Current Topic in Ethics Essay Example for Free

Current Topic in Ethics Essay The article speaks about a recent incident that took place in Brazil, which brought in to light the ethical and moral values of humans. The story had a two sided approach the first one being from the church of Brazil and the second one from the government side. The incident is regarding a step father raping her 9 year old daughter. The girl confessed that she was under a sexual assault from her step father since the age of 6(Yahoo News, 2009). The man was also convicted of sexually abusing the girl’s 14 year old handicapped sister. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Catholic Church’s Congregation for Bishops said that the abortion carried out by the doctors under the decision of the girl’s mother was totally wrong and the twins that the girl carried had a right to live. On the other hand President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva had other views on the matter. He said that according to the law of Brazil where abortion is illegal and allowed only in case where the health of the child bearing women is endangered the Bishop is totally wrong. The girl had actually been brought to the hospital after several stomach cramps and it was found that she is pregnant and carrying twins. At the age of 9 doctors commented that it was impossible for the girl to bear the children and an abortion was the only viable option left. As the doctor involved in the abortion Rivaldo Albuquerque said that it was important for us to save the life of the girl(Yahoo News,2009). Ethical Issues The article raised several ethical issues regarding human rights and social rights. Firstly the rape case as the man had committed was illegal and should be punished according to the government law of the country. Secondly the issue of child abuse as an ethical issue is also being raised by this incident which is another offense of the law and needs to be punished. Third and the most important issue which has been raised by this incident are of abortion which according to the law of Brazil is illegal. The fourth issue has been raised to contradict the third one which is another face of the same law of abortion which is banned. Abortion is only allowed in case the health of the child bearing women is endangered. The fifth ethical issue is the sexual assault of the other handicapped girl sister of the girl which was actually sexually assaulted. All these ethical issues have come forward due to this incident and need to be taken care of by the Brazilian government. Ethical Theories There are many ethical theories and fields of ethics that are present but only some that are relevant would be applied to this case. We will consider each theory one by one and apply it on the case to deduct a result. Greek Philosophy Socrates emphasized that a person to be ethically correct needs to realize the importance of human life and existence. A person would act rightly and correctly if he or she is self aware and knows the importance of life. Bad deeds or evil deeds are a result of ignorance and if the person knows the consequences of doing wrong he or she would never commit that act (MacKinnon, 2008). According to the theory of Socrates the man who committed the assault was unaware of the consequences of the act to be specific he thought that he would get away with his actions but only the pregnancy of the girl brought up the matter. The case of abortion according to this Greek philosophy is a bit controversial as the importance of human life needs to be considered and in this case whether to save the girl or the twins she was carrying was a decision to be made. Normative Ethics This field of ethics focuses on the rightness and wrongness of actions to judge whether they are ethical or not. The theory says that actions were mainly judged by the intentions of a person as in whether they are right or wrong (Kagan, 1997). According to this theory the man in the case is found guilty of committing a crime and should be punished accordingly as his intention was truly wrong and hence his actions also become wrong. Then the abortion of the child was also morally ethical as the life of the girl was endangered by her pregnancy, hence according to this theory the decision of abortion is also ethically correct. Meta Ethics This approach of ethics is a bit different from other approaches as it looks at the reasons for the truth and decides up on the validity of the reasons as to whether the actions that led to the truth were ethical or non ethical (Miller, 2003). According to this theory the actions of the man were totally unethical as the man had committed an immoral act, which is the truth. The reason for this act was his uncontrollable desires, which were unethical. Abortion was performed because it was the only option through which the girl could be saved. The reason for the abortion was the fact that the doctors had to save the life of the girl and could take no risks, hence the act of abortion was morally ethical. Descriptive Ethics This is a newer field of ethics than normative ethics and focuses on the choices that were available to the person and the one he or she picked according to that his or her actions are judged to be ethical or not. According to this theory the man is still found to be guilty and should be punished as the choices he made were ethically incorrect and on the other hand the abortion done by the doctors was also morally ethical as they had limited choices and needed to save the girl. The doctors agreed on the fact that the girl who was only 9 years old could not carry the burden of pregnancy and hence had to be saved through abortion. Conclusion During this paper we looked up on different theories and fields of ethics. These fields and theories were applied on the case and the deduction of whether this ethical issue were correctly dealt or not was focused. The conclusion is not merely my own decision but the result of applying the ethical theories on the case. These theories when applied clearly highlight the fact that the man should be punished according to the law of Brazil and the decision of abortion made by the mother of the girl and carried out by the doctors was a correct one in the circumstances that were presented. References: Kagan S. (1997) Normative Ethics, Westview Press. MacKinnon B. (2008) Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. Wadsworth Publishing. Miller A. (2003) An Introduction to Contemporary Metaethics, Polity. Yahoo News (March 8, 2009). Vatican defends Brazil excommunication. Retrived on March 10, 2009 from http://au. news. yahoo. com/a/-/world/5375029/vatican-defends-brazil-excommunication/

