Mills Theory Essays (Examples)

Middlemarch

apply Mill's theory to Lydgate's decision in chapter 18 on how to vote

Middlemarch: Lydgate's decision

In George Eliot's novel Middlemarch, Dr. Lydgate is an ambitious young physician who wants to reform medicine. When contemplating whom he should vote for in an election between two clergy members, Lydgate is faced with a difficult choice. Mr. Farebrother is a kind, likeable man whom Lydgate finds more personable than the popular, safe choice of Tyke. However, Farebrother gambles for money, a fact that shocks Lydgate. Moreover, the banker Bulstrode supports Tyke. Lydgate craves financial assistance to further his necessary medical work -- work which Lydgate feels is necessary to serve the interests of humanity. Lydgate tends to view the election as an annoyance and supports Tyke more out of convenience and to further his own interests in Middlemarch. "He was really uncertain whether Tyke were not the more suitable candidate, and…

Courage, intelligence for example could be used for wrong purposes and hence it was important pre-requisite to have good will if an action was to be termed moral.

Intelligence, wit, judgment, and the other talents of the mind, however they be named, or courage, resoluteness, and perseverance as qualities of temperament, are doubtless in many respects good and desirable. But they can become extremely bad and harmful if the will, which is to make use of these gifts of nature and which in its special constitution is called character, is not good. (Kant 2: p 9)

John Stuart Mill on the other hand proposed a different theory of morality which stated that an action is right if it promotes happiness of the greatest number of people. In other words, if an action maximizes general happiness then it can be deemed moral. Mill felt that maximization of general happiness was the…

Mill, Kant, Religion, And Gay Marriage

In theory, freedom and liberty for all appears to be an excellent concept, one which nearly everyone would embrace. However, the practice of this ideology is not always as halcyon as its theoretical mandate. Quite frequently, it is possible for there to be conflicts of interests presented due to the notion that everyone feels entitled to pursue that which he or she wishes. There are numerous examples of this intrinsic conflict of what essentially is a question of free will. One of the most salient of these examples can be illustrated in the issue of the rights of gays to pursue lawful marriage. On the one hand, various members of the gay and lesbian community believe that they should be legally permitted to engage in same sex marriages under their rights of freedom and the pursuance of their own respective happiness.

The conflict, of…

To cultivate genius when it does appear, a society must be free for all, not just the recognized geniuses. or, as Mill more eloquently puts it, "it is necessary to preserve the soil in which they [geniuses] grow. Genius can only breathe freely in an atmosphere of freedom...If from timidity they consent to be forced into one of these moulds [of conformity]...society will be little the better for their genius" (on Liberty, 9). Mill uses the extreme example of genius to illustrate the general principle he has devoted this entire book to; namely, that individual liberty is essential for the progress of a society. In this particular facet of his argument, he uses the archetypal vision of the genius to add a concrete incarnation of what otherwise might be an abstract and abstruse concept. Instead, Mill's view of liberty is rendered strikingly clear by his use of logic and example.…

Mill talked of ethical freedom in terms of all areas wherein individual and society interacts and become involved with each other; Marx utilized the same viewpoint, although specified it in terms of proletarian-bourgeoisie relations.

For Marx, ethical freedom is self-realization within the individual, and primary in this realization was the acknowledgment that one needs to be economically independent in order for modern individuals, and society in general, to function progressively. Ethical freedom is said to have been achieved if there will develop a new social order, identified as the "industrial proletariat," described to be the modern individuals, belonging to the previously identified proletariat class, who embodies "fresh moral and political idea, but one rooted in the world of material reality" (Morgan, 2005:392). In concrete Marxian terms, self-realization is an event that will occur only once the following elements have been abolished, as cited in "The Communist Manifesto": "representative government, bourgeois…

Mill's Canon mainly deals with induction, which is defined as the process of arriving at a causation. The methods of induction are agreement, difference, joint method, method, residues, and concountant variation. These methods are aimed at establishing what causes a certain phenomenon under investigation. Based on the methods established by Mill, it is possible to deduce a situation and establish the different possibilities or linkages. The main goal is to determine the relationship between a phenomenon like a disease and the likely causes or associations that cause the disease or triggers for the disease.

Temporal sequence

Temporal sequence refers to how things happen within a given time period. Basically, what are the sequences that take place for a certain condition to occur? From the article, it has been established that there are underlying sequences that lead to obesity. Research has shown that with the changes in diet caused by urbanization…

It is surely an understatement to observe: "Competitors who rely on the same setup as Youube," said Heberger, "where it's all user-generated content, they might be in trouble facing a Google-Youube team." (Mills & Sandoval, 2006)

he impact of the federal government upon economic behavior in this instance is clear -- there may have been grounds to contest the merger of Google and Youube, especially as Google has its own video service already. he government's action or inaction has changed the future of the Internet. Moreover, although the market structure of providers is relatively concentrated, the social diversity of the users of the services of Google and Youube is unprecedented. Every person's lives are affected, provided they use the Internet

What is the downside for Google? On one hand, people could begin to lose interest in posting on Youube, as Youube is not a strictly essential service, like a business'…

Every act happens at some time and in some place, and in like manner every act that we do either does or may affect both ourselves and others."

till others try to rebuff these objections, clarifying self-regarding acts and other-regarding acts.

