Abstract The paper shows that Machiavelli's famous treatise "The Prince" is essentially a how-to manual for those seeking to gain and maintain power. The paper discusses that while he is not without an appreciation of justice and virtue, Machiavelli doesn't give much consideration to the morality of taking power, but to the nuts and bolts that a leader must pay mind to if he is going to be an effective leader. The paper shows that while Machiavelli considers leaders, including tyrants, from the point of view of the leader, both Plato in his "Republic" and Aristotle in "Politics" looked at them more from a sociological point of view. For them, the question was not about the individual but about the society in which leaders would come and go.
From the Paper "For Plato, the Timarchy is produced by children who value themselves just for their honor along with their ability to apply force as necessary. On the other hand, an oligarchy is produced by greedy children who figure to use their force to become wealthy. A democracy, the most heinous of institutions to Plato, is created by those children who think being citizens gives them a right to wealth and power. Tyranny is produced by those controlled by their impulse and the resulting chaos is over only when power is consolidated in the hands of one. For Plato, a tyrant is one who by the use of forces takes whatever he wants and usually what he wants is more power."
Abstract In this paper the writer examines the work of Kant and Mill. Kant is presented as one the great philosophers of the enlightenment period and the focus is on his two works, "The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals" and "The Critique of Practical Reason". The paper also explores Mill's "On Liberty and Utilitarianism". Mill was a British philosopher associated with the Utilitarian school of thought. The paper discusses the position of each philosopher in regards to ethics and morality. It highlights their similarities and differences.
From the Paper "Immanuel Kant was perhaps the most influential philosopher after Aristotle. Like Aristotle he made a significant impact on different areas of philosophy. Considering the fact that it is rare for a philosopher in any period to make great impact in any one subject, Kant was perhaps the greatest philosopher of the Enlightenment period. The influence of Kant's ethical theory is perhaps more than his work in epistemology and metaphysics and it is still debated in the academics and scholarly circles around the world".
Abstract This paper discusses Daniel Goldhagen's hotly debated and disputed book, "Hitler's Willing Executioners". The author illustrates how Goldhagen has offered a perspective that enlightens a misunderstood period in modern history, and claims that, through the understanding that this book gives, we can keep history from repeating itself.
From the Paper "In his book, Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, Daniel Goldhagen attempts to explain why the Holocaust happened. Central to his thesis is the notion that German citizens were essentially regular human beings, living conventional lives, with complex social relationships and family obligations, who also happened to be staffing police battalions, organizing death marches, working in concentration and slave labor camps and basically facilitating Hitler's overwhelmingly murderous plan."
Abstract By analyzing some of Descartes writings, this paper explains how he views mind, intellect, understanding, reason, and soul in the same light as thinking. Exploring the nature of thinking, the paper shows how Descartes furthermore concludes that thinking also entails doubt, understanding, affirmation, denial, will (volition), refusal, imagination, and senses.
From the Paper "Decartes? argument relating to the mind then centers around subjectivity. Subjectivity is understood as relating to the fact that every human being perceives things in his or her own way. There is no way to know if what any one person perceives through the five physical senses is the same as what any other person perceives. The reason for this is that the senses are deceptive, and it is very difficult to know whether what one perceives is truly there or not. Descartes' main premise is then that if all perception is subjective, how can anyone be sure of anything? Descartes uses the example of an amputee who still occasionally feels pain in the limb that is no longer there. This is a strong case for the deception of the senses. How can anything exist? This also applies to the perception of other human beings and their nature."
Abstract The paper discusses man's fascination for knowledge on the origin of the human species. Until the seventeenth century, nobody questioned the belief that God created Man; but from that time on, philosophers began musing that perhaps there was a different explanation. The controversial debate regarding the truth in Charles Darwins' theory on evolution continues to this day. The paper discusses theories of different experts in the field on both side of the evolution argument, such as followers of the Teleology and Intelligent Design movements. In conclusion, the author of the paper argues in favour of the evolution theory.
From the Paper "Teleology is the belief that, in the beginning, everything was created so that life could exist. Life itself was not created, but everything else was created so that life could come about. A well-known believer of teleology is Gerald Schroeder. In his book, The Science of God, he compares scientific creationist's to Darwinian evolutionist's belief of the chronology of time using Einstein's Law of Relativity. Both scientific creationists and Darwinian evolutionists believe in the same order of time. They both believe that first the universe was created, followed by the arrival of water, land and first life, then the visibility of the stars, sun and moon, then the arrival of the first multi-cellular animals and winged insects, and ending with the first animals, mammals and humans."
Abstract This paper analyzes the article "Active and Passive Euthanasia," by James Rachels. It distinguishes between active and passive euthanasia and explains Rachels? arguments that active euthanasia is morally permissible. In addition, it discusses the extent to which his arguments illustrate Kantian and utilitarian considerations.
