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

The Illusion of Free Will: Analyzing Sam Harris

Harris sets the foundation for his position by attempting to analyze why so many believe they act freely in the first place. I believe he does this partly because many defenses of free will start with a phenomenological claim: it seems to us that we do, in fact, act freely and are responsible for those acts at times. If Harris can dispense with this experience, or at least explain why these experiences are not what we take them to be, he can cast doubt on an essential Libertarian starting point, which strengthens his case.

Choices, Efforts, and Intentions

In the section titled “Choices, Efforts, and Intentions,” Harris discusses the feeling of freedom and states that this feeling, while not inconsequential,... Continue reading "Sam Harris and the Illusion of Free Will: A Critical Analysis" »

Essentials of Business and Professional Ethics

1. Ethical Responsibilities of a Business

   • To the general public: Avoiding adverse effects on public health, the environment, and philanthropic efforts.
   • To customers: Ensuring informed choices, the right to be heard, and customer safety.
   • To the workforce: Providing a safe workplace, preventing harassment and discrimination, ensuring equal opportunity, and offering a chance for a quality life.
   • To investors: Practicing good accounting, and providing an accurate portrayal of the firm's financial resources and conditions.

Basis for Ethical Business Organizations

1. Ethical Awareness

   Implementing a code of conduct for all employees and managers.

2. Ethical Reasoning

   Providing ethics education for employees and managers.

Professional Ethics: To What and to Whom?

A professional’s ethical responsibility is to what and to whom? Physicians follow the Hippocratic oath to “do no harm.” Journalists are compelled by their profession to follow the ideal to be “honest, fair, and courageous” in “gathering, reporting, and interpreting information.” What about educators or accountants? Accountants are called upon to “be objective, avoid conflicts of interest, and to report clearly and accurately.” The ethical code of teachers instructs them not to indoctrinate.

The Journalist's Perspective

I am quoting Weston and also calling upon my own life experience in covering this topic in more detail. I would be happy to give equal time to physicians and accountants,... Continue reading "Professional Ethics and the Integrity of Journalism" »

Shareholders' Equity and Corporate Structure

Net assets are defined as total assets minus total liabilities. Paid-in Capital and Retained Earnings are two of the three primary account classifications for Shareholders' Equity (SE).

Disadvantages of the Corporate Form

• Paperwork is expensive.
• Double taxation.

Advantages of the Corporate Form

• The corporation is a separate legal entity—separate and distinct from its owners.
• Ownership interest is easily transferred.
• Shareholders do not have a mutual agency relationship.
• Limited liability: Owners are not personally liable for the debts of the corporation.
• Ease of raising capital.

Articles of Incorporation

Corporations have articles of incorporation (corporate charter). It describes the nature of the firm’s... Continue reading "Shareholders' Equity and Accounting Changes" »

The Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was triggered by Martin Luther's response to the actions of Pope Leo X. The Pope initiated a project in 1517 to rebuild St. Peter's Church, a significant undertaking as tradition holds that Saint Peter is buried beneath it. However, the project faced financial constraints, leading to the sale of indulgences.

This practice, allowing individuals to purportedly shorten their time in purgatory through monetary contributions, deeply troubled Luther. He was particularly disturbed by the notion that salvation could be purchased. Luther felt burdened by the perceived sinfulness of humanity and the idea that wealth could erase sins. Consequently, he composed 95 theses, which were sent to the local... Continue reading "The Protestant Reformation: Origins and Impact" »

The Social Sciences

The social sciences

The activity of thinkers, researchers, and social scientists, mainly during the last three centuries, encompasses the totality of knowledge about humans in society.

The production of social thought, in particular from the 19^th century, gave the social sciences an enormous boost and helped establish them as an alternative for scientific explanations of social phenomena, which was of great interest to humanity.

Sociology

Sociology

Sociology was born as a scientific discipline in the 19^th century in France, in an age of intense intellectual work commonly called the Enlightenment.

Auguste Comte was the first to utilize the term sociology (1822).

Social Physics

Social physics

The term “social physics” reflects an... Continue reading "Social Sciences: Sociology, Economics, Political Science, History" »

Macbeth Vocabulary: Words and Definitions

• Chalice: A cup
• Cistern: A tank for storing water
• Cloistered: Secluded from the world
• Chide: To put down; to tell someone off
• Carousing: Drinking and becoming noisy
• Compunctious: Deserving of shame; deeply wrong
• Chastise: To punish by beating; to criticize severely
• Dwindle: To make or become gradually less until little remains
• Dire: A severe, serious, or desperate situation or circumstance
• Dauntless: Fearless, unable to be intimidated
• Desolate: Without inhabitants
• Dolor: Intense sadness
• Divine: Connecting or relating to God or gods
• Entrails: Internal organs, especially the intestines
• Fruitless: Unproductive or unsuccessful
• Grapple: Wrestle or struggle with
• Gild: To cover with a substance; usually gold or gold-like
• Gentry:

Approaches to Determining Ethical Obligation

"It is to the great and fundamental principles of society and civilization—to the common usage universally consented to, and mutually and reciprocally maintained—to the unceasing circulation of interest, which, passing through its million channels, invigorates the whole mass of civilized man—it is to these things, infinitely more than to anything which even the best instituted government can perform, that the safety and prosperity of the individual and of the whole depends."Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man, "Applying Principle to Practice, Chapter One—Of Society and Civilization."

Common Sense Ethical Principles

The following list of prima facie ethical obligations (common sense ethical principles)... Continue reading "Ethical Obligations and Decision-Making" »

Default

An action that is natural or standard.

Untainted

Not contaminated or polluted.

Aberration

A deviation from what is normal or expected.

Profiteering

The act of making an illegal or unfair profit.

Delusion

A belief maintained despite being proven untrue. Example: "The Miami Dolphins will win the Super Bowl this year."

Placate

To make someone less angry or hostile.

Sop

Something of little value given to appease someone whose concerns are not being met.

Deliverance

The act of being rescued or set free.

Anodyne

Not likely to offend; bland or inoffensive.

Narthex

A room or area at the entrance of a church.

Urbane

(Of a person) courteous and refined in manner.

Longevity

Long existence or service; a long life.

Collaboration

The action of working with someone to produce... Continue reading "Essential Concepts Defined: A Vocabulary Collection" »