J.C. Rees is at the helm of the counter-movement of interpretations, arguing that there is a distinguishable difference between actions that affect others and those that affect others' interests; he purports that it is the protection of other's interests to which Mill meant for liberty's limitation. Rees constructs a relativistic, conservative interpretation of liberty, in which the emphasis is placed on distinguishing interests from 'arbitrary wishes, fleeting fancies, and capricious demands." In his protection of the "permanent interests of man as a progressive being," Mill demands that the limitations of liberty extend to the interference of the protection of another citizen's own right to liberty.

The freedom of choice…

SWOT Analysis

With that, some strengths and weaknesses of eneral Mills are the following from a SWOT analysis due to customer satisfaction.

Strengths

The net income was thirty percent higher in 2003 than previous years since it became seventy hundred sixty million

eneral Mills is one of the largest consumer foods companies in America in today's modern society

The company has a strong name brand

Consumer food is the biggest revenue that the company had to date

The company has a good marketing strategy by having events, direct mail with customers while advertising world wide

Weaknesses

Prices are high

Hard to obtain shares in European countries

eneral Mills has not been able to get into the market in India, which one of the biggest markets

Required production is not being met on schedule, analyzing future for the company

Strength/Opportunity

Strength/Threat Weakness/Opportunity

Weakness/Threat

SO Strategy

ST Strategy

WO Strategy

WT Strategy…

Freedom and the root of utilitarianism are focused on providing society as a whole with happiness, not just a particular group of individuals in the social order. Mill risks generalizing at this point, as he is inclined to impose his point-of-view without expressing interest in what others want.

It would be normal for someone to want people to achieve happiness, but this is not necessarily the case in Mill's situation, as he believes that his happiness is general and that every person on earth needs to have access to concepts that make him happy. Even with the fact that he was aware of the importance of objective thinking, Mill failed to observe that his theory acted directly against it.

2. Humans have feelings and their lives are governed by various sentiments that they experience through their lives. Mill's theory can actually become simpler if one were to consider things from…

Human Development

Significance of cultural diversity

Theories permit us to determine the world around us coherently and also to act in the world with a reasonable approach. Numerous theories have developed throughout the previous century in western countries that make an effort to clarify how human character evolves, why all of us behave the way we do, what external circumstances encourage us to behave in particular ways, and the way these elements have been connected. A few of these concepts structure their arguments on essential physical as well as social-emotional situations within our very first years of existence; some around the impact involving external influences of our own family members, neighbourhood, as well as culture; a few on the unique learning and also thought procedures; a few on triumphant finalization of precise developmental "activities" at each and every phase throughout lifespan; plus some on the way a healthy-or perhaps unhealthy-sense…

HM Organizational Behavior, Theories, Frameworks and the Links Between Individual and Organizational Performance

This work in writing conducts a critical evaluation of HM Organizational Behavior Theories Frameworks that link performance.

Defining and measuring the effectiveness and performance of workers is a specific part of the HM manager's work. The question presenting is one that asks how the skills, behaviors and attitudes that are needed by workers to successfully and effectively perform their roles is defined. One way of measuring this is linking the performance of individuals to the organizational goals. This is generally accomplished through use of competencies which are described as "the integrated knowledge, skills, judgment, and attributes that people need to perform a job effectively. By having a defined set of competencies for each role in the business, it shows workers the kinds of behaviors the organizational values…" (MindTools, 2011) Lawrence (1998) reports that people are "multifaceted and…

However, in the most recent theory of evolution which discusses the living world appears as the result of chance and an output of different randomly selected natural mills. This kind of development came to present as a result of the need of more subjects or topics in areas such as cybernetic, general system theory, information theory, theories of games which is needed in most decision making process in line with real applications. In mathematics techniques however, there are a number of general assumption which are insufficient and most of the time very contradict themselves (Laszlo & Krippner, 1982).

Again, Laszlo (1982) outlined that von Bertalanffy considered the idea of organization to be involved at various stages in the expression of natural system. This could be highlighted from his first statement on the system which he made between the years 1925-1926, during the time when similar thinking of organism was being…

Sociological Theories

Functionalism is usually defined as viewing society from the aspect of its different parts, and how those parts relate to each other and society as a whole. Many functionalists liken society to a biological form, such as the human body, with its different organs all working in conjunction to keep the body as a whole functioning. Each of the elements of the body has a "function- to maintain the whole, so ensuring the stability or order of the system." (Bissell, 2005, p.41) But while each element has a manifest function, or the function that is expected from it, there are also unexpected functions called latent functions.

