In “Some Moral Minima,” Goodman states, “if it is true that no norm can be made unless some other is compromised, and are there no rules to tell us that principles are principles – no norms delineating concretely, and uncompromisingly, wrong from right?” (Goodman, 2010, p. 87)
Every society has customs and traits that make them distinctive to which each of these customs belong to people. Cultures and societies all have different moral standards. Lenn E. Goodman, states that we as humans and the societies we constitute can be wrong, unjust, vicious, tragically or self-deceivingly (Goodman, 2010, p. 88). When it comes to right and wrong, there is because neither what is virtuous within a particular individual, culture nor society’s morality must be understood and taken into consideration (Mosser, 2010)
Bimal Matilal, a young Oxford scholar made an effort to distinguish relativism from pluralism. Which he named four: respect for life, deference to truth, abhorrence of theft, and rejection of adultery which where are worthy of universal support. (Goodman, 2010, p. 89).
Goodman, then goes on to listing four areas of relativism and morals in which he feels are just wrong and should be eliminated. They are (1) genocide, politically, induced famine, and germ warfare; (2) terrorism, hostage taking, and child warriors; (3) slavery, polygamy, and incest; and (4) rape and female genital cutting (Goodman, 2010, p. 89).
I feel that Mr. Goodman is correct about his decision that genocide, politically, induced famine, and germ warfare that genocide, famine, and germ warfare wrong. Genocide is targeted towards individuals who are members of a particular group, who are out to destroy a race, a cultural, a linguistic, or ethnic identi...
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...eone’s body but their personhood, invested, deeply in one’s sexuality.
Cliterodectomy, Goodman explains this is the chief organ of a woman’s sexual gratification and orgasmic satisfaction robs her in adulthood. (Goodman, 2010, p. 92)
Works Cited
Genocide. (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Retrieved April 28, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/genocide
Genocide. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from Goodman, L. E. (2010). Some moral minima. The Good Society, 19(1), 87-94.
Kaplan, E. (2005, December 2). Child soldiers around the world.
Mosser, K. (2010). Introduction to ethics and sOcial responsibility. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education.
Researcj, T. (2011). Terrorism research.
Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/genocide
Lawyer: the word genocide, is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular nation or ethnic group.
To start off with, what is genocide? Genocide is the killing of a massive number of people of in a group. Genocide has not only been practices in the present day, but it has been practiced for m...
...everal times since the Holocaust, and the previous three are a few of the worst. These tragedies that occur throughout history are caused purely by fellow human beings, and it is up to human beings to stop them. As Jack Schwartz says, “Genocide is an attempt to exterminate a people, not alter their behavior.” It is the responsibility of not one, but all. The world needs to make these crimes against civilization come to a halt, once and for all.
Throughout his essay, Professor Beckwith critiques the arguments primarily used to support moral relativism from cultural and individual differences. Beckwith states that there are four main problems with moral relativism: relativism does not follow from disagreement, disagreement counts against moral relativism, disagreement is overrated, and absurd consequences follow from moral relativism.
When a group feels as if their existence is threatened by another group, the only solution to their problem is the extermination of the opposing group. Genocide is also used to carry out systematic efforts in destroying enemies which will send out warning to other potential enemies. Acquiring economic wealth by destroying a group which stands in the way of that benefit is also another reason genocide is carried out. Finally, to create a “pure race” which means everyone practices the same way, follows the same culture, and the group who does not fit the guidelines, will be exterminated. The Center on Law and Globalization is a charitable organization which presents news about devastating problems in countries across the world. Its authors are reporters and journalist who experience firsthand the problems these countries are facing. In the article, Why Do Genocides Occur? Published by the Center on Law and Globalization, the conditions under which genocide usually occurs includes: when the victims are excluded, which means they have lost their citizenship and denied their rights, in crisis, when their government is in ruins, or in a dictatorial
The word genocide was derived from the Greek root genos (people) and the Latin root cide (killing), and did not exist in the English language until 1944, which was the end of World War II (Power). According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, genocide is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.” Such violence occurred during the Holocaust and during the separation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The problems of ethnic cleansing and repression have become so prevalent in the last century that they have contributed to two world wars, over fourteen million deaths, and a new word. United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said, “Far from being consigned to history, genocide and its ilk remain a serious threat. Not just vigilance but a willingness to act are as important today as ever.”
Genocide is a huge problem in today’s society. While there are laws set down to handle cases where genocide occurs, the idea and premise of genocide and all that it entails is still widely debatable. It’s difficult to put a label and definition on a term that, while it has a long history of existence, is very rare and unknown to the common man. When I say rare, genocide only occurs in very extreme cases and situations, but it doesn’t make it any less of a horrible crime.
The crime of genocide is one of the most devastating human tragedies throughout the history. And the word genocide refers to an organised destruction to a specific group of people who belongs to the same culture, ethnic, racial, religious, or national group often in a war situation. Similar to mass killing, where anyone who is related to the particular group regardless their age, gender and ethnic background becomes the killing targets, genocide involves in more depth towards destroying people’s identity and it usually consists a fine thorough plan prearranged in order to demolish the unwanted group due to political reasons mostly. While the term genocide had only been created recently in 1943 by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish legal scholar, from the ancient Greek word “genos” meaning race and the Latin word “cide” meaning killing , there are many examples of genocide like events that occurred before the twentieth century. And this new term brings up the question as whether genocide is a contemporary description defined through current perspectives towards the crime act or is it just a part of the inevitable human evolutionary progress caused by modernity.
For many years now, people have always wondered what ethical principle is the right one to follow. These individuals are all seeking the answer to the question that the ethical principles are trying to clarify: What defines moral behavior? The Divine Command Theory and the theories of cultural relativism are two principles of many out there that provide us with explanations on what our ethical decisions are based on and what we consider to be our moral compass in life. Even though these two theories make well-supported arguments on why they are the right principle to follow, it is hard to pinpoint which one should guide our choices because of the wide array of ethical systems. Therefore, what is morally right or wrong differs greatly depending
- The meaning of Genocide, and the impact it has on a single person and society.
Genocide is a term that most people in the world have heard of in one way or another. People may have heard it through any film viewings, books, or any other media outlet, the point is, many people have heard of genocide in one way or another. Though genocide may be generally known by most people, a fraction of those people may only have an in-depth understanding of what genocide exactly is. With all of that said, for the research memo, the topic of genocide is going to the subject of the research memo. The beginning part of the paper will focus on the history and origins of genocide. Following the origins of genocide, theories will be discussed to explain why people participate in genocide and why genocide happens for that matter. After the
Springer, Jane. Genocide: A Groundwork Guide. Toronto, Ontario: Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press, 2006. (Accessed March 7, 2014).
Genocide is the “deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.” (Dictionary.com, 2010) In 1924, after World War I, Belgian colonists entered Rwanda and allowed the Tutsi dynasty to remain in power. However, after World War II concepts of right and wrong changed. Since the Belgians had been favouring the Tutsis, this change in ethics caused the Belgians to have compassion on the Hutus and promote the Hutu cause, creating tension. (Thompson, 2007) It was the Belgians who cre...
Harman, G. (2000). Is there a single true morality?. Explaining value and other essays in moral philosophy (pp. 77-99). Oxford: Clarendon Press ;.
Velasquez, M., & Andre, C., & Shanks, T., & Meyer, S.J., & M. J., (1992). Ethical relativism. Retrieved from: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ethicalrelativism.html