The paper analyzes the relevance of social philosopher John Dewey's seminal work, in the light of the fact that many of his ideas have been misinterpreted today.
Abstract The paper claims that a thorough reading of Dewey's book is necessary to determine what he believed was essential in the concept of educating for democracy. The paper argues that much of the ensuing criticism against Dewey's book would have been averted if he had used different terminology to explain key concepts. Dewey's flaw was writing about democracy as if it were a real fact, verifiable in human experience, instead of as an ideal.
From the Paper "Only the most hardened cynic would attempt arguments against Dewey's supposition in Chapter 7, (when he begins tying his generalized thoughts into more specific assumptions) that "education is a social function, securing direction and development in the immature through their participation in the life of the group to which they belong, is to say in effect that education will vary with the quality of life which prevails in a group" (p. 81). Yet educators and social commentators took issue with that premise, since the very concept of variability was anathema to the prevailing educational beliefs."
Abstract There are several ground rules that should be considered in the decision-making process, when ethics are concerned. Ethics operate according to a certain set of moral criteria acceptable to society at a given time or in a given place. The paper shows that ethics or morals dictate how we as human beings should conduct our lives. They determine the standards of right or wrong actions in terms of the truly human life. A further aspect of ethics is admitting where society's ethics fall short in terms of concerns that are minimized or ignored. The paper explains that the ultimate consideration in a decision-making process is not primarily one of religious or legal importance, but of social and human importance. The paper uses euthanasia as an example of using ethics in a decision-making process.
From the Paper "The most pressing issue appears to be dignity. The argument is that people should have the right to die with dignity, which presumably is not the case if they are, for example, kept alive by machines. There is, however, an opposite point of view stating that death with the aid of a physician is not guaranteed to be dignified. Others approach the issue from a philosophical point of view, saying that meeting death with dignity is the natural result of living life with dignity. This then separates the issue entirely from the way in which a person dies. When all factors are taken into account, the conclusion is that a dignified death requires more than simply a legal right. A dignified death would require a large amount of courage and faith from a number of involved persons."
Abstract This essay explains, compares, and contrasts the theories and discussions of Plato and Aristotle regarding the best political association. Quotes from "Politics" and the "Republic" are used to support the author's thesis.
Abstract This paper discusses the Enron Corporation scandal and assesses behaviors within the context of ethical principles. The author points out Enron's deceptive practices in the trading of energy market. The paper applies the views of Mill, Aristotle and Kant to Enron activities.
From the Paper "Over a span of several years, high-level executives at the Enron Corporation, essentially an energy distribution form, engaged in a complex set of financially-oriented behaviors designed to deceive customers, government ..."
Abstract This paper describes the writer's perspective of criminological theory. It focuses on why people commit crimes and why people act the way that they do. It then describes the variables that the writer would consider and the methodologies he would use in order to evaluate his theory. The paper concludes that there are many theories that can assist in determining the reasons why things happen and there will be many more theories that will either agree or disagree with previous theorists.
From the Paper "Criminological theories in my perspective are theories from various individuals who have experience or education in criminal justice, sociology, psychology, science or biology. This is due to being able to read people behaviors and understand the mindset of why individuals would commit crimes. I believe everyone who had a theory studied and observed different cultures, communities, and family parenting to get the proof he or she needed to show that their theory has some merit. "Then others tested the theory and either added or improved the findings by using more sufficient information through their research. In other words, criminological theory is the study of criminal thinking and criminal behavior. If criminological and theory is broken down, it gives the definitions of theory is a speculation or abstract thought or contemplation, an ideal of or belief about something arrived through speculation, and a scientific principle to explain phenomena (Webster's New World, 2002). Criminological is the sociological study of crime, criminals and punishment of criminals (Webster's New World, 2002)."
Abstract This paper proves that God exists using the arguments of known philosophers, such as Thomas Aquinas and William Paley. It supports the topic using the cosmological or the first cause argument. It proves its point by challenging and defending the various objections that apply to it.