European Colonialism and Imperialism in Aphra Behns Oroonoko Essay

European Superiority in Oroonoko Throughout Aphra Behn's Oroonoko, we can see the comparison between European and African culture occurring in many places. In a majority of the imagery, Behn's attitudes can be seen behind the text weighing heavily toward portraying European characteristics as socially more admirable. Oroonoko's introduction acquaints us with a person so refined in every way as to be almost god-like. Every feature of this great warrior-prince is shown in detail to be the most beautiful one could hope to behold. The narrator says,"...he was adored as the wonder of all that world, and a darling of the soldiers." (1869) He is even said to have,"...a native beauty so transcending all those of his gloomy race that he struck an awe and reverence even in those that knew not his quality;..." (1870) Clearly, this is the description of a person destined for greatness. Oroonoko, throughout his adventures, lives by these very features. After Oroonoko becomes sold as a slave, for example, he becomes a friend of the narrator and the overseer in the New World thro...

Historical Evolution and Development of the Various Mass Media

Throughout history there have been several factors that contributed to the historical evolution and development of the various mass media in the United States. Print, broadcast, and electronic media have changed drastically since man was first introduced to them. The speed of these changes are occurring more rapidly now, altering the different forms of media along with it. Though these changes have brought forth many benefits, a few negative impacts have been brought along as well. Print media has been used by people to spread information for centuries, dating all the way back to 59 B.C. by Julius Caesar. Caesar created the â€Å"newspaper† to tell the public about important events. During this time news was written on large white boards, which were located in places where people would usually go. Later the Chinese created the first hand-written newspapers. In 1447, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press. Gutenberg’s creation made the exchange of people’s i deas much easier. Newspapers did not start having publications on a regular basis until the beginning of the 17th century. Print media completely transformed after the creation of the telegraph in 1844.Then finally in the 19th century, newspapers have became the primary source of news. Since the introduction of broadcast media in the 1900’s, print media has had to reevaluate their position as an information provider. Broadcasting media started with wireless telegraphy which was dots and dashes carried by radio transmissions. Audio broadcasting services that traveled through radio waves sent from a transmitter to an antenna became very popular quickly. People all across the world tuned into their radios regularly to hear current events.Television eventually began to take the place of radio in the 1950’s. During the cold war, shortwave broadcasting played an important role in keeping people informed. FM radio changed younger Americans interest in radio in the 1970â€℠¢s. Many stations would play entire record albums instead of just the top songs. In the 2000’s digital radio and satellite broadcasting became extremely popular. Electronic media is a form of media that uses electronics or electromechanical energy in order for its viewer to receive the content.Electronic media sources most commonly used by most people are audio and video recordings, multimedia and slide presentations, disk, and online content. The newest and most common form of electric media is in the form of digital media. The rise in electronic media can be dated back to the 1960’s. In 1968, the U. S. Department of Defense created a network to where different computers could communicate with one another. A student at the University of Minnesota developed the internet years later. The Web included images, audio and video features, and hypertext links.People can gain unlimited sources of information whenever and whenever through the internet. In the early 1990’ s local and national newspapers became based online. By the early 2000’s most magazines were even located online. Now, electronic media has almost completely taken the place of print media. In my opinion, broadcast media tends to have a uniting influence and it also niches audiences based on demographic consumer needs. People begin to feel a connection with the individuals they watch on television or regularly hear on the radio.This connection makes that or those particular