From the Paper "This study will examine the problem skeptical philosopher David Hume encounters with respect to induction or the induction method, based on his work Enquiries: Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals. That problem, of course, is that Hume's rigorous skepticism effectively makes impossible any induction whatsoever in his philosophical "enquiries."
Hume was a British empiricist who like other empiricists believed that human beings can know nothing beyond what is revealed to them by their experience. Hume also believed that the human mind, human reason, is severely limited in its power to interpret and understand that experience.
Hume took philosophical empiricism and skepticism to its ultimate conclusion, questioning whether it was possible for.."
Life & career of 18th Cent. philosopher. Looking at his educational & political ideas, the social contract, influence, major works. Examines this themse of sovereignty and equality and compares these ideas to to Locke & Hobbes. Includes an outline.
4,050 words (approx. 16.2 pages), 16 sources, 1994, $ 135.95
From the Paper " INTRODUCTION
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an important force in the philosophical thought of the eighteenth century. He was an especially powerful influence in the development of educational theory and was one of the primary sources for the political theory that would infuse the age of revolution, notably the American and French Revolutions. After Rousseau and writers such as John Locke, David Hume, and Thomas Hobbes, the sovereign was no longer seen as ruling by divine right. He or she did have to answer to the people, and both the people and the sovereign had to behave in accordance with the law. That law would then be the touchstone for the sovereign to determine how to govern. These are standing laws--they are not developed at the whim of the sovereign to cope with each situation that arises. They are also.."
A description of the theories and an argument for the superiority of Kant's based on the greater emphasis on the individual's freedom of will and the role of God.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 1 source, 1994, $ 55.95
From the Paper "This study will examine the moral theories of John Stuart Mill in Utilitarianism and Immanuel Kant in Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. The study will specifically argue that, although there are similarities in the two philosophers' approaches to morality, Kant's is the superior moral theory in part because it places greater responsibility on the freedom of the individual's will as an expression of God's will, discerned through reason, and in part because Mill ignores God's will and puts all power for defining morality in terms of man's slippery definition of "pleasure" or "happiness."
Both Mill and Kant rightly advocate the freedom of the individual in determining moral behavior, but both also rightly connect the behavior of the individual with the good of other human beings. "
An examination of the importance of well educated citizenry in promoting democratic principles and practices (equality, tolerance, individual freedom and political participation).
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 6 sources, 1994, $ 47.95
From the Paper "Ignorance is the enemy of democracy. Unlike autocratic societies, a democratic political order requires a stable political culture of an informed citizenry, capable of freely making intellectual choices, and reared in tolerance for the viewpoints of others. Without such a culture, democracy will eventually collapse. The most important social force contributing to such a stable political culture is education.
The purpose of this research is to examine the importance of quality education to democracy. It is argued here that a welleducated society not only helps a democratic order function more effectively, a well-educated society is a pillar necessary to the very survival of democratic institutions. In order to address this issue, the nature of democracy will first be defined, followed by a discussion of how education is an imperative for..."
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)."
