Moral Actions
Honesty and deceit. Compassion and Neglect. Benevolence and malevolence. All these represent the extremes in the spectrum of morality. From the general societal viewpoint, the former represents the attitudes which should be admired, rewarded and emulated, while the latter represents the attitudes which should be abhorred, punished and discouraged. Now philosophers, not being satisfied with leaving things well enough alone, endeavour to discover why this is so. Why do we admire acts of kindness? Why do we loathe acts of malice? It is generally thought that the crux of this question of morality has to do with the magnitude of selfishness accounted for in the acts and thoughts of individuals. If we can think of
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Surveying every shadow, analyzing every movement. Waiting. Realizing that its cover is blown, the cheetah cuts through the grass like a farmer's scythe. The chase begins. Eventually, the cheetah gets the better of one of the gazelles. Perhaps it had a bum leg, perhaps it was weak. One crushing bite to the windpipe ends the chase. What better illustration of life than this Discovery Channel scenario? Nietzsche would have loved the Discovery Channel because it illustrates Nietzsche's definition of life as a 'will to power'. The will to power is any organism's natural inclination to overpower, appropriate and exploit others in a way that best benefits the organism. The cheetah is exercising its will to power by chasing, killing and devouring the gazelle. The gazelles will to power is to escape, robbing the cheetah of sustenance. No one would find fault with the cheetah in injuring and killing the gazelle, just as no one would find fault with the gazelle if it happened to contribute to the death of the cheetah by starvation. We ourselves are animals as well, therefore, how can we be blameworthy when we exploit, and overpower other organisms, Nietzsche asks. We are just as entitled to life as any other organism, and being so, we have the natural right to exercise our will to power. Therefore, any notion we have of 'treating others as we would want to be treated', is faulty and
Director and actor Spike Lee presents his "truth" about race relations in his movie Do the Right Thing. The film exhibits the spectacle of black discrimination and racial altercations. Through serious, angry, and loud sounds, Lee stays true to the ethnicity of his characters, all of which reflect their own individualism. Lee uses insulting diction and intense scenes to show how severe racism can lead to violence.
In a health care organization, it is important that the organization’s mission, philosophies, and ethics are followed through properly. . With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is no different. . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “mission is to protect people’s health and to support the quality of life in humans by prevention and control of diseases, injuries, and disabilities” (About CDC, 2010, page or paragraph number with quotes). With the organization's mission, philosophies, and ethics it is important that everyone’s health is protected and proper prevention of diseases, illnesses, and disabilities are given to the public in a timely manner. In this paper, the members of Team A will “describe
When thinking about morality, it is necessary to consider how aspects from both nature and nurture, along with free will, may form ones moral beliefs and dictate ones moral actions. To understand how moral beliefs as well as actions formulate and operate within individuals and societies, it is imperative that a general definition of morality is laid out. Morality, then, can be defined as ones principles regarding what is right and wrong, good or bad. Although an individual may hold moral beliefs, it is not always the case that moral actions follow. Therefore, in this essay I aim to provide an explanation that clarifies the two and in doing so I also hope to further the notion that one’s moral framework is a product of all three factors; nature, nurture, and free will. The first part of this essay will flush out what exactly morality it and how it manifests similarly across individuals and differently across individuals. Contrariwise, I will then explain how morality manifests similarly across societies and differently across societies. Alongside presenting the information in this order, I will trace morality back to primordial times to showcase how morality has evolved and developed since then, not only from a nature-based standpoint, but also from a
Different organizations are driven by specific sets of code of ethics, which are used to protect many different aspect of the organizations, specifically the client, counselor, and organization. Concerning the standards of a counselor, their ethics are not only provided by the laws of the state or their practice, but also outside sources who present basic values and regulations of ethical standards in their code of ethics. This paper will look at two specific associations: the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Association
There is no such thing as “absolute good” but “good for”. Whenever I meet my defining moment, I think about the question, “Whose good should I be serving?” I am not saying to evaluate whose interests are more valuable, but to evaluate whose interests are more important TO ME. There are three principles for me to evaluate different interests. The first is the interest’s indirect impact on the third party. For example, the police are investigating a theft and I know who the thief is. I must
