What exactly is 'cultural relativism' in metaethics? Is cultural relativism true? Can cultural relativists uphold the principles of cultural tolerance? Cultural relativism is a view in metaethics regarding the moral codes
Cultural Relativism What exactly is 'cultural relativism' in metaethics? Is cultural relativism true? Can cultural relativists uphold the principles of cultural tolerance? Cultural relativism is a view in metaethics regarding the moral codes of different cultures and provides an initially appealing way in which to incorporate all cultures values into the world without offending or discriminating towards anyone. However, this theory has a number of significant problems that seem to make it un unsuitable theory for the way the world operates. In this essay I will explain what cultural relativism is in metaethics, and then go on to look at the criticisms of the theory and attempt to offer a reply to each one. I will also address the issue of cultural tolerance and its place in cultural relativism. Finally reaching a conclusion that cultural relativism provides valuable lessons regarding our perceptions of morals and keeping an open mind, however the theory itself is lacking and seems untrue of moral truth In order to understand what cultural relativism actually is in the discipline of metaethics, one must understand what metaethics is itself. Metaethics theorises about normative ethical questions which focus on what is morally correct and how we should act. Metaethical theory, therefore, is "concerned with the nature of moral concepts and judgments" . Cultural relativism
Bioethics - Euthanasia
Bioethics - Euthanasia Euthanasia, one of the most pressing and profound topics in bioethics, raises a number of complex legal and moral issues. Some of the issues will be discussed in this essay, especially the rights of health consumers and their families in end-of-life decision-making. To fully understand these rights, some knowledge of personal autonomy is important, which will be discussed, under consideration of living in a liberal society, in this essay. The reader will furthermore gain some understanding of the legal issues and the community viewpoint of euthanasia. Another essential issue that will be discussed here is the emerging ethical role of the nurse in euthanasia. To gain some broader understanding of euthanasia, one must know the meaning of it and be aware of the different and sometimes confusing terminology. The original meaning of euthanasia, "an easy or good death" (Australian Nurses' Dictionary, 2003, p. 159) is more amplified in today's society. The Australian Nurses' Dictionary (2003, p. 159) describes euthanasia as "ending the life of a person who is suffering from an incurable disease". To give an example, end stage cancer or even Down syndrome is an incurable disease. Euthanasia is divided into voluntary, non-voluntary, involuntary and active or passive euthanasia, depending on the act, i.e. how the patient's life is terminated.
What is morality, and within morality what can be considered fact or merely an opinion.
In looking at this question, two major issues arise immediately from the text; what is morality, and within morality what can be considered fact or merely an opinion. In this essay, we hope to investigate further the basic idea of what morality is, and using views from modern philosophers; try to further the debate over whether there are infact moral truths. It is important to note that the argument is essentially one sided in the philosophical world, with most authors arguing that moral facts do not exist and very few genuinely defending their existence. Thus in order to tackle this more successfully, we will be touching on the views of J L Mackie and contrasting it with the view of other Moral Relativists. What is morality? Stanford dictionary considers morality to be '[used to] descriptively refer to a code of conduct put forward by a society'1. If this is the case, Moral Facts would be considered a natural extension of 'codes of conduct', thus moral facts would be the law and its statues. Unfortunately the subject is not as clear cut as this, and the debate over moral facts starts with a debate over the true meaning of Morality. Morality can be described in two ways; either to label Morality using a 'descriptive definition', or using a 'normative definition'. The argument over which description should be considered the intellectual paradigm is as yet unresolved, and
Discuss Kohlberg's theory of Moral Development, use psychological evidence and refer to at least one other theory in your answer.
Discuss Kohlberg's theory of Moral Development, use psychological evidence and refer to at least one other theory in your answer Moral development in psychology is the study of how we form beliefs and acquire knowledge to determine what is wrong or right. It is also a study of how we apply these beliefs to our actions. Kohlberg is a prominent figure in moral development, his main focus in his investigation in to moral development was on our reasoning behind moral judgement rather than the judgments made. He believed that we develop moral reasoning during childhood and adolescence; it is not something we acquire in one big step. Like Piaget, Kohlberg chose to investigate the reasoning behind moral development, by using moral dilemmas. Kohlberg carried out a study with group of males, some of which he followed up 3 times over 20 years. He gave them a moral dilemma and questions designed by Heinz. Heinz's story stated that a man's wife was suffering from a rare illness, her only chance of survival was this one particular type of drug that the man could not afford and the chemist would not let him have it cheaper or let him pay for it in instalments. The questions were on whether the man should steal the drug for his wife, whether the man should steal it if it was for a stranger, is it against the law to steal it and does that make it morally wrong. From analysing the
Presentation on ISKCON
How the 'structures and organisations' prevalent in ISKCON) contrast from those of traditional Hinduism Hinduism * 4000 year old tradition * Over 900 million followers * Difficult to trace * Indian sages founded the religion (Bhaskarananda 2002) * Hindu identity as recognised today developed during the 19th century (Flood 2001: 3) Variations of Hinduism? * Flood's tree theory - central trunk of philosophy * Bernard Faure's river theory - different streams of Hinduism combine to form a core * The essential goal for Hindus is escape or moksha from the cycle of reincarnation, samsara. What differs from one Hindu to another is the means or ways to get to moksha ISKCON in the West * Transfer of foreign religious ideology * Devotional religion * Existing western monotheistic religions * Popular with the counter culture during the 1960s New Religious Movement? * ISKCON is classed as a new religious movement although its roots lie in sixteenth century Vaishnava Hinduism (Barker 1989: 184) * Monotheistic in nature * Aim to create and maintain societal and personal well-being by promoting the Krishna consciousness, the philosophies of Krishna as found in religious scriptures. Philosophical content * Become harmonized with one another but most importantly closer to Krishna through worship, education and to proselytize the faith to other cultures and nations
Examine the definition of moral panic and then go on to discuss an example in order to demonstrate its cycle and characteristics.
