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Political Philosophy
Plato and St. Thomas Aquinas both have some strong opinions on the nature of man and knowledge. Plato held that the soul and body were related, but Aquinas rejected that particular position for the human soul (Alican, 2012; Torrell, 2005). He viewed God and the Angels as intelligent but not rational beings, and addressed the fact that the animal (physical) part of the human experience was what led to rationality (Torrell, 2005). In other words, it is not reason that distinguishes humans from animals. ather, it is reason that indicates that humans are animals. Additionally, Thomas discussed the idea that there is a Prime Mover (God), and that the Mover shows that the "moved" (human souls) existed before they were in human bodies and can exist afterward as well (Torrell, 2005). He believed that the soul survived death because it was in the body but not of the…
References
Alican, Necip Fikri (2012). Rethinking Plato: A Cartesian Quest for the Real Plato. NY: Rodopi.
Torrell, Jean-Pierre (2005). Saint Thomas Aquinas. (Rev. ed.). Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press.
Political Philosophy
The purpose of the present paper is to compare and contrast the following books: On Liberty, written by John Stuart Mill in 1859 and The manifesto of the communist party, written by Marx and Engels in 1848. The first part of the paper will describe and analyze the political ideas included in each of the books. The second part will be an attempt to evaluate some of the positive and negative aspects. The third part will compare some of the most relevant political ideas in the two books.
Just like the title of the books suggests it, the main argument discussed by John Stuart Mill is that of freedom. The concept is discussed in the context in which people are organized in a community called society and create complex relations and relationships.
The philosopher addresses the concept of will at individual level, but also analyzes its implications for…
Bibliography:
Mill, John Stuart, On liberty, (CreateSpace, 2009)
Marx, Karl, Engels, F., Marx and Engels' manifesto for the communist party, (Progress Publishers, 1975)
Political Philosophy
We have seen that the nature of nature differs for different thinkers. Explain what nature means for a) Greek (Plato) (b) Catholic Christian (Augustin, Aquinas) - A Protestant Christian (Luther, Calvin). (d) A modern scientific philosopher. (Burke, Smith, Locke).
Man, is a creation of God. Man is entitled to happiness, but is bound by the Laws of Nature. Each thinker looks at nature from a different angle.
Greek
The Greek philosophers like Plato perceived Nature in Forms or Ideas. These thinkers considered the Supreme Form to be the Form of Good. They related the Supreme Form of Nature to the Sun which helps illuminate. Their understanding of Nature was based on the Theory of knowledge and the Theory of Being. Plato considered the world to be a living creature with a soul and reasoning capacity. He had an organic view of Nature where the heavenly bodies exhibited perfect…
Political Philosophy I pick a political leader (dead alive). Once pick leader, apply a philosopher's ideas a philosophy reveal leaders strengths / weaknesses. You a philosopher's ideas directly influenced a leader ( Machiavelli's influence Mussolini Hitler).
Leadership in the history of political thought has always been identified in the broader lines of certain political paradigms and lines of judgment and characterized by philosophical rules and guidelines. Leaders such as Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Charles de Gaulle, onald eagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, to name just a few of the second part of the 20th century leaders that marked the political history of the world, have all been defined in their actions by particular elements of political and philosophical thought. Whether these examples point out a sense of extremism in terms of actions or moderation in their approaches, they are all representatives of social application of social philosophy and political undertaking.
One of…
References
Calvocoressi, Peter. World politics since 1945. Budapest: Open Society Institute, 1996.
Hertzler J.O. "The Typical Life Cycle of Dictatorships." Social Forces, Vol. 17, No. 3, (Mar., 1939), pp. 303-309
Levenson, Joseph R. "The Place of Confucius in Communist China." The China Quarterly. No. 12. Oct. - Dec., 1962, pp. 1-18.
Tsou, Tang. The Cultural Revolution and post Mao reforms: a historical perspective. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986.
tripartite theory of political power? Compare and contrast Plato and Aristotle's political philosophy. According to Professor Dennis Dalton what is "The Break?"
Because of the American tendency to bifurcate conceptions of morality and the soul from political structures, it can be at times difficult to grasp the political philosophy of Plato, whereby the nature of the human soul and Plato's ideal political "Republic" are integrally related. For Plato the human soul was merely the state writ small. Both had the same inherent structure or form. "The just man will not be any different from the just city with respect to the form itself of justice, but will be like it" (The Republic, 435b).
Plato's idea republic or city-state thus has three classes. But every person's soul had a dominant feature. One's role in the state depended upon which quality one's soul possessed in greatest amount. For instance, the leading rulers…
Works Cited
Plato. The Republic.
Aristotle, On the Soul,
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan.
Machiavelli, N, The Prince.
Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles about the United States Constitution. These are a series of eighty-five letters written to newspapers in 1787-1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, urging ratification of the Constitution (Wills, 1981). For many years, historians, jurists, and political scientists share a general consensus that The Federalist is the most important work of political philosophy and pragmatic government ever written in the United States (USDS, 2004). It has been compared to Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics, and Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, and has been used by many nations as a base for their constitutions.
One of the main parts of the Federalist Papers is the establishment of a system of checks and balances, which is now the root of democracy (USDS, 2004). This idea of checks and balances is based on a profoundly realistic view of human nature. While the Founding Fathers, which include…
Bibliography
Kennington, Richard. (2004). Enlightenment and Natural Rights. Retrieved from the Internet at http://www.crvp.org/book/Series04/IVA-7/chapter_xi.htm.
Masud, K. (March 14, 2004). Let's seek a common ground. The Daily Star.
Patrick, John J. And Clair W. Keller, Lessons on the Federalist Papers: Supplements to High School Courses in American History, Government and Civics, Bloomington, IN: Organization of American Historians in association with ERIC/ChESS, 1987. ED 280-764.
Potter, K. (1999). Federalist's Vision of Popular Sovereignty in the New American Republic.
Just as in the realm of economics, different individuals possess different capabilities, aptitudes, and qualifications for different careers. Civil rights issues and equality in academia and employment have progressed to the point where less deserving and less qualified individuals receive some of the opportunities that were better earned by others who are more qualified.
This reverse racism and reverse sexism is not conducive to a society that emphasizes initiative and effort and which rewards self-responsibility and objective merit above all else. Whereas pervious generations of women and racial and ethnic minorities were deprived of the opportunity to compete fairly with males and non-minority individuals, nowadays, no such impediments exist; therefore, opportunities in both academia and the professional workplace must revert to recognizing and rewarding merit and achievement and not gender and ethic or racial makeup instead.
The Environment:
As in the case of other aspects of the appropriate role of…
evolution of individual rights with various theories, using one source.