Morality is defined as a system or code that we humans use to differentiate between right and wrong. This system could be derived from a number of factors: religion, culture, and upbringing. It is difficult enough to determine what an individual's morals are, but going further to determine how we came to possess those morals is even more ambitious. Still, regardless of its difficulty, this subject consumes many philosophers and psychologists. One such moral psychologists, Jonathan Haidt, is theorizing the possibility of evolution causing ones morality. Haidt is a moral psychologist at the Universtiy of Virgina further believes that complex social structures such as religion and politics as well as our need for social structures affect
The weather is sizzling hot and tensions are slowly coming to a boil in this Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn neighborhood. Slowly but surely we see the heat melt away the barriers that were keeping anger from rising to the surface. The Blacks and the Hispanics own the streets the Koreans own the corner store and of course the Italians own the pizzeria, the Cops who happen to be all Caucasian, prowl the streets inside out, looking for anyone to harass. Toes are then stepped on and apologies are not made. Spike Lee creates the perfect set-up for a modern day in Bed-Stuyvesant. Without fail Spike Lee is transformed into an anthropologist. Spike Lee’s goal is to allow viewers to glimpse into the lives of real people and into a neighborhood they
Throughout history morality has been a topic of intense debate. Innumerable thinkers have devoted immense amounts of time and energy to the formulation of various ethical theories intended to assist humans in their daily lives. These theories set out guidelines which help to determine the rightness or wrongness of any given action and can therefore illuminate which choice would be morally beneficial. And while many of these theories differ substantially, most have at least one common underlying principle, namely that humans deserve to be treated with a certain level of respect. This idea comes from the belief that all humans have interests which are significant enough to be considered, hence no one should impede another
The question of what constitutes morality is often asked by philosophers. One might wonder why morality is so important, or why many of us trouble ourselves over determining which actions are moral actions. Mill has given an account of the driving force behind our questionings of morality. He calls this driving force “Conscience,” and from this “mass of feeling which must be broken through in order to do what violates our standard of right,” we have derived our concept of morality (Mill 496). Some people may practice moral thought more often than others, and some people may give no thought to morality at all. However, morality is nevertheless a possibility of human nature, and a
A code of ethics is a set of written principles regarding conduct and behavior created by the organization to serve as a guide. The purpose of ethical codes is to give its employees, management, and any interested party a reference point that adheres to company policy, standards, and ethical beliefs. The code is made visible to the public to ensure professional integrity, quality, and to prevent misguided conduct. Regardless of the organization or governing body a code serves as a go-to guide because ethical issues can stem from anywhere at any given time. The Code of Ethics for Nurses is so dynamic because as technology changes, so does the code to ensure that updated knowledge is provided to healthcare workers as they address new ethical
Morals, values and ethics define who we are and what we believe. Culture, religion, and many other things affect our beliefs. One uses various types off ethics when surrounded by different groups. Knowing between right and wrong is a good foundation to practicing good ethics and morals. These things make morals, ethics, and values important in society.
In today's world, individuals can make a single decision that can have a profoundly positive or negative effect on their family, their employer, coworkers, a nation, and even on the entire world. The life we lead reflects the strength of a single trait: our personal character. Personal ethics are different for each person but for the most part, people want to be known as a good person, someone who can be trusted, and he or she are concerned about his or her relationships and personal reputations. As we go through this paper, we will focus on answering what are ethics, what are your ethics, where do your ethics come from, and how do you manifest your ethics?
Ethical behavior is often seen as amoral when used for persuasive purposes. This is possible because persuasion may be used in unethical situations as well as ethical situations. Either way, it depends upon the person who is trying to persuade others. Adolf Hitler is an excellent example of someone who persuaded millions of people to behave unethically. On the other hand, Mother Teresa used persuasion for ethical reasons by caring for the sick and the orphaned, and because of this has impacted an entire world.
The word “ethics” comes from Greek ethikas meaning character. Today, we use ethics to describe the normative standard of behavior. The history of philosophical ethics has been broken up into five rational methods: Virtue, Traditional, Modern, and Post-Modern Ethics. Within these periods, the philosophy of ethics changed along with the changes being made within society.
Everyday we are tested as individuals to make the right choice. How we view ourselves as individuals and how others view us are directly correlated to our moral decision-making. But morals are somewhat misleading. What might be a wrong decision for one person might be a solution to another. So how do we define morals? Do we follow Gods’ moral rules because to do so would increase out likelihood of obtaining salvation in the afterlife? Or is it simpler than that. Is God going to deny our entrance into heaven because we have run a stop sign here and there? No. I believe our moral values are much simpler than that. I believe that our moral decision-making comes from our upbringing of what is right or wrong. Our parents and