Response to Ex Post Facto Ethics

The document, â€Å"Ex Post Facto Ethics† by Stanley Schmidt reveals many important points to our society. He stresses the fact that historians today are Judging and frowning upon what important historical figures thought and acted upon in their time. Although his article was very specific in examples his generalization of society being a uniform mass is his own hypocritical example of â€Å"Ex Post Facto Ethics†. It also proved to be hypocritical in its argument about passing Judgment much after the matter has passed.Schmidt stresses the fact that people in our present day society are constantly condemning upon our ancestors for violation of â€Å"ex post facto moral laws† when, in reality, the general accepted standards and values are changing even at this moment. Therefore, we do not understand how these people of history thought, felt, and/or believed what was right or wrong. In other words, we are unaware of the great impact that the social context of their period had on basic morality. It is easy to make Judgment of other peoples' actions in spite of our own levels of what is right and what is wrong in our eyes.To most of us now, the perception and understanding of basic moral principles differ drastically from the perception and understanding of basic moral principles of the ancient believers, historical figures, or the primary establisher of our country. For example, the article explains how students and teachers rail â€Å"against George Washington and Thomas Jefferson because they kept slaves†. The establisher of our country had come from Europe, where it was taken for granted to have slaves; it caused no harm or foul to anyone but the slaves themselves. The slaves were only considered property). But that is where the controversy begins: today, slavery is immoral, cruel, and unacceptable. The article states that, â€Å"We can Judge the quality and importance of their [people of the past] contributions to understanding the universe only in terms of what they did with the knowledge available to them. † When Schmidt says this, he is referring to what Isaac Newton thought and believed he knew in his time about Physics. Consequently, Schmidt implied that we cannot Judge based on what we now now, but on what they knew then.In AP Euro, there are countless times where one, as a member of our society, learns about events, beliefs, traditions, etc. , that are now considered immoral and unaccepted by society. For instance, in the early ages and throughout the history of Europe, women were considered property. They were traded, sold, raped, and killed without any punishment whatsoever; it was Just the normal way to react towards women. Today, we learn, in history class, of these actions done by historical figures and our first reaction is, â€Å"What were they thinking? R â€Å"How can they do such a thing,† but in all honestly, that is Just the style of life they lived in at the time. Knowing and comprehending these aspects play a key role in understanding the history that have led society to where it is today. For this same reason, the instructor wanted us to read this article. It not only illustrates how the perspective and understanding of basic moral principles evolve over time, but also emphasizes the fact that we cannot Judge the actions of the people of the past based on our own perspective and understanding. We will use this understanding of the past throughout the year in class.

A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift Essay -- Jonathan Swift, A Modest Pr

Swift makes a bold claim to harnessing the sole fail proof method for reversing Ireland’s course of poverty turned famine. The proposal entails selling one’s own children for consumption of food, thus placing food on the table for those who can afford, placing money into the mothers pocket, and allowing the would be needy childr... A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift Essay -- Jonathan Swift, A Modest Pr In the story â€Å"A Modest Proposal† Swift spread many ideas throughout the essay. It was made to be seen that Swift did not care for children mainly because they placed burdens on their parents and they had no contribution to society. This was actually not true. Swift is trying to add value to these children and allow them to be better contributors to the rich people of Ireland and release burdens off their parents. â€Å"I think it is agreed by all parties, that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom, a very great additional grievance; and therefore whoever could ï ¬ nd out a fair, cheap and easy method of making these children sound and useful members of the commonwealth, would deserve so well of the publick, as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation†(Swift 2). Swift most likely has some bad memories as a child or perhaps was treated differently as a child then the children of that time were. I say this because it is clear he dislikes, or perhaps not dislikes, but would like to better them for society. Swift feels they need to be more useful members for the commonwealth maybe because when he was a child he was forced to be of use. Swift als nd then served to the rich landowners is because he believes it will truly help the commonwealth of the nation, and will help the overpopulation issue. Swift obviously believes it is a â€Å"win win† for the nation, the people, the parents, and the commonwealth of the nation. Swift’s goal must have been to help the society as much as he could have in giving them his proposal. Swift wanted to help the social, political and economical problems that Ireland had, and really felt that if the country had used his proposal they could solve their problems. Jonathan Swift’s proposal was a essay targeted at bettering the commonwealth of the nation of Ireland and allowing the kids to make a contribution to the nation. Swift cared for the children as well as he cared for the health of the nation and would have loved to see the nation flourish using the proposal he left behind. A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift Essay -- Jonathan Swift, A Modest Pr Contrary to the narrator’s belief that this method would decrease the theft, abortion, and murder rate of unwanted children, I would not be so afraid to say that this would be considered, if passed, nothing more than legitimate murder. This could also cause the demand on such meat to rise and the supply to run thin, causing an even greater degree of theft with the stealing of a person’s loved ones and murder. Richard B. Freeman, a Professor of Economics at Harvard University even mentioned this in his study called â€Å"The Economics of Crime† which in Cha... A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift Essay -- Jonathan Swift, A Modest Pr Swift’s main purpose of â€Å"A Modest Proposal† was to display the absurdity of the insensible acts that were being carried out by the Irish government. This essay did not actually comply with finding a solution to the problem in the country. He was actually attempting to show those of Ireland that this was the similar to what the government was allowing to occur. A famous quote that can be linked to this essay is as follows, â€Å"The poor were getting poorer and the rich were getting richer.† To refer to women, Swift uses the word ‘breeders.’ They were treated as someone that furthered mankind, rather than a provider. If the reader wasn’t aware that Swift was making a mockery of Ireland’s political system, the reader could possibly become disgusted with â€Å"A Modest Proposal.† If one examines the actual content of â€Å"A Modest Proposal† they can catch the tone of s the sense of resentment towards Roman Catholics. T hroughout the essay Roman Catholics are referred to as â€Å"papists.† In paragraph thirteen, Swift mentions that more Catholic babies are born nine months after Lent and will flood the market with infants. Later on, he says his proposal â€Å"will have one other collateral advantage, by lessening the number of papists among us† (869). From paragraph thirteen, the author reveals animosity towards papists by wanting to reduce the number of their children and therefore reducing the amount of Catholics. Also, another evaluation can be made by the fact that Jonathan Swift himself was an ordained Anglican priest (866). Since the ever-present conflict between Catholics and Protests existed, it makes it quite possible that the Catholic Church had an influence on Ireland’s economy at the time or so Swift leads the reader to believe.

