Human and Utilitarianism Essay Example for Free

Human and Utilitarianism Essay Let me begin by defining Utilitarianism: utilitarianism is the belief of doing what is right for the greater number of people. It is a theory used to determine the usefulness of the happiest outcome and how it will affect everyone else. Now, this sounds like a amazing theory, what would be better than making yourself and others happy? I found myself at first agreeing with this theory up until I really looked into it. At first I found myself thinking that not everything is about being happy; some may have to suffer for the happiness of others. For example, there were two boats one contains three criminals on death row being transported to prison and the other boat contains ten happy, loving families simply enjoying a vacation. Both ships have bombs that will go off in a matter of seconds, blowing up both ships and killing everyone. However, there is a solution. I for some odd reason have a device that sets off a bomb on ONE SHIP and deactivates the other. Now the morally right thing to do would be what? What is moral and right? Taking lives? Or saving them? I do not believe in ‘playing God’ or taking lives. I would simply ignore the Utilitarianism way of thinking and walk away. I would let nature take its course. If God has arranged this to happen, then it is meant to happen. Who am I to walk in and ‘play God’ ? I have to say I agree with Hospers when he says â€Å"A hundred men might gain great pleasure from beating up or killing just one Insignificant human being; but other mens lives are not theirs to dispose of. † (Hospers) A Utilitarian would approach this situation by asking himself/herself, what will bring happiness? What will do good for greater numbers of people? Why should the prisoners get to live? There are only three prisoners, and have done nothing good but cause harm to society. What have these families done? The Utilitarian will start to analyze each detail of the situation. They first see that there are only three prisoners as opposed to ten large families. Hence, there are less people on the prisoners boat. Then he/she will see that the prisoners have already been sentenced to death, all being on death row. However, the main point will be that these are three bad men. Doing bad things, and causing pain and sorrow to others. Why should ten happy families be punished for their wrong doings? The Utilitarian would settle for simply deactivating the bomb on the prisoners boat. Believing that killing them will bring greater good and happiness to all. My argument to this is a human life is a human life; what if one of those men are actually innocent and were convicted for a crime he didn’t commit? What if the other criminal was to be released in the morning and go home to a family of eight children and a loving wife? Truth is we don’t know. Utilitarianism fails to acknowledge that a life is a life- we are not suppose to be playing God. We don’t decide who lives and who dies, even if it is for the greater good. We should just let nature run its course. Utilitarianism is a theory of always choosing pleasure over pain for the greater good of all. I believe that I have kept a closed mind towards Utilitarianism. The prisoners are already on death row, which means they are going to die for the evil they have set loose on our world. Why should I sacrifice the lives of innocent families, for a couple of men that have caused unhappiness to all? I want to reach happiness, as does everyone else in the world. I mean does the world function over what the greater good for all is? Is that why we have soldiers in Iraq sacrificing their lives for the greater good of America? Maybe I have just overlooked all the positive outcomes of Utilitarianism. I find myself agreeing with a lot of what it has to say. I want happiness, I want innocent lives to be saved, and I want to strive for the greater good of all. I find it interesting how easy it is to fall into the comfort of Utilitarianism. It goes along with my morals and values and yet I still feel a sort of guilt. If I were to deactivate the bomb on the ship with the families and let the prisoners die, I would still be taking a human life. In my religion (Catholicism), a life is a life. We must forgive sinners and those who have sinned against us. But if these prisoners are on death row†¦were they already destined to die? Would that already be in God’s plan? Was it God who sacrificed his only son for all of us sinners? I feel in a way that makes God himself a follower of utilitarianism. He set the example of offering his only son for our sins, to open the gates of heaven for everyone. Yet one of the Ten Commandments is â€Å"Thou shall not kill. † Is that not hypocritical? As I keep analyzing this situation I realize