Ethical Systems Essay Example for Free

Ethical Systems Essay Ethical systems form the basis of moral beliefs; they are the moral philosophies that order moral principles systematically. (Thomson and WardSworth, 2005) Ethical systems can be broadly classified into deontological and teleological ethical systems. A deontological system concerns itself with the nature of an act that is under judgment, if an act is good but results in bad consequences than if it still considered a good act. Teleological systems judge consequences of an act, if an act is bad but results in beneficial consequences then it is considered moral. Ethical formulism judges the intent of the author thus, it is a deontological system. If a person performs an action from goodwill and it results in bad consequences, it is a moral action. This system also uses predetermined principles to judge goodness: that people should not be used as a means to an end, that behavior is moral when it is freely chosen and autonomous (someone worked to do a good thing is not really moral. ) and that actions should be based on behavior being universal. Utilitarianism is a teleological system whose goal is judged by consequences of an action. In this case when an action contributes much to the good of majority it is moral, regardless of the individual or minority who may have suffered because of the action. Following this system, Winston Churchill by allowing Coventry to be bombed in World War II so the Germans would not know the Allies had cracked their military code did a moral thing even though hundreds of English people were killed, when they might have been saved had they been warned. A smaller group was sacrificed for the sake of the greater good in this case, ending the war earlier and saving thousands more. Religion is a frequently used ethic system based on a willful a rational God. For believers there is no reason to question the authority of God’s will. The controversial issue is the interpretation of God’s will. According to Barry when is a dilemma; God’s will can be found in 3 ways; if one feels uncomfortable about a certain action, it is probably wrong. Religious authorities can provide guidance on right and wrong and thirdly the scripture provides answers to moral dilemmas. (Thomson and Wadsworth, 2005) The natural law ethical system proposes that ‘what is good is natural and what is natural is good’. These are innate instincts for example self-preservation is inborn, natural and basic and all actions related to it such as self-defense, prohibition of murder are moral acts. The basic problem with this system is where it is difficult to identify what is consistent and congruent with human nature. Focus on basic inclinations make this a teleological system because an action like killing may be wrong but if it is done in self-defense then it is considered a moral act since it is line with the self-preservation instinct. The ethics of virtue is a system that focuses on defining a good person as opposed to a ‘good action’. Here reason cannot be used to find out what is good. This system is teleological as it conserved with achieving a good end and more specifically happiness. One does good because of one’s character, if one has a bad character they will usually choose the immoral path. For example, a person who is broke and sees a stranger drop money without realizing calls the strangers back and gives him his money, he has performed a moral act because he has a habit of integrity. Someone else would steal because it is in his or her character to do so. The ethics of care system emphasizes human relationships and needs. It has been referred to as a feminine morality as it is founded on the natural human response to care for unborn child, ill and hurt. Some Eastern religious like, reject a rule-based form of ethics preferring instead to lead an individual in caring for needs. Braswell et al, 2002). The ethic behind rehabilitation is another illustration of ethics of care system. (Thomson and Wardsworth, 2005) This system is in line with teleological system of ethics because it does not simply classify action as wrong or right, rather it is concerned with the needs of others and effects of the actions on them, which learns more towards judging consequences corporations rather than the actions themselves. Egoism proposes that what is moral is what is good for one’s survival and personal happiness. This premise in its extreme directs that people should do whatever is beneficial to them. This disregards other people, using them as means to ensure happiness and in effect it means they have no meaning or rights (Thomson and Wadsworth, 2005) Egoism, sees an individual who performs a completely selfish act as immoral even impossible as it is not in line with true nature of human beings who like all other species have instincts for survival, self preservation and self in trust which is merely part of this natural instinct. This position is neither logical nor flexible single it would be in support of exploitation of the weak by the strong, which by all other systems is wrong. The system that closely matches my own beliefs is the religious ethical system. This is because the basis for ethics provided is rational since it can be identified wit a perfect God-figure. In addition, the similarity of the principles of these ethics in most of the religious are an indicator that they are acceptable to a wide majority hence they cover the needs of most of mankind adequately. In addition, scripture provides answers to ethical problems in all circumstances, something that most other ethical systems do not. The issue of say the birth contradicting only comes up when there is failure to understand the context of scripture. Belief in a God means that we do not have the responsibility of determining what is right, or wrong, since an unquestionable authority has determined them already.

