... dignity. They do not explain adequately the benefit of punishment for society, and they are silent on the relationship of the victim to the practice of punishment. Consequentialist theories justify punishment on the basis of social benefit. They are classified as forward-looking because they take the future benefit of society to be a necessary condition for ... consequentialist aims. One other traditional way of attempting to justify punishment, which is well worth mentioning, claims that the practice is an expressive and communicative endeavor. Expressivist theories acknowledge--and ri...

• Word Count: 2070
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... decision. Another criticism of general deontological ethics is that in proposing that consequences should not be considered, the actual moral action may not be performed. In fact, devotees of deontological theories can be accused of heartlessness because they prefer "abstract conformity with ethical rules over the prevention of miseries" (Kordig, 1973). For example, considering the "white lie", why is it better ... end, which deontology would never allow for. Utilitarians, however, would argue against this, which will be discussed later in the paper, when both theories are discussed in ...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the short story, The German Refugee, the narrator and a German refugee, Oscar, develop a unique friendship. The narrator, a poor senior in college, tutors immigrants in the English language to make some extra money due to the poor economy after the Great Depression. His student Oscar is much like his other students, an educated refugee, however Oscar is quite a ... , and it may be morally right to yet another person. To apply Hume's Subjectivism to the short story, the action must be defined. For this normative theory and all the theories, the action is buying the second hand fan and givin...

• Word Count: 2081
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the case of Immanuel Kant's writings, several passages are littered with irony and contradictions, which he vehemently despises rhetorically. While Kant is often labeled as a difficult writer because of the language he selects and in part to the imperfect translation from German, Kant is strictly liable for his inability to rectify one particular inconsistency in his theory. This question of whether ... in the Kantian ethic. From both a definitional and philosophical perspective, the concept of free will can not logically exist if we are to presume that the Categorical Imperative and th...

• Word Count: 2143
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the creature of society. The identity of the person is not bodily depending on clothing style, skin color or beautification like plastic surgery, but depends on the environment, religion and language. Existentialists object by saying that an individual is a result of a series of "accidents", such as race, sex and nationality. Man, not shaped by a particular culture never existed; human behaviour is ... between generations brings in a thought that there is something in common for all the human beings, and therefore some classification can be created to analyse and predict our behaviour. ...

• Word Count: 1580
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate