Yahoo CEO

Daniel Loeb, a New York hedge fund manager and who owns a 5. Per cent stake In Yahoo, came out In open to share his view against the company and Scott Thompson. However, Dan Lyons at The Dally Beast supported Thompson. Yahoo was quick to call the mistake an â€Å"inadvertent errÐ’Â « but after increasing pressure the board hired an outside counsel for the investigation (Epitome J, 2012). Thompson, later on sent a memo to the employees apologizing for the scandal (Goldman D, & Epitome J, 2012) Was it appropriate for a giant like Yahoo to call the mistake an â€Å"inadvertent error†?I believe No. If you produce a zero error on your balance sheets, and In the internet services you provide o your customers then this reasoning would simply be a blunder. COOS actions were ethically irresponsible because he was breaching the trust of board of directors who had hired him, in this case, without verifying his credentials on resume. Also, socially irresponsible because there are inv estors, people who trust CEO and any such incident on his part does send a bad signal to them.There are two things to debate upon – Should Yahoo have fired Scott Thompson the moment they found out that he lied on his resume? & Was It ethical on the part of Scott Thompson, considering the session he was In, to falsely claim the degree he never received? I would particularly like to be aggressive on each of the two questions. Yes, Yahoo should have immediately fired Scott Thompson the moment the allegations were verified. In doing so, the company would have set good example of holding good morals.The CEO is the top most level in any corporate the employees look up to, in terms of role model and as a leader. Any allegations on him could set a bad tone down the ladder In the company. Falling to fire him could have sent a bad signal at the lower order of getting way with the things and who knows many more such cases might show up in the near future. According to the consequentiali ty model, the only thing that matters is the consequence of your act. The act, whether right or wrong, decides the fate of the person and of the other people who should also bear the consequences (Moldavia, M).The consequentiality model in this case did not apply to the Coo's actions. The outburst of his lie cost him his Job and also put the reputation of Yahoo at stake, however on some level It could be argued that he was trying to Improve the existing condition of Yahoo, but not for too long. Also, that did not prove positive to any of the person in the company considering his short tenure. The share prices collapsed and the company was In the limelight for the wrong reason.Also, it is not ethical on the part of any CEO to make false claims in his resume. Had Scott rectified his resume and removed the Computer Science degree from It, exactly the same way have been much different now for Yahoo. Scott, during his short tenure at Yahoo took some crucial steps of laying off 14% of the employees (Lied, M, 2012) in an effort to improve the financial condition of the company. Had he been there for a longer period, he might have raised the company's financial position and the situation would have been completely different.However, his small act of not removing the false claim from his resume proved too costly for him and in turn for Yahoo. Communitarian's theory of moral reasoning also has no application with Scott Thompson. The theory states to be true to your contracts, whether implicit or explicit, in which you willfully enter (Moldavia, M). However, in this case Scott Thompson signs in the annual report right below the line that says â€Å"This report does not contain NY untrue statement of a material fact. † (Epitome J, 2012, Pl 73) This is complete contradiction to the theory of Communitarian's.Another thing to notice is that Scott Thompson did not feel to resign from his position. Instead he sent an apology memo to all the employees (Goldman D, & Epito me J, 2012). Who knows, Yahoo might have not even accepted his resignation, owing to his future productive plans, similar to the case of Bausch & Lomb CEO Ronald Carmella, who placed his resignation, on account of false degree claims in his resume, to the board only to be later rejected and then e served another six years before retiring in 2008.

