Psychological and Ethical Egoism Essay

Egoism is a general term for the acknowledgement of human self-interest as a basis of action. There are several proponents of this theory. Basically it is a philosophical notion that was popularized by Hobbes. Whatever action that an individual would take is pursuant of his/her own self. This theory has famously been separated into two types. The first one is ethical egoism and the second is called psychological egoism. Ethical egoism talks about morality as the basis of action in order to uplift the person himself, while psychological egoism states that all of our actions are basically rooted on self-interest. Accordingly, psychological egoism is devised out of observation of common human behavior. A clear demarcation between the two lies on its structure, Ethical egoism is more prescriptive. On the other hand, Psychological egoism is descriptive or observational (Rachels, 2003). The Fallacy in Psychological Egoism Although Psychological egoism seems to be perfectly valid, it was widely refuted with respect to the fallacies that it had committed. One of the fallacies that can be found in the principles of psychological egoism, upon critical examination, would be the fallacy of â€Å"hasty generalization or converse accident†. According to some critics, the fallacy was rooted on confirming that indeed all human acts are self-interested due to the different instances that prove otherwise. This includes the fact that most people do actions that would damage or harm themselves such as smoking, self-mutilation and sometimes suicide. Also there are several altruistic behaviors that do not really come from self-interest. There are other things or notions such as conscience which also have an effect on one’s action. If those who supports psychological egoism would argue that all actions whether it be an act of conscience or an act that hurts oneself is also form of psychological egoism in itself, then there are no actions whatsoever that is not a form of psychological egoism (Rachels, 2003). Thus, it will result to a fallacy of tautology. It cannot be verified or established if an action is indeed a form of psychological egoism because there are no other actions aside from a psychologically egoistic act. Two Sides of Ethical Egoism The weak version of ethical egoism takes on the side of the probability of â€Å"altruistic behavior†. However, they have specified that although they acknowledge that the person does benevolent actions, nevertheless, they maintain that the action is still in accordance to or made with respect to the individuals’ own interest. One would like to do good because doing good makes him/her feels good. The strong version denies the presence of altruistic behavior. It asserts that in any circumstances, the individual would act in accordance to his/her self-interest despite the fact that it is in the form of benevolence. (Lander University, 2006) Major Similarities and Their Differnces Thus, as presented above, ethical egoism differs from psychological egoism in the sense that ethical egoist incorporates morality as a basis for human actions. It expresses the human self-interest in the sense of the goodness or the rightness of the act. Psychological egoism, do not try to tell us what we should do, but instead states that whatever actions that we have is basically an expression of our self-interest, the individual does not need to be moral or does not have to subscribe to morality (Rachels, 2003). Motivations In ethical egoism, the motivation lies on the person’s desires to do or aspire for something good or right. This is applicable when one is acting in able to help other people because it is in his nature to do so, as explained by David Hume. On the other hand, in psychological egoism, the motivation rest on the person’s or individual’s preference for self-interest. Psychologically egoistic behavior can best be interpreted when the individual is doing something in exchange of something that would benefit or would be in reference to his/her personal interest. Largely, those actions that are psychologically egoistic are selfish acts while those that fall under the ethical egoist are actions from self-interest. (Mosley, 2006) Selfishness versus Self-interest Selfishness is manifested through personal advantages, mostly sacrificing others in favor of one’s own self. Self-interest is promoting one’s interest either for the benefit of himself or of other people as well. Self-interest differs from selfishness in the sense that self-interest does not necessarily points toward selfishness because certain actions that would benefit one or would comprise self-interest may actually be altruistic actions. There are instances wherein you have to be helpful to other people in order for you to proceed towards your egoistic goals. Also there are some actions whether it is for oneself or for the sake of others that are not relevant basis in suggesting that it is selfish act or a self-interested act. For instance there were actions such as eating or drinking that can be classified as either a form of selfishness or a form of self-interest. As presented, the major key in understanding the points and relevance of each position lies on the individuals understanding of the term selfishness and acting for or out of self-interest. (Mosley, 2003) Reference http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/egoism.html