Why this concept wasn't there in ancient Greece:
The central concept behind Greek civilization was to have a political center that does not interfere with the individual rights. The notion of individual rights was not apparent in Ancient Greek was because there was no absolute dominant power, who would rule over the populace. Everyone was free and everyone had freedom to practice what they believed. People shared common heritage based on membership status in society but the customs remained within the realms of the individual through polis. There was no hierarchical depotism where the people have to serve to their superiors. Freedom hence, meant that the Greek citizens enjoyed self-governance.
why Machiavelli constitutes a turning point:
Machiavelli, with production of his book The Prince, made a turning point in the history of individual rights. He negates the supreme power of…
3) How and when it reaches its 'final' form as we consider it today:
Taking Machiavelli's conceptual framework, John Locke and Adam Smith, present the argument that, a successful society can exist, giving individual their rights, if there is certain laws that govern the limits of the individual rights. Locke's limited role of government distinguishes the powers, the relationship of the individual and the rights of the community to individual lives. In separating, them, Locke present a community where civil liberties are given but with certain degree of limitation.
Cohen, Mitchell and Nicole Fermon, eds. Princeton Readings in Political Thought-Essential Texts since Plato, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle's attempts to come to an understanding of human nature ultimately lead him to an understanding of justice. He attempts to understand how humans can reach true happiness, and delves deeply into the definitions of true happiness (eudaimonia) and virtue, and outlines how virtue and happiness are intertwined. Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics deals with metaphysics, and focuses on ides like soul, happiness, virtue, and friendship. In Nicomachean Ethics, he concludes that happiness ultimately derives from activities of the soul that are in accordance with virtue. Says Aristotle "happiness is an activity of soul in accordance with perfect virtue" (Book I).
Aristotle argues that the life that leads to the most happiness is a life of philosophical contemplation. However, he acknowledges that in order to achieve this life some members of a city-state must live a life of politics, adhering to the principles of justice, the highest of the virtues.…
Works Cited
Aristotle. Nicomachean ethics: edited with a commentary by G. Ramsauer. New York: Garland, 1987.
inegalitarian systems in society. The writer explores how they operate and argues that they damage not only the ruled but the ruler. The writer uses several angles to argue this point and illustrate the ways the ruler is negatively impacted by having such a society under him or her. There were eight sources used to complete this paper.
Throughout history societies have struggled to discover the most palatable way to exist. Some societies work on the premise that equality is the answer while others believe class systems pave the way for success. The inegalitarian systems that have been and are currently in place have received a lot of scrutiny in recent years. The inegalitarian system of society promotes the idea that class systems work. Whether it is the cache system of India or the class system seen in other nations those who live them and those who rule them often…
References
Lindblom, Charles. The Market System: What It Is, How It Works, and What to Make of It
Yale Univ Pr; (September 1, 2002)
Israeli society divided (Accessed, 4-10-2003)
http://mondediplo.com/focus/mideast/israel-5-1-en
Marx further included that finally the biased behavior of the working class will end this dictatorship period, and a class less society will establish. He believed that for the formation of this society people need to launch an organized movement against the dictatorship and only a successful revolution would lead to the formation of society of "Communism" (Skoble, 2007).
When we talk about the political philosophy, we can observe that both John Locke and Karl Marx are in favor of the idea that when there is a need of change then an organized revolution is compulsory. People cannot get their rights until they demand for it because it's natural thing that you need to raise your voice in order to get your right otherwise other will keep it as their own possession.
The point of differ come when we talk about the scenario in which both of them forwarded their…
References
Riemer, N., & Simon, D. (1997). The New World of Politics: An Introduction to Political Science. San Diego: Collegiate Press.
Skoble. (2007). Political Philosophy: Essential Selections. London: Pearson Education India.
Tully, J. (1993). An Approach to Political Philosophy: Locke in Contexts. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Jean Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx are famous political philosophers, whose ideas in many ways had influenced the development of social formation in modern times, and what is most interesting is that ideas of both were realized in certain ways on practice. Jean Jacques Rousseau prophesied modern democratic institutions that laid into the fundamental of many modern nations; his ideas of "social contract" are the main principles of modern democracy, parliamentary political systems and relations between nation and state. On the other hand the ideas of Karl Marx, who explained an "unavoidable crash" of society with capitalist relations, into a new formation governed by the "dictatorship of proletariat" or a state with no private property, failed to be effective instrument of political and social regulation and did not meet the expectations, probably because the societies where those ideas were tested were not ready at all for radical changes. As both…
Plato and Machiavelli can be considered theorists of the ideal state, and each gives a high position to the military and military arts in achieving and maintaining order in society. However, they do have different views of the ultimate place and purpose of the military. hat each has to say about the military reflects on the nature of the rest of their philosophies as expressed by Plato in The Republic and by Machiavelli in The Prince.
In Plato's Republic, the philosopher uses Socrates to investigate the nature of the city-state and what the ideal city-state should be. The philosophical inquiry in this dialogue addresses two primary conceptions, conceptions which are linked under the heading of idealism, with one detailing Plato's epistemology and the other his political philosophy. The first is a metaphysical consideration of the nature of life and the world and how we can know what we know, while…
Works Cited
Plato. The Republic (tr.: Desmond Lee). New York: Penguin, 1987.
Machiavelli, Nicolo. The Prince (tr.: W.K. Marriott). New York: E.P. Dutton, 1948.
history political philosophy sources political stability instability Machiavelli? Source: The Prince (Machiavelli), cited work the Prince My thesis Statement:The Prince, written 1513, intended a guide gave advice effective ruler stay power.
Niccolo Machiavelli's 1513 political treatise "The Prince" deals with a series of matters concerning political stability and the means available to make it possible. Considering that the writer lived in a period dominated by political instability, it is not surprising that some of the methods he proposed in order to restore order were somewhat unorthodox. From his perspective, moral acts were in certain situations pointless, as people actually needed to be controlled with the help of manipulating techniques. Machiavelli was basically interested in promoting the concept of evil, even with the fact that he attempted to mask this by posing in a person deeply concerned about his nation. He considered that in order to be able to control a…
Works cited:
Machiavelli, Niccolo. "The Prince," Plain Label Books, 1952.
Nederman, Cary, "Niccolo Machiavelli," The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2009 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
.....ethics cannot avoid claims to universal truths, political philosophy cannot avoid the efficacy of universalism. Relativism is too convenient a response to resolving conflicts of interest and divergent views of governance. However, an alternative to the universalism versus relativism debate lies in Rawl's concept of justice as being the fundamental tenet of a constitutional democracy. Rawls also bases his concept of justice and political philosophy on the underlying importance of consensus (Baier, 1989). Interestingly, consensus implies a utilitarian ethical framework, which Rawls (1985) claims to move away from: "as a practical political matter no general moral conception can provide a publicly recognized basis for a conception of justice in a modern democratic state," (p. 225). Rawls means that consensus enables universal justice and fairness, but not a justice rooted in religious or moral precepts. A political philosophy like Rawls's that is focused on justice cannot distance itself from universalism, especially…
American Political Philosophy: epublicanism
Within this paper, the general theory of republicanism will be presented. The conceptualization of republicanism discussed within the paper as an American political philosophy will be based on The Federalist Papers written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison in 1787. Initially, a brief overview of relevant background information on The Federalist Papers will be provided. This will be followed by a discussion of the primary components of republicanism as set forth within the works of Hamilton, Jay and Madison. A summary and conclusions will then be provided.