Gke Task 2

Literature, Arts and the Humanities Romanticism and Realism 02-01-2010 Romanticism and Realism are two very different periods in literary and art history. Although both periods completely disagreed with each other they were a result of the social and economic revolt. Romanticism was an artistic, literary and social movement that originated in the second half of the eighteenth century in Western Europe. The French revolution laid the background for this era as people wanted to get an escape from the confines of daily life.This late era gained momentum in reaction to the Industrial Revolution. Many revolted against higher society and the political aspect of the time. The movement put a new outlook on difficult emotions such as fear and terror. Romanticism was known as a new revival of the medievalism as certain elements of the era are seen as a way to escape the new bustling world and ever populating cities in Europe. This era also attempted to embrace the exotic and the unfamiliar by using the imagination to escape. Although Romanticism began in Germany its effects were seen through the world.This influential era reached America in the early nineteenth century and was just as diverse as the movement that was quickly transitioning in the Western Europe. A modern characteristic of romanticism could be considered misunderstood and anything that may differentiate from the trends of life. Many scholars have different opinions on the characteristics of Romanticism as some believe it is a beginning of a tradition of resistance to the enlightenment and other believe it is a direct result of the French Revolution.Charles Baudelaire was quoted as characterizing romanticism as â€Å"precisely situated neither in choice of subject nor exact truth but in the way of feeling† This era emphasized intuition and imagination that has led many to believe that romantic thinking is simply irrational and crosses the line of what is acceptable thinking in and of the world during this era. In art most found a recurring theme from criticism of the past. Often artist would use woman and children in their works to depict the new pure nature. A famous artist from the Romanticism period named Thomas Cole epicted a Man’s journey through life in his â€Å"Voyage through Life† series. This exceptional expression of art shows a struggle of survival through an immense nature, from birth to death. The realism period made its mark in history from 1830 to 1870. Realism’s main principle was considered to be more of a way of thinking instead of a movement that involved a large culture. Realism went against everything Classicism and Romanticism had so strongly emphasized accusing the movement of being blind to the real world and not depicting the beauty in everyday life.This late 19th century movement took all of the elements that could falsify or bring a cloudy view to the true life hardships and successes out of art to show the beauty of real life Re alism came to France in the late 1840’s with democracy in mind. The English focused realism on social liberation of the middle and lower class by taking a stand against materialistic views from the Royal Academy. Artist during the realism period focused on optic effects and lighting and how it affected everyday life. Artist believed that Science held the key to solving the problems that every day life brought fourth.As a result, a tendency flourished among realists to produce paintings that reflected the everyday mental experiences of contemporary life. This included abstract concepts such as cultures, problems and customs which tended to focus specifically on the immediate surrounds of the artist and thusly include objects and people traditionally not considered of any artistic merit. (â€Å"A Short history,†) Romanticism was the sugar coated escape for the reality occurring around people in the late 18th century however Realism went completely against what romanticis m held to be so important in its period.The Realism period provided a scientific answer for the imbalance in society caused but the Romantic views of people in the late 18th century. Realism showed how important it was to appreciate everyday life and the works that contributed to your society as Romanticism tended to rebel against all political and social influences of the time period. Realism waged a metaphorical battle against any art that depicted emotions or romanticism. Realism seemed to fade when the Impressionism period came to light. This period has some similarities to realism.The Impressionism period reflected a more extended version of realism. Impressionism was more scenic and landscape but still focused on using everyday life as the basis of the art. . Francisco Goya’s performed etchings such as his work â€Å"The Sleep of reason† he believed art should reflect the way the world was without illusion. (â€Å"Learn about realism,†) These periods broug ht us great writers such as Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne and artist such as Eugene Delacroix that have greatly influenced the artist and writers of today.Although both periods completely disagreed with each other they were both a result of the social and economic situation that was in need of a solution. Bibliography Learn about realism. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. arthistory-famousartists-paintings. com/Realism. html A Short history on realism. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. frontpainting. com/famous-paintings-realism. html Honour, H. (1974). Romanticism. New York, New York: Westview press .