that God is God. He decides who lives and who dies, not us. I feel that it’s hard to stick to my morals when hearing the theory of Utilitarianism. Allowing someone to die at my hand for the greater good, for happiness of others. That just sounds selfish to me, kind of like the holocaust. Did all those innocent Jews endure experimentation and torture for the greater good of all? I mean, if it weren’t for these grotesque experiments we wouldn’t know the maximum altitude that crews in damaged planes can parachute safely to the ground or find the cure/treatment for hypothermia. The Jews were used as guinea pigs for the greater good of everyone else. Is that not Utilitarianism? So many people could have died of hypothermia if that experiment was never conducted. But how many innocent lives were lost to reach this conclusion? Is there a limit to how much sacrifice should be made for the greater good? There should be. This is where I cannot connect with Utilitarianism, the fact that some sort of evil has to be done to help others. I see hypocrisy in this theory; it wants happiness but wants to rule out evil. People are evil, mean and rude. No one can be happy all the time; no one can bring eternal happiness. This takes me back to my original example, who would I save? The prisoners on death row or the innocent families? The Utilitarian’s seem to have a more interesting argument. Its funny how by writing this paper, my views changed. I look at the situation differently now. I do not feel as biased and conservative as before. My ideas have changed to a more liberal understanding sense. Why release these evil me back into the world? We have enough chaos and evil. These are just three men who chose their paths and now have to pay for it. They were sentenced to death for a reason, I will not be held responsible for the innocence of happy families, children, parents, aunts and uncles. They are not in prison because they have not done anything wrong. They simply stepped onto a ship, whose fate I now hold in my hands. I have made my choice; I will deactivate the bomb on the families boat and let the prisoners face death.

Consider changes Owen made in Anthem For Doomed Youth. How effective Es

Consider changes Owen made in Anthem For Doomed Youth. How effective do you find them in presenting the Pity of War? In this essay I intend to analysis how effective the redrafts of the poem 'Anthem For Doomed Youth' by comparing the first and final drafts. I will go about this task by comparing and contrasting the parts of the poem, which have been change to the ones, which appeared in the final draft. The first change that one is confronted with is the change of the title. Owen begins with the word 'dead', which is changed to 'doomed'. The reason for changing this is because it makes the readers first impressions very deep. The word 'doomed' hits closer to home than the word 'dead' as doomed creates image sin the readers mind that all the youth will die as opposed to 'dead' which simply accounts for the dead. The word doomed has a greater impact within the readers mind. The word doomed also has a sense of inevitability about it and those involved have no control over it. It hints to the reader that the youth of the soldiers has been taken away due to the horrific events that they will encounter whilst at war. As youth is meant to be a time of happiness. The overall impact if this change does do a lot for the poem to emphasise the 'Pity of War'. In the first line the soldiers are referred to in the final draft as 'cattle' from the passive verb of 'fast'. The word 'cattle' creates connotations within the readers mind of the slaughtering of the animals and creates a much more violent picture. It also spells out to the reader that the reason for cattle is so they can be slaughter and their existence serves no other meaning which could be linked to the purpose of the troops being in the battle field; t... ...ake an effort but it seems to make war be a petty thing and as soon as darkness strikes everyone puts down guns and waits until morning. Overall the majority of the changes are to make the lines have more impact but some are also to be in with the structure. The poem is in two stanzas, the first seems to create a picture of the entire events of a whole war. Due to the way it talks of battle and then mention remembrance at the end. Due to the language used and the usage of alliteration the stanza seems to have a sense of speed about it and overall creates a very compelling picture of war. The second stanza has a much more religious and emotional view about it. The pace is slowed down and there is much emphasis on the connotations and imagery, which the author crates. The poem is a very true reflection of the way in which life was wasted in World War One.