On the other hand, Conflict Theory states that the different parts of a society are in a state of conflict over the limited resources available to society. While Functionalism stresses the unity between the different groups, "conflict theory emphasizes strife and friction"…

Political Philosophy II: Theories of Freedom

John Stuart Mill's On Liberty is one of the foundational defenses of liberal, democratic government. According to Mill, there are certain core principles "that should regulate how governments and societies, whether democratic or not, can restrict individual liberties."[footnoteRef:1] Mill wrote that regardless of whether a monarch, dictator, or even a democratic majority governed, the only reason to deprive others of their liberties was what he called the harm principle, namely, that "a harm, an action must be injurious or set back important interests of particular people, interests in which they have rights" and "justifies restricting liberty to prevent harm to others."[footnoteRef:2] In defining the harm principle, Mill's intentions were clearly noble in that he wished to prevent the illegitimate use of power by the state to restrict free speech, sexual behavior, or other personal, private choices. However, since Mill wrote, even a number of…

Here, Aristotle recognizes the variances which appear
to define our establishment of the means to pursuing happiness, musing that
"the characteristics that are looked for in happiness seem also, all of
them, to belong to what we have defined happiness as being. For some
identify happiness with virtue, some with practical wisdom, others with a
kind of philosophic wisdom, others with these, or one of these, accompanied
by pleasure or not without pleasure; while others include also external
prosperity." (Aristotle, I: 8) Aristotle uses this as a divining rod for
dissecting the various relationships which are perpetuated amongst
individuals. His argument engages in the dialectical process to discern
that which is 'good' apart from that which is 'evil' or 'neutral.' Through
such an engagement, he achieves a satisfactorily defended notion of 'good':
"Aristotle identifies the distinctively human phenomenon of
action arising from reason as the function of the human being:…

Aristotle vs. Mill

The Greek philosopher Aristotle and John Stuart Mill agreed that the objective of morality was the pursuit of general happiness and the good life in society and in the individual. ut they deviated in the concept of, and the manner of arriving at, "the right thing to do," especially in reference to friendships. Mill held that actions are right in the proportion that they tend to promote that happiness and wrong, as they tend to promote unhappiness. He advocated the action/rule-based type of morality, which determined the goodness of an act according to the consequences of that act and independently of the doer's virtues or character traits (Fieser). This type directly opposes the virtue-based morality propounded by Aristotle, who believed that happiness as the ultimate end of existence that is sought for itself and not for any other end.

Aristotle contended that friendship is the greatest external…

" This illustration is an exact explication of the kind of philosophy that Plato helped propagate in human society during his time, and still gained prominence and status as contending philosophies, to other philosophies of latter centuries. Rubinstein further stressed that Platonism thrives on the idea that human knowledge only becomes pure when it is more abstract; hence, knowledge explicated through concrete terms are considered as transmitted knowledge only, and is not considered the knowledge that humans will truly aspire for, and pursue as a purpose in life.

Criticisms against Platonism abound because of its inappropriateness and lack of responsiveness to the realities of human life and experience. Indeed, people cannot strongly subsist to the thought that knowledge in the most abstract form, because knowledge not utilized defeats the very purpose on why knowledge are generated, found, and developed -- to be used for human progress and self-development.

These criticisms…

Nursing Ethical Theories

Ethical Theories in Nursing

Significance of Moral in Nursing

Deontology vs. Utilitarianism

Deontology

Utilitarianism

Justice Ethics vs. Care Ethics

Justice Ethics

Care Ethics

ights Ethics

Conflict of ights

Ethical Theories in Nursing

Moral philosophy has moved from addressing Plato's question of what makes the good person, to Kant's query as to the right thing to do, to Buber's concern with relationship. Whether referring to business ethics' interest in relationships between corporations and consumers; legal ethics' focus on relationships among the legal system, clients, and society; or nursing ethics' consideration of the relationship between patient and nurse; ethics and morality are conceptualized and actualized on the playing field of relationship.

The nature of nursing as a moral endeavor is an assumption embedded in any philosophical or theoretical consideration of the discipline and practice of nursing. An the goal of nursing is a moral one, namely, the good of…

Herzberg and Blanchards' Theory

Leadership and Motivation

Comparison of Situational Theory against the Two Factor Theory

Faraz

Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership Model

Leadership / Behavior of the leader

Development Level of the Follower

Steps in the Situational Leadership Strategy

Strengths of the Situational Leadership Strategy

Drawbacks of the Situational Leadership Strategy

Assumptions of Situational Leadership Conditions

Fredrick Herzberg's Theory of Human Motivation

Hygiene Factors of the Two Factor Theory

Hygiene / Maintenance Factors

Motivating Factors of the Two Factor Theory

Limitations of the Two Factor Theory

Contrast between the two theories

eferences

Introduction:

What do we mean by leadership? It can be identified as the process through which a person is capable of influencing people's thoughts, attitudes, behavior and making an impact by what they say and how they act. A leader sets out the pattern for others to follow and lead on. A leader may guide his followers…

Utilitarian Abortion Considerations:

The utilitarian perspective applied to the abortion issue would focus on whether

permitting or prohibiting elective abortion would contribute more positively the interests of society Mill, 2003 p160). The principal difference between the utilitarian and deontological perspectives is that utilitarianism is wholly unconcerned with the underlying motivation for decisions. Whereas deontological formalism values the state of mind of the individual, utilitarianism focuses on the ultimate consequences of the act, irrespective of motivation Russell, 2002 p 99).

Within the utilitarian ethical perspective, rule utilitarianism would promote the choice associated with the overall benefit to others and to society if it were adhered to religiously in all circumstances, irrespective of isolated cases in which the rule produced a negative result Russell, 2002 p101-2). For example, in a society where relative birth and death rates were such that the continuation of society were in jeopardy, the utilitarian perspective might require…

These are ethics that know no cultural bounds. hat is perceived as ethical in one society as well as any other is an example of a natural law. These are typically based on the human desire for equality as well as the desire to do good ("hat is Natural Law?"). Furthermore, natural rights evolve legally from natural laws often. They also often see an intertwining of religious beliefs, although they can also be expressed as more an intertwining of moral beliefs that are then supported by religion. The primary weakness of natural law theory is that it is sometimes difficult to determine if a belief is truly universal, or simply cultural.

