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Philosophy Today
The final chapter of Soccio's Archetypes of Wisdom brings philosophy into the present day, by discussing several current practioners of philosophy and hinting at applications that can be made of their ideas. I would like to discuss three problem areas in human life -- poverty, gender difference, and sexual ethics -- to look at how contemporary philosophy seems to be approaching the subject.
The issue of poverty is raised interestingly in Soccio's account by Princeton ethics professor Peter Singer. Soccio describes Singer as "controversial" and marks his philosophical affiliation as the "relentless application of utilitarian principles" (Soccio 532). Yet the example that Soccio gives of Singer's argument for eliminating world poverty just shows to me the limitations of a certain form of utilitarian philosophy. Singer shows that it would be an ethical necessity for Bob, conveniently located next to a lever that will change the track of a runaway train, to choose destruction of his prize possession (a Bugatti race-car) over allowing a child to be killed so the car might remain intact. If so, Singer asks, why is it not an ethical necessity for Bob to liquidate the Bugatti and help starving children in Africa right now with the proceeds? The problem is that Singer seems to be selectively employing a persuasive egalitarian argument for selective purposes of cultural guilt...
So why is Singer not insisting on internal economic leveling within one country? Merely because Marxism is currently unfashionable, but rock stars like Bono and Madonna have proved that African poverty is? But I think the real disproof of Singer's argument comes straightforwardly from his own conclusion. Singer writes "When Bob first grasped the dilemma that faced him as he stood by that railway switch, he must have thought how extraordinarily unlucky he was to be placed in a situation in which he must choose between the life of an innocent child and the sacrifice of most of his savings. But he was not unlucky at all. We are all in that situation." (Soccio 534) Yet it is the ways in which we are not in such a situation that makes this a weak argument. Does Bob have a spouse or children, parents, a large family, friends, a judgmental social milieu? There are a lot of different factors that go into the making of any moral decision, and the abstractness of Singer's little scenario is enough to make us suspect it of omitting much of what is true and relevant. Also, my eyes honestly rolled at Singer's inclusion of the phone number for Oxfam. Does he really think…
Berkley stated that because the senses were potentially faulty, everyone's sense perceptions and thus everyone's 'truth' was unique and variable. However, most empiricists like Locke believed that some (few) things could be known with certainty, like shape and color, even if other properties of things could not be known. The empiricists come from the Aristotelian rather than the Platonic tradition of philosophy, and had rigorous standards of truth based upon
Gaining the ability to sense and capitalize on these shifts in managerial philosophies over time is directly proportional to the ability of any organization to remain competitive over time (Chang, 2008). Participating in the Shift in Management Philosophies The evolution in management philosophies today is forcing a major shift in how companies are competing globally (Polsfuss, Ardichvili, 2008), shifting from being authoritarian and more focused on how to enable collaboration and
Philosophy Scenario Evaluation In many situations, certain questions can be answered in a manner that can be regarded as true in viewing the answers from different contexts. An answer that would not be widely-regarded as "truth" in today's day and age, may have been considered true in the context of an earlier time, which does not necessarily mean that this respective answer is wrong. In viewing the following three scenarios, one
However, when looking more closely at the specific philosophy suggested by Socrates, a more specific view appears to suggest itself. Socrates appears to favor the view that true knowledge is only possible once the soul separates itself from the body. For Socrates, the sense, i.e. touch, hearing, sight, taste, and smell only distract what he refers to as the "soul" from truly experiencing the nature of the external world. According
For example, before Newton, gravity was not considered a reality because the force of gravity itself cannot be perceived via the senses. The scientific method corrects for sensory shortcomings. However, philosophers must endeavor to think beyond that which the senses deliver. Morality, Philosophy, and Technology Discussion 1: Human/Robot Interface Current robotics technologies depend on strong human controls; no android exists that can survive independently of a human being either for its creation
Yet rather than understand this revelation as something which is freeing, Sartre experienced it as something fearful. He speaks of this freedom as being a form of damnation: Man is condemned to be free... condemned because he has not created himself - and is nevertheless free. Because having once been hurled into the world, he is responsible for everything he does..." (Gaarder, 379-380) If one is free, then one has not