From the Paper "Rachels is an advocate of physician-assisted suicide, or euthanasia, and he wants to convince the American Medical Association (AMA) to change their definition of euthanasia, allowing doctors to allow terminally ill patients with no hope of recovery to be euthanized. His arguments for euthanasia are effective and compelling, and though directed at physicians, they are of interest to anyone thinking about euthanasia for themselves or a loved one. Rachels discusses the differences between "killing and letting die" (Rachels 561), and discusses specific cases where allowing the patient to simply die without further treatment could actually prolong their life and their suffering. "Part of my point is that the process of the 'allowed to die' can be relatively slow and painful, whereas being given a lethal injection is relatively quick and painless" (Rachels 562). In fact, his arguments seem so logical; it is difficult to understand why euthanasia is not already used in terminal and the worst cases."
Abstract Euclid gave the world much of the information it has on planar geometry in his five postulates. The paper shows that while the first four are relatively easy to understand, the fifth one is very difficult in relation to the others. It is this fifth postulate that many people feel can never be proven. The paper discusses how there are those that say it is simply incorrect, those that say it's both true and false and others that say there is no possible way to prove it, and Euclid himself may have realized that the task was impossible. The author of the paper surmizes that if someday the fifth postulate is proven to be either true or false, and the decision is agreed upon, then it could change the way mathematics are done and the way geometry is looked at.
From the Paper "Theoretically it would be possible for the lines to move toward one another so slowly, because of the low degree of angle, that they take a huge amount of space to come together at the end. But is it possible to have such a slight angle that the lines are almost parallel? They would be so close to parallel at that point that the impression that they are drawing closer together wouldn't be noticed unless they were looked at over miles at one time. That must be possible, but they still must meet somewhere in infinity.
Perhaps Euclid was right and the lines do meet somewhere, but the angles can be so minute that the lines go on almost to infinity, and we don't have the capabilities to calculate just how far that is yet. Perhaps Euclid is wrong and lines will go on into infinity still never touching, but only being a hair's width apart. Mathematicians may never know, since they haven't discovered any way to prove Euclid's fifth postulate by now."
Abstract This paper attempts to introduce Karl Marx's view of capitalist exploitation, which states that the bourgeoisie is the ruling class in capitalist society, which owns the means of production, while the proletariat is the working class, whose sole commodity is his labor power. It examines the issue of how division of labor further increases the exploitation of the worker and how the exploitation of the worker is not confined simply to the bourgeois capitalist who employs him, but also to all the other capitalists who form the society around the proletarian worker.
From the Paper "In order to keep the worker subjugated, the bourgeois capitalist only provides the laborer with the basic requirements for continued existence. In evidence of this, Marx claims, ?The costs occasioned by the worker are limited almost entirely to the subsistence which he requires for his maintenance and reproduction of his race. The price of a commodity, and therefore of labor, is equal to its costs of production.? By giving the worker the minimum one can possible allow him, only barely allowing enough for the necessities, the proletarian can never acquire any property of his own, and thus never has any hopes of gaining the means of production for himself."
Abstract This paper examines the human state of being brain dead and the definition of "death" by medical and ethical terms. It describes the arguments among medical and philosophical experts that define death as brain inactivity. The paper investigates the social need to define death in the age technological medicine. The writer questions whether the state of brain death is true death.
From the Paper "Most people have experienced it through life, friends or television. The doctor comes out and explains to the family that their loved one is brain dead and recommends turning off the life's support. The family hesitates because their loved one feels warm to the touch and appears to be breathing. After being assured by the doctor that it is the machine and not the person the family makes the difficult decision to turn it off and the person dies. Or do they? Recently there has been some debate and controversy as to the definition of death. The term brain dead has long been accepted as the underscored explanation for when a person ceases to live. In the last few years some physicians have begun to question the previously accepted definition."
Abstract The ethical side of business practices has become a hot topic within the last few years. The business world of accounting has always addressed the rights and wrongs of the industry, but only currently has been held responsible. The paper shows that white collar crime is on the rise and the recent events of the Enron scandal, the state of disarray of the accounting firm of Author Anderson and the Martha Stewart stock trades have left the American consumer wondering how the business world views and enforces ethical issues. The paper examines the views of philosophers such as Plato and Socrates whose principles of virtue have been proposed as the highest good - virtues such as happiness or pleasure, duty, virtue or obligation.
From the Paper "Those working within the career of accounting should acknowledge the moral distinctions of right and wrong when keeping books, conducing audits, and managing accounts of any size firm. Accountants are to be dependable and trustworthy to all stockholders and consumers of America. If any of these trusts are broken, then not only has the firm suffered, but the nation as well."