Virtue Ethics:

Virtue ethics determines whether an action is right or wrong by the virtue of the action.

Virtue ethics is currently one of three major approaches in normative ethics. It may, initially, be identified as the one that…

First, he states that teachers can learn, from their students, how to best affect their classes. Through talking with their students, teachers can learn in what those students are interested. Teachers can learn what teaching styles best affect them, what can engage them. This can help them better relate to their students as teachers, portraying their subjects in a way that students can understand. In addition, Corbett argues that teachers can learn from their students by re-learning what it is like to be a beginning learner. They can do this by taking a class themselves or by writing the papers that they assign to their students. Thus, they learn the pain and suffering that many students have to go through in order to learn. Thus, Corbett's major theory is that both students and teachers exist in a symbiotic relationship in which they learn from one another.

At first, many teachers…

magic bullet theory" -- sometimes called the hypodermic needle theory -- holds that when recipients of broadcasted information are separated from one another they are extremely susceptible to the messages that they are receiving; theses messages can drastically influence their opinions as well as their perceptions of reality. "Agenda setting scholars corroborate the fact that our dependence on the media for news and information has shaped and reinforced our perceptions of the world around us. The mass media continue to set the news agenda for dominant events, issues and policies that subsequently become popular in our social discourse."

It is a theory regarding the nature by which information influences its receivers and is generally only accurate under a specific set of circumstances. Overall, the magic bullet theory cannot be utilized as a comprehensive model for the mass media because it ignores a number of characteristics inherent to human nature. The…

To ensure that the constructivist approach functions optimally, teachers must therefore ensure that the interactional and social situation within each group is managed effectively as well.

Young (2003) notes that another challenge facing teachers and students is the implementation of technology in the constructivist classroom. The specific challenge here is that, more often than not, computer technology has been subject to the traditionally constructed classroom, where knowledge about and by means of computer technology has been divulged under the assumption of static, learned skills. Young (2003) suggests some important and dynamic changes to implement technology in the classroom.

First, the assumption must be cultivated that computers and knowledge about and by means of computers, just like all other forms of knowledge, are continually in flux. Indeed, this is even more so for information technology than other academic fields. To teach students as if this is not the case is particularly…

Too many leaders today do not see much as necessarily bad or good, and they simply go through their life without realizing there is so much more out there to be done and seen, just like the people in Plato's Cave. They have blinders on -- some of which are part of society, and some of which are self-inflicted. If only they would break out of the chains which enslave them in that Cave they could climb up into the light where they could truly see, and they would be aware of all the beauty and wonder in this world.

Unfortunately, the people in the Cave choose not to make an attempt at going outside, and because they do not strive to see more and to learn more, they do not teach the children to see more and to learn more. The cycle simply perpetuates, and this is the case…

Ethical Theory

The author of this report has been asked to answer several questions about noted ethicists and philosophers. There will also be coverage of both of those as they pertain to happiness, good, evil and utilitarianism. The people that will be covered in these answers include Mill and Kant. When it comes to Mill, there will be a definition of happiness as well as what is meant by something or someone being intrinsically good or evil. As it relates to Kant, there will be the question of whether it is ever morally acceptable under Kantian ethics to lie to patients so as to not cause them psychological harm. Finally, there will be the question of whether it is practical or possible to combine utilitarianism and ethics of care. While some ethical questions about healthcare are cut and dry and have a fairly to very obvious answer, there are most…

An objective glance at history tells us that the social contract was a real and actual covenant. The first people who banded into communities formed some overt and covert covenant with their neighbors, replete with trappings, that later became known as 'legal', in order to ensure their survival within this band of fellow strangers. The racial contract, though real, did not displace the social contract. Although the social contract, as per the French revolutionists terms of liberty, equality and fraternity never existed - even amongst Whites, it was always a myth and more symptomatic of Utopia - practical forms of the social contract, albeit with variations amongst gender and race, persisted. Integrated with the social contract, however, was a racial form of contract where male supremacism characterized by Christians of the white race gained sufficient power to dominate others who did not belong to their gender or race. acial category,…

Utilitarianism

In the opening remarks to Utilitarianism, Mill sets the stage for this discussion. He accepts that the idea of utilitarianism dates back two thousand years, and is part of a philosophical discourse that has never been resolved. He then explains the prevailing thought that moral laws are considered universal, deriving from the same source. Their evidence is a priori in that they are simply assumed to be correct. These laws, however, lack a fundamental rule, something that is the root of morality, that should be self-evident. Mill is staking out a position that there is no such fundamental rule, and that this is a defect.