Abstract An examination of John Mill and Immanuel Kant's theories on ethics. The author examines Mill's view of hedonistic ethics and Kant's view of reason and intentions. The author explains and compares these two point of views.
From the Paper "Ethics, being as broad and opinion-based as it is, can be a difficult issue not only to define, but also to explain clearly to others. In the 18 and 19 hundreds two outgoing philosophers set forth to provide moral theories formed with concrete information, to add to the foundation of ethics. These two men were John Mill and Immanuel Kant, and their views were known as Utilitarianism and Kantian theory respectively. Both avoid interlacing their own opinions, in hope of finding a greater genuineness to their conjectures. Mill offers us a hedonistic ethics, full of pleasure and ends, while Kant proposes ridged principles of reason and intentions. Due to the fact that the subject is so hard to understand, many times their work must be interpreted and simplified. This paper will attempt to do just that, clarify the conjectures of these two theorists."
Abstract This paper is an intriguing philosophical approach at solving the problem with evil. It discusses the conversations and writings of Philosopher Swinburne and the antitheodicist. Arguments are presented between Swinburne and the antitheodicist and an attempt is made to answer the question; does Swinburne succeed in solving the problem?
From the Paper "There shouldn?t be any evils that are not caused by men, such as plagues, earthquakes, natural disasters, AIDS, cancer, and disease to name some of them. Swinburne explains that these tragedies and misfortunes allow men to do noble acts. The September 11th tragedy is a classic example. The entire city of New York came together and sacrificed lives, money, time, and effort to help others. Their crime rates dropped to the lowest ever of that city."
Abstract This paper examines the story of Atlantis, its myths, history, legends and literature. The paper focuses heavily on Plato and his account.
From the Paper "The story of Atlantis has captivated the minds of humans for thousands of years. People from all walks of life have debated weather Atlantis really existed or weather it was just a story, nothing more. The myths and legends concerning Atlantis have come down through the centuries as one of the most enduring legends of all time. Thousands upon thousands of books have been written about weather Atlantis actually existed and there are even more secularization as to where Atlantis actually is. Some stories say that Atlantis was really the ancient land of Thera and the Minoan civilization, others insist that Atlantis was a gigantic island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that sunk 9,000 years ago, and still others even believe that Atlantis flew off from the Earth and become the moon. It is no doubt that Atlantis actually existed. Almost every civilization has a myth that tells of an ancient, corrupt civilization that was punished and was swallowed by the sea."
Abstract This paper discusses the concept of liberalism with reference to Hobbes? and Locke's viewpoints. The author of this paper explains that both writers discuss the ideas of government and liberalism from a different viewpoint to other writers in that they refer to ideas of the nature of man and man's conduct in the ?state of nature' rather than ideas based on religion. While both refer to the concept of a social contract as a way to rule and govern, Hobbes stresses the importance of the monarch as the ruling and powerful entity, while Locke emphasizes the importance of the community and people as the superior aspect
From the Paper "In developing their theory of government, both Hobbes and Locke start with a hypothetical ?state of nature.? And both have reason and rationality as their base to arrive at their respective conclusions, rather than concepts derived from religion and divinity. The difference lies in their ideas of the nature of man and man's conduct in the ?state of nature.? Hence their different conclusions. Although both talk of a "Social Contract" while developing their respective ideas of government, Hobbes favors monarchy and holds the monarch, once the people give consent to him, as all powerful, whereas Locke holds that the people [i.e. the community] that give legitimacy to the ruler to govern are supreme."
An analysis of philosopher and politician John Locke's Theory of Natural Law and how this contributed to the pre-Enlightenment era of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
Abstract This paper looks at this philosophy whereby Locke's perception of mankind was an extremely optimistic one, and he viewed natural law and the state of nature as being where all men are naturally moral and reasonable, and are born free, equal and possessing the inalienable rights to protect their life, their freedom, and their property.