Overview of The Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers have been suggested as representing one of the most important writing in American political thought (Yarbrough, 1986). It represents a collection of 85 letters written by Hamilton, Jay and Madison under the pseudonym of Publius. The letters were written to the American public and were initially published in a…
References
Hamilton, A., Jay, J. & Madison, J. (1961). The Federalist papers. C. Rossiter (ed.). NY: New American Library.
Yarbrough, J. (1986). The Federalist. News for Teachers of Political Science, (Spring 1986). 7 June 2003: http://www.apsanet.org/CENnet/thisconstitution/yarbrough.cfm..
Philosophy
While there is plenty to criticize in the work of Descartes, Locke, and Hume, one cannot justifiably claim that Jose Vasconcelos criticisms of traditional Western views on the nature of knowledge apply to these theorists if only because Vasconcelos' criticisms do not really apply to anything, as his criticisms are largely based on straw men. This is not to say that traditional Western views on the nature of knowledge should be free from criticism, but rather that the problems with these traditional views are more fundamental than Vasconcelos realizes, to the point that Vasconcelos suffers from many of these same issues. Essentially, both Vasconcelos and the previously mentioned authors suffer from a simply ignorance regarding the functioning of the human brain, the nature of consciousness and memory, and the evolutionary processes by which organisms and ideas evolve, with this ignorance born out of an implicit or explicit maintenance of…
Political Psychology
Discuss how the politics - is - complicated that model is different from symbolic racism in terms of the outcomes these forms of racism produce. Use two examples to substantiate your arguments.
In many democracies, one of the core principals is respecting the rights of everyone. This is in spite of race, income or ethnicity in determining opportunities and how an individual is living their life. On the surface, this is the ideal of all democracies, yet underneath it all there are various challenges. This is because there are a wide variety of political forces that will have an impact on the forms of racism that are produced.
One way to understand these different views are with the politics -- is -- complicated model. This is when someone will base their beliefs about racism and equality on other political factors. The objectives with this kind of philosophy are…
Bibliography
Cashmore, E. (2001). Symbolic Racism. London: Sage.
Cottam, M. (2010). Introduction to Political Philosophy. New York, NY: Psychology Press.
Freeman, D. (2000). The Jim Crow Laws and Racism. New York, NY: Enslow Publishers.
For John Locke, government "…should be limited to securing the life and property of it citizens"; and government should allow freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. He was opposed to "hereditary monarchy" and supported human rights (especially in his more mature years).
As to how these political theories connect with environmental policy in the U.S.: first, the environmental policies in the U.S. are under attack by the Republicans in the House of Representatives. Their recent bill, H.R. 1, passed in February 2011, contained 19 anti-environmental riders that would "negatively affect air, water, and environmental quality," the Sustainable Energy & Environmental Coalition explained. The right wing in Congress wants to take power away from the Environmental Protection Agency as well. Hume would likely approve of the Tea Party and GOP as to their disavowal of global climate change; he would agree that the U.S. federal government is too big and…
Work Cited
Bartleby.com. (2009). Athenian Ephebic Oath. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from http://www.bartleby.com/73/100.html .
Bohn, Henry G. (1854). The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke. Volume I (London:
Henry G. Bohn), pp. 446-8.
Hume, David. (2007). David Hume, That Politics May Be Reduced to a Science. The Founders
Philosophy and Morality
INSTRUCTIONS The exam consists essays. Please essays document. Please plagiarize. Be paraphrase verbatim language authors putting quotation marks. You document sources, -text citation ( footnotes) a reference page.
Philosophy
John Arthur's "Morality, Religion, and Conscience,"
A concern on the relationship between morality and religion is an ancient argument that continues in philosophy in the present times. The argument is mainly on whether morality emanates from an institution or religious background. Theologians in their numbers provide unwavering support the argument that a unifying absolute force or God provides universal moral guidance. The importance of observing morality and religion as independent on one another but related in some way has been argued by other philosophers (Lyons 479). John Arthur argues that morality and religion are not interlocking in relevant manners. Arthur argues that morality in independent from religion and religion does not influence moral action. It is his contention…
Works Cited
Arthur, J. "Morality, Religion, and Conscience." In Morality and Moral Controversies: Readings in Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy. Ed. edition, by John Arthur. Seventh. Upper Saddle River, N.J.:: Pearson Prentice Hall:, 2005. Print.
Hare, R.M. Moral Thinking: Its Levels, Method and Point. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. Print.
Lyons, William. "Conscience - an Essay in Moral Psychology." Philosophy 84.330 (2009): 477-94. Print.
Merle, Jean-Christophe. "A Kantian Critique of Kant's Theory of Punishment." Law and Philosophy 19.3 (2000): 311-38. Print.
In his book, Government and Politics: A Documentary History of Kong, Steve Tsang (1995), discussed the pre-transitional government and history of that government in Hong Kong. For all intents and purposes, the government in China's influence over Hong Kong was virtually non-existent since the UK's presence on the island (271). In fact, the political environment in Hong Kong was one that made it safe for the island to receive political refuges (Ash et al. 199). There was concern that those individuals would be very much at risk in a post hand over environment.
In a study conducted by Lee-In Chen Chiu, Ding Yi, Si Joong Kim, on Bae Kim, Reginald Yin-ang Kwok, Hong Yung Lee, Karen Eggleston Lee, Li uwei, Shelley M. Mark, Manuel F. Montes, Richard Pomfret, Alvin Y. So, Shi Min, Sung Shou ei, Yibo Xu, Zhang Zhongli, Lishui Zhu, Sumner J. La Croix, Michael Plummer, Keun Lee;…
Works Cited
http://www.questia.com /PM.qst?a=o&d=98000082' target='_blank' REL='NOFOLLOW'>
orks Cited
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5014679198
Babuna, Aydin. "National Identity, Islam and Politics in Post-Communist Bosnia-Hercegovina." East European Quarterly 39.4 (2005): 405+.
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5021483873
Lischer, Sarah Kenyon. "Military Intervention and the Humanitarian "Force Multiplier." Global Governance 13.1 (2007): 99+.
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002379425
Mangum, Ronald Scott. "NATO's Attack on Serbia: Anomaly or Emerging Doctrine?." Parameters 30.4 (2000): 40.
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002428204
Mertus, Julie a. "Legitimizing the Use of Force in Kosovo." Ethics & International Affairs 15.1 (2001): 133+.
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5012238644
Petras, James. "The Meaning of ar: A Heterodox Perspective." Journal of Contemporary Asia 35.4 (2005): 423+.
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5024612690
Piiparinen, Touko. "The Lessons of Darfur for the Future of Humanitarian Intervention." Global Governance 13.3 (2007): 365+.
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001290275
Shank, Gregory. "Commentary: Not a Just ar, Just a ar - NATO's Humanitarian Bombing Mission." Social Justice 26.1 (1999): 4+.
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=106744168
Sloan, Elinor C. Bosnia and the New Collective Security. estport, CT: Praeger, 1998.