Mill then argues that utility, as described by Bentham, is where happiness derives from, and that this ultimately influences decision-making and morality even among those who reject the idea and attempt to base their moral standards on another universal code. Mill does not explicitly…

Plato and Utilitarians

Plato and the Utilitarians do not conceive of the good life in the same manner. Plato, through the character of Socrates, teaches that the true good life can only be attained by dedicating oneself to the pursuit of the one, the good, and the true -- the universal transcendental values that, when possessed, made one pleasing to God. (Thus, one sees Socrates teaching his students that the way to happiness is to do the will of God, which he argues can be and must be objectively discernible). The Utilitarians under the direction of the philosopher John Stuart Mill, however, view the good life in a much more subjective way. They say that is good which makes one happy and that is bad which makes one unhappy. Pain is the dictator of what is good and bad, so if it causes one pain, it cannot be good, and…

Part 1
History of Modern Leadership Studies Since 1900
The evolution of modern leadership studies begins with the Great Man Theory, which originated in the 19th century and carried over into the 20th century. It came about as people looked at the world’s greatest leaders who stood out from the run of the mill individuals of their time and made a significant difference upon the course of human history. Individuals like George Washington, or Abraham Lincoln or Napoleon Bonaparte—they were seen as Great Men who were born with something special that made them into great leaders. The idea was promoted by Thomas Carlyle (1888) and other writers, such as Herbert Spencer (1896), who added his own twist on the theory by arguing that Great Men were as much products of their own day and age as anything else. Great Man Theory got the ball rolling in leadership studies, and out…

Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical framework. The consequences of an action are more important than the motivations behind the action or the action itself. An action has "utility" if it serves the greatest good. The basic principle of utilitarianism is creating the greatest good for the greatest number of people, or the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. The ethics of utilitarianism differ from ethical egoism in that the individual may make a sacrifice for the common good because it is the aggregate of happiness/goodness that matters, not maximizing individual happiness. Central to utilitarianism is the belief that all people are inherently equal and of equal consideration when making ethical decisions (p. 55). John Stuart Mill outlined the core tenets of utilitarianism, which became a fundamental component of Enlightenment political philosophy. Another utilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, proposed a happiness calculus that can be used to more rigorously apply…

Happiness

The author of this report has been asked to answer a specific and thoughtful answer to a question about the greatest happiness principle and what it really means. Indeed, the question is how the principle is supposed to be useful and informative when it comes to guiding someone on what to do, what not to do and why. As the author expected, there is a strong correlation between this question and the general concept of utilitarianism. hile the linkage and comparison of the greatest happiness principle and utilitarianism may make it easy to some to offer some explanations and insights, it just complicates things for others in some ways and the author of this response is certainly among that echelon.

Analysis

Before getting into semantics and how the principle can or should be perceived, the author of this report will quote the man who came up with the principle…

Philosophical Ethics: MacIntyre’s Notion of a Practice and the Idea of Virtues (Q4)
When it comes to notion of practice and the idea of virtues, MacIntyre’s explanation provides one with a sense of how the two go together. Practice is the art by which an object is pursued, and virtue is the quality that both enables and facilitates practice and is developed or reinforced through practice. This paper will discuss the link between practice and virtue, according to MacIntyre’s theory.
MacIntyre’s notion of a practice is split between two kinds of practice—that with external goods and that with internal goods. The external goods of practice are those external rewards that come by one’s practice, and usually these are of a sort that a person can possess—i.e., money, power, fame, or candy as in MacIntyre’s example of the child who is motivated to practice chess by the promise of the reward…

Economics of New Ideas and Innovations

This research paper discusses the economics of a new idea. Without new ideas and inventions, the economy might very well become stagnant or decline, as predicted by many early economists, who did not understand that impact that ideas and innovative technology had on global markets.

Technology is endogenous in the new growth theory, which holds that technology is a function of the capital and labor used to develop technology, the technology used in that process, and the economic environment. For the purpose of this paper, technology refers to the methods and tools that are used to generate with new ideas and more efficient ways of producing goods and services.

Ideas and technical innovations are crucial to the economy. If a country wants to grow, it must create an environment that encourages entrepreneurs and innovators to generate new ideas. Creating an economic environment that promotes…

In this case, Mary would have acted precisely as she did, that is, pursuing her personal happiness and acting according to a pattern she had established before, that of being virtuous and always acting morally. In this case, the decision is plain and easy to take: Mary has to be virtuous so as to satisfy her own moral demands and ensure her emotional and spiritual comfort. Thus, she acts according to her pre-established set of rules.

Thus, Mary acts primarily, as she herself argues, so as not to 'soil' the beginning of her life. She feels that taking the money would save the old man because his own happiness and personal interest would be in giving the money away to anyone else besides his family: "I will not let the close of your life soil the beginning of mine. I will not touch your iron chest or your will."(Eliot, 411)…

Mill and U.S. Constitution

None of the issues being raised today by the Occupy all Street (OS) movement are new, but rather they date back to the very beginning of the United States. At the time the Constitution was written in 1787, human rights and civil liberties were far more constrained than they are in the 21st Century. Only white men with property had voting rights for example, while most states still had slavery and women and children were still the property of fathers and husbands. Only very gradually was the Constitution amended to grant equal citizenship and voting rights to all, and even the original Bill of Rights was added only because the Antifederalists threatened to block ratification. In comparison, the libertarianism of John Stuart Mill in his famous book On Liberty was very radical indeed, even in 1859 much less 1789. He insisted that individuals should be left…

Therefore, the person who chooses to suspend his interests to comply with those artificial externally-imposed social values for the benefit of others will ultimately always suffer disadvantage because others cannot be counted upon to do so consistently and in a meaningful way, at least not beyond the ability of the state to control and ensure.