us patriot act :: essays research papers

There are many issue with the Patriot Act. Yes it has prevented many attacks on us from terrorists, but would you really want to give up so much freedom in order to have better control of terrorists. Many people would support the act since it does offer more protection against those attacks. Other however, would totally disagree with the act. The Patriot Act is actually violating many of our Constitution rights. The act will allow the government rights to look into your personal life. If the government has enough proof this act will give the opportunity to look into your personal items such as phone taps, electronic communications, and even what is in your bank account. As a person would you really like to have the government go thourgh your personal life and belongings, just for a little more protection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The government has set up a boundary that allows them the chance to go into your personal lives. The main reasons that are noted that would give them a chance to violate your rights as an American. As noted on web page http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/, that only a certain event will allow a certain individual the chance to allow such things as wiretap. This will occur if an individual is committing one of a list of immune rated crimes, if that happens the communication concerning that offense, and the facilities in which the offender has used in connection with the offense. The only persons that came allow an interception would be only designated officials. The interception is only valid for a certain length of time. In order for a wiretap to be conducted it has to be authorized by a Judge that feels that it would be beneficial to the country. The USA Patriot Act, also known as the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, was set up in order to offer a greater feeling of security to Americans, however, I don’t feel that the Americans really know what the Patriot Act really stands for and what it will do to our rights as Americans. The bill was passed and signed into law by President Bush on October 26, 2001. The Patriot Act was a lot like

Uphill

â€Å"Uphill† by Christina Rossetti is about the journey of life, or death, to heaven. The poem is an exchange of a series of brief and succinct questions and answers between two speakers: an inquiring traveler who asks many questions about the journey of life or death in which she is heading to (heaven), and an ex-traveler or guide who has taken that path before answering with a assured, and perfectly calm tone. In the poem, the poet uses difference devices such as quatrain, common meter , and perhaps it is written in strict iambic meter with lines vary in length and in the number of feet. The poet uses imagery, and symbolism (allegory)to express emotion and picture a traveler who has to take the road â€Å"uphill†, and who hopes to find an inn at the end of her travel. The poem sends a message that though find life hard but there are always comfort, help, and generosity along the way. This poem illustrates two ways in which line length is varied in a strict meter. The first variation is seen in the first line, which has nine syllables. This is still a five foot line because feet are constructed by iterative parenthesis insertion from right to left, the leftmost foot is the last constructed and can fall short. The second variation involves the number of feet in each line. As can be seen in â€Å"uphill† all odd-numbered lines are pentameters, whereas the even-numbered lines vary in length between three and five feet, there are 5 trimeter lines, 1 tetrameter and 3 pentameters. This difference in length reflects the fact that the poem has the forms of a dialogue where each odd-numbered (pentameter) line represents a question asked by one speaker, and the odd-numbered lines are answers given by her guide. The difference in length of line reflects the different styles of the two participants in the dialogue. In addition, the poem can be considered it is in common meter which is a close kin to the ballad stanza, with the stanza following a characteristic ballad pattern of 4+3+4+3 stressed syllables to the line. The first stanza of the poem is an example of common meter, four line rimed a b a b and tending to fall into 8, 6, 8, and 6 syllables. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker asks, â€Å"Does the road wind uphill all the way? (Line 1), the road is representing for the journey of life, and â€Å"wind uphill† stands for difficulties, or struggles through life. The inquiring traveler seems very worried or wondering about how hard the journey will be, and the guide softly affirms her worse hope, is that this journey will absolutely take â€Å" to the very the end† (Ln 2). The second question has the same sort of relation to life ,†Will the day’s journey take the whole long day? /From morn to night, my friend† (Ln 3-4). Life is a road that takes â€Å"the whole long day† to bring us â€Å"to the very end. † The night is death that awaits us at the end of the journey. Just as an uphill journey is long, and lasting from morning to evening, life also is full of difficulties right from birth to death. From these two questions which reveals that the inquiring traveler is asking about aspects of living and the journey of life. In the following stanza is presenting a sort of reassurance answer out of the wisdom of the ex-traveler. To begin with the speaker asks, â€Å"But is there for the night a resting-place? † (Ln 5) which is answered: â€Å"A roof for when the slow dark hours begin† (Ln 6). The night is metaphor for death, the speaker is wondering that when her final come (death) will be there a place for resting. The ex-traveler is reassuring the inquiring traveler that she will have time for rest along the way, which can be metaphorically taken, as it already stated as the path of life. In these lines, the speaker was searching for some sign of relief to come along the way. Then speaker continue asks, â€Å"May not the darkness hide it from my face†(Ln 7) which is then responded, â€Å"You cannot miss that inn† (Ln 8) . An â€Å"in† symbolizes for a resting place or perhaps heaven. In this case, there seems to be a comfortable â€Å"inn† for her and other wayfarers to stay at along their journey. The speaker in each successive stanza, knows that life is hard but finds that there is rest and a final resting place. The third stanza is also a continuation of this reassuring tone. The speaker asks hopefully if she will meet other â€Å"wayfarers† along the way and â€Å"Those who have gone before†(Ln 10) was the response given. This just shows that the inquiring traveler will meet people along her lifetime that will show her the right path to take. â€Å"Then must I knock, or call when just in sight? /They will not keep you standing at your door† (Ln 11-12), the guide then again reassures her that she would not be left waited, but welcome. Thus, it suggests that though speaker has the choice to listen to the wise along the way, and she does not have to listen to anybody. Yet again, this is another stanza of reassurance answer from the ex-traveler on the subject of the inquiring traveler ‘s future life. The last stanza holds perhaps the most comforting lines in the whole poem. â€Å"Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak? † (Ln 13) asks the inquiring traveler, and â€Å"Of labor you shall find the sum† (Ln 14) is answered by the guide. The speaker seems to worry that she will not find peace after â€Å"travel sore and weak†, and the guide has to calm the inquiring traveler nerves by giving her hope of future comfort. The first two lines offer compensation for labor: the fact that the inquiring traveler can only find as much comfort as much as she puts in labor. In other words, the uphill struggle of life will lead at last to heaven. This is the last stanza out of three that suggest future comfort, â€Å"Will there be beds for me and all who seek†/ â€Å"Yea, beds for all who come† (Ln 15-16), the beds also represent death and a final resting place. After the journey of the inquiring traveler is over, she is â€Å"travel-sore and weak†, and arrives at this resting place (the bed) which opens to anybody who searches for peace. Uphill† is an allegorical poem in which is regarded the journey of life as an â€Å"uphill† journey. Life is recognized as a painful task (it's up-hill all the way), yet it is the duty of mankind to undertake the trip in hopes of a peaceful rest in heaven as a reward, a reward for all obstacles that obstruct in life. All the pain and suffering are to be expected, not resisted. One benefits from them in the end. The poem ends with a note of hope that in heaven the weary souls will find comfort just like the travelers at the inn. Uphill â€Å"Uphill† is a poem that was written by Christina Rossetti in 1861. According to our textbook Discovering Poetry, this poem uses allegory, which is when various â€Å"symbols work together in a set pattern†. The various symbols portrayed by the author in this poem are consistent with those of a journey; a road, an inn, a resting place at night, and other wayfarers. The poem consists of four stanzas, in which an individual is posing questions in the first and third lines of each stanza, and in the second and fourth lines of the stanza someone is responding to those questions.In my initial readings of the poem, I was thinking of the communication taking place as that of a conversation between two individuals. For example, the person posing the questions was talking to their priest, or a child was asking their parents questions about life. However, after reading the poem numerous times, I began to view the interaction as not being an actual conversation, but rather an individual deep in prayer and having a conversation with God. Although