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001203447
Talbot, Karen.…
Works Cited
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Unlike Plato, Machiavelli had a much less idealistic view of leadership in mind. or, rather, his view of leadership was not wrapped up in a personal view of ethics and virtue. Plato obviously believed, after all, that the best leader would be the wisest and the most moral. It was these qualities that should be encouraged and these qualities that would make said individual a superior leader. Machiavelli argued implicitly that this was an erroneous understanding of human nature and the characteristics that constitute excellent leaders. At the heart of Machiavelli's description of the perfect leader, his idealized prince, is the argument that personal virtue and ethics are completely unrelated to public success (Kemerling). Hence, from this we see that the good leader will not necessarily be the same as the virtuous individual. This assertion stands in stark contrast to Plato's argument about the nature of leadership and highlights the…
Works Cited
Kemerling, Garth. "Machiavelli: Principality and Republic." Philosophy Pages. 27 Oct. 2001. 17 Nov. 2007 http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/3v.htm .
Korab-Karpowicz, W.J. "Plato's Political Philosophy." The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Bilkent University. 2006. 17 Nov. 2007 http://www.iep.utm.edu/p/platopol.htm .
epublic, Plato conceptualizes the concept of the good primarily in terms of justice. Justice in turn extends from and manifests as harmony, both at the macrocosmic or universal levels as with the movement of the celestial bodies, and at the microcosmic or mundane levels as in political or social life. Plato also discusses the nature, essence, and importance of absolute good as an archetypal Form. The Form of Good is the seed of all things good, just, and harmonious in the universe. Plato is only slightly less concerned with Good from a moral standpoint, as the philosopher seems to take for granted that moral Good and virtue fall under the rubric of the Form of Good. In Leviathan, Hobbes's concern with good has much more to do with the process of critical thinking and understanding the relative nature of human judgment. Human concern with good reflects the constant need to…
References
Hobbes, T. (1651). Leviathan. Retrieved online: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3207-h/3207-h.htm
Plato (360 BCE). The Republic. Translated by Jowett, B. Retrieved online: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html
Medieval Political Thought
How did Augustine of Hippo's and Thomas Aquinas' views of the role of human free will in the process of salvation shape their different views of political theory?
For Augustine, there could be two cities -- the City of Man, which would essentially be a society without grace or goodness -- and the City of God, which would be a society that conformed to the will of God, participated with grace, and worked to perfect itself in accordance with the Commandments of God. One would be an imperfect society (the former) and the other would be a perfect society. Essentially, the City of Man is a system in which all endeavors are geared towards earthly happiness whereas in the City of God, endeavors are geared towards a spiritual happiness with God, enjoyed fully in the next life if one is good and dies in the state of…
Bibliography
Aquinas, Commentary on Nichomachean Ethics. Dumb Ox Books, 1993.
Aquinas. Commentary on the Politics. IN: Hackett, 2007.
Aquinas, Notes
Augustine. City of God, transl. Marcus Dods. Hendrickston, 2009.
philosophical approaches to the study of equality presume that equality is an ideal, and suggest methods by which to achieve maximum equality. However, some philosophical approaches deny the inherent value of equality or an egalitarian society. All philosophical viewpoints relate equality to morals or ethics, primarily because equality is deemed an ethical objective. Using a utilitarian philosophical perspective, equality is an ethical ideal that presumably maximizes happiness for the greatest number of people. A deontological ethical perspective would similarly note that equality is an ethical ideal, not necessarily because it leads to a consequence like happiness, but because equality is inherently good.
"Equality is a contested concept" in philosophy and politics, but equality is actually fundamental to all practical applications of political philosophy (Dworkin, 2002, p. 2). Decisions made about things like taxes or due process of law hinge on a theory of equality. Similarly, access to health care, education,…
References
Arneson, R. (2013). Egalitarianism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved online: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egalitarianism/
Dworkin, R. (2002). Sovereign Virtue. Harvard University Press.
Gosepath, S. (2007). Equality. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved online: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/equality/#DefCon
Rodrigues, T.C. (2014). Is Rawls's difference principle preferable to luck egalitarianism? 2014 Undergraduate Awards. Paper 7. Retrieved online: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=ungradawards_2014
piety in Plato's Euthyphro
Euthyphro is a young man who is turning in his own father for committing the murder of a slave. Euthyphro first responds to Socrates that piety is defined as 'what he [Euthyphro] is doing in a tautological fashion (Ross 2012). Eventually, when pressed, Euthyphro creates his real first definition, stating that piety is what is pleasing to the gods. However, Socrates points out that what is pleasing to the gods is very ambiguous. The Greek gods often contradict themselves in terms of the values that they celebrate and according to mythology are constantly at war with one another. "Prosecuting his father may have been pleasing to Zeus, who overthrew and imprisoned his father, but not pleasing to Ouranos or Kronos, who were both victims of their sons. Euthyphro's actions would thus be hated by the older gods, even if loved by Zeus" (Ross 2012). And Socrates…
Works Cited
Ross, Kelly. "Comments on the Euthyphro." The Proceedings of the Friesian School. 2012.
http://www.friesian.com/euthyph.htm#four
Locke vs. Marx
The principles of the Enlightenment have come down to the modern world through the governments which are in currently in place. Any representative form of government, throughout the world, can trace it's roots back to John Locke and the Enlightenment principles he espoused in his Two Treatises of Government. In this book, first published in 1690, Locke spelled out his ideas on government; how it derived it's powers from the consent of the governed, how their was a contract between the government and the governed, and what restrictions and obligations each had to each other, and to the rest of society. Locke sought to establish the rules for a civilized society, based upon what he viewed as the "laws of nature," in order to create a stable and prosperous society in line with the natural state of mankind. A century and a half later, Karl Marx espoused…
Works Cited
Locke, John, and Peter Laslett (ed.). Two Treatises of Government. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1988. Print.
Marx, Karl. "On the Jewish Question by Karl Marx" Marxist Internet Archive. Web 30 Apr. 2011. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/jewish-question/
Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, and L.M. Findlay. The Communist Manifesto. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2004. Print.
Philosophy
Kuhn's ationale on the Irrationality of Scientific evolutions
"Communities in this sense exist, of course, at numerous levels. The most global is the community of all natural scientists."
~Thomas S. Kuhn, from The Structure of Scientific evolutions
To understand Thomas Kuhn's ideas regarding scientific revolutions, one must have a grasp on Kuhn's ideas relating to the history of science in general. Kuhn's perspective on the history of science is that scientific knowledge is not accumulative. He did not perceive the accumulation of knowledge as linear. Thus, before Kuhn explains the irrationality of scientific revolutions, he explains the irrationality of the historical picture of science in general. The paper will contend that scientific revolutions are irrational because science is irrational. As will be demonstrated by Kuhn and other authors, there is no specific logic as to why some theories and paradigms become popular and other do not. To paraphrase Kuhn,…
References:
Andersen, H., Barker, P., & Chen, X. 'Kuhn's mature philosophy of science and cognitive psychology.' Philosophical Psychology, Volume 9, issue 3, 1996, p. 347 -- 363.
Bird, Alexander, 'Thomas Kuhn', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.), , 2011 (accessed 2012 March 14).
Budd, J.M., & Hill, H. 'The Cognitive and Social Lives of Paradigms in Information Science.' , 2007 (accessed 2012 March 15).
Eng, L. 'The accidental rebel: Thomas Kuhn and The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.' STS Concepts, , 2011, (accessed 2012 March 14).
