Eating Disorders It seems like every little girl dreams of becoming a model. They want to be thin and pretty like the models they see on television and in magazines. Often the desire becomes an obsession and young girls see "thinness" as being a needed characteristic. For many girls, the teenage years are spent trying to acquire this look. Females are trying diets and are exercising like it is a competition to see who can lose the most weight the quickest. The obsession of many young girls over their appearance or weight has led to a growing number of people who have developed an eating disorder to try to deal with their lack of self-esteem or other related problems. Eating disorders are a serious health problem. Personal Counseling & Resources says that eating disorders "are characterized by a focus on body shape, weight, fat, food, and perfectionism and by feelings of powerlessness and low self-esteem." Three of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating or compulsive eating disorder. According to Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, a person with anorexia "refuses to maintain normal body weight for age and height" and "weighs 85 percent or less than what is what is expected for age and height." A person diagnosed with bulimia has several ways of getting rid of the calories such as binge eating, vomiting, laxative misuse, exercising, or fasting. The person might have a normal weight for their age and height unless anorexia is present. The signs of a compulsive eater include eating meals frequently, rapidly, and secretly. This person might also snack and nibble all day long. The compulsive eater tends to have a history of diet failures and may be depressed or obese (Anred.com). There are many reasons that can contribute to the cause of eating disorders. One of the main reasons seems to be the obsession over every little pound a person is wearing. Sometimes low self-esteem or depression from any number of causes can usher in the eating disorder. Other times compulsive exercising can help shed the pounds but leave the enthused unhealthy looking. There are other possible causes to this widely known health problem.
In John Ludwig Mackie’s book Inventing Right and Wrong, he claims that “in making moral judgments we are pointing to something objectively prescriptive, but that these judgments are all false”. By saying this, he supports his main point that there are no objective values. However, John McDowell will be against Mackie’s argument, for he suggests that besides primary qualities, there are also secondary qualities that can be objective. I hold the same viewpoint as McDowell’s. In this essay, I will firstly explain Mackie’s argument, then illustrate McDowell’s objections, and finally explore some potential responses by Mackie.
The purpose of this essay is to elaborate on John Ludwig Mackie’s argument that all moral judgments are false considering they presuppose moral objectivity which is itself inaccurate. To do so, I shall explain Mackie’s reasoning as to why the belief that moral values are objective was founded, and clarify Mackie’s arguments for why such an idea is misleading. Furthermore, I shall demonstrate how John McDowell’s color analogy can successfully prove Mackie wrong. The argument of this essay will establish that Mackie is immune to the idea of moral objectivity for he finds it queer and unsupportive of the relativity shown throughout the world. However, Mackie fails to acknowledge that properties that are dependent on
Shank, Barry. “”That Wild Mercury Sound:” Bob Dylan and the Illusion of American Culture.” Boundary 2 29.1 (2002): 97-123.
In this assignment we are to determine the moral difference between Deontological moral theory and Utilitarianism with regard to the changing of lives on a chance twist of fate with the brakes blowing out of the Trolley excursion. To turn or not to turn that is the question. Weather it is nobler of the heart and mind to follow the path of one and not the other remains a personal choice.
ABSTRACT: Recently, unrestrained consequentialism has been defended against the charge that it leads to unacceptable trade-offs by showing a trade-off accepted by many of us is not justified by any of the usual nonconsequenlist arguments. The particular trade-off involves raising the speed limit on the Interstate Highway System. As a society, we seemingly accept a trade-off of lives for convenience. This defense of consequentialism may be a tu quoque, but it does challenge nonconsequentialists to adequately justify a multitude of social decisions. Work by the deontologist Frances Kamm, conjoined with a perspective deployed by several economists on the relation between social costs and lives lost, is relevant. It provides a starting point by justifying decisions which involve trading lives only for other lives. But the perspective also recognizes that using resources in excess of some figure (perhaps as low as $7.5 million) to save a life causes us to forego other live-saving activities, thus causing a net loss of life. Setting a speed limit as low as 35 miles per hour might indeed save some lives, but the loss of productivity due to the increased time spent in travel would cost an even greater number of lives. Therefore, many trade-offs do not simply involve trading lives for some lesser value (e.g., convenience), but are justified as allowing some to die in order to save a greater number.
As many as 20% of females in their teenage and young adult years suffer from anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (Alexander-Mott, 4). Males are also afflicted by these eating disorders, but at a much lower rate, with a female to male ratio of six to one. Those with anorexia nervosa refuse to maintain a normal body weight by not eating and have an intense fear of gaining weight. People with bulimia nervosa go through periods of binge eating and then purging (vomiting), or sometimes not purging but instead refraining from eating at all for days. Both of these disorders wreak havoc on a person's body and mental state, forcing them to become emaciated and often depressed.
