Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Philosophy and ethics

• Even in this place where there is no competition for power (the king is absolute) nor for goods (they are common), there is still a place for malice (cf. XII.35).
• Rasselas's encounter with the aeronautical engineer (VI) provides a pattern that is repeated throughout the narrative.
• The engineer's project would have seemed futile to Johnson's contemporaries: The attempt at human flight, though rational, is doomed to failure; the engineer's fall into the lake is typical of all human aspirations.
• The story of Imlac also prefigures the rest of the narrative: Though his father aspires only to the increase of wealth, Imlac recognizes that his own desire for the increase of knowledge does not bring him happiness.
• The possession of knowledge cannot prevent

Authoritarian

Expecting others to obey rules completely.

Demanding

Needing a lot of your time and energy.

Consensual

Involving the agreement of most people in a group; democratic.

Coaching

Giving training or advice for a specific job or task.

Mentoring

Advising and helping someone more generally over a longer time period.

Empowerment

Giving control over decisions to other people.

Liaison

Exchange of information between people so that they work well together.

Hierarchical

Where people and jobs are divided into many levels of importance.

Proactive

Taking action before it's needed, rather than waiting until problems develop.

Qualities

Part of your character and personality, often present at birth or developed early in life. Hard to change.

Skills

Can be developed... Continue reading "Essential Business & Management Terminology" »

Irritants to Employers

• Shift in worker loyalty
• Reduction of management's right to discipline
• Belligerence of labor leaders
• Intra-union and inter-union rivalries
• Harassment by the union
• Abuses by some employees

Why Employees Join Unions

1. Employer's unfair treatment of employees
2. Discontent with salary
3. Worker realization that collective action is more effective
4. Unions can wield power over management
5. Management's failure to provide legal entitlements
6. Worker desire to render social services to fellow workers
7. Better economic and working conditions
8. Feeling of job security
9. Lack of management recognition of job value
10. Desire to seek solutions to common problems

Consequences of Conflict

• Issues are recognized
• Risk to group cohesion and performance
• Poor performance
• Constructive

External Sensible Knowledge

The Object of the Senses

• Formal Object:
  • Per se (Direct): That which can be perceived by the sense.
    • Proper: Can only be perceived by one specific sense.
    • Common: Can be perceived by multiple senses.
  • Per accidens (Indirect): That which the sense does not perceive by itself, but is added by the soul to the direct object. Our senses are never wrong; this is confirmed by experience.

The Nature of the Senses

Senses are potencies or powers. They require stimulation to transition from potency to act. Senses react to the action of an object; they are passive, meaning they will not react without external activity.

1. It is a capability.
2. It is a passive potency.
3. It is neither purely material nor spiritual; senses are bodies informed by an

Common English Root Words

• Aqua - means water. Aquamarine
• Arbor - means tree. Arboreal
• Audio - means sound or hearing. Audible
• Bell - means war. Bellicism
• Com - means together. Community
• Con - means with. Connect
• Dict - means say. Dictation
• Geo - means earth. Geography
• Graph - means write. Graphics
• Hydra - means water. Hydrofoil
• Man - means hand. Manual
• Min - means small. Minimal
• Nov - means new. Novice
• Path - means feeling or suffering. Pathetic and Apathy
• Sol - means sun. Solar
• Therm - means heat. Thermometer
• Vac - means empty. Vacuum
• Vent - means opening to let air in. Ventilate
• Vit - means life. Vitamin

Other notable root words include liter, glyph, cap, morph, crypt, plan, ego, scent, and zoo. For example, zoo is derived from the Greek word for animal, which... Continue reading "Mastering English Vocabulary Through Common Root Words" »

A) Phenomenologically

• I) Vital activity
• II) Relation between a subject and an object
• III) Intentional union

B) Metaphysics of Knowledge

• I) Condition: Proportion between the two opposite ends
  Proportion: They must have something in common.
• II) Image impressed in the subject by the action of the object
• III) Relativity (not relativism) of knowledge
• IV) The direct action of knowledge falls onto the object (not onto the image)
• V) Implies immateriality

Natural Appetite

• Proof:
  • (i) Principle of causality: The operation follows the being.
  • (ii) Principle of finality: Every agent acts for an end.
• Origin:
  • 1. Far principle: Nature’s Creator
  • 2. Close principle: The form
• Value:
  • Natural appetite cannot be wrong: it is necessarily right, because it is natural.
  • A natural desire

Utilitarianism and the Morality of Torture

Torture has been one of the most controversial topics around the world. According to human rights principles, torture is considered illegal across national territories, even in desperate situations. Therefore, this essay focuses on arguments supporting the moral permissibility of torturing a suspected bomber, based on utilitarian theory, to save a significant number of civilians.

Defining Utilitarian Ethics

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory holding that an action is right if it tends to increase the amount of good (happiness or pleasure) for the greatest number of people affected, while decreasing sadness or pain. This theory focuses strictly on the consequences of an action rather than the motivations... Continue reading "Ticking Time Bomb: Utilitarian Ethics and Torture" »

Core Ethical Values and Social Principles

Definitions of Key Values

• Fairness: The value that guarantees all individuals the same access to opportunities, the right to express themselves, and the right to participate.
• Pluralism: Respecting and coexisting with other cultures.
• Justice: Giving to each person what corresponds to them or what they deserve.
• Respect: Recognizing the inherent value of human beings.
• Tolerance: Appreciating and respecting differences in people without discriminating against others for being different.
• Reciprocity: Indicates mutual actions, corresponding to others' attention in an appropriate way (e.g., good for good, appreciating favors).
• Responsibility: The duty or obligation to satisfactorily perform and complete a task.
• Dignity:

Aristotle on Happiness, Virtue and Justice

Being and the Good

For Aristotle there is an exact correlation between being and the good. There is no single being, but many beings, and there is no single good but many private goods.

Ethics as Telological and Eudaimonistic

Aristotle's ethics is essentially telological and eudaimonistic. All human actions are oriented toward the achievement of the good. This good is the final cause. These goods are more or less desirable but are not considered the highest good. But the difficulty lies in determining specifically what those goods and that happiness consist of.

The Highest Good and Its Characteristics

According to Aristotle, the greatest good or happiness has the following characteristics:

• It is a way of