The issue of human morality has always been widely controversial and vitally important; it is our anchor that we use to define the humane yet we cannot agree on its dimensions. Morality seems to be all that separates us from the unfeeling universe, which is filled with morally horific natural laws such as "survival of the fittest." Or, at least, such "callous" impartiality seems unjust to our modern societies. Behind the screens of prosperity and enlightentment we have the luxory of moral scrutiny -- a luxory that should be fully explored and developed as our only wall against the apparent moral abyss of the rest of the universe. With enough investigation, we will realize that animals must be considered as we decide who deserves rights -- and what they are.
There is a fundamental system for establishing rights in others of recognizable consciousness that is (nearly) universal to human beings. Yet, there is significant evidence of varying interpretations of those fundamentals that give rise to many different morals in different cultures. Some believe, perhaps in a cruelly impartial stance, that morality is merely a set of learned rules that varies between cultures. Babies certainly do (eventually) develop morally -- kindergarten is as much a time for learning not to take toys from others as the alphabet. Still, this claim should not be taken too far -- even across huge cultural gaps there are similarities in philosophy and morality. The golden rule shows up in various forms, composed independently by many cultures. It may be safe to assume that simply being a society encourages such togetherness and morality, but as we are social creatures such a concession only furthers the point for animal rights as we are not the only so...
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Newman, Aline Alexander. "Do Animals Have Feelings?" National Geographic World .310 (June 2001): 6 pp. Masterfile Elite. EBSCOhost. 4570708. Owens Lib., Maryville, MO. 16 Nov. 2002
Perry., Denise. "Touching Look at Animal Feelings." Animals 128.4 (July 1995): 2/3 pp. Masterfile Elite. EBSCOhost. 9507250122. Owens Lib., Maryville, MO. 16 Nov. 2002
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Rene Descartes’ third meditation from his book Meditations on First Philosophy, examines Descartes’ arguments for the existence of God. The purpose of this essay will be to explore Descartes’ reasoning and proofs of God’s existence. In the third meditation, Descartes states two arguments attempting to prove God’s existence, the Trademark argument and the traditional Cosmological argument. Although his arguments are strong and relatively truthful, they do no prove the existence of God.
Women were the subject of marginalization ever since the very beginning of Christianity. They were viewed as a “second Eve” (92) who did not deserve the same attention as men. Women were treated as second class citizens. They were willfully ignored by members of the Christianity
Through Descartes’s Meditations, he sought to reconstruct his life and the beliefs he had. He wanted to end up with beliefs that were completely justified and conclusively proven. In order to obtain his goal, Descartes had to doubt all of his foundational beliefs so that he could start over. This left Descartes doubting the reality of the world around him and even his own existence. In order to build up to new conclusively proven and justified true beliefs, Descartes needed a fixed and undeniable starting point. This starting point was his cogito, “I think, therefore I am.” In this paper I will argue that Descartes’s argument that he is definite of his own existence, is unsound.
While the US may have prided themselves in the fact that we didn’t practice imperialism or colonialism, and we weren’t an Empire country, the actions conquering land in our own country may seem to rebuff that claim. In the 19th century, the West was a synonym for the frontier, or edge of current settlement. Early on this was anything west of just about Mississippi, but beyond that is where the Indian tribes had been pushed to live, and promised land in Oklahoma after policies like Indian removal, and events like the Trail of Tears. Indian’s brief feeling of security and this promise were shattered when American’s believed it was their god given right, their Manifest Destiny, to conquer the West; they began to settle the land, and relatively quickly. And with this move, cam...
Regan, Tom. “The Case for Animal Rights.” In Animal Rights and Human Obligations, 2 ed.. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989.
Turner’s thesis was to a wide extent based on this belief. Turners tried to convince people that American uniqueness is as a result of the constant contact with an open frontier for about 300 years. Turner’s conclusion significantly builds up on the American exceptionalism or uniqueness. He summarized his thesis by saying the most relevant aspect of the frontier was promotion of individualistic democracy. The ubiquity of opportunity and significance of individual labor restrained monopoly of political power from developing and led to American Democratic
Linzey, Andrew. Introduction. Animals on the Agenda. Ed. A. Linzey et al. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998.