To Freud, modern civilization provides various tangible benefits to the individual but only at a tremendous cost. While living in society and with the benefits of government protection against the uncontrolled expression of the selfish will of others is a benefit, the fact that our goals and values, and the component elements of our psychological personas are determined and shaped to such a great extent by external society generates much if not all of the psychological pain and trauma experienced by individuals.

Personal Response and Conclusion

There is substantial value as well as inherent weaknesses…

Trade Theory

Intra-Industry International Trade

Standard trade theory and its deviations

The classical theory of international trade can be traced back to the founding father of capitalism Adam Smith: Smith's 1776 Wealth of Nations theorized that free trade would be beneficial to all nations. Smith stated that much like merchants, nations should specialize in the particular goods and services which they could produce most efficiently and trade with other nations who could produce alternate goods and services equally efficiently. Thus free trade resulted in advantages for both trading parties. Smith's theory was later fleshed out by David icardo in his Principles of Economics. iccardo stated that free trade could optimize efficiency for every country on a global level by reducing the inefficiencies generated by the excess resources involved in producing the goods and services the nation was not suited to produce (Sen 2010: 2).

This common wisdom remained relatively consistent…

associationism remains not only one of the earliest theories of leaning but it also comes across as being one of the most enduring. Basically, associationism holds that association of ideas can be used to explain mental processes. In this text, I will mainly concern myself with associationism as a learning theory. In so doing, I will highlight the main principles associated with the theory while making a mention of three theorists whose contribution towards the development of this theory as we know it today cannot be overstated. Further, this discussion will invoke associationism in explaining mental processes associated learning. I will also attempt to explain how associationism utilizes prior experience in explaining how learning in individuals takes place. Also, I will seek to explain how permanent change in behavior comes about by depicting the application of the theory. Lastly, a number of settings in which learning takes place will be…

The morality of the act can be defended by the Utilitarian principle that the number of deaths (250,000+) caused by dropping the weapons of mass destruction over Hiroshima and Nagasaki was less than the deaths that would have been caused by a land invasion of Japan ("John Stuart Mill").

However, despite the considerable improvement and sophistication provided by Mill to the philosophy of Utilitarianism and the practical usefulness of the 'greatest happiness principle' the theory still suffers from serious flaws.

Dr. Ruut Veenhoven, a professor of Erasmus University, Rotterdam, for instance points out in an article that the 'greatest happiness principle' is particularly problematic when applied at the level of individual choice. This is because we cannot usually foresee the consequences of our actions or whether they would produce happiness or pain but paradoxically the Utilitarian theory deems well-intended behavior to be a-moral if it happens to pan out adversely.…

Military Orders that May be Unethical

Utilitarianism is a philosophical theory states that ethics are determined by the social group in which the moral determination is made. It has been described by various philosophers as the great happiness principle or pleasure principle. In essence, what is ethical or moral is determined by what makes a person or a group of persons the happiest. If a course of action brings the majority of people happiness, then it is ethical. On the contrary, if a certain set of actions brings the majority unhappiness, then it is unethical. Utility is thus the ultimate form of happiness and the best way by which to achieve happiness both for the individual and for the majority of the population within a given society. This seems logical but can become complicated when applying the concept of utilitarianism to a larger group, such as a government. hether the…

All organizations and business have some form of ethical culture to carry out their goals, which cannot be inconsistent with the aims of utilitarianism. All organizations aim at the pleasure of achieving or creating something. This line of thought can be strictly infused into the awareness of employees during meetings or seminars. The goals of the theory may also be infused into new employees as part of their orientation. Existing employees may be promoted on the basis of their best contribution to organizational goals and the welfare of fellow employees. These are measurable criteria and a source of motivation to other employees.

The utilitarian theory necessarily states that it is an employee's duty to perform and behave in the best possible way to benefit the business, fellow employees, society and himself or herself. Consequently, he or she has the right to expect the same benefits from the organization, fellow employees,…

Utilitarianism and Plato

Philosophy is an ancient process. Since the times of Ancient Greece and Rome, people have taken it upon themselves to question the reality of their worlds and to postulate what it is that causes people to behave the ways that they do. The philosophical theory of utilitarianism has gained popularity in recent years because of the way that it explains government and the need for laws and authority. However, philosophy going back to the time of Plato dealt with many of the same questions currently posed by Utilitarianism. The theory of Utilitarianism and the writings of the great Plato can be seen to differ in the following ways: in the background metaphysical understanding of the universe and humanity's place in it, the theory of human nature that each supposes, the defect in human nature that allows beings to be unhappy or unfulfilled, and in the ways the…

Medical Marijuana Legislation and Civil Liberties

When the historic passage of legislation permitting medical marijuana use in states like Arizona (2010), Delaware (2011) and Massachusetts (2012) is considered in conjunction with the fact that 13 other states have similar legislation or ballot measures pending, the traditional conception of marijuana ingestion as a criminal act is being reexamined on a societal level. Further bolstering this assertion is the legal situation in California, Colorado and Washington, where marijuana has been decriminalized entirely and permitted for recreational sale by licensed dispensaries, providing the platform for a restoration of basic rights in these jurisdictions. With approximately half of the states in the union already affording citizens with medical needs the liberty to seek relief in the form of marijuana, while the federal government's ostensible ban on the substance remains in effect, the stage has been set for a national debate over the merits of…

Realist Moral Theories Unit IV: Bioethics

The moral of the film "ottaca" is quite obvious and the development of events also quite predictable. The film starts from the idea that parents want their children to have the best start in life. The majority of parents would agree with it. This idea is put into the context of genetic engineering, a palpable reality today. The moral is that letting doctors apply genetics to do every magic possible in order to get the "best version of you" by eliminating all the "less perfect possibilities" is wrong.