God doesn’t usually speak directly to us, we often seem to find the answers we seek through prayer.In this poem the individual is posing their questions in prayer, and then receiving the response in their minds, which then offers comfort. I believe that the various symbols that are used in this poem are the authors attempt to describe our journey through life, and her vision that our place in the afterlife will be dependent on how we lived in our earthly life. The first stanza poses the questions â€Å"Does the road wind uphill all the way? †, and â€Å"Will the day’s journey take the whole long day? Here the author is using the symbols of a road, a day, and a journey to describe our life here on earth. Using â€Å"uphill† as a metaphor is indicative of the fact that she perceives life as difficult and challenging , and is wondering if the road through life will always be that way. Th e responses indicate that yes, the road will be an uphill one to the very end, and that we will face difficulties and challenges throughout our life. The challenges will last the entire â€Å"day† of our lives, from morn to night, or birth to death.The first stanza ends with â€Å"my friend†, indicating that the person answering the questions is someone who cares about the questioner and that they should trust them. In this opening stanza, it is as if someone is facing a hard time in their lives, and is praying to God for answers. The second stanza opens with the question â€Å"But is there for the night a resting place? † with the response being â€Å"A roof for when the slow dark hours begin†. Here the author is changing from the â€Å"day† of the first stanza, which was our life on earth, to â€Å"night†, which would be the afterlife.The questioner is wondering if there will be a place of â€Å"rest† or safety after we die, and the answer is that yes we will have a â€Å"roof† over our heads. This again follows the allegorical vision of a journey, with a person traveling an uphill road throughout the day of our lives, and at the end when darkness comes we all want a place of safety. The questioner is being told that yes, when it gets dark, or in the afterlife, we will have a roof over our heads, meaning we will be safe. The questioner then asks â€Å"May not the darkness hide it from my face? with the response being â€Å"You cannot miss that inn†. Here the questioner is worried that when we die there may be nothing, just darkness. However, they are assured that they cannot miss the inn, meaning that there is certainty of arrival in this place of safety. In this stanza, the person is continuing their prayer to God. They have already received a response that life is going to be difficult and challenging, and now they are being assured that there is an afterlife and that it will be a place of saf ety.The third stanza opens with the question â€Å"Shall I meet other wayfarers at night? † with the response being â€Å"Those who have gone before. † The use of â€Å"wayfarers† continues the vision of a journey, and here the questioner is asking if they will see other people in the afterlife. â€Å"Wayfarers† would be other people who have been on the same journey through life. The questioner then asks â€Å"Then must I knock, or call out when just in sight? † and is given the response â€Å"They will not keep you standing at the door†.Here the questioner is assured that when they arrive at the inn, or place of safety, their loved ones will be waiting to greet them. In this stanza the person is being assured by God that they will meet their loved ones in the afterlife. The fourth stanza asks the question â€Å"Shall I find comfort, travel- sore and weak? † with the response being â€Å"Of labor you shall find the sum†. In th e second and third stanzas, the questioner asked if they would find safety in the afterlife and if they would see their loved ones, and here they are asking if they will find comfort.The response is that the comfort they achieve will be dependent on the â€Å"labor† or work in their earthly lives. This indicates that there is some form of judgment in the afterlife of how we conduct our lives here on earth. The questioner then asks â€Å"Will there be beds for me and all who seek? † and is told â€Å"Yea, beds for all who come†. The term â€Å"seek† is important here, because here God is telling the questioner that there isn’t a bed for everyone, only those who seek Him.As you have read, the poem â€Å"Uphill† uses the symbols of a journey to create an allegorical vision of our life on earth and into the afterlife. In the final stanza of the poem, it is clear that the author is conveying the message that how we conduct our lives on earth will be a gauge for how we fare in the afterlife. While we will never know who the individual is that is answering the questions in the poem, I believe that it is God responding to the questioner through prayer, because God is the only one who would have the true answers to the questions.

