Part 1: Evaluate Richard Taylor's view that morality is a matter not of rational principles but of having your heart in the right place. Explore the pros and cons of such a view. Taylor’s view that having compassion is all we need is a compelling thought. There would be no need for logic and reason, but this is not a perfect world. The thought that this would be all we need falls flat based on the fact there are people who lack capability and/or desire for compassion. You cannot enforce or compel these types of people to concede to this feeling in a world devoid of the use of logic or the ability to appeal to rationality. With that being said, it would be a wonderful world if everyone was ruled by compassion, but I cannot see what purpose the lives of those people would have, because can there be light without darkness? Part 2: Evaluate the respect for the elderly as expressed in the …show more content…
philosophies of Confucius, Mencius, and Lin Yutang.
Do you think modern Western culture might be improved by incorporating such ideas? Why or why not? The moral philosophies of Confucius, Mencius, and Lin Yutang all share a common thread in their respect of elders. This tradition is very valuable, since the majority of our elders develop a wealth of knowledge through life lessons that would only serve to benefit society by being looked to. I do believe modern western culture would be improved upon by incorporating the moral philosophies of respect for our elders. I do see our deficiencies out here now in Missouri, but not nearly as bad as where I grew up and moved from recently, in Southern California. Growing up in one of the cities just outside of the Los Angeles metro area the lack of respect for the elderly is very appealing. Even guilty I am of it. For example, back when I was
dating a previous girlfriend, who had emigrated from an Asian country, she was dumbfounded by what she called a lack of respect for the elders in my family. The displeasure arose from the fact that the younger members of my family, including myself, addressed our aunts and uncles by their first names. The lack of the aunt or uncle title may be strange to some of those reading this, but I was one of those people in the modern large city cultures that the text addresses. There was no intentional disrespect in our actions, but there was also no respect given for age and status. It was not until I was fully immersed in a foreign culture on my first deployment that I realized how much our culture does not value the elderly the way we should and the scolding I received for my perceived slight was justly deserved. Most other cultures outside of modern big cities practice respecting the elderly, and I do believe that it is something lacking our culture. Not every elder deserves our respect, but they should all be given the benefit of the doubt.
Most people agree with the quote “sometimes you have to do what’s best for you
From top to bottom, John Stuart Mill put forth an incredible essay depicting the various unknown complexities of morality. He has a remarkable understanding and appreciation of utilitarianism and throughout the essay the audience can grasp a clearer understanding of morality. Morality, itself, may never be totally defined, but despite the struggle and lack of definition it still has meaning. Moral instinct comes differently to everyone making it incredibly difficult to discover a basis of morality. Society may never effectively establish the basis, but Mill’s essay provides people with a good idea.
What is the relationship between logic and morality? Consider the two ideas specifically « The Pursuit of truth is a moral pursuit», the use of logical interference must be guided by moral precept” (You might not agree or you might disagree)
Deontological moral theory is a Non-Consequentialist moral theory. While consequentialists believe the ends always justify the means, deontologists assert that the rightness of an action is not simply dependent on maximizing the good, if that action goes against what is considered moral. It is the inherent nature of the act alone that determines its ethical standing. For example, imagine a situation where there are four critical condition patients in a hospital who each need a different organ in order to survive. Then, a healthy man comes to the doctor’s office for a routine check-up. According to consequentialism, not deontology, the doctor should and must sacrifice that one man in order to save for others. Thus, maximizing the good. However, deontological thought contests this way of thinking by contending that it is immoral to kill the innocent despite the fact one would be maximizing the good. Deontologists create concrete distinctions between what is moral right and wrong and use their morals as a guide when making choices. Deontologists generate restrictions against maximizing the good when it interferes with moral standards. Also, since deontologists place a high value on the individual, in some instances it is permissible not to maximize the good when it is detrimental to yourself. For example, one does not need to impoverish oneself to the point of worthlessness simply to satisfy one’s moral obligations. Deontology can be looked at as a generally flexible moral theory that allows for self-interpretation but like all others theories studied thus far, there are arguments one can make against its reasoning.
Through his discussion of morals in the Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant explores the question of whether a human being is capable of acting solely out of pure duty and if our actions hold true moral value. In passage 407, page 19, Kant proposes that if one were to look at past experiences, one cannot be certain that his or her rationalization for performing an action that conforms with duty could rest solely on moral grounds. In order to fully explain the core principle of moral theory, Kant distinguishes between key notions such as a priori and a posteriori, and hypothetical imperative vs. categorical imperative, in order to argue whether the actions of rational beings are actually moral or if they are only moral because of one’s hidden inclinations.