How does Coleridge tell the story in part 1 of Rime of the Ancient Mariner? Essay

As part 1 is the first of all parts in Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner, we are introduced to the characters in the poem and Coleridge establishes the setting of the poem. ‘It is an ancient Mariner†¦he stoppeth one of three. ’ The impersonal pronoun of ‘it’ suggests that this Mariner may not be human, however there is a change in pronoun with ‘he’, implying a liminal state of the Mariner; he is somewhere in between being supernatural and mortality, reinforced by the word, ‘ancient’. Coleridge’s use of archaic language is used to take the reader back in time to a bygone era, as well as acting as an indicator of setting. The Wedding Guest describes the Mariner in an other-worldly way, having a ‘long grey beard and glittering eye’; both the beard and the singular glittering eye possess connotations of wizardry and reinforce the idea that the Mariner may be a supernatural being. Coleridge creates a number of contrasts between the 1st and 2nd stanzas. The 2nd stanza is used to represent a ‘normal’ world, a world that the Mariner can never be a part of. In the stanza, ‘the Bridegroom’s doors are opened wide’, the word, ‘wide’, is juxtaposed by the Mariner’s unnatural obstruction to the Guest in the previous stanza, as well as to the potential story of the wedding. There is also a contrast between the tones of the stanzas, the atmosphere in the 1st stanza is particularly eerie, but we are presented with an upbeat tone and pace in the 2nd stanza, demonstrated through Coleridge’s use of internal rhyme, ‘the guests are met, the feast is set’. The festive imagery emphasises the upbeat nature of the stanza, ‘feast’, and ‘merry’. The 3rd and 4th stanzas are used by Coleridge to illustrate the extent of power that the Mariner has over the Guest. The Mariner ‘holds him with his skinny hand’, here, the Mariner has been able to physically obtain him against his will. The Mariner fails to answer the Guest’s question in the 1st stanza and begins, ‘there was a ship,’ here, this particular narrative gap creates suspense, adding to the poem’s tension. The Guest is unhappy and conveys his pain and anger through imperative sentence structure, ‘hold off! unhand me. ’ The structural device of exclamation also emphasises the pain felt by the Guest. We see Coleridge’s use of repetition in the 4th stanza, ‘he holds him with his glittering eye’, but this time instead of the Mariner’s hand; it’s his singular eye that is compelling the Guest to listen against his own will, suggesting that the Mariner possesses supernatural powers. The simile used by Coleridge, ‘listens like a three years child’, helps to highlight the true extent of the Guest’s vulnerability now that the Mariner has successfully transfixed him and ‘hath his will’, despite the fact that the Guest previously had more control over the Mariner; ‘his hand dropt he. ’ The Mariner’s begins his ‘rime’ in the 6th and 7th stanzas positively, using internal rhyme to create an upbeat rhythm and a more positive mood after the previous eerie stanzas, ‘the ship was cheered, the harbour cleared’. The imagery of security is what they are moving away from, creating a sense of foreboding. The sound created by the internal rhyme almost sounds crafted, helping to reflect the Mariner’s sense of familiarity with these objects associated with his home, ‘kirk’, ‘hill’, and the ‘light-house top’. The Mariner’s familiarity is emphasised by the anaphora, ‘before’. Coleridge uses further internal rhyme, ‘he shone bright, and on the right’, in order to maintain the positive mood and the upbeat rhythm. Coleridge also personifies the sun, perhaps to foreshadow the immense power of the sun that appears later on in the Mariner’s story. The consistent movement of the personified sun helps to indicate the passing of time within the story being told by the Mariner. The 8th, 9th and 10th stanzas act as a narrative break to the Mariner’s story, reminding the reader that a story within a story is being told. The story is interrupted by ‘the Wedding-Guest here beat[ing] his breast’; the animalistic imagery reflects the Guest’s primitive instincts to flee the Mariner’s grip, as well as his general frustration. This action from the Guest is in response to ‘the loud bassoon,’ creating a contrast between the mystical elements of the Mariner and the celebratory and festive event that the Guest is trying