Moral absolutism Essay Example for Free

Moral absolutism Essay When we speak of â€Å"Morality† we think of the difference between right and wrong, the difference between the good and the evil. We use morality to justify our actions and decisions. More often than not, people impose their morality on others and expect them to act in the way they find fit. They believe that the idea of right and wrong is universal. In her essay â€Å"On Morality†, Didion contradicts this theory and believes that everyone can have different ideas of morality based on their own perception. To make her point, Didion uses the examples of Klaus Fuchs and Alfred Rosenberg. Fuchs was a British traitor who leaked nuclear secrets to the Soviets, and Rosenberg was the Nazi administrator of Eastern Europe, where the Germans committed their most heinous and most murderous acts during World War II. Both of them claimed that what they did were morally appropriate. She then goes on to say that Jesus justifies what he did based on morality. The juxtaposition of these ideas affirms Didion’s theory that the conviction of morality is vastly based on perspective. This juxtaposition also helps prove that people use morality to justify almost anything. Osama Bin Laden believed that it was morally right to take the lives of millions of innocent civilians in the name of religion. President Snow, along with the Capitol, in The Hunger Games saw it fit to throw 24 teenagers in a battlefield and let them fight until only one remains. Morality does not seem like a tool to distinguish right from wrong, but a method to have a clean conscious, irrespective of whether one’s acts are good or bad. Didion also says, â€Å"For better or for worse, we are what we learned as children. † (158) This shows that the ideas we have of good and bad and the so-called â€Å"morality† is part of what we’ve learnt growing up. A lot of people might find it pointless to stay with a corpse on a highway. But to Didion, it is the moral thing to do. We do not leave behind our dead. Friedrich Nietzsche said, â€Å"Fear is the mother of morality. † Didion maintains that morality might differ from person to person. In my opinion, a lot of factors influence the decisions we make and then blame them on morality. â€Å"The right thing† is too abstract to be universal. Didion debates about the cannibalism acts and talks about the vestigial taboo that no one should eat their own blood kin. This might seem appalling to some while being a being of another’s culture. Didion says that morality has â€Å"the most potentially mendacious meaning. † (159) And I couldn’t agree more. There is a very thin line between right and wrong, and morality is what shows one where to draw it. But the basis of that line is so ambiguous, that people end up using morality to cover up their actions. The idea Didion presents is that humans are not equipped to distinguish between the good and the bad. We think that all actions are sound as long as they don’t hurt another person. But then we see people like Adolf Hitler. The man murdered millions of people. Yet, he had a bunch of supporters who helped him with these inhumane acts. But he did what he did in the name of morality, in the name of ‘respect for the greater race. ’ The central idea of this essay is that morality depends largely on perception. What one finds wrong may not necessarily be seen as inappropriate by another. â€Å"I followed my own conscience. † â€Å"I did what I thought was right. † Didion questions the reader how many madmen have said this and meant it? Didion doesn’t believe that these men shelter themselves under the illusion of morality but actually believe their actions are moral and justified. Maybe we ourselves have said it before and been wrong. Our conscience isn’t always the best judge of things. But the concept of morality makes it okay to just be impulsive and do what we think is correct in the moment. The relevance of our logic lacks frequency. One might not kill people on a daily basis but one might find it moral to do it someday and go ahead with it. Does this make them immoral? Is the act of killing immoral? What if the victim is a killer? The answers to questions relating to morality are not black or white. There could be various different instances where individuals might have different stands on issues. All of which they might believe to be morally correct. So the question is, who decides what is moral and what is not? What gives them the power to do so? Should the morality of one person be forced on another? Clearly, universal standards of right and wrong do not exist. The evidence Didion provided as well as instances we see around the world proves that fact. A lot of people do not agree with Didion’s idea of differing morality. The people who adhere themselves to a supposedly universal moral code can delude themselves into thinking people who do not follow that code are less humane. People need to stop fretting over moral absolutes and let morality run their life and effect every decision they make in order to ensure the future is safe from oppression and terrorism.

Katherine Anne Porters The Jilting of Granny Weatherall :: The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

