Analysis Of Divine Command Theory Philosophy Essay

Analysis Of Divine Command Theory Philosophy Essay Divine command theory is an ethical view based on theism or the belief that God exists. Followers of the theory accept that all moral judgment is derived from an understanding of God’s character or his direct commandments. In other words, â€Å"what is in accordance with God’s command is moral and what is contrary to that command is immoral† (Farnell, 2005). The holy books of each religion (e.g. The Bible, Koran, and Torah) contain God’s directions. Therefore, they can be used as guides to distinguish between morally good and bad actions. The idea that ethics and religion are connected is far-reaching, and it leads us to examine religion’s role in our society. Advantages Although divine command theory has been rejected as a working ethical theory, there are a few ways in which it does provide an advantage as an ethical framework. First, God’s commands set forth universal moral rules. The rules can be applied to anyone, at all times and place s. The belief that God is eternal and never changes means that his commands are as relevant today as when they were first recorded. Second, God’s commands don’t depend on what others think are right or wrong. His commands are completely objective. For example, one of God’s commandments is not to commit murder (Exodus 21:13). Even if your friends believe that murder is acceptable (for instance, capital punishment), they are still wrong because their beliefs oppose God’s will. Under this theory, morality exists outside of human reasoning because God is the ultimate authority. Third, if you disobey God, you will be punished. If you follow his commands, you’ll be rewarded. God is both omnipotent and omnipresent. If you choose to disobey, your punishment is inescapable. If you obey, God will bless you with eternal life and a place in heaven. Those who believe have a strong incentive to follow his commands. Finally, traditional religions are centuries ol d and have recorded many of God’s commands. Religious texts allow us to know and understand the character of God, and they make it easier to know how to act morally. For Christian believers, the Word of God is in The Bible and they are secure in the concrete, moral teachings written in its pages. Critiques There are several reasons why divine command theory falls short as a working ethical viewpoint. One objection focuses on the sheer number of world religions and their different interpretations of the nature of God (or their gods). How does a divine command theorist know that their God’s commands are the right ones to follow? It is impossible to prove that the insights of Allah overrule the laws of Yahweh. Even within Christianity, a schism has existed between Catholic and Protestant believers since The Reformation in 1517. Under divine command theory only one religion can be correct and the followers of that God are the only ones leading moral lives (Austin, 2006). T his leads into the next objection. God’s commands can be easily misconstrued. That is, how do we determine the correct interpretation of the sacred texts? When God states that we should not commit murder, does that mean murder is always immoral, or should we take into account the specific context in which God gave this command? During this process of interpretation, we are actually exercising our own sense of morality. We must rely on our own understanding of God’s goodness and act on moral laws we deem consistent with God’s commands (Adams, 1999). We cannot take ourselves completely out of the picture when determining God’s position on ethical issues.

Ethical People in an Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical People in an Organization - Essay Example Competitive advantages of various organizations having an ethical working environment have also been discussed in this chapter. It also explains certain theories associated with human nature and the various stages of moral development. Most of the organizations in the modern era are found to follow certain unethical behaviors in some form or the other in their business activities. According to Collins (2011), the managers of the organizations are found to misunderstand the extent and type of costs that are associated with the unethical behaviors conducted by their companies. It is interesting to know that unethical behaviors in the part of an organization can prove to be very costly to them. Collins (2011) identified various types of costs associated with unethical behaviors of an organization. They are: reputation costs, legal costs, recruitment costs, turnover costs, costs associated with abusive treatments, monitoring costs and employee theft. All these costs are associated with s ome unethical behaviors followed in organizations and in most cases the company managers fail to realize that. All business organizations have the primary objective of increasing its profits and have a competitive advantage in the market. It is interesting to know that ethical behaviors followed in an organization can also add to the competitive advantages for a company. As compared to unethical companies, ethical organizations have the advantages of attracting employees who are of high quality in nature, employee satisfaction is more, and the employees are found to be more committed towards their work, thereby increasing their performance efficiencies. The other part of this chapter deals with human nature and its implications to manage ethics. Explaining about the human nature, one interesting concept used in the chapter is about inherited sin. Some researchers believe that the individuals are born with inherited