This idea was accepted by most of the philosophical schools of the time, including the Atomists.
Plato took quite a different approach and found that ideas, as noted, and saw idas as existing outside of human consciousness. Plato's doctrine of recollection holds that learning is the remembering of a wisdom that the soul enjoyed prior to its incarnation, another aspect of the idea that there are ideal forms "remembered" by the soul in this world, and this is actually a mythical statement of this view that neither reason nor the intelligible order that it reveals is alien to the human soul. The soul is seen as existing before life here on earth and as remembering the ideals it knew before birth. Protagoras would not have engaged in this sort of argument, jus as he avoided arguments about the existence of the gods as being outside of sensory experience.
3. Plato's…
Political thinkers throughout the ages have considered the meaning of citizenship and the relationship that does and/or should exist between the citizen and the state. The meaning of citizenship has been addressed in different ways by various schools of thought, beginning with the Greeks. Citizenship means the state of belonging to a collective, a state, and an important element that emerges from Greek, Roman, and early Christian thinkers is that citizenship both confers rights and requires the fulfillment of responsibilities for an individual to be considered a good citizen. Definitions of being a good citizen include clarifying the relationship between the individual and his or her society, as can be seen in the political writings of Plato and the philosophical and ethical writings of Confucius. Plato identifies the good man with the good citizen, and what makes the individual good also makes the individual a good citizen. Confucius would agree…
Philosophy
The Value of Philosophy: The subject of philosophy concerns itself with understanding of the self, humanity and the universe in an attempt to arrive at or define a "unified, coherent, systematic world view." (Para 4, p. 35)
Such broad definitions of philosophy often lead to a viewpoint that philosophy is of interest only to the world of academia, characterized as it is by debate and the lack of consensus. While it is true that philosophy may be considered to be eternally evolving, perhaps in keeping with the very evolution of human kind, the fact is that the study of philosophy holds immense personal and practical value for the simple self-evident truth that philosophy pervades every aspect of life: "...a moral being, a social and political animal, an appreciator of art and beauty, a perceiver and knower, a scientist, a religionist...all these aspects of humanity and self are areas of…
(Ng, 1994, p. 93)
The philosophy of Confucius was based essentially on that of human relationships expanded to the sphere of the state, and even beyond into the cosmos. ight conduct and proper action among individuals and groups would result in an ordered universe, one that operated according to the proper laws. By cultivating these believes and following these rules one could hope to produce a society that was perfectly ordered and self-perpetuating. The Confucian ideal of leadership has endured today among many, not only in China, but in many parts of East Asia, and has even attracted followers in the West, for it addresses the issue of responsibility as a metaphor for virtue and harmony.
Far less idealistic were the ideas of the enaissance thinker, Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli lived in Italy at a time when its various princes were contending for power. The region was riven by war and…
References
http://www.questia.com /PM.qst?a=o&d=97002683' target='_blank' REL='NOFOLLOW'>
Knowledge and truth were considered absolute and immutable by these two, though for very different reasons, which is the complete antithesis to the empirical theories of Popper, Peirce, Kuhn, and James. The progression of knowledge in the face of such certainty could only result in pure growth from previously established claims, as no truth could ever be said to exist that was not thoroughly and absolutely proved by careful extrapolation from a priori conclusions.
Several interesting anthropological occurrences have convinced me that the empirical method, with its possibility for the adjustment of truth based on the framework or paradigm from which the determination of truth is made, is a much better way of understanding truth and the concept of "absolute certainty." Cultures exist that have no concept of, or words for, time. "Yesterday" and "today" are meaningless concepts that do not exist. The extreme difficulty of communication that this presented…
Works Cited
Burch, Robert. "Charles Sanders Peirce." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/peirce/#dia .
Kessler, Gary. Voices of Wisdom: A Multicultural Philosophy Reader, 5th Edition. New York: Wadsworth Publishing, 2003.
Pinter, Harold. "Nobel Lecture: Art, Truth, and Politics." 2005. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2005/pinter-lecture-e.html ,
Thornton, Stephen. "Karl Popper." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2009. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/popper /' target='_blank' REL='NOFOLLOW'>
Philosophy of Life
Humans have a distinguishing nature, which defines the way they think, act, and feel. The human nature has influenced the culture that humans have kept with each other. In my observation, humans have a distinct culture that defines their operations and activities. For many years, many studies have been carried out to establish the human nature, which defines all human beings. Various views on the nature of human beings have been developed to explain human behaviors and mannerisms. Aristotle and Plato argued that humans may be explained as conjugal animals because they couple when adults to build household. It is also argued that humans are political animals with the potential of developing complex communities besides being mimetic (Oruka, 1996).
ecent years have seen the development of modern views on the nature of humans, such as, a being with potency to think, develop, and replicate. This modern view…
References
Corning, P. (2003). The Fate of Humankind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Evernden, L. (1998). Humankind and Environment. New York: University of Toronto Press.
Evans, E. (2012). Philosophy for Life. New York: Ebury Publishing.
Oruka, O. (1996). Philosophy, Humanity and Ecology. London: DIANE Publishing.
Political and eligious Boundaries
Byzantium historically was the eastern side of the oman Empire that was the result of the religious, political and cultural schism that occurred between East and West in the 2nd Century AD. The city of Byzantium, or Constantinople, was located in a major strategic trading area between the Adriatic, Black and Mediterranean Seas. As the Western oman Empire declined, the "New ome," or Constantinople, became a blend of cultures and viable for about a millennium. Most scholars agree that it was the only long-term stable state in Europe that protected most of Western Europe from the emerging Islamic Empire. It was the most advanced economy in the Mediterranean area until the enaissance, with trading networks that extended through most of Eurasia and North Africa, as well as the beginning of the Silk oad. Without this economic power, it is unlikely that there would have been funding…
REFERENCES
Dursteler, E. (2006). Venetians in Constantinople: Nation, Identity, and Coexistence in the Early Modern Mediterranean. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Jacoby, D. (2007). Review of Venetians in Constantinople. The Sixteenth Century Journal. 38 (4): 1156-7.
King, M. (2007). Review of Venetians in Constantinople. Renaissance Quarterly. 60 (1): 155-6.
See: Diamond, J. (2011). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed: Revised. New York: Penguin Books; Huntington, S. (2011). Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon and Schuster.
- these actions are not punished by the law because, while immoral according to many, they do not cause injury to the rights of others.
Adam Smith further emphasizes the centrality of property rights. For Smith, the ownership and acquisition of private property is an essential right that contributes to and maintains individual well-being. Individuals who do not own property are individuals with no real say in their own affairs, and no voice in their government. Smith cites the case of the plebeians in the Roman Empire as an example of a class of people who were purposely kept from ownership of the land as a means of keeping power in the hands of the patricians.
He also makes reference to the slaves of his own day, and to residents of nations where a king may, at his own discretion, dispose of his subjects' property, as examples of conditions under…
Works Cited
http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=8772886
Kant, Immanuel. Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals. Trans. Thomas K. Abbott. New York: Liberal Arts Press, 1949.
A www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=10553988
Locke, John. A Letter concerning Toleration. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Liberal Arts Press, 1955.
