Solving the Lifeboat Dilemma Essay Essays

Solving the Lifeboat Dilemma Essay Essays Solving the Lifeboat Dilemma Essay Paper Solving the Lifeboat Dilemma Essay Paper Essay Topic: Emma In the instance presented. I believe there is no right thing to make but I am morally compelled to move upon the state of affairs that confronts me. I choose to utilize my strength to throw person overboard to salvage four lives. including my ain. In asseverating that there is no right thing to make. it is because in taking either of the options presented. human life is sacrificed. It is a authoritative instance of â€Å"damned if I do. curse if I don’t† . Whatever pick I make. I will stop up making the incorrect thing. By taking to utilize my strength to throw person overboard and kill him. I am go againsting his right to life. If I do nil. I would be responsible for the deceases of five people. Although done without purpose. throwing that one individual overboard would be the lone solution. all things considered. for continuing the greater good. In so making. I am reprobating myself to guilt and remorse as determinations that terminate lives are the most intolerable 1s. From a purely useful point of position. I would be taking the option that would account for â€Å"greater felicity for the greatest figure of people. † felicity qualified in this instance as endurance ( Greenspan 119 ) . Clearly. my pick is the lesser of two immoralities. In this instance. although there is a moral quandary presented. such a quandary could be resolved because one duty overrides the other in footings of the figure of lives that could be saved. This is non similar to the phenomenon in Sophie’s Choice wherein Sophie is presented with two symmetrical duties. In her instance. she had to take between her two girls or reprobate both to decease. In my instance. I am non compelled with emotional fond regards to any of those present in the lifeboat that would do my struggle incapable of deliberation. These people are aliens to me and so. the weight of the duty can be measured in footings of how many lives I could salvage which in the greater strategy of things. intent to the more moral determination. Clearly. this determination would be criticized by many. Advocates of the philosophy of the dual consequence would see my determination as morally incorrect and indefensible. While the dual consequence logical thinking may acquit those who take action that has negative side-effects. when that action involves something intentionally intended in order to transport out a solution ( in my instance. utilizing my power to throw person overboard ) . it becomes incorrect. Even if the cause ( in order to salvage five people ) is good. the fact that I did something harmful to convey about the cause would render the full determination immoral ( McConnell 412 ) . Utilitarian oppositions would besides reject my impression of taking the lesser of two immoralities. Extremist moralists would state that human lives are incommensurate. and giving one in stead of a greater figure does non do it moral ( Hill 215 ) . Others would impeach me of being an ethical egotist for taking personal endurance above all else. Greenspan. Patricia S. â€Å"Moral Dilemmas and Guilt. † Philosophic Surveies 43 ( 1983 ) : 117-125. Hill. Thomas E. . Jr. â€Å"Moral Purity and the Lesser Evil. † The Monist 66 ( 1983 ) : 213-232. McConnell. Terrance. â€Å"Moral Dilemmas and Necessitating the Impossible. † Philosophic Surveies 29 ( 1976 ) : 409-413.

Hidden Threads Essays - Hermeneutics, Continental Philosophy

Hidden Threads Essays - Hermeneutics, Continental Philosophy Hidden Threads There was a time, not long ago, when the evangelical commu-nity had considerable consensus on lifestyle questions and socialissues. We generally agreed on what we should eat and drink and how we might spend our weekends. There was little debate over definitions of vulgarity or morality, and questions of fashion were rarely a matter for discussion. In those days, everyone knew how a family should be raised, and aberrations such as divorce and abortion were simply that: problems found only among hose outside the fold. All of that has changed. Today there is considerable disagreement on such questions, and where there is not disagreement, there is often a reluctant silence or unwillingness to enter into discussion on these questions. The problem is complicated by the fact that these issues do not always fall neatly into those familiar gaps found among genders, generations, and geographies. Too often we find uneasy disagreement among parishioners or even among clergy in the same denomination. Similarly, tensions are found among teenagers or among parents and not simply between those two groups. In each case where such tensions exist, clear biblical and objective bases for evaluating our modern society are usually not found. Consequently, theological answers to these questions have generally not been helpful. That is not to say we should expect them to be. Much of the difficulty in dealing with contemporary social issues can be attributed to modernity with its tendency to pose problems that all outside of theological answers . Theology is designed to defend the faith and not to interpret modern culture or to help the believer live in it. It is the province of social science to understand modernity and to explain how it affects all of us. Theology cannot be expected to interpret the impact of computers on modern life any more than social science can be expected to explain the Trinity. What theology can do is to elucidate those universal principles given to us by God that social science may then interpret for modern living. My claim is that modern life has re-defined many of the practices that theology traditionally addressed. State lotteries, for example, have defined gambling in ways unfamiliar to theology. The revocation of blue laws concerned with Sunday openings has challenged the traditional meaning of the Sabbath. In a modern economy, the biblical meaning of poverty differsgreatly from the meaning found today. In each of these cases, traditional biblical interpretations do not address the questions experienced today. Consequently, there is a lag in theological thinking when contemporary social issues fall outside the boundof traditional theological answer. Our problem is to locate some common ground where theology and social science can join forces, some bridge between biblical truth and the application of that truth to modern social problems. I would argue that concepts found in scripture as well as in social science form a common, hermeneutical base for the analysis of modern social issues. Referred to here as hidden threads, these concepts tie together, so to speak, the meaning God intended us to find in the world with meaning as we find it today. What is the meaning in the modern marriage that is faithful to God's plan and what has been added by humans? What is the meaning of money that God would have us keep and what modern thinking should be discarded? These questions can only be answered when theology and social science join forces. The harmful impact made by modernity on society and Christian thought justifies such an approach. To support that claim, I intend in this paper to: l) clarify the crises posed by modernity, 2) develop the conceptual foundation referred to here as hidden threads as it relates to these crises, and 3) encourage the development of a hermeneutic which benefits from the interpretations offered by theology and social science. Crisis of Meaning Much of traditional life was governed by the belief that society's rules and norms were appropriate for governing human relationships and were worthy of respect, if not full acceptance. Developments in Western culture over the past 30 years or so have reversed much of this belief and substituted the notion that people shape rules as they interact. Instead of fitting relationships into normative expectations, those relationships