individuals opinion have as huge impact on most of their viewers. MSNBC is known for being more democratic in nature, using social networks as an outlet to promote its cultural hegemony. Broadcasting medias such as MSNBC, Fox News, and PBS are visibly more diversity exemplified as opposed to other stations. They focus on politics and are mainly just concerned with showing their belief in a positive light, while putting a negative spin on other beliefs. Americans should be concerned about this, because it i nfluences people on terms that may not be truthful.Strategies media professionals from different industries have historically used to adapt to societal and technical changes include changing from print media to being online based, business developing pages on social networks, and interacting with its viewers. Certain changes have been made by the different forms of media in order to keep up with the latest trends in technology. I believe in the future, print media will be extinct and electronic media will be the main and maybe even only form of media.When attempting to prosper in the American marketplace, media professionals face the challenges of keeping up with the growing requirement for owners of content to arrange multi-format content in order to fully maximize new forms of digital technology. Legal challenges media professionals face include privacy, advertising, agreement terms, security concerns, and ensuring people with disabilities are able to access their content. In conc lusion, several events have had to take place in order for our several medias to be where they are today.This paper displayed some of the influences broadcasting and print media had on people. Print media has been used to spread information to people since the B. C. years. Digital media had virtually taken the place of print media, causing a drastic decrease in actual newspapers making them and magazines mainly online based. Electronic media continues to dominate all other forms of media and appears to grow even more powerful throughout the years.WORKS CITED Barber, Phil. â€Å"A Brief History of Newspapers†, Historic Newspapers and Early Imprints. 2002. . Bethelsen, John. Internet Hacks: Web News Cashes In†. Asia Times Online, April 2003. . B. L. Yates, . â€Å"History of Broadcast media. † . N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 Apr 2012. . Mathew, Roy. â€Å"Technology Advances in Journalism. † Cyber Journalist: Technology, Tools, Ethics. N. p. , 25 S. Web. 15 Apr 2012 . Middleberg, Donald & Ross, Steven. (March 1996). â€Å"The Media in Cyberspace. † Paper delivered at Columbia University. â€Å"Newspapers: A brief history. † World Association of Newspapers. N. p. , 2004. Web. 15 Apr 2012. . â€Å"Newspapers: The Continent† Columbia Encyclopedia, 6 Ed. , 2003.

Minimum Tolerance Policies Zero Tolerance, Zero Education

mes Paul Dr. Graybill English 101 29, November, 2015 Zero Tolerance Policies: Zero Tolerance, Zero Education The school to prison pipeline is a growing issue in schools around the world today. The school to prison pipeline is becoming larger and larger each year due to the zero tolerance policies held by many schools. Zero tolerance policies have been proven to be very ineffective in bad schools who use them as a way to get rid of disruptive students. Alongside with being proven ineffective the zero tolerance policies also damage and slow the process of education to a child that is targeted. The school to prison pipeline is a very bad thing. Children are losing education due to the pipeline. Zero tolerance policies are also not good because students can lose their education due to small things done in class. The pipeline refers to students â€Å"is a series of zero-tolerance policies implemented by principals, school boards and state legislatures in response to the 1999 Columbine school shooting† (Lowery, â€Å"Clogging the Pipeline†). The zero tolerance policies are policies that â€Å"[refer] to strict, uncompromising, automatic punishment to eliminate undesirable behavior† (Wilson, â€Å"Tuning off the school-to-prison-pipeline†). The zero tolerance policies are a very bad thing. The zero tolerance policies have been based on the â€Å"the assumption that removing students from schools when they behave disruptively will create peaceful learning environments and deter others from engaging inShow MoreRelatedThe Zero Tolerance School Policies856 Words   |  4 Pagesthe topic â€Å"zero tolerance school policies†. There are some important key concepts from the course that connect with my project that I will be discussing. 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