Project Management Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Project Management Risk Management - Essay Example It is further argued that the project managers ignore the issues like risk management associated with the projects because they want them to kick start the process as soon as possible ignoring the issues of great importance which can have the powers to seriously hamper the progress of any project. A good project manager would continue to assess what could go wrong with the project and exactly define which of the risks are important and which are not and based on that assessment, clearly identify the strategies to be implemented for guarding against those risks and then continuously monitor those strategies so that an effective control can be maintained over the project. Our proposed risk template identified fifteen (15) risks associated with the project and based on their relative importance have assigned a definite probability or likelihood of occurrence of such risk. These risks are however, identified after taking into account certain assumptions which were based on our historical experience as well as theoretical knowledge. Further to that we have also outlined our response to each of the risk identified. The overall structure of the risk template is simple however it attempted to identify clearly what are the risks that we may face and what will be their impact on the overall project and how project managers can devise their response to the overall risks associated with the project. Following section will discuss the risks identified, their likelihood and a detail summarization of the scores. Risk of vendor being taken over by other firm This risk is important in the sense that a takeover may halt the progress of the project and the project may not be completed timely due to lack of synergy between the two firms. I have assigned a score of 2(May occur) to it because there is a remote possibility of the same. I have to this result because vendor firm, in order to be more competitive can go for the same. In order to safeguard against this risk, firm must improve upon its contract writing and should develop mutually agreed contract which covers the same. Vendor does not have the requisite manpower to perform the tasks This risk is important in the sense that at the procurement stage, project managers may overlook this aspect. Vendors apparently tend to camouflage facts about them and may prove useless for the project once the project actually goes into action. In order to safeguard against this risk, we need to develop our in-house capabilities also. An overall score of 3 (moderate chances of occurrence) has been allotted to this risk. Vendor goes bankrupt It is unlikely that a vendor goes bankrupt however considering this risk, we have assigned a risk rating of 1 ( least likely to occur) to this risk and attempt to meet the risk through our in-house personnel as project managers would be working hand in hand with vendor Unlikely hood of the software being imported in the country It may be possible that the software required for the completion of the project may not be available in the country and due to legal complications; same may not be

Law Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Law Assignment - Essay Example When we order a car or a thing there is a need to have a agreement between them and us. Usually those agreements will be in printed with the dealers and we unmindfully sign them as we do not anticipate any grievous on toward incidents. Though the problems occur rare the business people will be aware and will be careful in framing their agreements in putting all the onus on the customer in case of any unforeseen disasters. In the case of the advertisement company actually they agreed for the contract just by ignorance of two new employees. After that Jay signed the contract ignoring to see the details of payment and liability terms. As the payment was typed 10 times the one agreed at the oral agreement and liability of the company was completely nullified by putting a rider in small letter that even any fault and ignorance of its own employees also was not to be bore by the company. The fourth one may be about the health and inability caused to tom chews. The prescription of on-site doctor resulted in diarrhea (though the medicine was given by wrongly reading of the spoiled prescription paper). But the responsibility lies solely with company as they provided a doctor. There were no details about the on-site treatment of the actors. But by seeing the case and behavior of Jay and her signing of advertisement contract one can predict that she might have not followed necessary precautions in contract with Tom chews about the maintenance of him on site. The last one may be about the promoting of the film in the prescribed time. As the advertising company bagged order for large amount for the small execution and was not intended to work; this may also cause a severe trouble for the Production Company as they has to face the problem of non execution of contract. Breach of Contract When a company and a worker enter into a contract and a dispute arises between them due to some reason. Here the dispute is injury of the workers (actors) on site. This made the work to come to a halt. When the company tried to hire new workers (actors) without settling terms with the old ones, they have all the right to sue the company. It was not mentioned whether the contracts with Bruce Spillis and Brad Spitt were settled (cancelled) or not. But by the way Jay handled the situations and contracts and the information she received about the execution it seems that she did not settled the terms with the former workers (actors.) This entitles the workers to fight in court for compensation. But if company tries to defend itself that it is their negligence that made them injured on site and prove it will be of some help in winning the case. It is difficult but not impossible. If the company succeeds in proving the negligence of workers they have to pay. But if it is not the case the co mpany has to pay for old workers a full payment or reinstating them in to work. Though there is a chance for the company to prove its innocence there was very little chance

Accounting Theory and Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Accounting Theory and Practice - Essay Example e paper focuses on the difficulties and huddles facing the harmonization of accounting standards and practices and provides a possible solution to the problems it is facing. The paper also discusses the various economical issues that deal with intangible assets in an organization. It states the ways in which intangible assets are valued and how they positively and negatively affect the financial statement and status of the organization. The paper further discusses the implementation of the code of corporate governance by using Omantel Company as a case study. It also evaluates how the company has implemented a code of corporate governance. The harmonization of the standards and practices of accounts all over the world is the process of bringing together concepts of accounting to a common position. In the world, every country and organization has its own practices and standards of accounting. The harmonization of accounting standards all over the world has been a major concern especially among professionals in accounting. This process involves the convergence of different international accounting standards with the aim of coming up with a similar financial statement all over the world. The harmonization of accounting standards has been a major concern among countries that are involved in trading activities with countries with different accounting standards. Because of the difficulties that come along with varying accounting standards, professionals see the need of harmonizing the accounting standards so as to make trading processes easier Ashley, Leatherbury, Machuca and Philips, 2012). If the accounting standards in the world are converged together, the economy of the world will be in a good position in several ways. The coming up with financial statements would be much easier because only a common standard would be used in making the report. As for now, coming up with one financial report statement is difficult because of the use of different accounting