Aether Definition in Alchemy and Science

Aether Definition in Alchemy and Science There are two related science definitions for the term aether, as well as other non-scientific meanings. (1) Aether was the fifth element in alchemical chemistry  and early physics. It was the name given to the material that was believed to fill the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere. The belief in aether as an element was held by medieval alchemists, Greeks, Buddhists, Hindus, the Japanese, and the Tibetan Bon. Ancient Babylonians believed the fifth element to be the sky. The fifth element in the Chinese Wu-Xing was metal rather than aether.(2) Aether was also considered the medium that carried light waves in space by 18th and 19th Century scientists. Luminiferous ether was proposed in order to explain the capacity of light to propagate through apparently empty space. The Michelson-Morley experiment (MMX) led scientists to realize there was no aether and that light was self-propagating. Michelson-Morley Experiment and Aether The MMX experiment was performed at what is now Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio in 1887 by Albert A. Michelson and Edward Morley. The experiment used an interferometer to compare the speed of light in perpendicular directions. The point of the experiment was to determine the relative motion of matter through the aether wind or luminiferous aether. It was believed light required a medium in order to move, similar to the way sound waves require a medium (e.g., water or air) to propagate. Since it was known light could travel in a vacuum, it was believed the vacuum must be filled with a substance called aether. Since the Earth would revolve around the Sun through the aether, there would be a relative motion between the Earth and the aether (the aether wind). Thus, the speed of light would be affected by whether the light was moving in the direction of the Earths orbit or perpendicular to it. The negative results were published in the same year and followed up with exp eriments of increased sensitivity. The MMX experiment led to the development of the theory of special relativity, which does not rely on any aether for the propagation of electromagnetic radiation. The Michelson-Morley experiment is considered to be the most famous failed experiment. (3) The word aether or ether may be used to describe apparently empty space. In Homeric Greek, the word aether refers to the clear sky or pure air. It was believed to be the pure essence breathed by gods, while man required air to breathe. In the modern usage, aether simply refers to invisible space (e.g., I lost my email to the aether.) Alternate Spellings: Æther, ether, luminous aether, luminiferous aether, aether wind, light-bearing ether Commonly Confused With: Aether is not the same thing as the chemical substance, ether, which is the name given to a class of compounds containing an ether group. An ether group consists of an oxygen atom connected to two aryl groups or alkyl groups. Aether Symbol in Alchemy Unlike many alchemical elements, aether does not have a commonly accepted symbol. Most often, it was represented by a simple circle.

Biometrics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biometrics - Essay Example As Jain, Bolle and Pankanti (n.d) point out, biometrics will gradually become a prime appurtenance in identification technology especially for the following reasons: repeatedly falling prices of biometric sensors, advancement in the underlying technology, increasing awareness among the public regarding the merits and demerits of the technology as such. But a strong voice had been rising against the implementation of biometrics especially regarding the threat posed by it to privacy of persons. Biometric scanners which were in use in some airports in the U.S. were greatly criticized for the reason that security officers could observe the naked figures of the passengers through the scanner, and it is said that biometric scanners can even detect if a woman is pregnant. And this in fact is the biggest challenge the technology has to overcome in order to be globally practical. Privacy is clearly a fundamental right of an individual. Hence, anything that invades ones privacy cannot be suppo rted. Biometric methods have both positive and negative impacts on the privacy of a person. It enhances the control of the individual over his/her personal information thus reducing the likeliness of identifying theft.