to be a part of. We see what the Guest is missing out on, ‘the bride†¦red as a rose is she’, although this simile is seemingly conventional, with closer inspection we are able to see that the bride is fully red, not just her lips, reflecting her full vibrancy, contrasted with the Mariner’s ‘skinny hand’. The wedding almost acts as a narrative backdrop; it demonstrates the joyous occasion that both the Guest and the Mariner are not a part of and serves to spotlight the tragic story that’s being told by the Mariner. Coleridge’s use of repetition, ‘he beat his breast’, is suggestive of the Mariner’s hypnotic ways and the guest’s continuous attempts to escape the grip of the Mariner. In the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th stanzas, the Mariner heavily depicts the weather and the environment. The capitalisation of ‘Storm’ is used to create a visual representation, and his use of personification, ‘he’, reflects the storm’s severity and power. He reinforces this idea by using predatory language, ‘his o’ertaking wings†¦chased us’, the storm is presented as some sort of dark, higher power. In the 12th stanza, Coleridge deviates from the traditional folk-ballad form, demonstrating the chaos at this particular point, as well as the Mariner’s heightened emotions. Coleridge reinforces the storm’s aggression through the use of onomatopoeic language, ‘roared’ and ‘blast’. In the 13th stanza, Coleridge returns to the traditional ballad structure to mark a sense of restored order now that the storm has stopped. ‘And now there came both mist and snow, and it grew wondrous cold’, the use of present tense, ‘now’, allows a shock for the reader, building tension. The use of assonance, ‘wondrous cold’, and short clauses forces the reader to pause and slow down, hindering the pace of the stanza, and therefore creating a contrast between the previous fast-moving and chaotic stanzas. The simile, ‘ice†¦as green as emerald’, marks the beginning of the Mariner and his ship’s problems; the green ice is peculiar and mysterious and hints at the supernatural. The Mariner describes the effects of the snow, ‘the snowy clifts did send a dismal sheen’, as ‘dismal’ possesses connotations with misery, and ‘sheen’ with impaired vision, the grouping of them creates a sense that there is no escape and no life wherever they are. These conditions are then emphasised through the personification of ice, ‘it cracked and growled, and roared and howled’, and the onomatopoeic language helps to show the possibly fatal effects of the ice. The anaphora, ‘the ice’, as well as the repetition reinforce this idea, and illustrate the true amount of ice they are surrounded by. In the final stanzas, we see the emergence of the Albatross, ‘at length did cross an Albatross, thorough the fog it came. ’ The capitalisation of ‘Albatross’ reflects his importance, as he is the only form of life that the ship can see. He emerges as a good omen from the ‘fog’, the fog having connotations of mystery and darkness, symbolising a newfound sense of hope, as the bird is like a gift sent from God. The religious lexical fields, ‘God’s name’, ‘hail’, ‘Christian soul’, reflect the Mariner’s gratitude towards God who he believes is responsible for the Albatross’ appearance. The internal rhyme, ‘cross’ and ‘Albatross’, conveys the uplifted mood of the Mariner now that the Albatross has apparently rescued their ship, ‘the ice did split’ and ‘a good south wind sprung up behind’. Further internal rhyme reinforces the upbeat mood of the Mariner, ‘the Albatross did follow, and every day, for food or play’, he is presented as almost anthropomorphic; he’s like an angel. The semantic fields about goodness and religion suggest that Coleridge’s poem is coming to an end, or at least leading in a different direction. Indeed, the story is quite upbeat until the mention of ‘moon-shine’, as moon often signifies near or distant change, a sense of foreboding is created. Perhaps the Guest realises this too, as the hyphen may represent another attempt to get away from the Mariner, or the Guest’s realisation that the Mariner is disturbed, ‘Why look’st thou so? †Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬Å"With my cross-bow I shot the Albatross’. The enjambment in the line helps to emphasise both the reader and the Guest’s honest reaction of shock. Coleridge ends part 1 with a cliff-hanger in order to create suspense in the poem, as well as a sense of mystery.