CaliforniaBerkeley essays

CaliforniaBerkeley essays During the 60s, there were social unrest on campuses across America as students became active in politics. Students at UCB organized sit ins and other demenstrations against the racial discrimination. When the university banned the students from the demenstrations, students gathered together to form the Free Speech movement. The university acted on the university charter law to ban politics on the college campus. Even though the law was not supposed to be interperated in that way, the university started enforcing the law. This made the students very angry and rebelled towards the university. The students began their free speech movement against the unconstitutional restrictions. The largest sit in happened at Sproul Hall, were police had to intervene, arresting more than 700 people. These were mostly students that wanted to advocate freedom of speech, but instead were dragged off to jails. The university soon changed its policies and allowed free speech as long as the demens tations were annonced ahead of time. Mario Savio, the leader of the movement advocated non violence, but this would not be upheld. The movement at UCB led way to many other campuses across the country. By the 70s, the movement ended across college campuses. Black Radicalism was on the move during the 60s as the Black Panthers formed. This group under Huey Newton and Bobby Seale represented African Americans in a different way other then the Civil Rights Movement. The group felt that African Americans were being wrongly targeted by white police officers. They were sick of the racism and wanted to be able to protect themselves as much as possible. The intentions of the Black Panther were to use non violence to defend themselves. Although they were non violent, they would carry guns just in case violence broke out. The Panthers were not a racist group, but one that is for protection from all harm no matter who it was. They be ...

Hazard Identification and Control Essays

Hazard Identification and Control Essays Hazard Identification and Control Paper Hazard Identification and Control Paper The first step evaluating hazards identification and control is looking for the hazards. Looking at the Wal-mart company there are various hazards which have been identified.   The hazards were stemming from mulch to milk and light bulbs to laundry detergent. Some of the identified hazardous compounds of the company were released from rubber mulch and tire crumbs. Compound identified from rubber crumbs included buylated hydroxyanisole, benzothiazole 4 –t (-octyl) phenol and n –hexadecane. These compounds were likely to cause various problems in the bodies of its workers and overall inhabitants for instance benzothiazole could cause eye and skin irritation, harmful if swallowed. Butylated hydroxyanisole can cause carcinogen, suspected endocrine toxicant, teratogenic toxicant, immunotoxicant, gastrointestinal toxicant, neurotoxicant, and sense-organ and skin toxicant.   N-hexadecane could cause severe irritant based on animal and human studies. : The tire rubber also released zinc, lead and cadmium into the ground water. High levels of zinc are phytotoxic when they enter the ground soil or water. Tire rubber also releases tire dust and the chemicals which are contained in the dust are perceived to be troublesome to the lungs. Carcinogens are found in the dust that posing the risk of cancer. Rubber crumbs also cause allergic responses because sensitized individuals tend to respond to exposures especially when there is a higher number of children suffering from asthma today allergic responses are mainly caused by exposure to high levels of latex. Human and environment health inc. expresses concerns about possible dangers that may result from recycled tires thus making consumers to think deeply before putting rubber much near or around their pets or children. Rubber tire fabrications are mainly attributed to the exposure to dusts and chemicals. Continued use of crumbs and recycled tire shreds in gardening, athletic fields and play grounds involves direct and repeated exposures for both adults and children chemical and tire dust which are similar to those in tire plants (Olioscourge.blogspot.com, 2010). Wal-Mart Company has adequate hazard inventory system. For example it has got some stipulated emergence response and accidental release prevention policies. These policies guide the company against exposure to chemicals. It also has got the stationary source and regulated handling of substances.   It also has got mitigation measures and administrative controls to limit distances for every reported scenario. The inventory system also has specific prevention procedures accompanied by a general prevention program on accidental. The inventory system also bears some of the planned changes to improve safety and the emergence response program. There are some procedures used by the Wal-Mart company in preventing and controlling its hazards. For instance the company utilizes anhydrous ammonia as a refrigerant. Its use necessitates some safety precautions for the company always strives to prevent exposure to all its personnel, nearby members of the surrounding community and the existing natural resources to minimize potential releases the company practices continual, accurate training on various safety procedures and devices. It also ensures that access to the facilities is only restricted to the facility workers employees. It also ensures that the maximum amount of ammonia at this specific facility is 45 thousand pounds because those are the limits set by IIAR recommendations. The worst case scenario is perceived to be ther failure of the largest vessel or intermediate pressure recirculation. Walmart company had effective inventory for it has seen a decrease in wokday incident rates this inventory has some weaknesses for example how was it possible for the company to sell chinese bracelets and pendants which had cadmium. There are various ways in which walmart controls its hazards. One is through the engneering controls whereby the hazard is controlled from its source. The other method is safety work practices this will include the general rules at the work place. The other method is the adminstration controls. This will include things like exercise breaks, rotation of workers and additional relif employees or workers. Hazards are also pprevented through personal protective equipment. PPE is effective for the control of hazards especially when engneering and adminstrative controls are being installed. There should be a PPE training and assessment. The assessment will set standards operating procedures for all the personnel and also train workkers on some of the protective limitations of the PPE. The other method is system track hazard correction. This is the thecorrectionof some of the hazards which take place despite the control and prevention program. Employees reports on accident investigation ad harzards provide space for recommendatiomns about hazards correction. The job to be   analysed is warehouse attendant at the Walmart’s company. The job involves lifting and packing of cartons fridges, horticultural products and many more. Major harzards include coldness from the low temperature products, heavy weight of the cartons andother products, and long heavy working hours. This may result into aching backs and pneumonia caused by the handling of   low temperature goods. Preventive measures include a protective gear in the hand, eyes andears. The other preventive measure of the employees tireness and heavy duty the company can hire more employees to make sure that there are shifts whereby workers will have an opportunity to relax (Osha.gov, 2010). References Olioscourge.blogspot.com. (2010). Wal-mart’s Earth Month and Rubber Mulch. Retrieved on May 14th from http://olioscourge.blogspot.com/2008/04/wal-marts-earth-month-and-rubber-mulch.html Osha.gov. (2010).Job Hazars Analysis. Retrieved on may 14th from   osha.gov/Publications/osha3071.html

