentive to prolong vital signs in bodies past the point of brain death. This was physically impossible until the past three decades. Our medical cleverness has increased much

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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The Ethical Debate Concerning Cloning.

The Ethical Debate Concerning Cloning In the year that has elapsed since the announcement of Dolly's birth, there has been much discussion of the ethical implications of cloning humans. Although the simple use of the word "clone" may have negative connotations, many people have resigned themselves to the idea of cloning cows that produce more milk or using a cloned mouse for use in controlled experimentation. However, the idea of cloning humans is a highly charged topic. Several authors have attempted to outline some of the ethical objections to cloning while at the same time minimizing the role religion plays in this debate. The objections posed by Leon Kass and James Q. Wilson provide basic arguments that deserve consideration. Kass outlines the possibility of clones through the idea that cloning is neither inherently good nor bad in its process but that can be used to produce both good and bad results. Kass outlines three general contexts in which cloning is discussed. First he looks at the outcome of cloning on the child. One main objection to cloning is that it will naturally force parents to treat their new child differently than they would one that is born through sexual union. Technically the process of reproduction would have been different, but Kass sees no reason why parents would follow this process for producing a child unless they truly wanted it.

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  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Business Ethics

Business ethics is the study of business situations, activities, and decisions where issues of right and wrong are addressed. It is worth that stressing that by 'right' and 'wrong' we mean morally right and wrong. For example commercially, strategically, or financially right or wrong. Moreover, by business ethics, we do not mean only commercial business, but also government organization, pressure groups, not-for-profit businesses, charities and other organization. Business ethics has been claim as an Oxymoron. By an oxymoron, it mean that bringing together of two apparently contradictory concepts, such as in 'a cheerful pessimist' to say that business ethics is an oxymoron suggests that there are not or cannot be ethics in business which state that business is some way unethical such as business that is inherently bad, or that it is at best amoral which are such as outside of our normal moral considerations. Examples are such as in the latter case, Albert Carr (1968) notoriously argued in the article 'is business bluffing ethical' that the game of business was not subject to the same moral standards as the rest of society, but should be regarded as analogous to a game of poker where deception and lying were perfectly permissible. Business ethics is currently a very prominent business topic, and the debates and dilemmas surrounding business ethics have tended to attract an

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Examine and comment on Christian beliefs about homosexuality

Examine and comment on Christian beliefs about homosexuality. "If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn't worship that God." Archbishop Desmond Tutu- BBC Radio 4 Broadcast 18th November 20071 Homosexual- a homosexual is a person who is sexually attracted to someone of the same sex. (The Oxford study dictionary 1991) It is only common sense to recognize that if every citizen of the earth were homosexual then that would result in the end of mankind. When we examine various pieces of religious text it is easy to assume religious beliefs have remained the same through the ages, as a brief look would suggest religious texts are timeless and will not change through the different societies and situations caused by the societies. As soon as you start to examine the texts further you can become more aware of how various followers of different dominations interpret evidence between one age and the next. (The Bible, The Church and Homosexuality, Nicholas Coulton, 2005) Society did not always accept homosexuality; in the early 20th century UK law stated that if you acted within homosexual acts, you were committing a crime, and homosexuality was seen as a mental illness. (Sexuality Issues, Craig Donnellan, 2001) In medieval times homosexuals were burnt at the stake. 2 In the 1950s, the Church of England's moral welfare council was one of the major influences that led to the

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  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Ethical Criticism of McDonalds

Ethical Criticism of McDonalds Arguably the most important aspect of an organization is its emphasis on ethical behavior. The key premise was that by 'doing the right thing' internally and externally, businesses created a good working atmosphere, while also benefiting society and the environment. The problem is that many ethical issues are subjective and based on one's values and beliefs. As a result, they are often difficult to enforce and easy to neglect. The result of this is that 'when the costs are added up, the social balance sheet contains enormous debts to society' (McEwan, 2001). It is the notion of an organization's 'debts to society', which led to the branch of ethics known as 'corporate social responsibility'. This refers to 'the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic expectations placed on organizations by society at a given point in time' (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2000). This theory of responsibility to society is based around two headings, stated by Wells (1998). Social Responsibility deals with 'the purposes for which companies should act' (Wells, 1998), and Corporate Responsibility is the 'liability attached to a company for actions done in its name' (Wells, 1998). Corporate Social Responsibility has increased in importance over the last 15 years, as globalization has led to increased pressure to meet society's ethical demands and expectations. This