Case Study †An Ethical Dilemma Essay

Jackie, a young star with a prominent voice who gets picked up by a professional recording label after performing at a national talent competition. Overwhelmed with excitement, thinks it is a dream come true to start a career with a lucrative contract. Meets and has an intimate encounter with her soon to be manager, Kevin. Months go by as their relationship begins to flourish but soon she starts to hear rumors that Kevin has helped a new girl in the legal department get her position threw their own personal relations. Jackie has suspicions that Kevin may be having other deeper interactions with this new girl. Jackie’s suspicions turn out to be true and she is devastated. She obviously breaks off the relationship with Kevin but cannot afford to lose him as her manager. Time goes by with awkward silence between the two but eventually Jackie decides to be professional with her career and continues to keep Kevin on as her manager. This lasts awhile until Kevin starts to make inappropriate sexual advances towards her. She tries to laugh it off but as he continues she threatens to make a formal complaint to legal. He does eventually stop but has stopped all efforts to promote her music thus making it very difficult for her to continue on with her success. She eventually does decide to make a complaint with legal, there is where she runs into Leslie, the girl that Kevin had got the position for in legal. She tells her, â€Å"even I believed you, you didn’t report this relationship which goes against our superior-employee ethics code†. So either she had the choice to let the matter go or to make a complaint which would in turn have her also reprimanded. She is forced with  an ultimate decision and eventually decides to do nothing. Summarized Ethical Issue at Heart The unethical issue at heart is the manager, Kevin, making inappropriate gestures towards Jackie after they had broken up. Doing so with Jackie’s vulnerable position of whether or not to report the issue which would do more harm than good. Or to leave the matter alone and just hope that Kevin would leave her alone. Neither option are better suited for Jackie who in this case is the victim, which leads to the question of appropriate ethical responsibility of the company. Details that are missing in the case A 3rd party perspective on the details of both parties. More detail as to what accusations were being made towards Kevin and Jackie. Whether Kevin had proper ethical training. List of all stakeholders who would be involved with this ethical dilemma. Employees Other artists Board of Trustees Investors Legal Department Customers Community Media Three stakeholders and the concerns they may have. Employees Don’t like how they are working for an unethically sound company. Thinking how it could happen to them if they were put in the same situation If the  problem was ever made public how would my job security look? Would this company’s name stain my resume? Investors How will my portfolio look if this artist is to become successful with another producer? Will this story become public? Will my shares plummet from this company’s bad publicity? What would happen to the company outlook if the entire company was to go thru proper corporate ethical training? Could it be a success? Board of Trustees This will look bad if the story was to made public How must will it cost to perform proper corporate training on proper ethical behavior? Do the managerial levels need to be reevaluated? Could the company be looking at a lawsuit? Five solutions. Perform corporate training at all levels reviewing proper ethical conduct Fire the manager Workout an undisclosed settlement See if another manager is available to take her on Leave and try to find successes elsewhere Top three solutions with possible consequences. 1. Perform corporate training at all levels, monitor it and have employees sign off on regulating polices that are being implemented regarding superior-employee relations as well as all other common ethical practices. Doesn’t really solve the problem at hand, may be good for the future but doesn’t help Jackie Company sets public perception that their ethical standards are in question Very timely and costly Risk of employees losing interest/possible turnover of employees 2. Fire and Replace the Manager May get sued by Kevin for wrongful termination Jackie’s verbal threats may continue Incident is likely to be made public Board of Trustees would have to look over all management positions Loss of all positive profits that Kevin may have acquired 3. Workout an undisclosed settlement Costly Sets a standard for future wrong doings May not stay quiet Fellow employees and/or artist may exercise more scrutiny as they mature on with their job Three Stakeholders and Top Three Solutions with two pros and two cons effects on the Stakeholder. Make company employees take corporate training on proper ethical behavior Will benefit the company’s overall performance Give the media something different to talk about with regards to the company Very costly Employees may decline to take it/possible employee turnover Fire and Replace the Manager Jackie would be satisfied The company would have a bad employee