Long term oxygen therapy in patients with chronic obstructive Essay

Long term oxygen therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - Essay Example A prescription of LTOT is properly considered, because Medicare claims on LTOT prescription only if this therapy is vitally important for patient’s life. In case of such kind of strict regulations it is weird that LTOT is blamed for causing deaths or worsening patient’s quality of life or health status. Generally speaking, LTOT is a generally accepted and approved treatment for patients with COPD. With regard to the fact that there are different points of view expressed by medicals, critics and researchers concerning LTOT, this research is focused on unprejudiced consideration of this method and discusses both its benefits and negative outcomes. On the one hand, the results of the studies, which have been constantly conducted, witness that LTOT prolongs patient’s life. On the other hand, a poor diagnosis and inexact guidance for this treatment prescription and deaths of some patients prove inconsistency an inappropriateness of LTOT for individuals with COPD: In COPD patients considered for LTOT, the FEV1 should normally be less than 1.5 IV litres, or less than 40% of predicted normal values. The presence of arterial hypoxaemia with a higher FEV1 suggests that there may be another cause for the hypoxaemia, e.g. sleep apnoea, and further investigations will be required. Patients should be prescribed LTOT for at least 15 h per day, although survival improves when LTOT is used for more than 20 h per day. Thus the hours of LTOT use should not be restricted, especially in severe COPD. There is no benefit in the use of LTOT in COPD patients with a PaO2 above 8 kPa (Tiep, Barnett, Schiffman, 2002). Benefits of LTOT may be proven by improvement in patients’ lives, quality of patients’ lives, decrease of mortality levels, psychological and cognitive statuses’ perfection etc. In this frame of discussion, it is relevant to mention a study on relationship between heath and quality of life before and after LTOT. The results show that quality of life among

To what Extent has the 'War on Terror' Undermined the Human Rights Essay

To what Extent has the 'War on Terror' Undermined the Human Rights Agenda in World Politics - Essay Example However, the ‘revenge’ was directed against Muslims in general because the aforementioned event, which was insignificant in comparison to the routine onslaughts in other countries, paved the way for incursions into specific Muslim territories. Under this pretext, the US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and invaded Iraq in 2003 to further its geopolitical interests. The War on Terror is an implementation of Manichaeism, as it allowed the USA to make a new enemy after the collapse of the USSR. It is serving its imperialistic ambitions by painting the Muslim World as a new axis of evil and a threat to modern Western civilization. However, this enemy is more abstract than real and the situation is only leading to widespread irrational fear and unnecessary destruction. This war would therefore be more aptly described as a ‘War by Terror’ because the US is the real terrorist on its last vestiges of being a superpower. This paper shows how true this is and the e xtent to which this fake war is undermining the human rights agenda in world politics. It also examines how the US has managed to perpetrate these crimes and its aggression despite the existence of international laws to prevent abuse and what can be done to control the real evil which now poses a threat to the entire world. A cornerstone of the US actions post 9/11 has been its application of the doctrine of ‘pre-emptive military strike’. The US asserts that it has the right to take unilateral military action against other states and organisations if it perceives a threat. However, this is a dangerous trend that effectively makes the UN redundant and is out of conformity with international laws, conventions and resolutions (Gupta, 2008). America’s actions even transgress its own and international laws. Its leadership and military have committed serious crimes against humanity. The attempted moralization of the use of the military force, transgresses the norms of humanity (Schmitt, 2008). This situation hearkens back to the era before the UN existed and it could set a dangerous precedent for other nations which would then reverse decades of globalisation efforts to prevent wars. One of the biggest victims of this is human rights; the global agenda to protect human rights and guarantee human dignity and respect. This agenda at the international level began after World War II. In its new phase this century, the effort was to liberalise international relations to that they â€Å"conform to the liberal prescription for the good society† (Forsythe, 2006: 3). Numerous known and hidden human rights abuses have taken place by the US this century. Those that are known include kidnapping of innocent people and their torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and elsewhere. On a more widespread scale, the US invaded two sovereign countries (Afghanistan and Iraq) and has long been intimidating a third, namely Pakis tan. The US accused former honourable president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, of harbouring weapons of mass destruction. Fortunately, this baseless accusation was found to be just that when no such weapons were ever found, even by their own admission (Beaumont et al., 2004). This only showed the hypocrisy of the US because it itself possesses weapons of mass destruction yet it accuses others in the same way that it is the world’

Function of Management Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Function of Management Paper - Essay Example The four functions of management are planning, organizing, leading and controlling the organizational norms and domains. These four functions work hand in hand to bring to the organizational horizon a well-composed culture which is complete from all angles and perspectives. It is important that the four functions understand the need of proper incorporation of their own selves so that the organizational culture develops as a result. If the activities within an organization are adequately planned there is a strong possibility that the culture will underline the need of prioritizing things and hence a general planning regime would be in place. Organizing would take care of the steps which are important for the organizational procedures and undertakings and hence when the same are followed on a day to day basis, the organizational culture develops automatically. Leading comes from the leadership tenet where the top management understands its due role and hence embeds the much needed delegation and management skills required for the organization in essence. The last function is of controlling the organizational matters so that there is no element which has not been taken care of. All these four functions work alongside each other to construct an organizational culture which is wholesome and has a significant basis on the working procedures, undertakings and domains of the organization. (Warner, 2001) A healthy organizational culture could be instilled if the correct steps are taken at the right time so that the employees and the management are at ease with each other and also so that the activities, processes and strategies within the organizational tenets do not seem to be a misfit within the whole organizational regime. 3. Leading: Includes traits of a person who is in-charge and present all the time, could be easily replicated for a team which could be regarded as a group bringing about proactive