Virtue Ethics Criticsm Essay Example for Free

Virtue Ethics Criticsm Essay The biggest criticism of Virtue Ethics is that it doesnt give clear guidance on how to act in specific circumstances. It cannot tell us what the law should be about abortion, euthanasia, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis etc. It gives no clear answer to questions such as Is the environment intrinsically valuable?. The lack of moral rules or a method of addressing dilemmas is the main conceren here, but there is also uncertainty about how you decide on what the virtues are. Many critics say Virtue Ethics simply doesnt do the job of an ethical theory. There are many responses to this. There are no absolute answers to these questions, MacIntyre takes this view that contemporary ethics has distanced itself from real people and real issues by debating fine legalistic points which they will never agree on. Virtue Ethics asks a much more important question what sort of person should I be? This question may have different answers depending where and when it is asked, but it gives real direction and purpose to people. Nussbaum says that there are absolutes. However, it is virtues that have value, not rules. We should strive for Justice, Wisdom, Temperance etc. rather than looking for absolute rules. When thinking about whether to go to war, there are no absolute rules (You must not kill an innocent person, for example, is seen as impractical as all wars lead to innocent people dying). However, we have elected a leader who we want to act justly, to be temperate, to have wisdom etc. Issues such as Embryo Research depend a lot on answers to questions such as When does an embryo/foetus become a person? These questions cannot be answered by ethical theories. MacIntyre would say that to move forward in these issues, we need to better understand the context. For example, we are a society where thousands of embryos die at various stages of the IVF process. There is therefore a contradiction between our societys comfortable response to IVF and the often violent negative reaction to embryonic stem-cell research. When approaching these issues, we should aim to respond with wisdom, right ambition, temperance etc. Virtue Ethics responds confidently to many of these criticisms by drawing attention to the failings of deontological theories and consequentialist positions (GEM Anscombe coined the phrase consequentialism in her 1958 article Modern Moral Philosophy which attacked contemporary ethical theories for being out of touch with the real world. This article may have been largely responsible for the resurrgence of interest in Virtue Ethics). There are other criticisms, though. For example, Virtue Ethics rejects moral absolutes such as Do not lie, but then values the virtue of honesty. Critics claim that the virtues are really another way of stating moral rules, and that the virtues depend on the existence of these rules. Honesty is precisely a virtue because it is wrong to lie. This sort of criticism can lead to a circular debate, but it is actually the biggest threat to the virtue theorist.

geograhy of Ireland :: essays research papers

Geo essay Ireland Ireland is an island on the western fringe of Europe between latitude 51 1/2 and 55 1/2 degrees north, and longitude 5 1/2 to 10 1/2 degrees west. Its greatest length, from Malin Head in the north to Mizen Head in the south, is 486 km and its greatest width from east to west is approximately 275 km. Since 1921 the island has been divided politically into two parts. The independent twenty-six county area, comprising 70,282 sq. km, has a population of 3,523,401 (1991). Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom and contains six of the nine counties of the ancient province of Ulster, has a population of 1,569,971 (1991). In 1973 Ireland became a member of the European Union (EU). The two great mountain systems of Europe, north of the Alps, converge westwards to meet and mingle in Ireland. The older (Caledonian) extends from Scandinavia through Scotland to the north and west of Ireland, where it gives rise to the rugged and mountainous landscapes of Counties Donegal, Mayo and Galway. The higher mountains are of quartzite that weathers into bare, cone-shaped peaks such as Errigal (752 m) in Donegal, Croagh Patrick (765m) in Mayo and the Twelve Bens in Galway. Structures of similar age are responsible for the Wicklow and Blackstairs Mountains that extend southwestwards from Dublin Bay for a distance of more than 100 km. In these, long-continued denudation of a great anticlinal structure has exposed a granite core that now forms rounded peat-covered uplands, the crests being notched in places by glacial cirques. Deep glacially modified valleys of which the best known is Glendalough in County Wicklow penetrate the mountains. The younger structures (Armorican) extend from central Europe through Brittany to southern Ireland, where they reappear as a series of east-west anticlinal sandstone ridges separated by limestone or shale-floored valleys. The hills rise in height westwards culminating in Carrantouhill (1041 m) in the Magillycuddy Reeks, the highest mountain in the country. The famous Upper Lake of Killarney nestles in the eastern slopes of this range. The sea, giving rise to a number of long deep inlets has flooded the valleys separating the western extension of these mountains. In northeastern Ireland basaltic lavas spread widely over the existing rocks in Eocene times and now form the bleak plateau of east Antrim. Westwards the basalt is downwarped and the resultant drift-covered lowland is occupied in part by Lough Neagh, the largest lake in Ireland.

Compare and contrast the education system in Saudi Arabia with UK Essay

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) holds the principle that the best investment a nation can make is in its human resources. On the basis of this belief, the Kingdom has made tremendous efforts to devote all possible resources to the development and improvement of its educational system. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the right of education is guaranteed to everyone.in fact, the state encourages people to enroll in any part of the education system by providing financial aid and rewards to students. The change that has happened in the past few years have occurred up very much recently. The population in KSA has increased compared to the past years of my grandfather’s generation. Therefore, the economy of knowledge emphasizes primarily continues human development. The changes are effectively obvious through these years in KSA, even though compared with other countries for example, USA. Life style and other human needs have changed over time. Education of the past few years has c hanged because of the development my country is making. In addition, my grandfather’s stories were about how the class was, and how the education has changed very much since they were young until they saw the changed now. For example, in the past, the schools have one building and few classes all over the city, however the schools now have many buildings that are divided into elementary school, intermediate school, and secondary school building. In the classes there were few students and no chairs to focus. The development needs motivation from an individual and government. The Education system in the past was very difficult to understand, and the teachers got the basic information. Today the teaching is much easier, and the human mind were replaced with the new technologies we live on today. Statistically, the number of students has increased in KSA in the past 10 years by approximately 56 percent, especially for those who study Masters and PhDs degree

On Deaf Ears The Limits Of The Bully Pulpit - 1181 Words

July 13, 2015 Sam Pryor Book Review – On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit This book is a bold work by George C. Edwards in which he shares his views of the political system in the US and how it has evolved over time. He has touched almost every president since the 1930s and brought to light some interesting details about how presidents have followed patterns and used their own style of actions to meet their unique objectives. The book describes in detail the attitudes of presidents and reflects his views on presidency. For instance, he has expressed three premises about presidential leadership: public support is used as a social resource by president, presidents must take interest in the problems of the people in order to actually garner support rather than just delivering speeches, and the public can be mobilized successfully by permanent campaigns. Thus, he draws the attention of readers by explaining how campaigns are not what precede the election results but a continuing mechanism through which the presidents continuously keep in touch with the public in order for their images to stay fresh and active among public. He challenges the views of other prominent social scientists who have expressed strong views on president’s power to change public opinion. Furthermore, he argues that even rhetorically skilled presidents have found itShow MoreRelatedInside the Meltdown49737 Words   |  199 PagesBut there s still a lot of uninsured [money] out there, and that was being pulled out, especially with these business transaction accounts. Typically business transaction accounts will exceed, the payroll accounts will exceed the insured deposit limits. Also, counterparties were concerned about whether they were going to be able to roll their debt. That was a much larger institution, and it was more diversified. And at that point, that was actually the first time we decided to invoke our systemic