released Fellow artists may lose that label Manager could sue for wrongful termination Workout an undisclosed amount Jackie would be happy and the problem would be resolved Stays quiet Costly Solves no future problems Two ethical principles upheld or violated by the top three solutions. Make company employees take corporate training on proper ethical behavior Provides positive integrity to the company As long as the training provided was paid hours it shouldn’t be seen in any way of being unethical Trust and Communication Fire and Replace the Manager Fails to meet ethical standards simply because not enough information is known Unethical towards the employees as some could suddenly be put into a disadvantage Work out an undisclosed amount Completely unethical from the rest of the company’s standpoint as this option would be odd and serve no purpose towards the rest of the company Financially unethical to use funds to serve as a settlement rather than other purposes of the company Performing corporate training at all levels, monitoring it and have employees sign off on regulating polices that are being implemented regarding superior-employee relations as well as all other common ethical practices will provide positive integrity to the company. If the training hours were paid and it didn’t have an effect on daily routine then it doesn’t seem to be unethical to request training hours. Firing the manager Kevin would solve Jackie’s problem but only hers alone. To be fair which is a principle of  ethics would be to implement a code that would benefit the company as a whole. Although what Kevin is accused of doing is warranted of being fired there just isn’t enough information for the company to let him go. Her words against his wouldn’t be enough to fire him. This is why a revamp of full corporate training probably stands to be the best possible solution for this situation. Decision and Implementation Identify the best solution. Implementing corporate training throughout the entire staff of the company maybe specializing in specific areas would be most likely to be the best possible solution. There are a lot more benefits to educating employees on proper ethics. A workplace in which an ethics code has been instilled is a naturally pleasant place. Employee morale rises in an atmosphere that promotes good behavior and honest interactions. Reasons why this is the best solution. It creates a better atmosphere in the workplace, teaches an office how to work as a team, promotes personal responsibility, and has always shown to boost staff morale. A work ethics training program promotes teamwork by instilling trust in co-workers. People are more likely to be amenable to working together when they appreciate and respect one another. Why the other solutions were rejected Firing the manager Kevin as well as making an undisclosed settlement were found to be unethical towards other members of the company. It would not be a good example to set if the company were to single out an incident and act in an irregular way towards that issue. There also wasn’t enough facts to the case to make the decision to fire the manager, Kevin. Especially doing so knowing full well it would affect other stakeholders. Possible objections to the solution The company may find that employee may complain that they do not need to take part in training. A mandatory requirement may need to be implemented for all employees. A turnover rate within the employees may be seen. Investors or Board of Trustees will look at all avenues of the cheapest method of implementing training. How would you overcome these objections? Make it a requirement to attain a certain number of ethics training hours. Find other avenues of funding that can contribute to the program to make sure that employees are receiving the best training. Self-inflicted training from the managerial level is a cheaper method to instruct employees. References Ethical Dilemma. (n.d.). Forbes. Retrieved , from http://www.forbes.com/2004/06/23/cx_da_0623topnews.html Advantages of Training Employees About Work Ethics. (n.d.). Small Business. Retrieved , from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-training-employees-work-ethics-44472.html Ethics Training in the Workplace. (n.d.). Ethics Training. Retrieved , from http://www.rctm.com/ethics.htm Institute For Ethical Awareness. (n.d.). Institute For Ethical Awareness. Retrieved , from http://www.instituteforethicalawareness.org The Online Business Ethics Training Program | Ethics Training Guide. (n.d.). Ethics Training Guide. Retrieved , from http://ethicstrainingguide.org/

Ethical language is meaningless Essay