Bayes' Theorem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Bayes' Theorem - Essay Example Simon Jackman (2009) defines Bayes’ theorem as ‘a theorem that illustrates conditional probability of the set on the given observed outcome, that is obtained from the knowledge of the probability and its outcome (Jackman, 2009)’. The rules of Bayes’ theorem are based on the basic axioms of probability or conditional probability. It expresses subjective depress of beliefs explaining the repletion through Bayesian statistic fundamental. The mathematical representation of theorem is as follow: Bayesian statistical method provides in depth understanding about the events. The application of theorem is wide in various fields and subjects, such as, science, biology, mathematics, finance etc. The model is applied to determine relation between the events. In the field of finance the Bayesian method is adopted for financial forecasting. One of the major advantages of Bayesian theorem is the consideration that is given to the previous information. The fact is that many statisticians would disregard previous information in order to prove the objectivity of the current statistics. The Bayesian theorem proves objectivity of the statistics by combining both the sets of information. A very significant advantage noted for the usage of Bayesian theorem is that it provides direct probability statement. This is considerably the best way to interpret confidence interval. On comparison, one can easily find out that frequents statistics would imply a number of tools. On the other hand, Bayes ian approach makes use of only one theorem i.e. Bayesian. The fact remains as that Bayesian approach can be used in different situations where most of the tools of frequentist statistics fall short. In the Bayesian theorem, the conditional probability occur on the bases of unconditional probabilities that are derived using a multiplication rules, that is (Prior x Likelihood) that are further divided by the sum of the possible parameters. Posterior in Bayesian theorem can be identified

