In Philip Hefner's article Cloning as Quintessential Human Act he claims that cloning of humans is acceptable if it is done with great care, with special attention given to the fact that one does not destroy the "spiritual dimension of life". Hefner presents several arguments in his s...

The Ideal Being In our study of the four cardinal virtues we have been learning many ideas and theories on how to live "the good life." It was very difficult in the beginning of this semester to define what "the good life" means. After studying the virtues and their the...

Abortion What is meant by abortion? Abortion is defined in the dictionary as, "The expulsion of a foetus (naturally or by medical induction) from the womb before it is able to survive independently (around 28 weeks)." This simply means the foetus is removed by either a natural or med...

Is There a Proper Death? The statement of views in assisted suicide is enormously uncomplicated. One side of the argument states that assisted suicide should be acceptable because they no person who is terminally ill, should live in pain. Yes, this does seem logical and compassionate but why shoul...

New World Order In the book Lord Of The Flies by William Golding shows us as the reader how rules, laws, and other regulations are all forgotten that human nature will revert to a primitive state of being. The overriding theme of the novel is the conflict between two competing impulses that exi...

As our technology continues to advance, new breakthroughs in medicine are discovered. With these new developments serious ethical and moral questions arise. Advancements in genetic engineering, reproductive technologies, cloning, organ transplanting, and human experimentation are all causes of ...

As our technology continues to advance, breakthroughs in medicine are discovered. With these new developments, serious ethical and moral questions arise. Advancements in genetic engineering, reproductive technologies, cloning, organ transplanting, and human experimentation are all causes of concern....

Bystanders are ordinary people who play it safe. At the beginning of Cynthia Ozick's "Of Christian Heroism" we learn much about bystanders and the affects of their actions - or rather their inaction - during the Holocaust. Ozick directly involves us in the story of Christian heroism; she asks us t...

What is a hero? A hero is anyone who can show courage when faced with a problem. A hero is a person who is able to help another in various ways. A person can become a hero by saving someone who is in danger. Another example of a hero is someone who is there to help others and gives them strength ...

Euthanasia Introduction Over the past couple of decades, changes in medical technology have allowed physicians to prolong an individual's life than ever before. Individuals are now able to live a longer and healthier life with the help of respirators and other medical machines. We may consid...

What is good, and what is evil? Both are seemingly easy words to define, yet if you ask anyone on the street, you likely will not receive a straight or clear answer. I started to question my definition of good and evil a few days ago, and I now have come to a few conclusions. As a premise, I want ...

AMBITION AND MANKIND One of the main points in this play is the experiment that Shakespeare makes with his characters: he represents through them some of the different ways of taking control of a government. He chooses some characters with very different kind of experiences in life as well as soc...

Abortion In the time that we live in, it seems to me that humans have lost the respect for life. For one to actually be able to say they no longer want this human existing blows my mind out of the water. Abortion is clearly an act of murder, allowing one human to destroy another. Though the feder...

The World Wide Web is notorious for being able to disguise people, places, and things. I logged on to America Online at home through my sister's account. The results and differences I received as a male and a female were exactly what I expected. America Online was one of my favorite pastim...

The definition of humanism is "A philosophy centered on the values, interests and potential of human beings" (Webster's Dictionary 1984, p. 340). In the play, A Man for all Seasons by Robert Bolt, Thomas More is a humanist as he knows his own values, interests and potential, and ...

Divine Command Theory The Divine Command Theory can be a hot topic for some people to discuss in the field of philosophy. The Divine Command Theory states that an act is permissible or obligatory if and only if that act is allowed or commanded by God. (Class notes 1/12/05) To believe in this th...

Martin Zank of The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy proclaims the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber to be one of the most important, yet also one of the most obscure of all modern theologians. Zank notes that the "preponderance in Buber's writings of abstract nouns such as 'experience,&a...

We've seen them in the movies, in cartoons, and even working in hazardous conditions separate from humans, but as technology improves and man kind moves forward robots are appearing everywhere. Traditionally used to work independent from humans robots are now working with humans due to the ne...

Got Courage? Aristotle's' Doctrine of the Mean states that there are three kinds of dispositions, two of them vices, involving excess and deficiency and one virtue which is the intermediate or mean. Aristotle considers the act of courage to be a mean concerning fear and confidence...

In contemporary American society, a general topic for moral discussion is euthanasia, the act of painlessly ending the life of a person for reasons of mercy. This is usually done in cases in which the person is hopelessly sick or injured. Although by this definition euthanasia may clearly seem to ...

As human beings responsibility is important to us, we need to hold people accountable for their actions in order to keep society in check. Whether or not an act was committed voluntarily or involuntarily, and whether or not the person deliberated over the act is important to take into consideration...

Euthanasia Euthanasia is the act of deliberately taking a persons life, also it is known as "mercy killing." Is euthanasia ethical? There are many different opinions on this issue, but in my opinion there is no question: it is unethical. Many people believe that euthanasia ensures a pain...

In the first two sections of the Old Testament, Genesis and Exodus, you can plainly see the significant role that God plays in human history. Although he was supposed to be thought of as the Supreme Being of all that is good, in the Bible he is not always depicted in this manner. But whether...

Do Animals Have Rights? Should animals be harmed to benefit mankind? This pressing question has been around for at least the past two centuries. During the early nineteenth century, animal experiments emerged as an important method of science and, in fact, marked the birth of experimental phys...

Do Animals Have Rights? Should animals be harmed to benefit mankind? This pressing question has been around for at least the past two centuries. During the early nineteenth century, animal experiments emerged as an important method of science and, in fact, marked the birth of experimental phys...