Ethics is concerned with what is right and what is wrong. Meta-ethics however looks at the language, it asks â€Å"What does it mean to say that something is right or wrong†. In the words of Pojman, â€Å"normative ethics is a philosophical examination of morality, meta-ethics is philosophising about ethics -that is, about the very terms and structure of ethical theories.† I aim to explore the claim that all ethical language is meaningless by looking at some of the common statements used in the ethical language and what they actually mean. Firstly let me take the question itself- what exactly is ethical language? Dr Richard Paul defines ethics as â€Å"a set of concepts and principles that guide us in determining what behaviour helps or harms sentient creatures†. Paul also states that most people confuse ethics with behaving in accordance with people’s religious beliefs and the law, and don’t treat ethics as a stand-alone concept. However, according to the dictionary ethics is defined as the â€Å"study of morality’s effect on conduct: the study of moral standards and how they affect conduct†. With people defining ‘ethics’ in different ways, ethical statements would have contrasting meanings depending on how you viewed the actual term ‘ethical’. This idea of looking into the language of a statement before determining whether the outcome/notion would be right or wrong is called meta-ethics. This view of language limits its meaning to something that can be verified by sense experience (i.e. proven true or false). This view can be found in the works of Wittgenstein in ‘Tractatus’ (1921). This initial view went on to influence a group of philosophers known as the ‘Vienna Circle’ who developed the idea of ‘positivism’. This then influenced A J Ayer who claimed in his publication of ‘Language, Truth and Logic’ that there are only two kinds of proposition being the truths known by definition, and the truths known by reference to sense experience. For example, to Ayer ‘all bachelors are unmarried’ would be known as a tautology because this is correct by definition and thus claims nothing. However, ‘That man is a bachelor’ can be either proven false or true by using external facts (i.e. does he wear a wedding ring etc.). To  Ayer both these statements would be meaningful as they can be proven true. However, an ethical statement such as ‘abortion is wrong’ cannot be verified analytically or synthetically (like the examples before could be) and so aren’t meaningful. On the other hand, F H Bradley argued that the supreme good for mankind was self-realisation, meaning that we choose to go one way or another in life, so that we can join the wider community. Morality to Bradley is about the actions you take which express the character that you are. This is known as metaphysical ethics and is often referred to as depending on two abstract ideas. The first being the world as a whole and the second being self-realisation. Neither of these ideas can be reduced to the sort of empirical evidence that the logical positivists such as Ayer would say, can determine whether it has meaning. Therefore Bradley would say that ethical statements are meaningful. I agree with Bradley in that I can see how you can investigate the world as a whole and individual people’s inner characters I have to disagree with the overall opinion that for a statement to have meaning it must fit into one of two categories. Not everything can be proven through science or experien ce, but that is not to say it does not have meaning to some people. R M Hare agreed with my thoughts as he put forward his approach of ‘Prescriptivism’. He argued that an ethical statement ‘prescribes’ a course of action and tells you what one ought to do. It is stronger than just a suggestion of how to behave, but at the same time is more than a command because commands are related to specific things at specific times, i.e. ‘you should tidy your room’ would have meaning. An ethical statement is a general command of how to behave, making it both prescriptive and universalisable. Therefore one can apply logic to the statement and can deduce whether they should follow the statement or not. Hare would not make the decision so black and white that the statement is either ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ but would instead say ‘yes I think I agree with the statement and I intend to follow what it says’. Therefore these statements are full of meaning as they prescribe how one should act. Having said that, many people would not be happy with the above outcome as it is down to the individual and could arguably make excuses for actions that people may do. By following Ayer’s argument it is much simpler and universal as it is not down to the individual, it is either right or wrong through science and facts. Ayer, an emotivist, also felt that ethical statements are not just expressions of the individual person’s emotion but also of their attitude towards the situation. A good example to use- if I say capital punishment is wrong, it’s because I have an attitude opposed to capital punishment which is formed due to my beliefs. Therefore Ayer compared these ethical statements to the ‘laughs’ and ‘boos and hisses’ the ‘cheers’ and the ‘screams’ that people may voice in the audience of a debate. The statements are meaningless and add no weight to the situation. For example, saying that charity is good you are saying â€Å"hoorah for charity work† and nothing more. We would simply be expressing our attitude towards that topic or situation, and in the words of Ayer â€Å"I am not making any factual statement†¦ I am merely expressing certain moral sentiments.