Crash Essy

Julius M Dix Professor Gail Lighthipe Writing 106 Section 1 12 November 2013 Crash Essay Crash is the perfect analogy of how we as a human race deal with life, people and our own experiences. Physical characteristics and racial differences may be interpreted as two distinguishing traits that separate us. I think it's what keeps us apart. That leaves several abstract questions that the film Crash illustrates. What are the origins of personal prejudice? Do individuals experience stereotypes? Can people battle internal struggles within their own ethnic group?What prohibits us from vercoming these prejudices? The writers of the Crash managed to extend my viewing experience beyond the 90 minute film, thus forcing me to analyze my own prejudices and racial stereotypes towards others. I always thought that racism occurred as a result of a person's upbringing. If your parents were racist, there is a good chance that you will be a racist too. At first glance, Matt Dillon's character exhibits characteristics typical of this theory. Dillon exhibited a close bond with his father and later, we discover the roots of his racism.I naively assumed that Dillon as absorbing external cues from his father regarding his attitudes towards black people. It turns out that his father was not racist towards black people. It was Dillon who, in combination with his father's negative experiences and his own as a member of the LAPD, formed his own perceptions towards blacks. Another example of this occurred at the beginning of the film when the Persian family was attempting to purchase a gun. The clerk at the gun shop made a few blatantly racist comments about the perceptions of the customers. There were several references to the twin owers and planes.It didn't matter that the two were Persian, not Arab. A recurring theme was that post 9/1 1, all Middle Eastern people became potential terrorists. It is amazing that people have the ability to interpret bad events and cast their own prejudices on different ethnic groups to mask their feeling of anger and frustration. Perhaps stereotypes have maintained their prevalence because there are so many people that perpetuate them. It is often believed that all young black men are destined to be thugs, criminals and drug dealers. Additionally it is a common statistic hat the majority of incarcerated males are African American.As a young black man, it is difficult to break free of that stereotype. â€Å"Things will never change. † That attitude along with the perpetuation of existing stereotypes may be largely responsible for negative racial longevity. Ludacris' character was one of the most interesting to me. Here was this articulate young black man that spent his life stealing cars from white people. â€Å"Rap music is the music of the oppressor,† he said. It is often easier to blame others for your shortcomings than it is to confront them head on. On the reverse, rouble facing stereotypes can occur anywhere.They a re not simply restricted to skin-tone and neighborhoods. Racial discrimination transpires through social class as well. This creates division within the same racial groups. In the film, Cameron was portrayed as a wealthy, black, television actor. He achieved success as a nard working black man, but at what cost? Films like Crash are forcing us to look outside our own lives and fears, to realize that we're more alike than we think. Aside from the 2% genetic differences between us, we all have problems and internal struggles. That's what makes us human.

A Problem Of World Hunger - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1342 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/06/14 Category Science Essay Level High school Tags: World Hunger Essay Did you like this example? Do you ever get too full after eating food and dispose of all the left overrs? Do you ever buy so much groceries that end up getting expired and then must throw them away? Have you ever thought of the seven hundred ninety-five million people who are currently starving around the world? These people might have been able to eat these foods that sometimes we are not grateful for. We dont realize how there are so many people who are mal nourished and need food. There are so many programs that help these people in need but there are many countries that dont have that help. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Problem Of World Hunger" essay for you Create order World hunger in Afghanistan is due to many reasons; war, civil unrest, and recurring natural disasters. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries ranking 169 out of 187 counties in development index Since Afghanistan is a war zone there are not many resources to help and stop hunger and starvation. About 2.5 million people suffer from hunger in just Afghanistan. Because of the drought in some areas in Afghanistan theyre not able to grow their own crops causing them to not have any source of food. This leads to mal nutrition and even death. Do you feel a little remorse now after knowing how many families suffer from not only hunger but fearing for their lives because of other things going on in their country? I was always taught to serve myself what I can eat and dont waste the food. There are many people who were never taught about others being in bad stages and that is why sometimes they become what we call brats or simply unappreciated people. There are tons of programs that do help and fight world hunger but if you sit and think the real reason of world hunger is mainly caused by natural disasters, such as floods, storms and even long periods of drought area; are at higher risk of food shortage. Poverty is also one of the main causes of world hunger. It really must feel terrible to have a whole family you cant feed because of any of these reasons. I believe someone who suffers from hunger has to be really