The idea of cloning humans has always stirred debate, raising moral and ethical issues. As research and experiments continue delve into the frontiers of technology and science, we inch closer to the possibility of cloning becoming a reality. In fact, it is unrealistic to assume it will nev...

A Critique of Mill's Proof of the Principle of Utility Introduction In his work, Utilitarianism, J S Mill asserts that, "happiness is desirable, and the only thing desirable, as an end; all other things being only desirable as means to that end." He goes on to offer a "proo...

The novel The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis is a Christian allegory about the end of humankind and the Day of Judgment. It depicts how the world will end, and how human beings will be judged at the end of Time. In The Last Battle, the character of the ape Shift is an allegorical representation of the a...

CLONING The advance of technology has awakened an enormous potential for both good and evil. Within the last two decades scientists have developed great advances in science about reproduction and genetic engineering leading to cloning. This has created sharpest controversies involving opposing ...

Happiness, Function, Morality, and Virtue Aristotle argues that happiness, function and morality are closely connected and that virtue is dependent upon all of them. To fully comprehend Aristotle's theory, we must first examine each of these qualities and then determine how they are related to...

I read the book Five types of Ethical Theory by C. D. Broad, which was published in 1930. In this book, Broad talks about five major ethical theories and philosophers, and either expounds or criticizes there idea. He expounds or criticizes on Spinoza, Butler, Hume, Kant, and Sidgwick's differ...

The debate on whether abortion is right has remained a longstanding source of contention among members of the various fronts of our society. On one hand, proponents claim of the view that making abortion illegal is a contradiction to the ability by women to enjoy their right to life and freedom of c...

How can Scripture be of value for contemporary Christian ethics? "Christians are often described as 'people of the Book'... we acknowledge the Bible as embodying divine revelation and for this reason continually look to Scripture for instruction as to what we should believe and wh...

Death with Dignity Should Be Legal In the article, "Euthanasia Can Never Be Justified," author J. Budziszewski defends why euthanasia should stay illegal. The basis of his argument comes from his idea that all bad things come from good things that have been "spoiled". To relat...

THE NOTION OF VIRTUE IN THE ETHICAL VIEWS OF PLATO AND ARISTOTLE: Plato and Aristotle, two philosophers in the 4th century, hold polar views on having a happy life and philosopy in general. This fact is very cleverly illustrated by Raphael's "School of Athens", where Plato is portraye...

Chapter two of Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mills essentially runs through the basic tenets and definitions of Utilitarianism, and also addresses some important objections and misconceptions of the philosophy. Sadly, although Mills tries to rescue much of the vocabulary of Utilitarianism from publi...

Ethical theory aspies to an articulation of the principles and motivations underlying our intuitive moral judgements. A sufficient theory must, therefore, account for the character of morality as we view it. We regard morality as aspiring to truth, and our intuition dictates that our moral judgeme...

Throughout history many people have debated on the topic of creating the ultimate Utopia. Socrates is perhaps one of the most detailed in describing how his perfect city would function. The question one must ask though is would these ideas and goals for a perfect city apply to modern day society, or...

Abortion I'm writing about abortion, the rights, the innocent babies, and the society we live in. There are a few more important things issues in this country today than abortion. Combine a society that is partially governed by religion with scientifically uneducated community and the fev...

Utilitarianism is a form of ethical theory which teaches that the end of human conduct is happiness, and that consequently the discriminating norm which distinguishes conduct into right and wrong is pleasure and pain. The basis of utilitarianism is a form of hedonism, the conception of the good lif...

Ethics Ethics can be defined broadly as a set of moral principles or values. Each of us has such a set of values, although we may or may not have clearly expressed them. It is common for people to differ in their moral principles and values and the relative importance they attach to them. These d...

Defining the Good Throughout history, many people have attempted to define what it is to be good. They have tried to explain what it is like to live a good life and what it means to be a good person. Many have tried to offer their own insights into what being good really is. Some philosophers have s...

To Hume, the concept of morality was not a universal concept, but a human construct founded on reason and human sentiment. The fact that individuals dispute whether an action is right or wrong and use a rational form of discussion to reach a conclusion is strong proof in favor of morality being foun...

Animal Rights Throughout recent history, although mostly in contemporary American society, a general topic for moral discussion is the ethical treatment of animals. Much debate has resulted from this topic, with the major question being, "should animal life be given the same respect as hum...

The moral argument only 'works' in the framework of practical reason. Critically discuss the meaning and implications of this claim. Immanuel Kant was instrumental in demolishing the traditional philosophical arguments for God's existence. In Critique of Pure Reason (1781) ,his ...

Abortion is a controversial subject that has been continually argued over for the last 30 years. The main question is whether or not abortion should be legal? Abortion is the destruction of the fetus or unborn child while the child is still in the mother's womb. There are two sides to this ab...

Philosophy like science can be as general as chemistry yet as finite as atoms. The defining point of philosophy is through the finality of ideals that are pondered. What it means to be human and what it means to live well are questions we all subconsciously contemplate, because through contemplatio...

Supreme Happiness Let me begin by asking the question what is supreme happiness? Some say the supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved. The teachings of the Buddha reveal a step by step path to lasting happiness. The mind is like a cloudy sky, in real meaning clear and pu...

Philosophers have studied moral concepts of right and wrong for millennia. During this time, great thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Bentham, and Kant have developed a number of carefully reasoned and eloquent approaches to moral questions. These approaches in the field of ethics can span ...

The term "euthanasia" conjures up thoughts of the family pet having a dignified death, but it is not the same when it comes to loved ones and family members. While it may be accepted practice to end the suffering of an animal that cannot express its' wishes, it is not accepted practice to ...