† Moral and ethical arguments serve no real purpose as everyone has their own opinion but who are we to say which opinion is right? We cannot know from people’s own expressions whether a moral statement is right or wrong, and therefore will come to no outcome so all ethical statements are meaningless. C.L Stevenson took this further and developed Ayer’s emotivism. Stevenson felt that whilst People’s subjective opinions are often based on objective facts so meaningful ethical discourse could take place. For example; if I say war is wrong it is my opinion and purely subjective. However if we say that war is wrong because 10000 people were killed innocently that is objective and factual evidence as to why so many people believe war is wrong. Therefore ethical statements can be meaningful. Ethical statements also include a persuasive element, which encourages other people to adopt the same attitudes/beliefs as us. Here Stevenson bridges both prescriptivism and emotivism together, and believes that ethical statements are meaningful. My opinion, however, would be that most people in society would be able to recognise that an ethical statement such as â€Å"It is wrong to murder† is prescribing a course of action that will benefit the rest of society. I  agree with R M Hare that an ethical statement is meaningful as it provides a guide as to how you should go about your daily lives. Language in general can have several meanings, but this still means each has a meaning. Ethical statements are made up of language, therefore each statement in my opinion is meaningful. You cannot make the decision of whether ethical language has meaning purely based on logic and evidence through experience- some things cannot be reduced to these categories, but that does not mean some people don’t consider this language as meaningless.

English-Value Claim Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

English-Value Claim - Essay Example English-Value Claim When we claim that Occupy Wall Street is moral movement we are trying to argue based on the rightfulness or principles or rules that the movement does which are based on ideologies of right conduct in the society. Whatever the movement is passionate about must be a great deal that is affecting the economy of the societies. Money has been a huge driving force behind all policy makings and watching the entire economy collapse is devastating, we should be rewarded for our hard work and shun corruption, oppression of equality, self over justice and greed overwhelm our corporations. The word moral has been used in the Oxford Dictionary to refer to principles that concern right or acceptable behaviors that are accepted in a particular society. It entails manifesting or holding high principles for appropriate conduct. Morally acceptable behaviors are those accepted in the society. The word is to be used to refer to claims that I personally approve of. When the act does not seem to affect the society and is meant for the well-being of everybody, then it is moral. I do not intend to make you think otherwise of situations that you find right to me and wrong to you as justified to be morals, but whatever you find right is moral. For instance when I claim that government tax is moral, then it means I personally approve the imposition of government tax to everybody. For a Christian to claim murder as immoral then he/she is bringing in personal approval that according to the ethics of Christianity it is against the will of God to commit such acts.

The Objectives Of The Spanish And British Colonizers Case Study

The Objectives Of The Spanish And British Colonizers - Case Study Example Comparisons made between the two as far as patterns of colonization demonstrate the existence of significant differences. There were similarities, such as the use of the New Lands to further their mercantile ideologies. Both also ravaged the native peoples of the Americas, which set on course cultural destruction and disruption. However, both nations would lose their colonies by the early 19th century as independent settler communities were established. How were their objectives for finding these settlements similar or different? The objectives of the Spanish and British colonizers were starkly different apart from their goal of advancing their mercantile ideologies. The Spanish colonized and settled in the New Lands primarily as conquerors with the political system that they set up being entirely autocratic and centered on furthering the Spanish motherland (Elliott 37). After they had conquered the lands, they proceeded to loot vast resources. Spain viewed the new lands that it colo nized as an object whose only use was for the furthering of its mercantile objectives. This was evident in a large number of ships that traveled from Spanish America to Spain laden with gold, silver, and other valuables. Since it was their sole objective, Spain gave minimal rights of self-rule to their colonies, instead of dictating the policies governing them from the Spanish mainland (Elliott 38). The British settled peacefully rather than as conquerors into the new Lands. They migrated to these lands with the sole objectives of economic opportunity, political freedom, and independence. Because England had a long tradition of partial representation, their colonies were able to achieve some self-government with a form of assembly that was representative of the settlers.