Obesity and Smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Obesity and Smoking - Essay Example 935). Smoking has been estimated to account for 8% of total healthcare costs in the US, 3.8% in Canada, and 3.7% in Germany (Chang et al, 2005, pp. 2122 -2125). Dramatic variations in rates and trends of smoking are evident for specific subpopulations of women in Canada. There has recently been a disturbing trend whereby smoking rates among teenaged girls exceeded smoking rates among teenaged boys for the first time. Among girls aged 15 to 19, 25.1% reported being daily smokers in 1998 - 1999 and 26% in 2001, as compared with 18.5% and 20% respectively for boys in this age group (Chang et al, 2005, pp.2126 -2128). Girls also started smoking at a younger age, 41% of girls aged 15 to 17 reporting having smoked their first cigarette before age 13 as compared with 29% of boys. In the last decade, daily consumption increased for girls aged 15 to 19 from 11.5 cigarettes per day in 1990 to 12.7 cigarettes per day in 1999; this has decreased to 10.8 in 2001 (Statistics Canada, 2000, pp. 238- 245). In this paper we would be discussing the two issues faced by the Canadians - Obesity and Smoking. The simplest definition of obesity is an excessive amount of body fat. It must be distinguished from overweight, which refers to an excess of body weight relative to height. Obesity is probably best assessed by the visual judgment of an experienced observer. If a man, woman, or child looks fat when undressed, he or she is probably obese. Measurement of sub scapular and triceps skin-fold thicknesses with calipers is the simplest objective way to assess body fat. Data from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) indicate an obesity rate for Canada of 23.1% and an overweight rate of 59.1%. U.S. data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999 -2002 show that 65.1% of the American adult population is overweight and 30.4% are obese (Hedley et al, 2004, pp. 2847- 2848). The problem of obesity does not affect all populations equally, particularly in the U.S. The obesity rate in the U.S. is higher for women at 33.2% compared to the rate for men (27.6%). By race, these gender differences are exacerbated. F or example, the obesity rate among non-Hispanic white women is 30.7% compared to a rate of 49% among non-Hispanic black American women, whereas obesity rates across race for men do not differ significantly (Hedley et al, 2004, pp. 2849- 2850). In Canada, obesity rates do not vary substantially by sex (23.2% for women and 22.9% for men). However, obesity rates are higher for white women (24.8%) and white men (25 .5%) compared to their non-white counterparts (Hedley et al, 2004, p.2849). An estimated 80-90% of persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Canadian population are overweight or obese. Obesity is also a growing problem in children with type 1 diabetes (Hypponen et al, 2000, pp.1755-1760). Furthermore, intensive insulin therapy is associated with weight gain. Weight loss has been shown to improve glycemic control by increasing insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake and diminishing hepatic glucose output (Chou et al, 2004, pp. 565-587). The risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and some forms of cancer increases with excessive body fat (Calle et al,

Should society recognize animal rights, even to the extent of Essay

Should society recognize animal rights, even to the extent of disallowing the use of animals in scientific and medical experiments - Essay Example The comment on this report concludes that to some extent there may be grounds to support the argument for the use of monkeys in medical research, however no blanket decisions can be made because each case must be evaluated individually to assess the beneficial effect of the medicine as opposed to the harm caused to the animals. Evidence that is provided in this article includes figures on number of animals used in medical experiments, as well as the percentages of animals used in toxicology studies. It also provides information on the development of vaccines, as well as providing evidence of other methods that may be used for the same purpose that does not involve the use of animals. The article also provides evidence on cell and molecular biology, in-silico technology, computer modeling, microdosing and the use of transgenic mice. The author of this report is David Weatherall. Although this author has commented on and explained the contents of a report that was sponsored by the Medical Council, he is himself the Chairman of the working group which actually produced and prepared the report on the use of non human primates in research, which was sponsored by the Medical Council. The author has clarified that the comments he has made are not necessarily those that reflect the view of the report’s sponsors. The Report which is the subject of this article was published by the Wellcome Trust and the Academy of Medical Sciences, however this particular report on the article was published in the Lancet, a reputed newspaper. Therefore, this is a report published by a reputed publisher and sponsored by a reputed body. This report is very timely in the context of the controversies that have been raging over the use of animals for purposes of scientific and medical research. The report has also undertaken a comprehensive analysis of the various methods