Research perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Research perspectives - Essay Example They have higher and better developed cognitive skills giving them an edge over their younger counterparts. However language learning is one of the very crucial skills where they can be outsmarted by children. The critical learning period hypothesis posits that children learn a second language faster as compared to adults and have the ability to achieve native like expertise. Adults on the other hand are less likely to learn a second language post a certain age and such feat as achieving native-like expertise observed in young children, is almost non-existent or at best a rare phenomenon (Chiswick and Miller, 2008; DeKeyser, 2000). Researchers and language experts have observed that children up to a certain age naturally possess the ability to grasp various languages if they are exposed to it and achieve expertise and fluency in both – their native language as well as the foreign language. This skill or expertise is however highly restricted to a certain period of time known a s a critical period. If this period passes the language learning skills begin to fade and acquiring proficiency or native-like expertise in second language learning becomes a highly challenging task (Reichle, 2010; Rasinger, 2007; Singleton, 1989). However this hypothesis has found several critics who dismiss such claims and debate the relevance of the hypothesis (Nikolov, 2000; Hornberger and Corson, 1997; Ioup et al., 1994; Scovel, 2000). This study aims to assess, explore and analyse the credibility of the ‘critical period hypothesis’ and ascertain the impact, role, and implications of this period in second language acquisition via a comprehensive study of literature available on the subject. 1.1. Thesis statement: Competence in all spheres of human life is usually expected to increase and improve gradually over time and individuals are known to achieve expertise in various skills over the course of their lives. However certain skills such as language learning for in stance, are restricted to a certain critical period whereby it is claimed that L2 proficiency is best achieved before this 'critical period' since unlike other skills it is known to fade over time, thus implying that children are better equipped to achieve L2 proficiency as compared to adults. 1.2. Research objectives: The key objective of this study includes: To examine the relevance of critical period with respect to acquiring language learning skills among children and adults To ascertain whether children have superiority in language learning as compared to adults and whether such ability is dependent on a specific learning period. To examine the various factors such as biological, psychological, environmental, etc and assess its impact on second language acquisition. 1.3. Research problems: Being an English teacher in Saudi Arabia, I have often observed the various learning patterns of learners of English as a second language. Some of the key problems discussed as a part of this study include the following: Is there a substantial difference between adults and children with respect to second language acquisition? In what aspects does the critical period affect second language acquisition among individuals? Is there a common consensus among researchers with regard to relevance and credibility of the critical period hypothesis and its impact on second language acquisition among children and adults? Whether the decline in language learning abilities is the consequence of maturational factors or cognitive factors or any

Theoretical Approaches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Theoretical Approaches - Essay Example In line with this, chaos theory suggests that a business organization is made up of different departments that are interconnected with one another and that each department is being managed by managers with different set of opinions and ideas (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2009, p. 128). On the other hand, complexity theory suggests that the internal system of a business organization is not only self-organizing but also evolving (Ferlie, 2007). Since chaos and complexity theories both recognize the importance of implementing organizational change and flexibility within the workforce (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2009; Ferlie, 2007; Grobman, 2005; Schriver, 2004, p. 456), it makes sense that this theory can strengthen the development of organizational culture. Similar to the theory of chaos and complexity, the theory of dialectical also strengthens organizational culture in the sense that it promotes â€Å"conflict resolution† (Chapin, 2008, p. 284). Autopoiesis mean â€Å"self production† (Sori, 2009, p. 22). Unlike the three other theories mentioned earlier, the theory of autopoiesis is more focused on the importance of retaining each employee’s self identity or retaining the existing organizational culture (Mavrinac, 2006). For this reason, the theory of autopoiesis weakens organizational culture in the sense that it actually slows down the process of implementing organizational change (Morgan, 1997, p.

