In order to fully understand Eliot’s statement, it would be helpful to locate the statement in Eliot’s essay and then speculate its meaning within its context. Right before the quoted passage, Eliot writes, “if were agreed as to what we meant by wisdom, by the good life for the individual and for society, we should apply moral judgements to poetry as confidently as did Johnson” (Eliot 212). It seems Eliot implies that Johnson is confident about his moral judgement because there is a consensus in society on what is right and what is wrong. Consequently, when Johnson reads a text, it is relatively easy for him to judge the morality of this work, whereas Eliot’s time is “an age in which no two writers need agree about anything” (Eliot 212). For this reason, Eliot laments that readers in his age must endeavor to “discount [the] attraction or repulsion” of “the ideas, as well as the personality of the author” (Eliot 212). Yet in Johnson’s age, the relatively homogenous value system, Eliot believes, frees Johnson from the struggle to dissociate the work from the author’s idea. Johnson can simply disregard the author and weighs the text against the commonly accepted value, as Eliot says, “what interests Johnson is the edifying power of the poem, rather than the deliberate intention of the poet” (Eliot, 212). In other words, Eliot portrays Johnson as an disinterested critic who is only interested in how a text reflects the commonly accepted morality. In this sense, Johnson is able
Recall: In the “Why Should We Be Moral,” Rachels makes several important points: 1) The Ring of Gyges illustrates how behaving immorally can sometimes be to one’s advantage. Glaucon argues that all of us would behave like Gyges, if we thought we could get away with it. 2) Rachels points out that it is a good thing for you if other people live ethically, but it becomes another ma²er if you are bound by moral constraints.
The ethics of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) generally emphasize the necessity of morality and reason when it comes to certain actions. In his Moral Philosophy lecture, he discusses the essential human action of sexual desire and impulse. When reading Of Duties Towards the Body in Respect of Sexual Impulse, Kant describes why sexual impulses are immoral and how marriage is the only condition under which sexual impulses are permitted. Kant is right about certain sexual impulses being immoral but sex only after marriage isn’t as common as it used to be in his day and age. In this essay, I plan to argue how Kant’s views on moral and immoral sexual impulses are still present in today’s society but have changed over time. I am convinced that this is
By looking through a critical lens at T Stearns Eliot’s poetry in light of his 20th century, modernist context, much is revealed about his personal and the rapidly evolving societal beliefs of that era. Through his repeating motif of time and fragmentation throughout his poems, Eliot reveals the prevalent feelings of isolation while in society along with the need to hide one’s feelings and emotions in this degrading society. His exploration of the use of ambiguity and stream of consciousness by Eliot, which is a characteristic of modernist artists, allows his work to resound over decades while being interpreted and differently understood by every audience that encounters them.
Victorian period was a distinct period in history that is marked for being an Age of Faith where the old traditions and cultures had renewed emphasis on everyday life. However, it was also a period of economic prosperity that resulted in the growth of industrialization and science. The scientific theories such as Evolution and “Higher Criticism”, which was a scientific study of the Bible, resulted in the Victorian period also being classified as “Age of Doubt” which brought gradual collapse of longstanding religious beliefs. This complex relationship of Victorian period being both the Age of Faith and Doubt
Who was Eliot Ness? Nearly anyone knows Ness’ accomplishments in Cleveland when he went up against Al Capone. Most also know Capone eventually went to jail for tax evasion, but what happened to Ness and his Untouchables? Did they merely fade away into quiet life? The fate of Ness was quite the opposite, he continued doing what he fell in love with. Taking down corruption on any level. He carried on his war on the mob for an entire decade after Capone, staging daring raids on bootleggers, illegal gambling clubs and generally putting organized crime on the run. Ness’ exploits in Chicago were chronicled in his book The Untouchables, but if he had carried on against the mob, why wouldn’t he publicize such
James Rachels' article, "Morality is Not Relative," is incorrect, he provides arguments that cannot logically be applied or have no bearing on the statement of contention. His argument, seems to favor some of the ideas set forth in cultural relativism, but he has issues with other parts that make cultural relativism what it is.
An alderman went into Eliot’s office and tried to bride him to drop the whole investigation about Al Capone’s case, However, Eliot did not listen to him and “Kick him out the office.
Kant had a different ethical system which was based on reason. According to Kant reason was the fundamental authority in determining morality. All humans possess the ability to reason, and out of this ability comes two basic commands: the hypothetical imperative and the categorical imperative. In focusing on the categorical imperative, in this essay I will reveal the underlying relationship between reason and duty.
The lady in the cape meets Sweeney at a tavern and undertakes to get him
Eliot is not solely criticising modern life in the poem, it also serves as a reflection of Eliot’s social context and his own life, a product of its time.
Thomas Stearns Eliot was not a revolutionary, yet he revolutionized the way the Western world writes and reads poetry. Some of his works were as imagist and incomprehensible as could be most of it in free verse, yet his concentration was always on the meaning of his language, and the lessons he wished to teach with them. Eliot consorted with modernist literary iconoclast Ezra Pound but was obsessed with the traditional works of Shakespeare and Dante. He was a man of his time yet was obsessed with the past. He was born in the United States, but later became a royal subject in England. In short, Eliot is as complete and total a
Would you describe a dog as capable of being evil? Or a cat? Or a chimpanzee? Most likely you could not. We humans belong to the taxonomic kingdom of Animalia and are therefore animals. Our species has evolved from animals that looked and acted more like the modern chimpanzee than we do. So at what point did we go from being creatures of instinct do developing the concept of morality? A great deal of literature has been written about morality, examples of which can be located in fiction and non-fiction as well as in scientific, theological and philosophical fields. Specific examples include the bible, as well as the writings of Plato (c. 424-348 BCE), Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) and John Steinbeck (1902-1968). Morality is a trait that
Q5 "Much of what Eliot writes about is harsh and bleak, but he writes about it in a way that is often beautiful". Comment fully on both parts of this assertion.
This quote is a proposition for gay sex at a hotel, a sort of thing that was considered very immoral at the time. Eliot thought that emptiness in culture was giving way to sexual immorality. This point is brought up again a few lines later;
Now that both sides have been established, those stakeholders who favor and those who oppose the policy in question, each of their argument 's evidence and reasoning will be analyzed. The corresponding pages which follow will provide an understanding of each side through three developed sections: a critical analysis, moral reasoning, and a tentative solution. The critical analysis will thoroughly measure to what level an argument 's authoritative, accuracy, reliability, precision, applicability, and etc. is able to represent their claims. At the same time the critical analysis includes a judgement call on whether or not a side 'wins ' or 'loses ' each of their arguments based upon the strength and weakness of the argument 's claims and evidence. The moral reasoning section will then secondary the value of each side 's evidence, and focus on analyzing each side 's moral reasoning, or rather, evaluating what "values, obligations, consequences, and normative principles" present reasonableness to their position on morality. Following these two sections of analysis, a conclusion will be made on which of the two sides makes an overall stronger, more conclusive and moral argued solution to the normative question.