Ethical elativism
Allen Bloom wrote one of the most controversial books of the late-20th Century, in which he denounced the demise of the core curriculum at elite U.S. universities and it replacement by what he considered to be a vague sort of postmodern relativism from the 1960s onward. As he understood it, this new liberal worldview held that no cultures could be morally superior to any others and that anyone who believed the Western world might be were simply absolutists and ideologues whose worldview led to "wars, persecutions, slavery, xenophobia, racism and chauvinism" (Bloom 1990, p. 568). Students arrived at the university having been thoroughly trained and indoctrinated in these relativistic ideas, in which the only sin was to be ethnocentric or prejudiced. Without knowing it, they were under the influence of modern liberal and progressive philosophers like John Dewey, John awls and John Stuart Mill, who regarded intolerance and prejudice…...

mla

References

Bloom, A. (1987). The Closing of the American Mind. NY: Simon & Schuster.

moral relativism in business want to design a car. The car needs to be light weight, and at the same time powerful, safe, and fuel efficient. As my engineer works at his drawing board, the results of field tests and mathematic equations come back that conclude it is impossible for a vehicle to be all of these things. Sacrificing weight to gain fuel efficiency decreases power and safety. Making a more powerful vehicle by increasing horsepower requires larger components, and a more substantial frame to mount the power plant. As a result the fuel efficiency is decreased significantly.
Then one day, my engineer came with a wonderful suggestion. We needed to change the physical laws of gravity, Newton's laws of motion, and the coeffiecnt of wind resistance. Then the forces which are keeping the car from being light weight, powerful, safe and fuel efficient would be modified in such a was…...

The fact that the video went on Youtube is not correct, but in the end we must value if this harmed the woman's image or not. Looking at the recording we notice that the face of the woman is not visible. One can not even tell if it is a woman or a girl, since the camera was too far in order to record details. This means that it was impossible to know the identity of the person who fell. Taking this into consideration, it is safe to say that there was no damage even after the video became viral.
Did something bad happen? The incident was unusual, falling into a fountain is not something one would expect. The woman must have been a bit scared and also ashamed. It is true that it would have been nice to have someone ask her if she was ok and perhaps offer…...

But ultimately, in practice, relativism in action is saying that no system of ethics has been valid for all time, and relativism and subjectivism are constantly evolving in creative dialogue with history and other circumstances. For example, perhaps a long time ago, a division of labor between the sexes made sense, when brute force was necessary for survival, to catch game and to defend cities, and when women had to spend a large portion of their lives bearing children. However, now that technology is responsible for so much of obtaining food and defending the nation, and the more psychological care of fewer children can better be accomplished through the participation of both parents, such a gendered division of labor is inefficient and makes poorer use of human resources, even from an objective point-of-view. And relativism allows the subjective feels of women who feel their talents are underused to be…...

The main concern in virtue ethics becomes about a person's moral character. When people choose to develop their moral character, better virtues will be created, and thus there will be more people acting in virtuous ways in all aspects of their lives -- and this includes how they treat all animals.
One example to be considered when thinking about how a person with a strong sense of virtue might behave is to counter it with how a person with a strong sense of duty might behave. From a duty sense, if one were a livestock farmer, he or she might believe that his or her duty lies in what is best for the people because, after all, the job is about raising livestock for slaughter, which will then become food for people. Therefore, the first duty would be to humans and the second duty to animals (Panaman 20008) (which may…...

mla

Bibliography

Garner, R. (2005). Animal ethics. Cambridge: Polity.

Gruen, L. (2011). Ethics and animals: An introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press;

1st edition.

Hursthouse, R. (2000). Ethics, humans and other animals: An introduction with readings. New York: Routledge.

Ethical Subjectivsim
Ethical subjectivism

Ethical subjectivism could also be called 'relativism,' or the notion that there is no external, objective moral authority. We as humans create our ethical norms, and ethics are culturally contextual. Ethical subjectivism stands in contrast to objectivism, which holds that there are objective moral standards by which all moral actions should be judged. "Moral statements are made true or false by the attitudes and/or conventions of the observers, and any ethical sentence just implies an attitude, opinion, personal preference or feeling held by someone" (Ethical subjectivism, 2012, Philosophy Basics).