Is war principally the outcome of state sovereignty (International Essay

Is war principally the outcome of state sovereignty (International Relations) - Essay Example The motives as to why states and individuals may get into war has remained a subject of moral scrutiny For hundred of years state sovereignty has, been a significant rule of interstate relationships and a basis of the world order, The concept of State sovereignty lies at the core of both the traditional international rule and also the United Nations (UN) Charter. It has remained both a critical element of the preservation of global peace and security and more so a protection of weak nations against strong ones. In addition, the conception has never been as sacred, both in practice or law, as an official legal description may imply. According to past UN Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, "The time of absolute sovereignty has passed; its theory was never matched by reality." (Angelo, 2006) Practically, sovereignty of states' has regularly been dishonoured by powerful nations. In the present's globalized world, it is commonly accepted that cultural, economic and environmental influences do not respect boundaries nor does it require an access visa. The conception of state sovereignty is extensively ingrained in legal and also political dissertation. Similarly, territorial bounders are becoming under pressure and have weakened in importance as an outcome of modern international relationships. both communications and technology has made boundaries permeable, while the political elements of internal turmoil and misery have also frequently resulted in larger international turmoil. (Angelo, 2006) Meaning and reason of sovereignty State sovereignty stand for the capability, independent or self-government, and lawful equality of nations. The conception is usually used to include all issues in which all state is permitted through international law in deciding and acting without interferences from any other sovereign nations or states. These issues comprise the selection of political, social, cultural and economic systems and the crafting of foreign policy. The range of the autonomy of option of a state in these issues is limited; it depends upon advancements in the international law (which includes agreements formed voluntarily) and the international relations. (Angelo, 2006) As a characteristic of statehood territorial sovereignty, lies behind the structure of international arrangement in relationships amongst states. An action of hostility is illegal, not only as it challenges international world order, but also since states have applied their sovereignty to forbid war. More so, the breakdown or deteriorating of state ability which brings around a political void inside states results to human sufferings and regional and international insecurity. Aggressive, oppressive, or disintegrated states might lead in threats to regional and international security and peace. (Angelo, 2006) Theories of war: Balance of Power Theory The balance of power theory forecasts that swift alterations in the international supremacy and status, particularly efforts by one nation to conquer a region, will inflame counterbalancing acts. Because of this, the balancing process assists to preserve the stability of relationship among states. It has been observed that, a balance of power structure works most successfully when coalitions are

The international business environment is shaped by a wide variety of Essay

The international business environment is shaped by a wide variety of Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Technological ('PE - Essay Example The internationalization of businesses is normally shaped by macro-environmental factors which impacts hugely on their operations. Therefore, it is advisable for managers to ensure that a thorough analysis is conducted on the macro-environmental factors before making a move to go global. The macro-environmental factors that shape the international business environment include political, economical, social, legal, and technological factors (Blythe 2006, p.21). These factors must be considered because failure to do so might lead to sub-optimization of the strategies and resources invested by the company. This paper will examine how the political, economical, socio-cultural, and technological factors shape up the international business environment. Political/legal factors Political factors that shape a company’s internalization strategy include laws, groups and agencies that impact and limit individuals and organizations in society (Viswanathan and Dickson 2006, p.26). The areas that must be evaluated by managers include the attitude of the government toward foreign businesses, political stability, government bureaucracy as well as the financial policies of the country in which the company wants to establish its operations. The legal and political forces are very crucial and need to be considered by any manager because they cover several aspects of policies adopted by a company. For instance, the policies adopted by the government affects the entire industry through its regulatory bodies such as Trade and Industry Departments and Environmental Departments (Morrison 2009, p.16). These bodies affect the industry in which the company operates through their policies on trade and standards and restriction within their areas of controls. Policies developed by these bodies can affect businesses in a number of ways including the products produced, sold, or promoted by a company. It is very important for multinational companies to acknowledge the fact that political backgrounds differs from one country to another. For instance, the political environment of the U.K. may be quite different from that of China. This implies that a multinational company in the U.K. wishing to set businesses in China must first be conversant with the political and legal issues in China before making any move set business in the new environment. Morrison (2009) notes that a majority of economies that were formerly centrally planned still receive protection from their governments. This implies that a move to have a joint venture can easily be accepted in such economies. At the same time, it is reported that legal implications pertaining to the marketing of a product globally is very complex (Daniels and Radebaugh 1998, p.51). This is because every country has its legal system which implies that global companies must adhere to such legal systems in order not to find themselves on the wrong side of the law. McDonald’s is one of the most famous Americas fast food restaurants with an international presence in several countries such as the U.K., Japan and Russia, just to name but a few. However, reports indicate that McDonald’s was hugely affected by a legal challenges in Russia in 1993 when a law was passed in Russia compelling all stores (both local and international) to have Russian names. The same law,