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

Characteristics of the Modern Novel

The modern novel is defined by realism, the transformation of society, the influence of psychology, the reflection of the omniscient narrator, the stream of consciousness technique, and the interior monologue. Key novelists include:

• James Joyce
• D.H. Lawrence
• E.M. Forster

Joseph Conrad: The Complexity of the Human Condition

Joseph Conrad believed the writer's task was to record the complicated patterns of life as he saw them. Features of his works include:

• Human Condition: Characters are often solitary figures with no past and an uncertain future, reflecting pessimism, moral instability, and the hope found in fidelity.
• Setting: He utilized the sea as a microcosm and exotic places to make the inner problems of isolated

What Is Bioethics?

The term "bioethics" has been used over the last twenty years to describe the investigation and study of how decisions in medicine and science impact our health, lives, society, and the environment.

Bioethics addresses fundamental questions regarding human values, such as the rights to life and health, and the morality of developments in healthcare institutions, life technology, medicine, and the health professions. It also examines society's responsibility for the life and health of its members.

Bioethics involves issues relating to the beginning and end of human life, ranging from in-vitro fertilisation and abortion to euthanasia and palliative care.

Bioethics impacts every level of the human community, from local nursing homes... Continue reading "Understanding Bioethics: Principles and Core Concepts" »

1. common law: interpretation throught past decisions of higher courts wich interpert the same statues, applies customary law principles to similar facts, not all inclusive, ownership is by use
2. codelaw: legal system is commercial, civil and criminal, ownership by registration
3. islamic law: the interpretation of koran, complete sytem for propert rights, economics decision, type of economic freedom, prohibition for payment of interest,emphasis on ethical, moral,social
4. conciliation: formal or informal, private adn confidential, statements may not be disclosed, signature is recorded
5. arbitration: disinterested parties as referees, formally conducted, enfoceable under the law
6. litigation: fear o creating a poor image, unfair treatment in a freign court, difficulty

English Adjective Suffixes

This table illustrates how to form adjectives from nouns using common suffixes.

Suffix: -ful

Suffix: -less

Suffix: -al

Suffix: -y

1. Brotherhood Identity Alteration

   The Brotherhood alters its members' identities by surgically changing their appearances beyond recognition.

2. Brotherhood's Resilience Explained

   O'Brien states the Brotherhood can never be wiped out because its individual members possess very little knowledge of its overall workings, size, or activities.

3. Winston's Toast with O'Brien and Julia

   Winston suggests he, Julia, and O’Brien drink the last of the wine to toast the past.

4. O'Brien's Promised Delivery to Winston

   O’Brien tells Winston he will arrange for a man with a briefcase to deliver a copy of the book written by Goldstein, which explains the Brotherhood’s principles.

5. Winston's Question About the Rhyme

   Before leaving, Winston asks O’Brien if he knows the rhyme

Comprehensive Vocabulary Glossary

• Wheedle: To coax by using sly persuasion or insincere praise.
• Detract: To take away, especially from the value, beauty, or importance of.
• Emancipate: To set free from slavery; to liberate.
• Insuperable: Incapable of being overcome or defeated.
• Intermittent: Not continuous; happening at intervals.
• Obligatory: Required or demanded.
• Vagabond: A person who wanders from place to place.
• Bewail: To express deep regret or sorrow over.
• Destitute: Without resources or possessions, especially the necessities of life; lacking; devoid of.
• Extol: To praise highly.
• Flamboyant: Excessively showy; unrestrained.
• Impetus: A driving force; anything that causes an action.
• Maxim: A general truth or rule of conduct; a short saying.
• Plumb: To measure

Lemuel Gulliver

’s vivid and detailed style of narration makes it clear that he is intelligent and well educated, his perceptions are naïve and gullible. He has virtually no emotional life, or at least no awareness of it, and his comments are strictly factual. Indeed, sometimes his obsession with the facts of navigation, for example, becomes unbearable for us, as his fictional editor, Richard Sympson, makes clear when he explains having had to cut out nearly half of Gulliver’s verbiage. Gulliver never thinks that the absurdities he encounters are funny and never makes the satiric connections between the lands he visits and his own home. Gulliver’s naïveté makes the satire possible, as we pick up on things that Gulliver does not notice.... Continue reading "Key Characters in Gulliver's Travels: Analysis and Profiles" »

Core Principles Governing Insurance Contracts

Utmost Good Faith (Uberrimae Fidei)

The principle of Utmost Good Faith requires the insured party to disclose all material information to the insurance company (insurer).

• Material information is any data that would affect the insurer’s decision to provide coverage and/or determine the premium charged.
• When completing the proposal form (application form), all questions must be answered truthfully.
• If the insurer discovers that material information was withheld (e.g., during a claim), the contract becomes null and void, resulting in no compensation.

The Principle of Insurable Interest

Insurable Interest dictates that you can only insure something in which you have a legal relationship and a personal financial... Continue reading "5 Essential Principles of Insurance Law and Claims" »

How to Write a Thesis Statement

Features of the Analytical Genre

1. Never use personal pronouns (I, me, my, we, us, our, you, etc.).
2. No rhetorical questions.
3. Do not use figurative language yourself.
4. No contractions (don't = do not).
5. Events in the novel are written in present tense ("Falk goes to Gretchen's").

Structure of an Analytical Essay

Purpose of an Analytical Essay

1. The entire purpose of an analytical essay is to respond (answer) to an essay-question analyzing evidence to support/justify your response.
2. In order to respond (answer) the essay question, you must create your thesis statement.
3. Your thesis statement is your response to the question. It is the purpose of your essay. It will dictate what you write in your body paragraphs.

Thesis Statements

1. A

Essential Vocabulary for Everyday English Communication

Money and Shopping

• Bargains: Something cheap.
• Browsing: Looking around in a shop, comparing prices.
• Can't afford: Can't pay for it.
• Clubbed together: Saving money with someone.
• Designer label: Exclusive named brand.
• Economical with the truth: Not the whole truth.
• Fork out: Spend a lot of money on something.
• Help themselves: To take as much as they wanted.
• Overdrawn: With no money.
• Redundancies: Firing employees.
• Splash out: Spend an extravagant sum of money.
• Stingy: Unwilling to give or spend; not generous.
• Tax havens: Not paying taxes.

Media and Communication

• Billboard: A big publicity advertisement.
• Biased: Favorable to some ideas.
• Broadcast: Emit on mass media.
• Censorship: Not being able to express yourself.