From the Paper ""Nature is a state of perfect equality amongst all men. In this state, no one man has more power or jurisdiction than any other man." (Locke 1690)
John Locke (1632 - 1704) was a qualified physician and a respected Oxford academic, in addition to being one of several political philosophers who focused on the theories of natural rights and natural law during the pre-Enlightenment era of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Locke's theory of natural law, and of the aims and purposes of government, were detailed in his work, "Two Treatises of Government" (1690), and proved to be influential, not only in Britain, but across the world, especially in America, where his views formed the foundation of the Declaration of Independence and the American system of government."
Abstract This paper traces the issues of evil, pain, and suffering and their relation to life. It uses many biblical references to justify or explain the meaning of why good things happen to bad people and visa versa. This paper is a personal opinion paper relating to a basic philosophical question.
From the Paper "Philosophy starts with the question of the existence of God, including the concept of God you envision and your expectations of Him. This one issue is the basis of every answer to every philosophical question and is essential to everything else we believe in. Then comes the question of evil and suffering. If God exists, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? "
Abstract The paper discusses the argument that has sent the world into a tailspin as to whether or not people suffering from terminal or excruciatingly painful illness have the right to take their own lives by way of physician-assisted suicide. It shows that proponents contend that what one does with one's life is of no consequence to anyone else -- that it is humane to allow someone to be relieved of constant ? if not unbearable ? discomfort. On the other hand, critics claim that the act of euthanasia is nothing more than a fabricated form of murder. The paper shows that both sides have pertinent points when it comes to understanding and assessing the conflict, but argues that euthanasia supporters have a significantly stronger argument when considering the bigger picture. The general argumentative point of this paper is that physician-assisted suicide is not only the right thing to do for someone seeking such a decision, but it is ethical and humane for a physician to abide by the patient's wish.
From the Paper "The primary focus of conflict with regard to physician-assisted suicide is whether or not it is ethically sound. To determine what is ethically sound, however, one must first define the meaning of ethics. This may appear rather simple to achieve on the outset, but one would soon find that defining such a concept is an extremely personal interpretation. There is no black and white definition of ethics, because each and every person subscribes to his or her own value system; therefore, placing a blanket definition upon the ethical implications of physician-assisted suicide is no different than doing the same with religion or politics: one size does not fit all. To ascertain the ethical nature of euthanasia is to find out what it means to the person requesting the procedure. One will find that to these people, who have suffered terribly at the hands of debilitating and terminal illnesses, the ethical attributes of physician-assisted suicide are far more forgiving than to those who stand by and ignorantly criticize."
From the Paper "Justice is a concept we believe we understand even if we have difficulty putting the concept into words. Justice is defined by the relationship that exists between the individual and the state. Justice means that the state treats every person equally and seeks to resolve disputes on the basis of the facts and compared to objective criteria rather than a subjective determination. Justice in the broadest sense is fairness. Justice cannot assure that every dispute comes out "correctly" or that no mistakes are made, but it should be such as to assure that the process by which decisions are made and goods allocated is fair and produces an acceptable result in the aggregate, even if an individual case justice might fail. Justice occurs when the distribution of political power and economic opportunity is as uniform as possible or when the social and political system is such..."
Abstract This paper examines the issue of performance enhancing drugs in the form of over the counter nutritional supplements. In particular it talks about ephedra, androstenedione (andro) and creatine within the context of the sports world today. It discusses the pharmacology of all three, their health risks and why the NCAA have chosen to legalize or illegalize these three drugs. They are all legal to purchase without a prescription, but ephedra and androstenedione have been banned by a majority of sports governing bodies and creatine has caused more problems than any nutritional aid has ever caused a sport governing body.
From the Paper "Androstenedione is also known as Andro or the Mark McGuire drug. Shortly after breaking the homerun record, "Big Mac" came out and said that he used the supplement to gain a competitive advantage. Andro gives an athlete this "competitive edge" by working in a way similar to anabolic steroids. It is what is called a pro-hormone. It is part of the final product, testosterone. The supplement is supposed to increase the amount of testosterone in men much the same way as anabolics, but with out going to the extremes of pure anabolic steroids. A person could think of it as light steroids, except for the fact that it doesn?t work. It has been proven however to increase the levels of estrogen in the male system. This can cause many steroid like side effects, but without steroid like strength gains (Sports, 2001). "