“Do animals have emotions?” When animal lovers and pet owners are asked this question, the answer is a quick and definite, “Yes!” For others, the answer isn 't so simple. Many of the researchers that had reservations, spent their time wondering what dogs (and other animals) were capable of feeling, or if they were capable of feeling anything at all. Since these researchers were unable to put feelings under a microscope, their research lead no where, and they remained skeptics. To the contrary,Marc Bekoff, author of several books including The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy and Why They Matter, begins his research three decades ago with the question, “What does it feel like to be a
In order to analyze Boahen’s work as well as produce a coherent interpretation of his evidence, definitions for and connections between the terms in question are critical. Therefore, peaceful responses are defined as devoid of bloodshed and aggressive confrontation whereas violent reactions are defined as uprisings of a coalition or faction that involve open hostility. In the context of African resistance to colonialism, success is defined as the achievement of the party in question's objective as well as sustaining the attained goal in order for it to have a lasting positive impact on the country. These objectives typically fall into the two categories of state sovereignty and amity. While they are generally found to be the products of peaceful reactions, fatalities and destruction are by large the most notable outcomes of violent opposition. Moreover, this pattern observed from the results of the two types of responses is best understood when presented in terms of time periods: invasion and occupation.
The Frontier Thesis has been very influential in people’s understanding of American values, government and culture until fairly recently. Frederick Jackson Turner outlines the frontier thesis in his essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”. He argues that expansion of society at the frontier is what explains America’s individuality and ruggedness. Furthermore, he argues that the communitarian values experienced on the frontier carry over to America’s unique perspective on democracy. This idea has been pervasive in studies of American History until fairly recently when it has come under scrutiny for numerous reasons. In his essay “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature”, William Cronon argues that many scholars, Turner included, fall victim to the false notion that a pristine, untouched wilderness existed before European intervention. Turner’s argument does indeed rely on the idea of pristine wilderness, especially because he fails to notice the serious impact that Native Americans had on the landscape of the Americas before Europeans set foot in America.
The depreciation of women and their overall inferior position in society can be attributed to the androcentric interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, especially the story of Adam and Eve. Throughout history, the story of Adam and Eve has been used by men to point out the inherent evil in women by pinning the eventual expulsion of Adam and Eve from Heaven on the neck of Eve. Eve has long been blamed for the expulsion from Heaven and in effect, women, even up until today, are portrayed as the “gateway to sin.”
In her article, “Feminist Hermeneutics and Biblical Studies”, Phyllis Trible discusses the issues centered toward women in the bible (Trible). She addresses issues not just concerning equality, but also how men viewed women in biblical times. Trible examines the role of women in the bible, and the misconception they carry, that leads many into harms way.
Let’s review the Pros of children taking part in organized sports: physical activity, socialization, health competition, self-esteem, and discipline. With every action there is an equal reaction also known as the Cons of children taking part in organized sports: which are injuries, cost, stress, and lost family time together.Some of the benefits of playing outdoor sports, are stated by Adnan Samia in an article entitled “Benefits of Sports.” In schools today the break time is hardly 20 to 30 minutes. Playing outdoor games enhance endurance, flexibility, improve balance as well as strengthen bones and muscles. Sports help in developing better hand-eye co-ordination and fast foot movement. The children who play sports are less likely to get arthritis and diabetes than their peers who do not exercise or play games.
Throughout our lives we have all felt happy, sad, lonely or even lost. These are what we would describe as emotions or feelings. But have you ever thought if animals feel the same as humans? Our textbook defines emotion as; psychological changes and conscious feelings of pleasantness or unpleasantness, aroused by external and internal stimuli, that lead to reaction (Davis & Palladino, 2013). Charles Darwin was among the first scientists to come up with the idea that animals have emotions. I will discuss some facts that help to prove the emotional characteristics of animals. This of course is just my opinion and others may think differently.
Rosewater, Ann. “Learning to Play and Playing to Learn: Organized Sports and Educational Outcome.” Education Digest 75.1 (2009): 50-57. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.