Firstly I would like to examine the definition of moral panic and then go on to discuss an example in order to demonstrate its cycle and characteristics. According to Goode & Ben-Yehuda (1994) "A moral panic is characterised by a feeling held by a substantial number of a members of a given society, that evil-doers pose a threat to society and to the moral order as a consequence of their behaviour and, therefore, "something should be done about them and their behaviour". The term 'moral panic' suggests a dramatic and rapid overreaction to forms of deviance or wrongdoing believed to be a direct threat to society. They tend to occur at times of social upheaval when people are struggling to adjust; there is a general feeling of lack of control and declining standards. At these times people tend to group into a kind of social collective, further defined by identify victims on which all that is wrong of society may be blamed. This helps them feel better and more assured. They have someone to blame for everything that is wrong, a scapegoat or 'folk devil' as describe by Stanley Cohen. Most people will agree that moral panics and folk devils are based mostly on rumours and fear influenced by the media. I believe this as many of the previous moral panics are now perfectly acceptable, and also due to media influence linking real life tragedies to other media as a scapegoat, such as
Discuss the key differences between the two statements "Cannibalism is practised by 8% of the population of Bearsden" and "Cannibalism is morally wrong".
In this essay, I plan to discuss the key differences between the two statements I have been presented. , 1) "Cannibalism is practised by 8% of the population of Bearsden" and 2) "Cannibalism is morally wrong". I will attempt to show that there are evidential and substantial differences in these claims, I will either support them or show them to be untenable. The first statement - "Cannibalism is practised by 8% of the population of Bearsden" is APPARENTLY a fact. I deduce this by the obvious statistic within it. I can only assume that this statistic has been obtained through substantial and scientifiacally accurate research, and concluded frm seemingly evidential studies. Therefore I can only suppose that this is true, the only way I could disprove it would be to conduct my own analysis of the popuation of Bearsden, e.g. by use of a survey, and come up with my own statistics to challenge it. To me the statement is clearly a fact, one which I cannot dispute. The second statement that I am faced with, "Cannibalism is morally wrong" appears to be opinion. I conclude this because the statement has no figur in it, no statistic, nothing which can lead me to believe that it could be scientifically proven. Because of this, the statement cannot, in my opinion, be a fact. It is an opinion, a moral judgement made by a singular person or a group of people, e.g. a society or
To what extent are individual soldiers morally responsible for the protection of civilians during wartime?
0307165 To what extent are individual soldiers morally responsible for the protection of civilians during wartime? In this essay I will be attempting to answer the question of what moral responsibility soldiers have to protect civilians during wartime. I will concentrate in this essay on the issues surrounding the inadvertent deaths or injury of civilians in the course of military activities, sometimes referred to as 'collateral damage.' I will not discuss issues surrounding incidents such as that which occurred at My Lai in the Vietnam War. The intentional killing of civilians in cases such as this raises very different moral questions which unfortunately I do not have the space to address. I should also note that by 'protection' of civilians I mean the protection of their life in a narrow sense as I believe this to be the most important aspect of a soldier's protection. I will not discuss the obligations of soldiers to ensure that civilian infrastructure remains in place or that civilians are not psychologically harmed. I should further clarify that by 'soldiers' I am referring to all members of the armed forces including air force personnel. In this essay I will argue that soldiers should have more moral responsibility for the protection of civilians than is their strictly legal obligation. I will begin by arguing that soldiers do bear some form of
Euthanasia - Physician Assisted Suicide.
Euthanasia - Physician Assisted Suicide Sam Tucker, IVF Euthanasia is a very topical issue, with Diane Pretty only recently being involved in a major debate whether people should have the right to die. Euthanasia is derived from two Greek words, 'eu' and 'thanatos,' meaning good and easy death. Euthanasia is sometimes called mercy killing, for "it is a desperate act of love by a person" to relieve the suffering of a terminally ill patient. However, presently the law in the UK concerning Euthanasia states that it is illegal, and this is also in the US. Inevitably, this causes the demand for a way to die, for people with long term diseases for example. This is where physician assisted suicide can come to the aid of people. Occasionally it is argued that this is not a type of euthanasia, but generally it is viewed as euthanasia. Physician assisted suicide refers to a physician providing the means for death, most often with a prescription. The patient, not the physician, will ultimately administer the lethal medication. Euthanasia generally means that the physician would act directly, for instance by giving a lethal injection, to end the patient's life. I have chosen to a view it as a type of euthanasia. There have been many raging debates as to whether physician assisted suicide is ethical, or simply immoral. Those who are in favour often argue
Euthanasia and assisted suicide.
One of the most important public policy debates today surrounds the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide. The outcome of that debate will profoundly affect family relationships, interaction between doctors and patients, and concepts of basic ethical behaviour and public policy. I have outlined some of the main questions concerning Euthanasia and provided possible answers. . Where are euthanasia and assisted suicide legal? Oregon, the Netherlands and Belgium are the only jurisdictions in the world where laws specifically permit euthanasia or assisted suicide. a) Oregon permits assisted suicide. b) The Netherlands and Belgium permit both euthanasia and assisted suicide. c) In 1995 Australia's Northern Territory approved a euthanasia bill. It went into effect in 1996 but was overturned by the Australian Parliament in 1997. d) In 1997, Colombia's Supreme Court ruled that penalties for mercy killing should be removed. However the ruling does not go into effect until guidelines, still to be drafted, are approved by the Colombian Congress. 2. What is the difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide? One way to distinguish them is to look at the last act - the act without which death would not occur. Using this distinction, if a third party performs the last act that intentionally causes a patient's