A good example of this can be seen in the pragmatic philosophy of William James. In his Varieties of eligious Experience, James argued that all faiths were effectively divided into two categories: that of the 'religion of healthy-mindedness' and the 'sick soul. "We have all known or met people who seem happy all the time, who are convinced of the…...

mla

References

Agler, David. (2012). Lecture 3: Ethical subjectivism and emotivism.

http://davidagler.com/retired/teaching/ethics/Lecture_3_Ethics_Subjectivism.pdf

Ethical subjectivism. (2012). Philosophy Basics. Retrieved:

 http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_ethical_subjectivism.html

The Vietnam War was a turning point in the Army's growing realization that senior military leaders, and not just political leaders, had a responsibility to be able to speak to soldiers, to the American people, and to the press about ethical issues.
The Professionalism Study of 1970, examined institutional systems and requirements for success in the Army, attitudes and values of senior officers, and tasks for the 1970s. One of the striking conclusions of the first study was that the Army contained "untoward and unhealthy pressures to strive for success" on the part of officers. Systems that regulated the selection, education, promotion, and reward of Army officers were in need of major correction.

It was clear that the Army needed to evaluate its concepts of values and ethics.

During the decades of the 1970s and 1980s senior commanders in all the services began to exert their influence on the direction and content…...

mla

Bibliography

Angelo, T.A., & Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd edition). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Carter, D. & Wilson, R. (1995). Thirteenth annual status report on minorities in higher education. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

Farris, P. (1996). Teaching, Bearing the Torch. Madison, WI: Brown and Benchmark

Publishers.

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

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

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

mla

Works Cited

"Kant's Moral Philosophy." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., 23 Feb. 2004. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. .

MacKinnon, Barbara. Ethics: theory and contemporary issues. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub. Co., 1995. Print.

"Virtue Ethics." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., 18 July 2007. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. .

"What is Ethical Relativism?" Philosophy - AllAboutPhilosophy.org. N.p., 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. .

Booker Prize-winning novel Amsterdam by Ian Mcewan is not really about euthanasia per se; it is about the twisted relationships between the two main characters, Clive Linley, composer, and Vernon Halliday, newspaper editor. Deeply affected by the death of their mutual friend and lover Molly Lane, Clive and Vernon agree that if they should ever exhibit the symptoms of some deadly illness, that they agree to assist the other in euthanasia. Thus, the two friends initially start out by presenting a view of euthanasia that is strongly ethical; euthanasia is a meaningful and sometimes even necessary means to alleviate unnecessary suffering. After all, life is already filled with enough suffering. Extension of life by a matter of days, weeks, or even years does not necessarily equate with promoting the values inherent to a good quality of life.
As the events of the novel progress, however, Vernon and Clive demonstrate that their…...

mla

Works Cited

McEwan, Ian. Amsterdam. New York: Anchor, 1999.

Other less formal societal virtues may not be controlled by the state, but violation of social norms may often result in social rejection and other spontaneous negative consequences in public. For example, Jews and Muslims do not eat pork products or shellfish, Hindus do not eat cows, and in the United States, dogs and cats are considered pets exclusively, and rats considered filthy vermin; none of them are eaten. In many parts of India, cows are considered sacred and (depending on which particular society) rats are either revered and pampered in religious temples or trapped in large numbers for food. In many parts of the U.S., transvestites are considered social deviants; in parts of Indochina, they are celebrated.
The Argument for Objective Virtue:

Aristotle believed in universal truths, although he wrote less about exactly what virtues in particular emanate from those truths. Objective virtues are those that relate in some very…...

Ethical Analysis #2
Nursing Issue/Dilemma

Nurses face dilemmas of an ethical nature on a regular basis. This effectively means that from time to time, nurses are called upon make ethical decisions -- decisions that could have a huge impact on the well-being of patients. One of the current ethical issues being faced by nurses is whether or not to lie to patients. ecently, it was revealed that psychiatrists and nurses caring for dementia patients were actively practicing what Williams (2013) refers to as "therapeutic lying" in an attempt to keep the said patients happy. As a matter of fact 98% of nurses, as William further points out, admitted to lying to dementia patients. The question that ought to be answered in this case is; should nurses withhold some potentially upsetting information about diseases that happen to be life-threatening?