strong; acknowledge and accept the fact they will only have 1 meal a day or maybe just even water. Yet, there are many countries that also dont have that resource of having clean water and they are exposed to more bad microorganisms. These people lack safe housing, clean water, and health care. They cannot afford to buy or get food to maintain good health. This usually causes them to get sick since they have inadequate diets that lead to poor health in adults, and impaired physical, psychological and cognitive development in children. They suffer from food insecurity, meaning that they have limited access to foods of enough quality or quantity to sustain a healthy and active life. Sometimes, the way they seek for food assistance is socially unacceptable, but they really have no choice. For example, they will beg to strangers for food, steal from markets, or even scavenge through garbage cans. Because hunger is so bad, they dont care if its molded food, slime, leftover meats or even meat from road kill. Poverty in this country eventually leads to hunger, then inadequate intake of energy, protein, vitamin A and mineral, leading to malnutrition. Having nutrient deficiencies will lead to more serious problems. A child who suffers from nutrient deficiencies will continue to grow but without adequate nourishment. This means that body functions will begin to fail, and signs of deficiency diseases become apart. Some symptoms from nutrient deficiency can be birth defects, learning disabilities, mental retardation, impaired immunity, blindness, unable to work due to lack of energy, and premature deaths. There is a severe malnutrition condition called kwashiorkor and itrs due to protein deficiency. Kwashiorkor is characterized by failure to grow and develop edema, changes in the pigmentation of hair and skin, fatty liver, anemia and apathy.(pg 672) Kwashiorkor is mainly noticed by the childs swollen belly. The most common nutrients to be deficient are iron, iodine, vitamin A and zinc. Each ye ar, 7.6 million children, younger than 5 die; s a result to hunger and mal nutrition. They dont die from starvation but mainly from diarrhea and dehydration. They develop infectious disease that causes diarrhea for example, dysentery and cholera. They will also develop acute respiratory diseases like pneumonia and whopping cough, measles and malaria too. This increases the risk of death in children. Although Afghanistan doesnt have the same help as in the United States, there are emergency programs that provide temporary relief during devastation, either caused by a natural disaster or war. Armed conflict is a major cause in Afghanistan, since farmers and regular civilians become warriors, and their agriculture fields become battlegrounds, and because of its citizens go hungry. They no longer can plant their own crops and end up with little sources of food. There are many concerned communities, churches and local agencies who are always trying to help feed the hungry. It will help temporary but there is so many people to feed it runs out very quickly. It is crazy to think there enough food around the world for every single living person in the world; the only problem is the unequal distribution to places, and poor income to purchase foods. A huge impact that will threaten the worldrs capacity to produce foods is overpopulation. In Afghanistan you mainly see hospitals filled with children less than 5 years old in a very bad case of severe malnutrition. They are the most impacted people since mothers dont tend to breast feed and instead give powdered milk mixed with steam water since they cant provide enough nourishment and due to a lot of children in just one family. In 2013, Unicef was able to raise its target for being able to provide therapeutic foods to the acutely malnourished children. Therapeutic foods are made for malnourished children who are not able to digest normal food. Many children often die from severe malnutrition because families cannot get to hospitals due to war going on. It is a constant problem in Afghanistan which they dont have control over. Furthermore, there are steps to be taken try ending world hunger. This issue has been going on for a very long time now and the steps they are taking dont seem to help everyone. Itrs very hard to try and alleviate world hunger. Yet, there are those people who complain from being part of the world hunger just because they havent ate in a few hours, when there are people who really dont get there nutrients and suffer from severe hunger and are in very bad pain. The steps that should be taken to help these poor people suffering from hunger are having the government help. The government can help by offering programs to provide more food and safe housing and most importantly more healthcare facilities. Developing countries like Canada United States and the United Kingdom tend to waste lots of food, not considering how many people die to have that food they are throwing to waste and this has to stop. In conclusion, world hunger is a problem that needs to be taken more serious, and people really need to look into trying to help. There are many causes from world hunger but the main one in this case are poverty, war, climate changes and weak economies. These developed countries should all try to help the people suffering from hunger. Trying to find ways to help will delay everything and people will keep losing their loved ones. People in developing countries cannot help themselves, they need helping hands from the developed countries. People need to be able to contribute financially to organizations that have already been crated to help end world hunger. Itrs very sad to think that a meal you make a bad face to be a meal someone suffering hunger anywhere around the world is currently thinking of. A good remedy to help the people suffering from hunger is through compassion.