Some of the deficiencies in the way cultural relativism addresses moral problems, according to Holmes; are that they remain impractical, they are subject to change depending on where you live, and that people tolerate the different cultures. As a professional business person, I agree with Holmes analysis. Allowing others perceptions or beliefs to get away with our own personal beliefs would be contradicting ourselves. It is important to stand up for our beliefs, and help educate others on ethical issues. Over time we can make a difference in the world by modeling moral beliefs and ethics.
Before moving in to the pros and cons of such a theory, we should talk about what moral relativism entails. According to moral relativism, there is not a single true or just morality. There are a variety of moral frames of reference, and whether something is morally right or wrong, good or bad, just or unjust, is relative to one or another moral frame of reference. An action can be morally right relative to one moral frame of reference and morally wrong relative to another. Morals and values are subject to the context of the culture in which they are created, and therefore are subjectively good and bad. Since our moral beliefs are the result of an implicit bargaining process among persons of widely varying wealth and strength, no principle will emerge as generally acceptable unless it benefits all the parties to the bargaining. Now that you have a feel for what mo...
Divine command states that what is moral is determined by what God commands, and that to be moral is to follow his commands. For example, Jehovah’s witnesses do not allow blood fusions because their scriptures say humans are not allowed to drink blood; although blood transfusions are allowed for children. Even though modern society does not condemn blood transfusions many Jehovah’s witnesses do not allow blood transfusions because they believe God does not allow blood transfusions. God is the almighty, and what he commands is morally right. Another concrete application of divine command theory is the five pillars of Islam. One must devote his life to following the five pillars; the pillars are correct because God insists upon it. Every Muslim is obliged to believe that there is no other God than Allah, ritual prayer must be done five times a day facing the holy city Mecca, fasting must be done during the month of Ramadan, give at least 2.5% savings to the poor, and make a visit to Mecca at least once in a person’s life time. People follow divine command to the fullest because it is moral to follow God’s commands.
Arthur, John, and Scalet, Steven, eds. Morality and Moral Controversies: Readings in Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Eighth Edition, 2009.
Moral philosophy can be summed up as a type of philosophy that involves ethics; how a person views life holistically. Within that, views what is wrong, right and the consequences associated with it. As an organizational leader, my moral philosophy is built on my Christian beliefs. It is significant to me because this is the only philosophy in which I have personally seen overwhelming results in my life. From my early childhood to now, I feel as though my Christian lifestyle has helped me overcome several obstacles; personally and professionally. The more I study and apply God’s word along with his guidance; I feel I have and can affectively assist fellow Soldiers and their families. In this paper, I will illustrate and discuss how my Christian
Morality are principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. People do inadequate things because of peer pressure, the environment they grow up in, and entertainment. Morality is doing right no matter what you are told. Morality are principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.
5. Lemmon E.J. Moral Dilemmas// Moral Dilemmas/ Ed. by Christopher W. Gowans. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.P.101-114.
The Moral Philosophy has been developed primarily over the course of the last century (Reamer, 1993). While the concepts of morals and ethics have always played a part when working with human beings, the focus of the subject as a whole has shifted over time. Originally, the profession of social work began with an emphasis on the client and centered upon their actions in the process. This means that the morality under question was that of the individual coming to the professional for help (Reamer, 1993). In the early practice of social work, it was the goal of the provider to assist the client in fixing their life and "enhance the morality" in order for the individual to begin a more fruitful and what
As human beings, we make an attempt to be good people. We follow some moral code in which we try to distinguish what the right thing to do is. Unfortunately, we are species of fault, and we are plagued with emotions and feelings that often influence our decisions. In order to combat this outside influence, two philosophers came up with a system of determining what is morally right and wrong. These two philosophers believed that there could be an objective way for humans to determine the status of their decisions, a way that could be essentially applied to any situation and logically reveal the morally correct answer. Each philosopher was able to come up with an objective method, but each method is completely different from the other
Morality is defined to be the standards of a human behavior and principles that always give a meaning to life and is a must. Today’s youth have shown a massive degradation in the moral values in the modern society. A large number of today’s youth seem to believe that having moral standards is outdated and unfashionable. Several minds are now subtitled with hypocrisy, lust, hatred and so on, which has resulted in a degeneration that arose from the lack of parental influence, open-minded media and peer pressure. Those causes are the main reason of the sorry state of morality between the youth nowadays.