Prejudice And Discrimination On Same Sex Marriage Essay

Legal but still not acceptable: Prejudice and discrimination on same sex marriage. Prejudice which means prejudgement where it displays attitude towards a social group (Hogg Vaughan, 2011). This is a huge social issue within society has faced as it leads to many consequences that can end in violence. Homosexuality is an example of sexual minors facing prejudice from other social groups. There have been a number of prejudice and discrimination towards the gay community since the 1980’s where sexual behaviour between the same genders was not considered normal (Hogg Vaughan, 2011). The influence of Christianity encouraged the prosecution of homosexuals which become labelled as a mental illness and considered an act that should be punishable. However, through protesting and fight for equality and gay rights gay marriage became legal in many parts of the world. Taking into consideration the legalisation of gay marriage, there is a continuation of discrimination against the gay community. Despite the legalisation of the gay marriage law being approved by the Supreme Court on June 26th. A gay couple is still facing discrimination after being refused a marriage licence from a 49 year old US Christian county clerk. Her strong religious principles has provoked her from allowing a homosexual couple to get married that she rather be in jail then approve of the marriage licence. Old fashioned prejudice displays clear expressions of negative attitudes and dislike towards gays andShow MoreRelatedA Brief Note On Sociological Factors On Clients1666 Words   |  7 Pagespolicy and its failure to support all minorities, specifically same-sex couples King (cited in Australian Marriage Equality, 2015) stated â€Å"When any society says that I cannot marry a certain person, that society has cut off a segment of my freedom†. This quote from Martin Luther King Jr is as applicable today to legalising same-sex marriage as it was to the civil rights movement and inter-racial marriage over half a century ago. Marriage is a right that most Australians take for granted. StudiesRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal922 Words   |  4 Pages Gay marriage is between partners of the same sex. Gay marriage is one of the most controversial issues in the modern world. For the past thousand years, marriage has been known to be the social union between a man and a women. In most cultures around the world, homosexuality was seen as wrong, and marriages between same-sex couples was forbidden. The Gays Rights Movement has existed for over 89 years in counting since the development of the Society for Human Rights in Chicago. The publicRead MoreEssay on Homosexual Rights and Equality1242 Words   |  5 Pages This discrimination against gay and lesbian couples must be confronted so that those who are trustworthy citizens have the same rights as heterosexual citizens. In this paper, I will argue that homosexual individuals should have equal rights as heterosexuals because (1) hate crimes against homosexuals continues to occur, (2) the discrimination in the workplace is on the rise continues, and (3) the inability to have same-sex marriages is unfair. I believe that this unfair discrimination is unconstitutionalRead MoreThe Stonewall Riots And The Lgbt Community1678 Words   |  7 PagesThe LGBTQ community has struggled for decades to receive equal treatment but despite many advancements, this group of people is still not treated justly. 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Every person has the right to loveRead MoreEssay on Sexual Orientation Discrimination Prejudice in the Workplace1103 Words   |  5 PagesOrient ation Discrimination Prejudice in the Workplace. Sexual orientation is â€Å"the clear, persistent desire of a person for affiliation with one sex rather than the other†, otherwise known as sexual preference. (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com) Prejudice against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transsexuals (otherwise known as LGBT people) remain widespread in American society. LGBT people have always been a target for discrimination. Like other forms of prejudice, this discrimination is basedRead MoreThe Legalizaiton of Gay Marriage Essay1163 Words   |  5 Pagesguarantees a right to same-sex marriage. Yet, same-sex marriage continues to be a highly debated issue that leaves our society searching for answers. 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Previous studies and statistics will provide evidence that will support the statement being investigated. Ca mpaigns will be illustrating how organisations are trying