Most religions teach one to mind the body as well as the soul in order to be in harmony with od and the rest of the universe. They also teach about free will. Causal determinism, on the other side, superposes the end over the beginning and leaves no chance for the "chance." According to this philosophical…

Marshall Executive Brief #3 Trade Policy Greece and France

This brief will discuss critical issues of trade policy, including global trade, global currency exchange, business strategy and operations, R&D, human resources, accounting and finance.

Global Trade and Currency Exchange

Global Trade

Free trade is a system where the governments of two countries do not discriminate between the imports and exports of the other country. In particular, free trade in the modern sense applies to tariffs and other trade barriers, or the non-existence thereof. Ricardo described free trade in terms of absolute and comparative advantage. Usually, this concept is described using a simplistic, fictional world in which there are two countries and maybe only two goods. In this example, countries should produce the good in which they have comparative advantage, and in doing so the two countries combined with have a higher aggregate output than if only the country with absolute…

Voluntary Disclosure

Concept of voluntary Disclosure

The law requires all companies to disclose their financial information, together with additional information either in annual, half-yearly and quarterly financial reports. In this case, the description that best fits such law a requirement is a typical example of mandatory disclosure of information. Apart from the mandatory disclosure of information, the annual report contains the voluntary disclosure of information. Notably, there are other opportunities that can be used for voluntary disclosure including conference calls, press releases, websites, and other corporate reports (Sharma, 2013). There are several definitions on voluntary disclosure, but this paper borrows a definition postulated by a FASB committee, which defined voluntary disclosure as, disclosures, mainly outside financial statements, which are not explicitly required by GAAP or an SEC rule.

Notably, in practice, the difference amid mandatory disclosure and voluntary disclosure is not crystal. For instance, it is possible for companies to…

Ethics

While all ethical theories appeal to me in some way, the one I relate to the most is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism suggests that the ethical decision should enhance as much happiness as possible. I appreciate this idea, which is why I believe I make more decisions using a utilitarian ethic than any other. With Kantian duty ethics, I struggle with the absolutism. I do not believe it is possible to have one principle govern every ethical decision that I make. For example, I do believe that sometimes it is acceptable to tell lies. I have told lies to make my parents or girlfriend feel good, and I do not think it hurt them. In fact, I believe that if they knew now which lies I told and when, they would not even be upset. I would never tell a lie that I could later not admit to, however, I relate…

Ethics and the Law

It is morally acceptable for the law to require people to do things for their own self-development?

"Political theory is a branch of moral philosophy, which starts from the discovery, or application, of moral notions in the sphere of political relations." This statement, indicated in the literary work, "Two concepts of Liberty," summarizes my personal views on law and self-development. I believe it is morally acceptable to require people to do things for their own self development. Aspects such as making children attend school, requiring high schools to offer basic curriculum courses, or requiring systemically viable institutions to be certified, I believe, all are morally acceptable laws. Although society overall benefits from the self-development of its own constituents, the world benefits as a more educated population continues to drive economic prosperity (Berlin, 2000).

Few would argue over the merits of self-development and its obvious advantages. However…

It gives the government the ability to enforce its own cultural and legal norms on others without public objection. This is the key argument that Brown makes throughout the body of the work. Tolerance protects the beliefs and ideas of others, yet at the same times distances them from the norms of the mainstream. Cultural differences are not rationalized, they are simply accepted as the way a society is. Minority cultures are to be respected, but not necessarily adopted by the mainstream.

The separation of private and public life has been a tool to achieve tolerance. Those differences that make each culture unique are not allowed to enter into public life, but must remain an area that is private. Brown argues that to relegate culture and belief to the private realm is to rob it of its communal nature. One's culture becomes a matter of personal preference, not an idea…

The current construction of World-Systems analysis holds that core countries, including America, Europe's thriving economies, and developed nations in Africa and Asia, derive enormous economic and political power from "the axial division of labor of a capitalist world-economy (that) divides production into core-like products and peripheral products" (Wallerstein 28). Madagascar's relative abundance of untapped natural resources, in the form of massive "old-growth" tropical rainforests, and deposits of minerals like chromite and titanium ore which are now used in the construction of cellular telephones and laptop computing devices, represent peripheral products that can be exploited for the ongoing manufacture and distribution of the core products driving the engine of globalized commerce.

Pictograph:

Periphery Countries

(Madagascar)

Goods

ods

esources

Core Countries

(America, China, India)

eferences

Babones, Salvatore J., and Maria Jose Alvarez-ivadulla. "Standardized Income Inequality Data for Use in Cross-National esearch." Sociological Inquiry 77.1 (2007): 3-22.