Katherine Anne Porter's The Jilting of Granny Weatherall "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" was written by Katherine Anne Porter and first published in 1930. The story is of a women named Granny Weatherall who is on her deathbed. As she is surrounded by friends and family she remembers the life she has lived. She describes being jilted many times in her life, first by her husband-to-be and finally by death. The story was eventually made into a movie directed by Randa Haines. A major theme in the story is that of self-pity. As a result of Granny's wedding day jilting she feels sorry for herself throughout the rest of her life. She also has become suspicious of everyone. This is shown when the doctor is speaking to Cornelia in the beginning of the story, outside of Granny's room. Granny exclaims, "First off go away and don't whisper!" Granny was apparently under the impression that the two of them were speaking ill of her behind her back. Another common theme in many of Katherine Anne Porter's stories, including "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall", is that of death. Porter was captivated by death and dreamed of having a custom made wooden coffin after she saw a photograph taken at the funeral of one of her friends. After Porter and her nephew searched New York City; Katherine found an ad for a coffin maker in Montana and placed her order. The coffin arrived but was obviously too large for her and the large colorful flowers were not at all what she expected but regardless Katherine had her wooden coffin. Even after receiving her coffin she and her nephew discussed arrangements on several occasions. First she wanted to be buried in the wooden coffin wrapped in a linen bed sheet. Later she decided that she wanted to be cremated and have her ashes scattered in running water. Then she wanted her ashes buried next to her mother and by this time it seemed that the coffin was just a prop to amuse friends and reporters. These o bsessions with her own death may be the reason why many of her writings have themes of death including "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall". The main character Granny Weatherall is forced to evaluate how she feels about what her life has been as she lives her last day. Granny Weatherall seems to thrive on disillusionment and despair. Katherine Anne Porter's The Jilting of Granny Weatherall :: The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Katherine Anne Porter's The Jilting of Granny Weatherall "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" was written by Katherine Anne Porter and first published in 1930. The story is of a women named Granny Weatherall who is on her deathbed. As she is surrounded by friends and family she remembers the life she has lived. She describes being jilted many times in her life, first by her husband-to-be and finally by death. The story was eventually made into a movie directed by Randa Haines. A major theme in the story is that of self-pity. As a result of Granny's wedding day jilting she feels sorry for herself throughout the rest of her life. She also has become suspicious of everyone. This is shown when the doctor is speaking to Cornelia in the beginning of the story, outside of Granny's room. Granny exclaims, "First off go away and don't whisper!" Granny was apparently under the impression that the two of them were speaking ill of her behind her back. Another common theme in many of Katherine Anne Porter's stories, including "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall", is that of death. Porter was captivated by death and dreamed of having a custom made wooden coffin after she saw a photograph taken at the funeral of one of her friends. After Porter and her nephew searched New York City; Katherine found an ad for a coffin maker in Montana and placed her order. The coffin arrived but was obviously too large for her and the large colorful flowers were not at all what she expected but regardless Katherine had her wooden coffin. Even after receiving her coffin she and her nephew discussed arrangements on several occasions. First she wanted to be buried in the wooden coffin wrapped in a linen bed sheet. Later she decided that she wanted to be cremated and have her ashes scattered in running water. Then she wanted her ashes buried next to her mother and by this time it seemed that the coffin was just a prop to amuse friends and reporters. These o bsessions with her own death may be the reason why many of her writings have themes of death including "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall". The main character Granny Weatherall is forced to evaluate how she feels about what her life has been as she lives her last day. Granny Weatherall seems to thrive on disillusionment and despair.

Describe The Effects Of The Blitz On Everyday Life

In the attempt to describe the effects of the Blitz on everyday life, I will explain what people did before the war began and the actions took to get Britain through the Blitz. Before the Blitz there were many precautions people took incase war was declared on Britain. One of these was gas masks. A gas mask was issued to men, women and children incase gas bombs were dropped. Most homed were equipped with either an Anderson shelter, which was a home built shelter in the garden, or a Morrison shelter, a shelter built underneath the kitchen table. The blackouts began two days before the war began. Under blackout rules, everyone had to cover up their windows at night with black material. This was to make it difficult for German bombers to find their target in the dark. The street lamps were turned off and often people bumped into one another. Traffic accidents were more common because car headlights had to be blacked out, and deaths from drowning increased as people fell off bridges or walked into ponds. The evacuation begun on Friday 1 February, the day German troops invaded Poland. Most children were evacuated in school groups with their teachers. Children and their teachers would meet in the school grounds, where they would get name tags and told to keep their gas masks in the cardboard boxes. Many children were sometimes sent to farms and made to work. Some were sent to big country houses or stately homes. Many of these children had never been out into the country before. Lots of them from the slums were surprised to find themselves staying in houses with inside toilets and carpets. For some children, their parents decided to keep them at home in the city instead of being evacuated. Rationing was introduced due to the shortage of food and the fact that no food could come by ship from over-seas. You were only allowed a certain amount of clothes, food and other household goods. You also still had to pay for them. Ration books were full of coupons which could be cut out and used to buy a fixed amount of rationed foods each week or month. Every time a housewife bought something she had to give a coupon. When she had used up a particular coupon for one week she had to wait until the following week before she could buy any more. Food was very hard to get a hold of, so people were encouraged to grow vegetables in order to feed their family. Cartoon characters called Potato Pete and Dr. Carrot appeared on leaflets, telling people to eat plenty of these foods. The slogan â€Å"Dig for Victory† appeared on posters and banners to encourage people to grow their own food. Meat was hard to get hold of so the government advised people to eat rabbits. In total 1. 4 million homes – one third of London's housing stock – were damaged or destroyed in the Blitz. Electricity, gas and water supplies were disrupted. The impact on civilian morale in London was severe. Some Londoners later recalled that things were close to breaking point: the daily bombings and sleepless nights took their toll. Looting from bombed shops and empty houses was rife. However, the general mood of perseverance became known as the Blitz Spirit. In all, 18,000 tons of high explosives had been dropped on England during eight months of the Blitz. A total of 18,629 men, 16,201 women, and 5,028 children were killed along with 695 unidentified charred bodies. The role of women during the Blitz was very important for helping on the home front. The Women's Voluntary Service provided fire fighters with tea and refreshments when the clear-up took place after a bombing raid during the blitz. They also provided tea and refreshment for the people sheltering in the underground. At first, only single women aged 20-30 were called up, but by mid-1943, almost 90 per cent of single women and 80 per cent of married women were working in factories, on the land or in the armed forces. In all 640,000 women were in the armed force, 5,000 serving with guns and providing essential air defence, 80,000 thousand in the Land Army plus many more who flew unarmed aircraft, drove ambulances, worked as nurses and worked behind enemy lines in the European resistance. Overall, there were many different effects of the Blitz on everyday life from the evacuation of children to the rationing of food and other household goods.