Abstract People have debated the existence of God for centuries. The paper examines theories by St. Anselm and St. Thomas Aquinas who offered compelling arguments for the existence of God. It examines the opinions of critics who contend that their arguments and others are flawed and insufficient. They also state that the burden of proof rests with the believers because there is no indisputable indication of God's existence that cannot be explained by other means.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Case for God's Existence
St Anselm
St. Thomas Aquinas
Other Arguments
The Case Against the Existence of God
My Assessment
Conclusion
Bibliography
From the Paper "The debate about the existence of God is not just a religious and scientific debate. Scientists have weighed in on the subject as well. Some of their arguments reflect the reasoning of St. Anselm and St. Thomas Aquinas, but from different perspectives. Bradley notes that the properties of the universe can be described in a few set laws, such as Maxwell's Equations, Einstein's Theories of Relativity, and Newton's Laws of Motion. The universe must have been made by design. Consider that if the strong nuclear force that binds the nucleus of atoms was only five percent weaker, the only stable element would be hydrogen. If these forces were just two percent stronger, the elements that support life would not exist. Furthermore, if the electromagnetic forces were to vary only slightly, the universe would be radically different. For example, there would be little carbon, a necessary component of life. The universe has to be just so to support life. Only a very specific set of conditions make our existence possible. It is extremely unlikely that all of these things would happen without design. Therefore, since the evidence of design is overwhelming, there must have been a designer. The designer was God (Bradley)."
A book review. The article looks at the contemporary significance of Rousseau's ideas about education and social responsibility. It views some of the current practices in the light of those ideas.
Abstract The paper examines Rousseau's educational philosophy in "Emile" against the background of its period and from a contemporary perspective. The author believes that it may seem to us that his ideas are widly held nowadays, but in fact the modern education system does not practice or implement these notions.
From the Paper "Rousseau stressed that a child's way of dealing and looking at the world is indeed a child's way and not that of a little adult. (90) According to the philosopher, rushing a child would produce immature fruits. When it comes to moral development, "one cannot advance too slowly nor consolidate oneself too well at each step." (99) While there is much debate over this subject and it may not be our intention, the reality is that we don't allow children to be children in society today. Through the media they are exposed to the adult world. In fact, considering that Rousseau thought it was best to take a child out of 18th century society altogether for his education, imagine then how corruptive he would have considered our own pervasive culture with its continual negative and avaricious influences. "Each age, each condition of life, has its suitable perfection, a sort of maturity proper to it." (158)"
Abstract This paper discusses the philosophies of Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, David Hume and John Stuart Mill, all acclaimed philosophers who each claim that their respective approch to ethics is dependent on the proper exercise of practical judgment. It shows how Aristotle's thoughts are more of a generalization without any guiding principles for the practical decision making process while Hume's theory is more cogitative and lies centered on a cognitive reasoning in the role of a detached observer. It examines how Kant's reasoning on ethics seems more apt, simplistic but practical applications may result in unacceptable results, while Mill's philosophy seems to be the best particularly his definition of a good action as being good not for oneself alone but to a lot of people augurs well for the society as a whole.
From the Paper "Immanuel Kant is a philosopher of the eighteenth century. His greatness was reflected in his first published work "Critique of pure reasoning"(1781). The central theme of Kant's approach to ethics is that he considers human beings as having "dual consciousness". Herein he differs from Aristotle who did not consider the concept of duality. Kant views humans as both intelligent and at the same time not devoid of non-rational impulses. Hence he argues that there is a need for moral principles to guide in our decision making. Kant's argument is based on the point that Humans endowed with the reasoning are also prone to succumb to non-rational impulses. So Kant proposes that moral actions result when reason prevails over these Non rational impulses."
Abstract This paper concerns the philosophy of the mind and attempts to answer the question of whether dualism provides an acceptable account of the mind. In doing so, the fundamental arguments and problems associated with dualism are discussed and analyzed. This paper assesses the plausibility of a number of different forms of dualism such as Descarte's cartesian dualism, property dualism and epiphenomenalism.
From the Paper "For centuries, philosophers have debated the ontological problem of the mind. Through introspection, we know that we, and believe others possess a conscious intelligence that has the ability to register emotions, interpret sensations and perform reason. But where do such abilities originate? In what medium do they take place and how is it that our mental phenomena such as desires and beliefs seem to be able to causally act on the physical world? Dualism is just one of many theories that have sought to find answers to such intriguing questions. Unlike materialist theories that optimistically asserts that all mental phenomena can eventually be explained through physics and neurological science, dualists argue that mental phenomena is so far removed from anything physical that it requires the existence of a non-physical entity or property. Since, as yet science is unable to fully explain all mental phenomena such as consciousness, perhaps dualism is a plausible alternative. Is any form of dualism plausible?"
Abstract This essay focuses on Plato's clever use of metaphors in the "Allegory of the Cave". This essay discusses Plato, his philosophy, his teaching and why the "Allegory of the Cave" was so good at explaining his ideas. The author explains the Platonic theory of the Forms. Also examined are possible critiques and strengths in terms of criticism to human understanding.
From the Paper "Plato believed in the Platonic theory of the Forms. The world in which we ourselves live in, which we would class is real, is in fact not real at all. It is merely a shadow of the real world, the world of the Perfect Forms. He believed that the world is constantly changing, but the reality, the forms behind are constant. He taught that the world we live in and believe is real is nothing more than a materialistic world and everything in it is an imperfect copy of the perfect forms. ?The world that we see is not the real world, the true world is beyond our physical senses."