B. Ethical Principles and Theories at Issue

The ethical principles at work in this case are…...

mla

References

American Medical Association -- ANA (2014). Short Definitions of Ethical Principles and Theories: Familiar Words, What do they Mean?  http://www.nursingworld.org/mainmenucategories/ethicsstandards/resources/ethics-definitions.pdf 

Corner, J. & Bailey, C.D. (eds.) (2009). Cancer Nursing: Care in Context (2nd Ed.). Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.

Williams, A. (2013). Dementia sufferers told white lies to keep them happy: Nurses and psychiatrists admit 'therapeutic lying' to confused patients. Retrieved from  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2410811/Dementia-sufferers-told-white-lies-happy-Nurses-psychiatrists-admit-therapeutic-lying-confused-patients.html

Ethical treatment of prisoners is a complex question, involving the nature of the prison system in the U.S. And the nature of those incarcerated in it, as well as ethical obligations that individuals owe to society as well as those that society owes to those who are imprisoned. Deontological ethics might hold, for example, that those who have violated the law and the basic moral norms of society deserve to be punished but at the same time even those convicted and imprisoned have certain basic human rights. For example, they have the right to food, clothing, shelter and medical care, and cannot be tortured, abused or brutalized. Another problem from a deontological perspective would be to criticize a society where blacks and Hispanics are a minority of the population but also the majority of the prison population, including those on death row. Indeed, they are more likely to be profiled,…...

mla

REFERENCES

Capital Punishment (2011). Bureau of Justice Statistics.

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=18

Prison Inmate Characteristics (2009). Bureau of Justice Statistics.

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=132

Ethical Treatment of Prisoners
The treatment of a society's prisoners has been an issue of debate for centuries. The emotions surrounding such treatment are considerable and reaching a consensus on the best and fairest method is often difficult. Torture is considered illegal in most civilized societies and, therefore, in order to maintain an acceptable level of treatment an alternative and more humane approach must be established (Filter, 2000).

There presently exist two leading schools of moral thought: utilitarianism and deontology (Gibbs, 1977). Despite what has been characterized as great differences between the two schools they seem to agree on most substantive issues.

Utilitarianism argues that the right action is the one, out those available, that maximizes one's total happiness. In the prisoner treatment situation this results in considering the emotional pain, physical discomfort, expense, and time involved in housing the prisoner against the advantages garnered by society such as retribution, justice, removing bad…...

mla

Bibliography

Bentham, J. (1988). Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Buffalo: Prometheus Books.

Filter, J.A. (2000). Prisoner's Rights: The Supreme Court and Evolving Standards of Decency. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press.

Gibbs, J. (1977). Social control deterrence and perspectives of social order. Social Forces, 408-423.

Kant, I. (2010). Critique of Practical Reason. Seattle: CreateSpace.

elativism and Mortality
Goodman and elativism

For centuries, philosophers have debated the nature of our ethics and laws. Many have seen them as a relative concept, under the structure of relativism, where there is no universal foundation for the structure of ethics and law because individual societies differ so dramatically and should have their own ethical structures relative to their unique needs and structures. However, Lenn E. Goodman tends to disagree with this concept as seen in contemporary practice, stating that such a philosophy leaves the environment too open for interpretation and impractical for modern use, and as such some concepts within in relativism are simply off track.

elativism is a concept within philosophy and ethics that asserts there is no specific universal truth or need. ather, as each society varies, so do its own unique truths and needs. In this regard, the ethics, laws, and assertions within each society should vary in…...

mla

References

Goodman, Lenn E. (2010). Some moral minima. The Good Society, 19(1), 87-94.

Descartes and Relativism
How might a philosopher such as Descartes reply to epistemic relativists such as Barnes and Bloor?

Philosophers who prescribe to the concept of moral and ethical relativism believed that right and wrong choices of any given situation are merely socially constructed and that what people decide fit into either of these categories is determined by the society in which the person lives. Philosophers through the ages have continually disagreed about the fundamental reasoning behind why people behave in the ways that they do. Relativists believe completely that moral standards and thus what constitutes ethical behaviors are relative in that they are socially constructed. What may be appropriate in one culture will not be considered moral or ethical in another social setting.

Descartes' most famous quotation "I think therefore I am" began the trend of philosophers to question truth and whether or not it even exists at all. This is the…...