THEORY (2):
Within my basic, initial understanding of justice and the common good, when an act of injustice occurs, we have a moral obligation to right this wrong and hold responsible parties accountable for the injustice. Jane Bennett has informed and provided a critical nuance to this view of the vibrant nonhuman and their relationships in an assemblage through her perspective in Vibrant Matter. Bennett addresses two ideas inherent in distributive agency that has begun to morph the way in which I view handling matters of justice. First of all, Bennett widens the scope of agentic qualities to span to all vibrant matter, human and nonhuman alike. She argues that agency extends “beyond human bodies and intersubjective fields” and instead functionally lays in “vital materialities and the human-nonhuman assemblages they form” (30). This in essence, works to displace the typical hierarchical assumption of humans as the
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Bennett argues that the debunking of intentionality as a primary means to effect, “loosens the connection between efficacy and the moral subject, bringing efficacy closer to the idea of the power to make a difference that calls for response”. Bennett contends that this power is “possessed by nonhuman bodies too” (32). If beings or things without intentionality can have effect as an actant, as Bennett suggests, then these items deserve more respect than I had previously given them. Bennett challenged my assessment that the ability to have directed thoughts was of primary importance to a being’s value. Now, I am questioning my standards and beginning a journey to redefine my values in a way that accommodates for the new influences and perspectives presented through this course. The view of matter as vibrant causes a newfound respect for questions that I used to dismiss so
...are confronted with the question of moral absolutes, we are forced to wonder when and to whom justice truly applies. Hopefully, we will look at our world and our ideas of right, wrong and retribution in different ways, ways that will enlighten and enrich our lives, and the those of the an audience of readers 2,000 years from now.
Nye, Howard. PHIL 250 B1, Winter Term 2014 Lecture Notes – Ethics. University of Alberta.
To live in a world without human connection, is to live an empty and meaningless life. Both Karen Armstrong, and Robert Thurman, highlight the necessity of human contact throughout their essays. In his text “Wisdom,” Robert Thurman shows us the path to discover the selflessness of what we believe is our true and actual self. He claims that no matter how hard one might try to find themselves, they will only find a rigid, fixated self. But when we finally accept our selflessness and turn away from our egos, we can become compassionate and experience the void, which he defines as a free and boundless self. Additionally, Karen Armstrong debates that the universe is driven by concepts such as “Being,” and “Brahman,” which both represent the ultimate
It is common for human beings, as a race, to fall into the comforts of routine – living each day similar to days before and days to come. Unfortunately, it is often too late before one even realizes that they have fallen into this mundane way of living in which each day is completed rather than lived, as explained by David Foster Wallace in “This Is Water”. This commencement speech warned graduating students of the dangers of submitting to our “default settings” of unconscious decisions and beliefs (Wallace 234). However, this dangerous way of living is no new disability of today’s human race. Socrates warned the people of his time: “A life unaware is a life not worth living” and who is to say he wasn’t completely right? A topic of long debate also includes the kind of influence that consciously-controlled thoughts can have on the physical body. A year after Wallace’s speech, neurobiologist Helen Pilcher, published “The New Witch Doctor: How Belief Can Kill”, which explains the influence of the mind and individual beliefs on the quality of one’s life. Together, both authors illustrate how detrimental a life lived unaware of one’s own thoughts and beliefs can be on the body and spirit. And though it is easy to live by
"The Persons' Case." The Persons' Case. Global Perspectives on Personhood: Rights and Responsibilities, n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
At no time, in this natural state, is injustice even possible. As Hobbes so concisely states, "Where there is no common Power, there is no Law: where no Law, no Injustice." (Hobbes 188) Essentially, since every man is entitled to everything, he is also at liberty to exert any means possible -- including violence -- in order to satisfy all of his wants and needs. In this State of War, each individu...
The first female psychiatrists working the asylums were not were not as McGovern put it “movers and shakers” (541). These women faced constant discrimination in their work. Being viewed as less ambitious and incapable of performing as well as a man, female psychiatry, unsurprisingly, rarely had a position of authority. Male assistances received special training opportunities which in turn led them to be promoted while women were stuck in low paying positions. In 1881, Alice Bennett, one of the earliest females to be appointed “Female Physician”, found herself in a small controversy regarding surgery. Despite the fact that Bennett made great strides for the improvement of patient treatment in asylums, she faced brutal attacks from people who
There are high aspects and solid expectations in moral and spiritual parts of non-material substances in personal belief. In other words, I have a belief on a religion; believe Roman Catholic, a part of Christianity religions – where there are ways to judge a person’s decisions, believes and judged for an eternal life after death. For instance, once I have committed an action that opposed to religious regulations or moral standard, I would will feel guilty and make an effort to improve the specific issue, which means I have a soul towards the moral considerations beyond perceiving merely observing visible objects.
Does it have a specific contribution to make to our understanding of moral experience? Is there a price to be paid for its different perspective, and if so, is the price worth paying?” This opening statement gives us a taste of his thoughts about VE already. Louden goes to raise his objections. I will consider the objections he raises under the headings in his article, those being ‘Agents vs Acts’ , ‘Who is Virtuous’ , ‘Style over Substance’ , and ‘Utopianism’ .
Stewart, M. (2011). The space between the steps: reckoning in an area of reconciliation. Contemporary Justice Review, 14(1), 43-63. Retrieved from http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/10282580.2011.541076
Kane, Robert. "Free Will: Ancient Dispute, New Themes." Feinberg, Joel and Russ Safer-Landau. Reason and Responsibility: Readings in Some Basic Problems of Philosophy. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. 425-437. Print.
Functionalism is a materialist stance in the philosophy of mind that argues that mental states are purely functional, and thus categorized by their input and output associations and causes, rather than by the physical makeup that constitutes its parts. In this manner, functionalism argues that as long as something operates as a conscious entity, then it is conscious. Block describes functionalism, discusses its inherent dilemmas, and then discusses a more scientifically-driven counter solution called psychofunctionalism and its failings as well. Although Block’s assertions are cogent and well-presented, the psychofunctionalist is able to provide counterarguments to support his viewpoint against Block’s criticisms. I shall argue that though both concepts are not without issue, functionalism appears to satisfy a more acceptable description that philosophers can admit over psychofunctionalism’s chauvinistic disposition that attempts to limit consciousness only to the human race.
...ating Sartre's attitudes towards the constituents of human action, that which constitutes human being. Even though it may, in the final analysis, prove to be an unsatisfactory account of consciousness, it serves to illuminate some possible further lines of study, if only as a negative example.
Maya Angelou once said, “you may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” Jean Paul Sartre devotes his second chapter in Being and Nothingness on ‘The Body,’ demonstrating his historical knowledge, following an influence embedded in Hegel’s theory. In the film, Cleo From 5 To 7 , director Agnès Varda demonstrates a reflective perspective on freeing oneself from the bias of what others view as the ideal vision of beauty. Sartre shows that the being-for-itself, or the human being starts to become more aware of his or her own moral existence, only when he or she sees themselves being perceived by another being for-itself. Sartre says that we become more aware of ourselves in the hands or comparison
John Rawls’ Justice as fairness attempts to both define the principles typical of justice and describe what a just society would necessary entail by the conception presented. What is described is not a perfectly good society, as justice is but one virtue among many, but a just one. Specifically, Rawls’ conception is that justice and fairness are one in the same. Using this as a starting point, Rawls focuses foremostly on the practices in a society, rather than any individual action. In this way, he expounds on what is meant by the term fairness and what value that term has in explaining justice. In this paper of three parts, I will first describe Rawls position on justice, including this position’s main principles. Secondly, I will examine