Philosophy
In his discourse, The Republic, Plato describes the "ideal state" as composed of three social classes: the merchant class, military class, and philosopher-kings. The merchant class maintains and provides service to the society by safeguarding the people's economic activities, while the military class provides the society's security needs. However, in order to establish a stable society, the class of philosopher-kings must govern, having the knowledge, skills, and talent to govern and lead over the society politically. Moreover, the philosopher-king is appropriate for the role of a political leader because he (Plato assigns the role to men) possesses virtues of temperance, courage, wisdom, and justice. These three classes provide balance in the society in terms of the security, prosperity, and leadership, thereby establishing what Plato calls the "ideal state."
Aristotle's philosophy on happiness and the good life is illustrated in his discourse, the Nicomachean Ethics, wherein he posits that in…
Never the twain shall meet would be an appropriate descriptive. The prime example of this form of federalism is the U.S. government during the late 1700s through the early 1900s. With "dual" federalism, both separate and shared powers are present.
Marble-cake (or co-operative) federalism is "one big happy family" federalism. Co-operation between state and federal government is its signature. The two levels of government are actually one big government, interwoven and pursuing the same goals together. Crime reduction, better education for our children, and global warming are issues that both state and federal levels would be working on together with the same sense of accomplishment. Co-operative federalism became prominent in government between roughly 1930-1960.
s a matter of fact, under the original dual federalism during the early years of our country, each state that came into the Union was offered a "partnership" with the federal government. Every state knew what…
As a matter of fact, under the original dual federalism during the early years of our country, each state that came into the Union was offered a "partnership" with the federal government. Every state knew what they were getting into. The federal government could declare war, coin money, control immigration, sign treaties, appoint ambassadors, interpret laws, and control interstate commerce. These powers were granted to the federal government by the Constitution, Articles I-IV, and Article VI. Powers granted to the states consisted of passing laws within their territories, controlling health, police, education, marriage, voting requirements, and even trash collection. These were granted by Article IV and the Tenth Amendment. Shared powers were to levy taxes, create courts, and to create laws for the general welfare. These joint powers were based in the Tenth Amendment.
After the Civil War, the federal government began to exercise its own rights separate from the states with its newly gained momentum and responsibilities gained from winning the war. The layered-cake form of dual federalism came forth with both federal government and states operating independently but the federal government trying to retain control. This increasingly layered-federalism held until 1930, when, with FDR and the New Deal, brought us out of the Depression through the use of numerous federal programs that he delivered to the states for employment. It was an era of cooperation. With WWII and the Korean War, that era of cooperation continued.
Today, in the U.S. we are closer to dual -- modified layered cake -- federalism. However, for now, it is a devolving fiscal federalism as well. That is, the federal and state powers are separate as spelled out above. However, more fiscal responsibility is being "devolved" or delegated back to the states which are closer to the economic problems they face. The federal government is giving billions of dollars back to the states to cover programs and budget deficits.
When professors work with students with special needs they should always be certain to create an inclusive environment that encourages all students to shine. Moreover, community college professors need to develop curricula that honor diversity whenever possible. A comprehensive teaching philosophy for the community college professor therefore expands student awareness of diversity as well as of their subject matter. The community college instructor must also keep in mind that many students will have families, part-time, or full-time jobs and must therefore respect the needs for students to juggle differing demands. Professors should always listen to their students needs: if work loads appear too hard for many students then the professor should consider reducing them. Expanding awareness also includes helping students network. The community college professor should introduce students to various campus organizations, clubs, other classes, and community resources. The instructor should direct students to campus bulletin boards and career development…
Obama endorsed an Illinois handgun ban while he was serving in the Illinois state legislature and also supports a ban on semi-automatic weapons. However, the current President professed his support for the Second Amendment, stating that he supports restrictions to keep guns out of the wrong hands, not a full prohibition. In Illinois he co-sponsored a 2000 to limit consumer purchases of firearms to one gun per month -- although he also supported 'conceal carry' laws for retired police officers ("Gun control," on the Issues, 2008).
The spike in gun sales has more to do with political posturing than reality: gun owners wish to demonstrate their opposition to Obama's system of values, as conceptualized in the red-blue divide that currently exists in the United States. In this polarized media positioning, Obama represents urban elitism and government control, despite his actual policies. The NRA and the gun industry has used this…
Works Cited
"Gun control." On the issues. 2008. June 5, 2010.
http://www.ontheissues.org/gun_control.htm
Kinzie, Susan. "GWU adds ethical focus to business school." The Washington Post.
September 15, 2008. June 5, 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/15/AR2008091502975.html
As one of the dominant types of business organization that developed in the age of modernism, corporations allowed the public and individuals to actively participate, and in part own, shares on the profits of a particular business through the corporation. The emergence of corporations reflected the increasing complexity of business organizing in the age of modernism, wherein more merchandise is produced, hence necessitating more capital to produce these merchandise, which are then generated through investments given by the public or specific business-minded individuals. Along with the development of corporations, there has also been an increase in marketing strategies wherein surplus products are produced and marketed through different strategies, among which advertising is considered as the most effective and dominant. Initially, advertising and marketing was just formulated to distribute surplus products manufactured by companies, until surplus production became the norm in the manufacturing business, and marketing and advertising imperative strategies for…
Because of their unwillingness to wear protective equipment they are putting the entire workforce at risk for injury.
The advantage of using this theory is that it allows one to come up with a fairly simple equation that can be used to determine the number of people affected and by how much. The disadvantage of this theory is that it is sometimes hard to figure out how to assign units of happiness to the actions that you are trying to measure (Shaw & Barry, 2007, pp. 45-46). There are many elements of subjectiveness when trying to apply this theory, but in this particular case I feel that the danger that all workers would be exposed to far outweighs some individuals that would be happier not wearing their protective equipment. Not only is their danger to the workers but there is also dangers to the plant as a whole. If a…
References
Shaw, W.H. & Barry, V. (2007). Moral issues in business. (10th ed.). USA: Thomson
Wadsworth
ecent proposals to privatize Social Security and cut Medicaid funding would thus exacerbate the equity gaps that already exist." (Center for American Progress, 2004)
When a young black man is accepted into a university-based wholly on quota requirements even though he may have had less success in High School compared to a young white man, then we must again redefine our word - inequality. Who is worse off in this case? Consider that in this scenario, it may in fact be an advantage for a person to be young and black but as the scale tips with age, that same advantage becomes a liability. The answer to our question then, at least for this example, is maybe.
Third Assumption
Economic independence may be the outcome when wage work is an option. but, there are many scenarios where wage work puts people into an even worse economic setting. Consider that minorities…
References
Carden, William Art (2003). What is Wealth Inequality? Ludwig von Mises Institute, May 22, 2003,. Retrieved March 16, 2005, from Ludwig von Mises Institute Web Site: http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?control=1229
Center for American Progress. (2004, March 26). Inequality in America. Retrieved March 16, 2005, at http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=40526
Philosophy
This includes previously mentioned measures such as increased governmental spending, directing funds towards education and health sectors etc.