Leader interview Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leader interview - Term Paper Example 3-What is your definition of leadership? Leadership, as the name implies, is the term used for leading others. Leading essentially involves supervising, guiding, and administering the team. A leader plans the course of action and assigns roles and responsibilities to the most suitable individuals. A leader identifies the skills of individual team members and makes best use of them. 4-In your opinion what does a leader do that distinguishes him or her from others? A leader serves as a role model for the whole team. The team members imitate the leader in their mannerism, behavior, approach and style of work. The leader assumes the decision making power. The leader is responsible for the whole team while each follower is responsible for his own part of the work. This is the most fundamental element that distinguishes him from others. 5-Do you believe there is a difference between managing and leading? The interface between managing and leading is very blurred and it is often hard to det ermine it, though there do exist certain difference between leading and managing. The leader essentially assumes the decision making power whereas a manager may or may not have the decision making power. A leader is also a manager but a manager is not always a leader. In the usual setting, manager manages things in order to facilitate the work and minimize the inconveniences in the way of accomplishment of the leader’s goals. 6-what is your personal philosophy of leadership? Leadership is a multitude of skills needed to control the audience in a certain setting and for a certain time period to achieve certain goals of mutual interest to the leader as well a as the followers. 7-what skills have you acquired that have been most helpful to you as a leader? Patience, consistency, and foresightedness are three primary skills needed to be a good leader. 8-How would you characterize your style of leadership? My style of leadership is democratic. I give the followers space to speak t heir minds out so that I may find good advice if I can. 9-Who do you consider being great leader? Why? The great leader holds equally accountable for his actions like his followers. He is crystal-clear in his vision and has reasonable justifications to convince the audience to embrace his vision. The leader rewards the followers when they achieve their assigned tasks. The leader is foresighted; he identifies and removes all hindrances in the way of followers. The leader has high self-esteem. He encourages change and innovation and is able to implement the change within the organization. These qualities are important in order to be a great leader because they earn an individual the trust and confidence of the followers. 10- Who have been influential people for you in terms of leadership? Person that has influenced me the most as a leader is Adolf Hitler. I totally adore and appreciate the fact that Hitler came from an altogether non-political background and ended up becoming one of t he biggest ands most talked about leaders in the world. Adolf Hitler’s most obvious leadership trait was bravery and straight-forwardness. An individual without a good fill of these two qualities in his/her nature is not eligible to be called as a leader. 11-How did you learn leadership? Leadership is learnt through practice and responsibility. Even the most casual and

Choose a country, which underwent a recession, and where fiscal and Essay

Choose a country, which underwent a recession, and where fiscal and monetary policies were used to overcome the recession - Essay Example It is said to be integral in a free trade economy. The United Kingdom recession of 1981 was a result of the monetary strength which in turn affected manufacturing and by the government’s policy to reduce its past inflation of 27%; they enforced a stringent monetary policy by impeding their borrowing. Taxes were increased and the consumer’s purchasing power was diminished resulting to a downfall in spending. After a decade, in 1991 a ‘boom and bust’ of the UK economy ensued. Growth was seen at rapid growth that became unsustainable that inflation rose to 10%. Again, government set in and imposed interest rates to halt the people’s spending. These interests had a domino effect as it affected mortgage consequential to foreclosure of housing loans or sell thereof (EconomicsHelp, n.p.). Recession is a phase of the business cycle usually following a peak. It is a period characterized by a decline in the total output, income, employment and trade. This econ omic downturn is also marked by the widespread contraction of business activity in many sectors of the economy. But because many prices are downwardly inflexible, the general price level is more likely to fall only if the recession is severe and prolonged. If an economy fails to recover from a recession, then a depression occurs (McConnell and Brue, 134). The economy of the United Kingdom is no exception for these economic recessions as they already experienced and recovered from recessions several times. What is apparent in today’s economy is that it has a global characteristic which has a worldwide effect among interdependent countries. Many believe that a plummet in Real GDP will ultimately affect employment. In the Great Depression of the 1930s which included the UK, the famous economist Keynes debunked this concept and contended that negative output over a period will not necessarily clear out on its own as was regarded by the notion of the self-correcting aspect of a fr ee economy. He cited that there are four reasons for this; first, â€Å"Firms should cut wages to reflect lower prices but in reality workers are very resistant to cuts in nominal wages,† second, â€Å"2. If wages were cut in response to unemployment workers would have less spending power therefore AD would continue to fall,† and third, â€Å"In a recession people have low confidence and therefore spend less. Keynes said this was the â€Å"Paradox of Thrift† (EconomicsHelp, n.p.). In typical years, gross investment or all the country’s investment goods - both that replace machinery, equipment, and buildings that were used up or worn out or just made obsolete in producing the current year’s output and any net additions to the economy’s stock of capital exceeds depreciation or the amount used up over the course of a year (McConnell and Brue, 116). During these years, the net investment is positive and there will a recorded rise in nation†™s stock of capital. However, if gross investment is less than depreciation, net investment will be negative. This means that the economy is disinvesting because it is using up more capital than it is producing. When this happens, the nation’s stock of capital will shrink. When capital shrinks, the economic activities will also decline or slow down. This is what happened in the Great Depression of 1930s and its effects were felt by all countries across the world. Banks play important role in an economy. They act as intermediary between the producing and the consuming units. Banks take in leakages in

How To Help A Friend By Selwyn Hughes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