Chase-Dunn, Christopher, Yukio Kawano, and Benjamin…

Despite their supposed differences, all of the foregoing organizational management techniques and approaches share some common themes involving getting a better handle of what is actually being done in companies and how better to manage these things. Unfortunately, another common theme these management approaches share is the inappropriate or misapplication of these approaches by managers who either do not understand how they work or by rabid managers who insist on absolute conformity with these processes and procedures without any room for flexibility according to the unique needs of the organization. In fact, according to Mills (2003), "Analysis of the data suggests that the implementation of organizational change, particularly selected change programs such as Culture Change, TQM and BP, does not follow the rational, orderly decision-making processes indicated by advocates" (p. 2). Nevertheless, some of the more recent management approaches do provide a more comprehensive analysis of what can reasonably be…

For example, many individuals value freedom and knowledge as things that can bring happiness. So, having their own value, these things are parts of happiness.

Mill believed that everyone's happiness is important. He believed in what he called the 'greatest happiness principle.' According to the greatest happiness principle, a person is ethically required to try to bring about the consequences that would lead to the greatest amount of happiness for everyone affected. More simple stated, if a person can produce more happiness (and/or less suffering) in a certain situation, then he or she is ethically obligated to do so. In more contemporary ethical terms, this is called the requirement to 'maximize happiness. If one was considering doing something for one's own happiness, but that action would cause others suffering, then Mill would have to take both of the sides into account in deciding whether or not the action should morally…

Namely, the institutions of
slavery and Jim Crow that were used to constrain the growth and advancement
of African Americans are today disregarded as being directly relevant to
the fortunes and opportunities of blacks in America. This is both
unrealistic and unethical, with the denial of its lasting impact casting
American racism in an historical light rather than one which is still
present and problematic. It is thus that the social contract today serves
the interests of dominance even as it feigns to have disavowed these
aspects of itself.
A true resolution to the failures of the social contract may only
really occur when the discourse on America's racialist past and the lasting
effects of this on the current fortunes of African Americans is resolved.
In that regard, Mills regards it as largely a fiction that racial
discrimination ended in any meaningful way after the Emancipation
Proclamation; rather, racial prejudice…

America was a wonderful experiment in freedom and democracy which had never before been attempted by any nation. Nations either tried to give power to the people in order to prevent monarchies from rising to despotic power, or they allowed monarchs, despots and other sole figure heads to rise to power. In the case of allowing the people to rule, Europe and European's had learned many times that unbridled power in the hands of the people was no more just than the rule of despots. obs could become just as dictatorial as individual monarchs who sat upon golden thrones. Until America came into existence, nations could only expect to exist for a short time before political turmoil would create change of government, and the nation would start over again.

So as America grew from a fledgling nation to a powerful and economically stable country, those who had watched democracy struggle…

Mill agrees that the mischief a person does to himself can affect others, and he finds that it is right to bring to bear moral disapprobation,

henever there is a definite damage, the case moves out of the province of liberty and into that of morality or law. ith reference to that which is merely contingent, however, society can afford to bear the inconvenience (Magid 799-800).

Mill in his work on Liberty proposed a simple principle for determining whether society has a right to limit individual freedom, a principle based on utilitarian concepts and applicable to the individual in his or her dealings with society. that principle can be stated as follows:

The only thing of ultimate value is the happiness of individuals, and individuals can best achieve their happiness in a civilized society when they are left free to pursue their own interest with their own talents as these…

He is not longer alienated from the sector of society that she represents. Their relationship bridges the gap and provides the fuel to take the country into a new direction.

However, things are not all rosy for the couple. They have to overcome the prejudices that each group, Mexican and African-American, has for each other as well as battling prejudice and stereotypes from whites.

To recap, the author has considered the novel America by John Debrizzi. hat makes this a bit more difficult to digest the novel's contents is that Debrizzi is a sociologist. To properly understand the novel, one must understand the social theory behind it. Therefore, the author first considered the theoretical implications, specifically Debrizzi's working out of Mills dichotomy between individual and society. In this, they considered how the Marxist dialectic and the alienation from the means of production apply. Finally, they considered the novel, particularly the…

Tolerance

Global terrorism has changed the entire spectrum of tolerance in today's world. Highlighted by the events of 9/11 the facts that even the world's most powerful nation was not immune to the effects of terrorism brought home the fact that there was little defense to the acts of terrorists. The age of innocence in the United States had ended and the rest of the world waited to see how the United States would react (Schorow 2002).

Terrorism has been a part of the world framework for some time but in the United States it had been something that occurred somewhere else. It was not anything that those living within the borders of the United States had to be concerned with. Those types of problems existed elsewhere. In America everyone was safe: until 9/11. 9/11 forced Americans to look at terrorism in a different light and to examine the roots…

Political Philosophy II: Theories of Freedom

To answer the questions of why De Tocqueville and Mill think that democracy is a threat to the liberty of the individual and whether they are right, this paper will show that both De Tocqueville and Mill viewed democracy as a mechanism that could easily become tyrannical and thus overwhelm one's individual liberty. Considering that democracy in its various forms (direct, representative, constitutional) is capable of being corrupted (voters and/or representatives may be bribed, coerced, misinformed, misled, subjugated, harassed, mobbed, and so on), it is not difficult to see that both Tocqueville and Mill are correct in their arguments: democracy can be a threat to the liberty of the individual -- precisely because it is not necessarily predicated on truth, rightness, or goodness. Is there any system of government that does not represent a potential threat to the liberty of the individual when it…