Referring to Liberalism, we should first of all point out that liberalism does not necessarily limit its perceptions only to economic equality, as is the case with Socialism, but it extends its beliefs to the sector of civil and individual equality. This means that liberalism has always found itself as a promoter of human rights, as a sustainer of political freedom and the right to self - determination.
Going forth from these social and political perceptions, the social equality that liberalism promotes naturally leads to a policy of tolerance at a societal level. Liberal governances are generally know to be tolerant in terms of rights for social or religious minorities.
On the other hand, in terms of economic policies, liberalism promotes equality rather through the laissez-faire philosophy, through the capacity of the…
They study the book of Jafaar al-Saadaq. They also believe Ali is the purpose of life and the divine knowledge of the prophet Mohammed, which actually rises him above the Prophet in their eyes. The religion is also very secretive, and they do not publish their texts or share them with other sects.
The Alawites recognize the Five Pillars of Islam, but do not believe that anyone can practice them because no soul is pure enough to practice them. They also do not believe in a back door entrance to heaven.
The evolution of political Islam actually began during the age of Imperialism, when there was widespread corruption and oppression in the Muslim world. The politicization of Islam was a result of Muslim fundamentalists and Islamic revolutionary movements rising up in protest over this treatment, along with protests against corrupt Muslim regimes in the region. These revolutionaries hoped to create…
The parents, teachers, and other adults express their id desires on South Park too. The core human instincts that Freud discussed in his theories, such as instinctual aggression, become common motifs on South Park. elated to the aggression instinct, Freud's theory of the death wish is also present on almost every episode of the show. Until recent years of the production, the character Kenny was killed in every show. The creators of South Park have honed in on the instinctual desire for aggression in the human species, depicting violence in comedic but intense ways. The depiction of violence on South Park would seem to suggest that Freud was correct in his assumption that aggression pervades human nature. Many of the characters on the show throw tantrums, kill each other, and in general express their aggression. The huge following that the show enjoys also illustrates that Freud might not have been…
References
David Hume." Wikipedia. Online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hume .
Soren Kierkegaard." Wikipedia. Online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kierkegaard .
South Park. Television series on Comedy Central.
Thomas Hobbes." Wikipedia. Online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbes .
eligion has the ability to give people hope especially the hopeless. Despite the harsh situations and challenges that people face, religion plays a fundamental role of giving them hope and optimism from which they draw strength. eligion is also an agent for socialization. It is no doubt meeting with other believers for religious events is more than just practicing faith (eeve 2006).
People use the opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones, sing together and above all socialize. Interactions can be a powerful source of happiness to individuals. eligion provides more than just individual hedonism to guide behavior. In essence, religion provides guidelines for faithful to follow and in the end live an orderly and moral life (Furness & Gilligan 2010). Even though people appear to be happier within the spheres of religion, many researchers show that people in relatively nonreligious nation are the happiest lot. Scandinavian societies…
References
Eid, Michael, & Larsen, Randy J. (2008). The Science of Subjective Well-being. Guilford Pubn.
Fitzgerald, J.T., Obbink, D., & Holland, G.S. (2003). Philodemus and the New Testament world. Leiden: Brill.
Furness, S., & Gilligan, P. (2010). Religion, belief and social work: Making a difference. Bristol:
Policy.
In fact, we see that the ruling minority calls upon the ruled majority even for the power to defend itself against the ruled majority, since the ruled majority constitutes the armies of the ruling minority.
Mosca writes: "But the man who is at the head of the state would certainly not be able to govern without the support of a numerous class to enforce respect for his orders and have them carried out; and granting that he can make one individual, or indeed many individuals, in the ruling class feel the weight of his power, he certainly cannot be at odds with the class as a whole or do away with it. Even if that were possible, he would at once be forced to create another class, without the support of which action on his part would be completely paralyzed."
Here, Mosca establishes that the ruler has no love for…
B (d)- the 1950s was an Era of dramatic change. America's victory in World War II pushed America into a predominant role politically and economically. America was "rich," and expected to help other countries, but was going through its own crises at home, and growing pains socially and economically. Several large trends occurred during the 1950s, the Cold War between the United States and the U.S.S.R. developed, Africa began to be decolonialized throwing the economic and political situation out of balance, the Korean War brought the United States into another global conflict, tensions heated up in Egypt (the Suez Canal Crisis) and Cuba (Castro and the Cuban Revolution), and America went through a turbulent time with Anti-Communist feelings and Senator Joseph McCarthy's accusations and focus on the purported threat of communist spies inside the State Department (itzgerald, 2007, pp. 40-5; Gold, 2008).
After the war years, the Civil Rights Movement…
Fitzgerald, B. (2007). McCarthyism: The Red Scare. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books.
Gold, S. (2008). Loving v. Virginia - Lifting the ban Against Interracial Marriage. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.
Halberstram, D. (1993). The Fifites. New York: Villard Books.
A similar pattern can be observed in Italian and Japanese societies during the same period that Germany was recovering from the world war. Japan was experiencing not only the effects of the Sino-Japanese conflict, but was also experiencing difficulties with an ongoing conflict with Russia. Because of these political conflicts, Japanese society was also in economic strife, but the political will and ambition of the Meiji leaders strengthened nationalism among the Japanese, which in effect led to a stronger nation that helped it become a dominant member of the Axis Power. Lastly, Italy was also recovering from the First World War, and the need to re-establish a stronger and economically prosperous nation became possible for the Italians under the leadership of Fascist leader Benito Mussolini. These circumstances helped these three countries establish strong nationalist movements that will eventually be the reason for the formation of the Axis Power.
The development…
Putnam (2000) suggests that trust already exists within societies, when clearly there is evidence that it does not exist, and that people are not confident in who is in control (Domhoff, 2005). Putnam (2000) argues that it is important to have a strong and very active and aggressive civil society within the United States to consolidate democracy. Many of the traditions of independent civic engagement have been lost according to Putnam, and are now replaced with passivity among the peoples of the United States; far too often civic engagements rely on the "state" making civil societies as described by Putnam (2000) weak and incapable of developing. Putnam's idea of social capital is the view that social capital is a resource that is ingrained in norms and in social trusts, and it is these norms and trusts that help facilitate collaborative actions and help communities cooperate so they can achieve mutual…
References
Dahl, Robert Who Governs? 2005. Democracy and Power in an American City, Second edition. Boston: Yale University Press
Domhoff, William G. 2005. Who Rules America? Power, Politics and Social Change.
New York: McGraw Hill: Higher education
Putnam, Robert D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American
S., political decisions and the policies supported by legislators in Washington are, according to many critics, inappropriately subject to the influence of lobbyists. Of course, the most common defense of politicians is that lobbyists never actually receive political favors for their contributions, but merely enjoy greater "access" to voice their concerns to legislators. Obviously, this is a very convenient fiction that completely violates Rousseau's suggestion. The simple truth is that lobbyists, such as the large tobacco companies, prescription drug manufacturers, and the National Rifle
Association (to name just a few of numerous examples) contribute large sums of money to political campaigns and provide every conceivable "perk" allowed by law to legislators for the express purpose of influencing legislators to support laws that are beneficial to their causes.