How To Help A Friend By Selwyn Hughes - Essay Example In â€Å"How To Help A Friend† Selwyn focuses on how to go about the counseling ministry. Whereas the author also adopts the psychological principles in counseling, it is important to note that the foundation of counseling in â€Å"How To Help A Friend,† is purely a Christian approach. The model that Hughes proposes is anchored on the teachings of the Bible on values and how to live a righteous life before the Lord God. It is a firm foundation of Christian living and Christian view of the contemporary world. Hughes offers a rich and varies way of helping friends, family and the church through a difficult situation through Christian approach to counseling. One may observe that by basing his model on Biblical principles and insights, Hughes simplifies the process of counseling. He focuses on the importance of communication during the counseling process as a vital technique. Hughes also offers guidance particularly for young people in the church who face identity crisis su ch as the question of â€Å"who am I?† For Hughes, human behavior may be seen as a result of chance. On the effectiveness of the suggested counseling techniques in the context of a local church and the suggested skills application in the Christian counseling process, Hughes model would apply as follows. In consideration of the uniqueness of Christian counseling, the context of a local church is better approached from the segment. There is the youth ministry, the church as a whole and the church leadership. Hughes model would apply in totality for all the segments.  ... In specific context, using Hughes perspectives, a Christian counselor should facilitate an effective counseling through attending, loving, listening, polite digging for information, responding and terminating the sessions. To begin with, once Christian counselor has identified a situation and intervened, the counselor is advised to give the counselee an undivided attention. This is achieved in the form of giving the counselee a good eye contact. Their posture and body language should communicate that the counselor is at ease with the counselee. This is the foundation of the counseling and it sets grounds for the rest of the sessions (Collins, 2007, p. 89). A Christian counselor must also approach the counseling with unconditional love irrespective of the situation. Hughes approach to counseling with love is based on Jesus teaching on the need not to judge others (John 8:1-11) and expression of genuine love for others (as demonstrated in Luke 7: 36-50). This way, a Christian counselor should approach all the counselees with the love of God that Jesus emphasized in his teachings. Hughes technique of approaching counseling with love may also be seen to be drawn to be anchored on Jesus teaching that we love one another just as he has loved us. He said, â€Å"This is my commandment that you love one another (John 15:12-17).† The effectiveness of this approach is that it allows a Christian counselor to identify the feelings that a member of the local church may be experiencing. The subject could be experiencing anger, setbacks or frustrations. When the counselor reflects back such feelings to the subject, this is likely to create a feeling of being understood and cared for within their unique situations with love. It helps one to open up. When dealing for

Co morbidity and dual diagnosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Co morbidity and dual diagnosis - Essay Example We look into 3 studies each of which provide evidence of one hypothesis or another. In the end we conclude that cannabis aggravates already susceptible people's condition who are young users and predominantly male and pushes them into a symptomatic stage of psychosis, rather than causing psychosis in an otherwise normal individual. It has been demonstrated by many a studies that substance abuse is more prevalent in patients with psychotic disorders than in the general population. What is of debate is whether substance abuse precedes psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and is a risk factor for the disease or whether it is just the fact that people with the disorders tend to misuse the drugs. Alcohol and cannabis are the most commonly abused drugs in the general population as well as in people with mental disabilities. Since the middle of the 20th century, the use of mental state altering drugs has increased. Cannabis use has been on the rise and although many attempts have been made to associate or disassociate it from disorders linked with it, researchers are still debating the full impact cannabis use might have on the public. It is imperative that agreement be achieved on the effects of cannabis so that policies and restriction on community use and definitive treatments can be provided to the affected peo ple. The exact relation between cannabis use an... The recent cause of concern is the fact that multiple studies are pointing the finger at the hypothesis that cannabis use leads to schizophrenia. Hickman M et al (2007) in their study have tried to estimate long term patterns of cannabis use in the general population and attempted to and estimate and observe if the schizophrenia rates follow the same pattern. This pattern, if could to be present, they believe could demonstrate that cannabis usage has a direct relationship with schizophrenia as has been proposed by numerous old studies. "Trends in cannabis use were estimated from a national survey, and the incidence of schizophrenia was derived from surveys in three cities. A difference equation cohort model was fitted against estimates of schizophrenia incidence, trends in cannabis exposure and assumptions on association between cannabis and schizophrenia. The model projects trends in schizophrenia incidence, prevalence and attributable fraction of cannabis induced schizophrenia" (Hickman M et al, 2007). Hickman M et al has shown that over the past few decades cannabis use has gradually, but steadily increased in the young age groups of the society. He argues that if there was a casual relationship between cannabis use and schizophrenia prevalence, then the incidence and prevalence of disease should also show an upwards trend in the younger generation (assuming that all other factors remain constant). But recent studies of epidemiology according to Hickman (2007) suggest that schizophrenia's incidence and prevalenc e is in a downward trend. Their projections for the future also show a downward or a trend. This pattern contradicts the theory of casual