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

Effective Shift Handover

Effective communication between outgoing and incoming personnel is extremely important in maintenance. Individuals must assume personal ownership and responsibility for their tasks. Information should be transmitted in written, spoken, and gestured (nonverbal) forms. Using multiple communication methods (redundancy) reduces risk.

When an experienced person hands over to an inexperienced one, the former must assume the latter lacks the same knowledge and will need more time for the handover. For example, a brief, spoken-only handover (lack of redundancy) resulted in missing screws during installation. The next shift, believing all screws were installed, released the airplane for service.

The Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen refers... Continue reading "Effective Shift Handover and Human Error in Aviation Maintenance" »

Advantages and Disadvantages of Starting Your Own Business

Some people contemplate starting their own business at some point in their lives. Like everything in life, owning a business has its advantages and disadvantages, its securities and risks. But perhaps, not having a job also has risks. The wonderful adventure of starting a business is something worth experiencing. In this essay, we will discuss the arguments in favor of and against this issue.

Advantages of Owning a Business

On the one hand, there are many advantages, such as:

• Economic independence
• Freedom of time
• The possibility to work where you like
• Leaving an inheritance
• Planning your holidays

A study by... shows that 40 percent of people have benefited from owning their own business, 50... Continue reading "Starting a Business: Advantages and Disadvantages" »

ESSAYS

A: Discuss the symbolism of Shakespeare in Brave New World

Shakespeare is what helps John understand the worlds that he experiences. He can understand cultural and social difference between the two world.

B: Discuss to what extent we have moved toward Huxley's futuristic vision of Brave New World

In our real world today, people are still brainwashed with catchy phrases that stick their consumeristic lifestyles into their ways of living. In Brave New World, "Ending is better than mending" is one of the phrases that's repeated the most. It pushes and encourages people to buy new products. In a real-life situation, let's say someone buys a shirt for $5, but the thread holding the hem of the shirt breaks soon after being purchased. That person... Continue reading "Exploring Themes in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World" »

Understanding Logical Fallacies

Logical fallacies are common errors in reasoning that undermine the logic of an argument. They can be illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points.

Common Logical Fallacies:

• Slippery Slope: A course of action that seems to lead from one action or result to another with unintended consequences. Example: If we allow the children to choose the movie this time, they are going to expect to be able to choose the school they go to or the doctors they visit.
• Hasty Generalization: A conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. Example: Kevin's grandparents do not know how to use a computer. Kevin thinks that all older people must be computer illiterate.
• Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc: A fallacy in which one event is said

Mystery Plays

Mystery plays tell stories from the Bible and each play was prepared and presented by a trade guild on wagons that moved about the town. The cycles usually coincided with trade fairs.

Mystery Cycle

Mystery cycle is a collection of mystery plays with stories from the creation to the last judgement. Examples like: The creation of heaven and hell. The Annunciation or The Nativity.

Guilds

Guilds were groups of tradesmen. Each guild was in charge of a different play. Mystery plays performed by local craftsmen's guilds had the economic and administrative means to stage them. They were often lavish and theatrical affairs arranged to coincide with trade fairs when lots of visitors came to the town. They used to act on wagons which travelled

Room to Grow (John Stuart Mill)

- He was a genius, raised on utilitarianism.

- There are different types of pleasure, and some are better than others.

- Anyone who has experienced high and low pleasures prefers the high.

- Paternalism: Forcing someone to do something for their good (acceptable only in children).

- The Harm Principle: Every adult should be free to live as they want as long as they do not harm anyone.

- The more freedom, the happier.

Unintelligent Design (Charles Darwin)

- Everyone has apes in their family tree; we are part of nature.

- His theory explains how human beings, plants, and animals have come to be what they are and how they are still changing.

- You cannot be a Darwinian and also believe that God created all species as they... Continue reading "Philosophical Insights: Mill to Freud" »

Characteristics of the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic Cosmovision

Organicism:

• The Universe is like a living organism.
• Each part of the Universe serves a function.

Anthropocentrism:

• The geocentric quality of this cosmovision is a form of anthropocentrism.
• The Earth, the place in which human beings live, is at the center of the Universe.

Finalism:

• All natural changes have a "final cause", i.e., an ultimate objective. The changes pursue this objective.

Heterogeneity:

• The Aristotelian cosmos is not a "universe" but a "diverse": it has diverse regions.

Philosophical Positions on the Existence of God

• Theism: Affirms the existence of a personal, supernatural, and transcendental God. God is not just the cause of reality, He also governs it.
• Deism: Affirms that God exists

What was life like for children among the Puritans?

What was expected of them and what kinds of things were they banned from doing? How were they disciplined for misbehavior?

They had to follow the same strict code as adults, such as doing chores, attending church services, and repressing individual differences. They weren’t allowed to show any form of emotion and stay ignorant. The punishment would be physical, such as whipping.

What factors contributed to the instability of life in Salem Village?

Salem is a community on the outskirts (in the wilderness), just hanging on. Woods could conceal Indians or the Devil himself. Their charter was revoked, rigid religious practices, belief in predestination, misogyny, gossip, land disputes, and resentment... Continue reading "Puritans, Salem, and the New World: Beliefs and Conflicts" »

What If Everyone Did It? (Immanuel Kant)

• If you help because it hurts you, it is not a moral action.
• Morality depends on what you do and why you do it.
• You should never lie.
• We all have an absolute duty to tell the truth → Categorical imperative (order).
• We act on the basis of “maxims”. For something to be moral, it must be applicable to everyone (maxims applicable in all cases).
• Always ask yourself the question of what if everyone did it?

Such Practice (Jeremy Bentham)

• Panopticon (a machine to make rogues honest).
• Utilitarianism or the Principle of Greatest Happiness → It consists of the idea that what is correct is what produces the greatest happiness.
• Happiness is pleasure and absence of pain. We seek pleasurable experiences and avoid painful

A charitable trust is a trust for a specific purpose, where there is no beneficiary.

The purpose of a charitable trust must be 'charitable' according to the Charities Act 2011 and must be for the public benefit.

Fiscal Advantages/Benefits

• Exempt from Inheritance Tax
• Exempt from tax on investments
• Exempt from income tax
• Gift Aid (reclaim the basic rate of tax on gifts)

Charitable Status - Poverty

Poverty is defined in the case of RE COULTHURST as the condition of having less than what is considered normal in terms of food and clothing.

In the case of RE SAUNDERS TRUST, a gift left for the working classes and their families was deemed invalid because being working class does not necessarily mean being poor. If it had followed the precedent set by RE YOUNG... Continue reading "How Does a Charitable Trust Work?" »