Rousseau's third and fourth points are equally insightful. As bad as it is for government authorities to misuse established laws, Rousseau points out…
This is a natural development, and is part of a general process of change. This process can be seen in historical context, just as the modern world built in and changes the ideas of the period known as the enlightenment, which in turn built in the period known as the renaissance.
In the past there has been the creation of ideas on the way that people should view and interpret the world. The post modernist approach is different, arguing that reality will be subjective. In other words, there is no single correct model reality; it will vary between different people and reality will always be subjective. There are many post modern philosophers that put forward the idea that the universe is not seen in the same way by everyone, these philosophers include Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and ichard orty.
In the past, especially following the enlightenment, it was assumed that…
References
Morality as Ideology, Chapter 13, supplied by the student
Star Trek and the Post Modern Society, Chapter 1, supplied by the student
More importantly, Sen argues that the collaborative approach would be a more successful route to reducing population growth. Among the ideas mentioned by Sen would be incorporating better public education to promote genuine understanding of problems and the reasons why changing certain behavior would be appropriate. In general, Sen expresses the confidence that Hardin lacks that many people could be taught long-range morality the same way many people already learn or absorb short-range morality. In that regard, it is simply not the case that most people behave appropriately toward others only because they fear the legal consequences of doing otherwise. Sen also implies that government could still play a role in encouraging the choice to have smaller families but in positive rather than negative ways. For example, federal and state agencies could provide monetary rewards for single-child families such as in the form of subsidized education, or childcare, or college…
Finally, logic consists of the study of formal argument and is fundamentally related to other branches of philosophy and to the process of human reason, more generally.
he metaphysician might study such things as where the lines are properly drawn between identifying something as living or nonliving, whether our perception of being alive necessarily means that we are alive, and whether or not we can trust that we are awake and not merely dreaming that we are awake (aylor, 2002). he epistemologist might study whether (and how) one can know whether our assumptions and perceptions are capable of yielding information on the basis of which any conclusions can be drawn at all. he epistemologist would be concerned with how we know what we know and with what we can possibly know, whereas the metaphysician would be concerned with understanding the nature of what we perceive around us (aylor, 2002).
Axiologists…
Taylor, R. (2002). Freedom, Anarchy, and the Law: An Introduction to Political
Philosophy. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus.
Wiley, C. "The ABC's of Business Ethics: Definitions, Philosophies and Implementation" Industrial Management, Vol. 22, No. 5 (1995): 27-34.
Justice, political philosopher John Rawls looks at the idea of social justice and the individual rights of the individual by redefining the last 200+ years of the American experience. In general, he looks at the manner in which the Founding Fathers were correct by basing their views on previous social contract theorists like Locke and Rousseau. For example, there is a clear linkage between John Locke and Rawls that validates the ideas of liberalism within American society. In fact, Rawls notes that the American Experience extended the concept of justice far beyond hat any of the Enlightenment philosophers ever hoped (Rawls, 1957).
Rawls (1921-2002), an American philosopher who focused on moral and political philosophy, believed that the principles of justice are the models that rational individuals who are free would choose as basic ways to cooperate within their society. He called this position the original position, in that it was…
Works Cited
Kamm, F. (2007). Intricate Ethics: Rights, Responsibilities and Permissible Harm. New York: Oxford University Press.
Rawls, J. (1957). Justice as Fairness. Philosophical Review. 54 (22): 653-62.
Rawls, J. (1999). A Theory of Justice. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
Rawls, J. (2001). A Theory of Justice. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wulf, S.J. (2000). "The skeptical life in Hume's political thought. Polity, 33(1), 77.
Wulf uses David Hume's well-known skepticism to advance his concerning the extreme degrees to which philosophy had been taken before returning to less radical modes. He develops material about the antithetical ideas to those investigated here; that is, he puts into a context the ideas of those philosophers who, working at the edge of the intelligible, refused to "accede to the judgment of reason and even their own senses."
ukav, Gary. (1984) the dancing Wu Li masters: An overview of the new physics. New York: Bantam.
One of the first statements ukav makes in this book is that he found, visiting the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in Berkeley, California, that physics "was not the sterile, boring discipline that I had assumed it to be. It was a rich, profound venture, which had become inseparable from philosophy. Incredibly, no…
Zumbrunnen, J. (2002). Courage in the Face of Reality: Nietzsche's Admiration for Thucydides. Polity, 35(2), 237+. Retrieved July 13, 2005, from Questia database, http://www.questia.com .
The Hundredth Monkey Theory is this: On a desert island at least 20 miles from another desert island, one of the monkeys decides to wash his fruit in the ocean before he eats it. Soon, his fellow monkeys see him doing it and follow suit. There is no communication between the first and second islands; nonetheless, one day shortly after the final monkey on the first island begins to wash his fruit, the monkeys on the second island begin to wash their fruit. They did not hear it through the 'monkey grapevine.' In New Thought, they heard it because ideas, thought to be intangible, are actually tangible, traveling in ways as yet unknown to us throughout the universe and popping up as 'new' ideas.
This story, if one wants to trace it through quarks and string theory and even the fact that airplanes and bumblebees are both incapable of flight but do it anyway, marries science and philosophy very neatly.
Progress of History: Hegel, Nietzsche and Heidegger
For Hegel, the idea of the progress of history was tied to his immersion in the world of Enlightenment and Romantic writers and thinkers. He lived at a time when the French Revolution occurred and reshaped the direction of history. The Revolution expressed and institutionalized new ideas about Reason (literally deified by the Revolution) as well as socio-political philosophy regarding fraternity, equality and liberty. Hegel came to maturity during this era and for him, philosophy consisted of a clash of forces -- and the old world concept of philosophy (the love of knowledge/wisdom) was what Hegel sought to transform in The Phenomenology of Spirit, as he clearly states in the book's Preface: "To help to bring philosophy nearer to the form of science -- that goal where it can lay aside the name of love of knowledge and be actual knowledge -- that…
Medieval Philosophy
In the introduction to the Greenwood series the Great Cultural Eras of the Western World, A.D. 500 to 1300, is described as the Middle Ages.
"Borders and peoples were never quiescent during these tumultuous times." Schulman (2002). Germanic tribes had invaded and settled in the former oman Empire, and the synthesis of three cultures -- the classical, Christian, and Germanic -- had begun. In the sixth century, Clovis had completed the Frankish conquest of Gaul; the Vandals controlled North Africa; the Visigoths, forced to retreat from southern Gaul by the Franks, continued to dominate Spain; and the Angles and Saxons had settled in Britain. At the same time, the emperors of the Eastern Empire, Constantinople, thrived. " ... The oman papacy began to play an independent role in European society." Schulman, (2002) says "Pepin needed papal support to become king. Schulman, (2002, p. viii) It is later commented…
References
Adams, M.M. (1999). What Sort of Human Nature? Medieval Philosophy and the Systematics of Christology. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press.
Burch, G.B. (1951). Early Medieval Philosophy. New York: King's Crown Press.
Driscoll, J. (1966) The New Book of Knowledge Encyclopedia. New York: Grolier's
Glick, L.B. (1999). Abraham's Heirs: Jews and Christians in Medieval Europe (1st ed.). Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.