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

Ancestor Beliefs and Traditional Costumes

Many people have misconceptions about ancestor beliefs and traditional costumes. Some consider them to be disturbing or forbidden, while others find them to be proper and appropriate. However, it is important to not ignore or refuse to stay behind these customs, as they are a part of our roots and heritage.

Traditional costumes are not just a comeback attempt or a stereotype. They are a creative and well-deserved expression of our cultural identity. They may seem narrow-minded or treacherous to some, but they are actually a typical and widespread phenomenon worldwide.

It is crucial to keep the spirit of our ancestors alive and not let it be overshadowed by alien and modern influences. Just like a spacecraft... Continue reading "The Impact of Ancestor Beliefs on Traditional Costumes" »

Our Committee Emphasizes the Importance of English Language Education

Our committee also emphasizes the importance of ensuring that every European student must have at least the B1 level in English by the end of their secondary education.

Bearing in mind that the lack of knowledge of a second language decreases citizens' opportunities of finding a job as well as their ability to communicate with foreigners.

The Committee on Culture and Education draws attention to the European Commission on the beneficial aspects of providing unemployed people the possibility of attending free language classes.

Essential English Vocabulary and Idioms

• Out of the blue: From nowhere
• Cold feet: To get nervous or back out
• Tip of my tongue: Almost remembered
• Over the moon: Very happy
• In deep water: In a lot of trouble
• Walk out on / Bail out / Pull out: To dump or abandon
• Be on board: To be in agreement
• Pull your socks up: To get serious or get your act together
• Waste of space: Useless
• Put your foot in it: To say something embarrassing
• Go blank: To become speechless
• To snipe: To look for the negative side
• Time flies: Time goes by very fast
• Slaving away: Working very hard
• Snowed under: Having a lot of work
• Keeping our heads above water: To survive
• Tighten our belts: To economize
• Things have picked up: Things have improved
• Little sleepy village: A place where nothing happens
• Tied

1. What is scientific knowledge?

• A set of rules about how to establish science.

2. What is the experimental method?

• A method of separating out causal factors.

3. Define sociobiology

• A combination of sociological and biological reflections that theorize a genetic basis for human behavior.

4. How long ago did humanlike creatures appear?

• Early tools: Discoveries of tools with skeletons have been dated from 2.3 to 1.6 million years ago.
• Later findings: Discoveries of tools with skeletons have been dated from 400,000 to 100,000 years ago.

5. What three abilities gave humans advantages?

• Only humans can think and reason, communicate, and use tools.

6. What changed humans from hunters to settlers?

• Humans learned that they could exercise control over land and animals.

1. The collocation restrictions are part of the:

• a. Evoked meaning
• b. Presupposed meaning
• c. Propositional meaning
• d. Understood meaning

2. Common problems of non-equivalence (tick the wrong option):

• a. Differences in frequency and purpose of using specific words
• b. The use of loan words in the source text
• c. Differences in expressive meaning
• d. Similarities in form

3. Tick the wrong statement:

• a. Words rarely occur on their own
• b. Words are strung together at random
• c. There are restrictions on the way words combine to convey meaning
• d. Restrictions are written down in the form of rules

4. Patterns of collocation:

• a. Are independent of meaning
• b. Are dependent on meaning
• c. Don’t reflect the preferences of specific language communities for certain modes of

Common English Antonyms and Opposites

Many of these opposites are formed using negative prefixes such as un-, in-, il-, im-, or dis-.

• Adequate (adecuado) / Inadequate (inadecuado)
• Appropriate (apropiado) / Inappropriate (inapropiado)
• Bearable (tolerable) / Unbearable (intolerable)
• Believable (creíble) / Unbelievable (increíble)
• Censored (censurado) / Uncensored (sin censura)
• Comfortable (cómodo) / Uncomfortable (incómodo)
• Decent (decente, digno) / Indecent (indecente, indigno)
• Helpful (útil, servicial) / Unhelpful (inútil, de poca ayuda)
• Credible (creíble) / Incredible (increíble)
• Legal (legal) / Illegal (ilegal)
• Legible (legible) / Illegible (ilegible)
• Literate (alfabetizado) / Illiterate (analfabeto)
• Logical (lógico) / Illogical (ilógico)
• Loved

Essential Vocabulary: Key Definitions

Words Starting with E

Effervescent

Giving off bubbles; fizzy; vivacious and enthusiastic.

Words Starting with F

Formal

Done in accordance with rules of convention or etiquette; officially sanctioned or recognized.

Words Starting with H

Hasten

To be quick to do something.

Heart

The central or innermost part of something; to like very much.

Hindrance

A thing that provides resistance, delay, or obstruction to something or someone.

Words Starting with M

Motive

A reason for doing something, especially one that is hidden or not obvious; causing or being the reason for something.

Words Starting with O

Oasis

A fertile spot in a desert where water is found.

Words Starting with P

Proliferate

To increase rapidly in numbers.

Words Starting

Utilitarian ethics bases right and wrong on the greatest happiness principle. This principle states that actions are considered moral when they tend to promote happiness and deter its opposite, and immoral when the opposite occurs. This principle was formulated by Jeremy Bentham. Mill claimed that it is demeaning to reduce the meaning of life to pleasure. Utility is defined as pleasure itself and the absence of pain. Happiness is a sign that we are exercising our higher faculties.

When making a moral judgment on an action, utilitarianism thus takes into account not just the quantity but also the quality of the pleasures resulting from it. A pleasure is of higher quality if people would choose it over a different pleasure even if it is accompanied... Continue reading "Utilitarian Ethics: The Greatest Happiness Principle and Moral Judgments" »

Marxist Legal Theory

Deterministic View

For Marx, society divides into two distinct classes: the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. These classes are distinguished by their relationship to the means of production. The bourgeoisie, owning the means of production, exploit the labor of the proletariat, creating an inherent power struggle. This struggle manifests in various aspects of society, including law.

Marx argues that law, morality, and religion serve to mask bourgeois interests. Law, defined and implemented by the economic elite, perpetuates their dominance. This deterministic view suggests a direct link between a society's economy and its legal system, with the imbalance of power perpetuating conflict between the classes.

Ideology and Law

Marx... Continue reading "Marxist Legal Theory: Exploring Determinism and Ideology in Law" »

Principle of Utility

The principle of utility states that actions or behaviors are right in so far as they promote happiness or pleasure, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness or pain. Hence, utility is a teleological principle.

Act Utilitarianism

Act utilitarianism is a utilitarian theory of ethics which states that a person's act is morally right if and only if it produces the best possible results in that specific situation.

Rule Utilitarianism

Rule utilitarianism is a form of utilitarianism that says an action is right as it conforms to a rule that leads to the greatest good, or that 'the rightness or wrongness of a particular action is a function of the correctness of the rule of which it is an instance'.

Euthanasia

Euthanasia (from Greek:... Continue reading "Understanding Utilitarianism, Euthanasia, and Ethical Theories" »