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Business Ethics

LONDON SCHOOL OF COMMERCE UNIVERSITY OF WALES INSTITUTE CARDIFF MASTER FOUNDATION PROGRAM FEB 2006 ASSIGNMENT IN BUSINESS ETHICS ALI OZAN PEKINER 74JCJCWCF06 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ) Business Ethics a) Motives of Business Ethics b) Business Ethics Criteria c) Approaches for Implementing Business Ethics 2) Whistle Blowing a) Methods of Whistle Blowing b) Case Studies Conclusion References Bibliography 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 8 9 0 Introduction 30 years ago, Milton Friedman, Nobel price winner for economics, argued that "there is only one social responsibility of business, which is to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits"1. Last 20 years have been marked by the increased globalisation of markets, and intensification of competition2. The collapse of the communism and the rise of pacific economies have enlarged the international trade. The development of new information and communication technologies has resulted not only in an international relocation of the production, but also changed supply chains for products and services. The consumers all around the world became more sensitive and aware of different products. These changes have forced companies to increase their effectiveness, by maximising the quality of their products. On the other hand, on local, regional, or global levels, different unions and

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  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Evaluate Korsgaard's discussion of the Universalizability Argument. In what ways does she conform with Kant and in what ways does she deviate? Do you think her argument is successful?

Contemporary Ethical Theory Alvin Aguilar Sario May 14, 2004 Evaluate Korsgaard's discussion of the Universalizability Argument. In what ways does she conform with Kant and in what ways does she deviate? Do you think her argument is successful? Christine Korsgaard argued for the universalizability of moral principles based on the notion of autonomy and categorical imperative as employed by Kant. He further argued that autonomy is the source of obligation and moral identity dictates moral obligations. He first assumed that morality is grounded in human nature. He arrived at this through a critique of voluntarism, realism, and reflective endorsement. Korsgaard is largely Kantian in this respect as she extrapolates on the sources of normativity. Affirming the significance of reflective endorsement vis-à-vis to endorse a desire based on reason or to reject it and get obligation, she focuses on the crucial role and relations of human identity (moral identity/practical identity), human will (categorical imperative), and moral law (laws of the kingdom of Ends). Universalizability as an issue poses a certain problem, is it possible and is there a need to universalize moral principles, and on what sources and grounds are we to universalize such principles and laws? Korsgaard tries to have answers by remaining fidel to the Kantian ideas. If a person decides that his desire is

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  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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`Always tell the truth and Always keep your promises' Kant's Categorical Imperative.

`Always tell the truth and Always keep your promises': Kant's Categorical Imperative Paul Grosch and William Large 'Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and the more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above and the moral law within' (Kant, The Critique of Practical Reason, p. 260). For Kant there are scientific laws which govern the natural world, and moral laws which govern the social world. Or, more specifically, there is one moral law which governs the social world: the categorical imperative. As we shall see, there are three main formulations of it: And what particularly concerns us in this paper is the relationship between the moral law, or the categorical imperative, and the two maxims which may be derived from it, namely: Always tell the truth and always keep a promise. Kant's Moral Theory Kant's moral philosophy is basically deontological. That is to say it rests on the notion of duty or obligation (Greek - 'deon': duty or obligation). The argument is that we should conduct our affairs out of strict duty to the moral law. Kant wrote three major works on moral philosophy: * Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals, published in 1785. * Critique of Practical Reason, published in 1788. * The Metaphysics of Morals, published in 1797. The Good Will The Fundamental Principles is the most

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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Utilitarianism is unjust

More research for AO2 Harwood's objection number eleven against utilitarianism says that utilitarianism is too secretive, undemocratic, and elitist. There is no mathematical equation to determine how many utils are generated; it seems severely subjective. While one person may say action A generates more utils, another may believe that action B generates more utils. Who is supposed to differentiate between the two actions and decide which action actually generates more utility. This seems similar to the interpersonal comparisons of utility in which each person believes different ideas. A moral system should be able to be deciphered by the average person, but utilitarianism can not be deciphered by anyone, because it is so subjective. How are citizens supposed to follow this moral system if they cannot determine which action is actually the moral action? There are many situations in which it is difficult to tell which action generates the most utility, or maybe the future is unpredictable, and one action looks the best now, but actually, in the future the other action would have been better. Harwood's objection that utilitarianism is too secretive is correct, utilitarianism is so difficult to determine, that it is not a useable morality. Although Sterling Harwood presents several valid arguments to refute utilitarianism, one of his arguments is extremely ineffective. Harwood

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  • Subject: Religious Studies & Philosophy
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