Eating disorders are described as an illness involving eating habits that are irregular and an extreme concern with body image or weight. Eating disorders tend to appear during teenage years, but can develop at any age. Although more common in women, eating disorders can affect any age, gender or race. In the United States, over 20 million women and 10 million men are personally affected by eating disorders. There are many different causes of eating disorders such as low self esteem, societal pressures, sexual abuse and the victims perception of food. Eating disorders are unique to the sufferer and often, their perception of themselves is so skewed, they may not be aware they have an eating disorder. Media, for quite some time now, has played a significant part in eating disorders. Magazines with headlines ‘Summer Body’, or ‘Drop LB’s Fast!’ attract the attention of girls who may be insecure with themselves. Television productions such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or American’s Next Top Model, show airbrushed and photoshopped women who have body types that may be unachievable. Those who are suffering from eating disorders can suffer dangerous consequences, and it is important to seek help.
Consequentialism is ordinarily distinct from deontology, as deontology offers rightness or wrongness of an act, rather than the outcome of the action. In this essay we are going to explore the differences of consequentialism and deontology and apply them to the quandary that Bernard Williams and J.J.C Smart put forward in their original analogy of “Jim and the Indians” in their book , Utilitarianism: for and against (J.J.C Smart & Bernard Williams, 1973, p.78-79.).
About fifteen percent of Americans suffer from some type of eating disorder. Media and Bullying are two causes of eating disorders. Different types include Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Although it is clear that eating disorders can sometimes improve appearance for some people, these disorders are also life threatening and have negative effects such as depression and fatigue.
An eating disorder is a way of using food to work out emotional problems. These illnesses develop because of emotional and/or psychological problems. Eating disorders are the way some people deal with stress. In today’s society, teenagers are pressured into thinking that bring thin is the same thing as being happy. Chemical balances in the brain that may also result in depression, obsessive compulsive disorders, and bi-polar disorders may also cause some eating disorders. Other causes may be emotional events, illnesses, marital or family problems, manic depression, or ending a relationship. Over eight million Americans suffer from eating disorders. Over 80% of girls under age thirteen admit to dieting, one of the main factors linked to eating disorders. Although eating disorders are mainly found in middle- to upper class, highly educated, Caucasian, female adolescents, no culture or age group is immune to them (EDA HP, n.p.). The three major eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and compulsive over-eating or binge-eating.
One of worlds most popular and most often diagnosed eating disorder is anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder characterized by abnormal eating behavior, distorted body image and an unrealistic fear of gaining weight (Ehrlich 2010). People who have been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa tend to obsess about their weight and what they eat. Many people attempt, and succeed, to maintain a weight that is abnormal of their age and height. To prevent gaining weight anorexics may starve themselves, go on an unhealthy diet and/ or exercise excessively (Mayo Clinic 2012).
ABSTRACT: Both utilitarians and the deontologists are of the opinion that punishment is justifiable, but according to the utilitarian moral thinkers, punishment can be justified solely by its consequences, while the deontologists believe that punishment is justifiable purely on retributive ground. D. D. Raphael is found to reconcile both views. According to him, a punishment is justified when it is both useful and deserved. Maclagan, on the other hand, denies it to be justifiable in the sense that it is not right to punish an offender. I claim that punishment is not justifiable but not in the sense in which it is claimed by Maclagan. The aim of this paper is to prove the absurdity of the enquiry as to whether punishment can be justified. Difference results from differing interpretations of the term 'justification.' In its traditional meaning, justification can hardly be distinguished from evaluation. In this sense, to justify an act is to say that it is good or right. I differ from the traditional use and insist that no act or conduct can be justified. Infliction of punishment is a human conduct and as such it is absurd to ask for its justification. I hold the view that to justify is to give reason, and it is only a statement or an assertion behind which we can put forth reason. Infliction of pain is an act behind which the agent may have purpose or intention but not reason. So, it is not punishment, but rather statements concerning punishment that we can justify.
Smith, M.A., Melina. "Cutting and Self-Harm." : Self-Injury Help, Support, and Treatment. Helpguide, Jan. 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. .
First off, an eating disorder is defined as the “deadliest mental illness”, according to the Victorian of Newport Beach. It is primarily associated with three major types of disorders: Anorexia Nervosa, Binge Eating, and Bulimia Nervosa. Each sickness has its own side effects, as they all involve different methods of consumption, but all can result in death due to heart failure. The first disorder listed, Anorexia Nervosa, or simply anorexia, is the restriction of nutritional intake in the form of food to the point of starvation. Sufferers of anorexia are called anorexic, and are typically extremely underweight. Next on the list, the intake of abnormally massive amounts of foodstuff, either in a single sitting or throughout the day, is known as Binge Eating. Those affected by Binge Eating are generally overweight or obese. Finally, Bulimia Nervosa is the ingestion of food, normally in large amounts similar to that of a binge eater, followed by a form of purging. Purging can be either vomiting, abuse of laxatives, excessive exercise, or fasting (Cowley).
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll House." Ibsen : Four Major Plays - Volume 1. Trans. Rolf Fjelde. New York: Signet Classics, 1992. 43-114. Print.