1984 Critical Analysis - 1134 Words

10/23/11 1984 critical analysis In the novel 1984 by George Orwell a man named Winston lives within a dis-utopian society. People within this society keep their emotions non-noticeable because if they go against what the inner circle is teaching than that person would work manually labor for the rest of their life. In the story a party known as the inner circle uses a few slogans and sayings to control everything. The inner circle uses all that they say to brainwash people into believing what they are saying is true. The inner party s slogans are â€Å"War is peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is strength† By using these phrases one can see that the inner circle can manipulate everyone into believing in what the inner circle tells†¦show more content†¦They use the kids to spy on the parents within the home to make sure they do not go against the inner party. The inner circle turns their own people on each other so not only they look to catch each other but they also have no big groups to con spire with. In Comparison of the three slogans the number one thing they all have in common is they are all false and are all contradictions of each other; â€Å"War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is strength.† Each slogan has it s own purpose and reason to help the inner circle to control everybody to make sure they do not rise up against the inner party. If someone does go against the inner party the inner party sends their â€Å"task force† in to take that person and to have them do manually labor for the rest of their life. Which having the Thought Police a.k.a â€Å"task force† in the mix of everything adds even more anxiety and fear into the people of this society. In truth the inner circle uses fear and repeats the slogans to get people brainwashed into believing everything the inner circle is telling them. The inner circle uses all of the sayings to manipulate and control everyone to be on their side. The inner party has these slogans to make sure everyone can t go against them. The inner party rules with fear and is kept a secret, and repeats everything to make sure it is brainwashed into believing everything they are told. In many cases if someone repeats something over and over they would believe it toShow MoreRelatedCritical Analysis Of 19841349 Words   |  6 PagesGeorge Orwell is the author of 1984, a utopian/dystopian style novel that was a warning to the future if society keeps up with the totalitarian governed governments. Orwell writes about a man, Winston Smith, and the struggles he faces when his own values oppose the ones of society ran by Big Brother and the Party. One of Winston’s biggest struggles is the neglect he feels the Party brings when it comes to basic human needs. Initially in the novel, Winston is described as this man that is like everyRead More1984 Critical Analysis Essay1186 Words   |  5 Pagesdistinct personalities: the outer Edna, which holds proper social values, and the inner Edna, who questions her actions. A product of an environment that has strict rules and regulation. This distinction is taken to the extreme with George Orwell’s, 1984, whose protagonist, Winston Smith has a similar distinction but the consequences are death and torture. This motif of two sides to people is clear in Orwell’s novel. Winston has two sides, one that is conforming and another that is rebelling. Winston’sRead MoreCritical Analysis Of 1984 By George Orwell1257 Words   |  6 Pages1984 by George Orwell sets the overall eerie tone of the book early on. â€Å"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU† (Orwell 3). In the book this was the statement was put on a poster of big brothers face. Firstly this is an example of metonymy. In the statement the term â€Å"BIG BROTHER† isn’t referring to how big brother very closely related to the thought police. The thought police is the organization that monitors the inner and outer party members. Secondly this can be looked through a postmodernist lens as theRead MoreCritical Analysis and Evaluation of 1984, by George Orwell.1487 Words   |  6 PagesGeorge Orwell 1984 The New American Library Copyright 1961 George Orwell George Orwell, whose real name was Eric Blair, was born in Bengal, India, in 1903. When he was eight years old, as it was customary, his mother brought him back to England to be educated. He was sent to a boarding school on the south coast, a school whose students were sons of the upper class. 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This aim helps to evaluate the different food safety standards in industrial hotels compared to that of the street food vendors and emphasises on the need for hazard control for the betterment of the health of itsRead MoreAnalysis of the Use, Importance, and Implementation of a Data Dictionary1109 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of the Use, Importance and Implementation of A Data Dictionary Introduction Data dictionaries have evolved into one of the most transformational and valuable components of databases architectures given the increasingly complex integration, data analysis and data management tasks enterprises need to accomplish. The use, importance and implementation of data dictionaries are analyzed and explored with specific focus on their use in enterprises who have intensive information and intelligenceRead MoreCase Study1262 Words   |  6 Pagesare some guidelines for your valuation analysis. †¢ Overview of the Valuation Process. Given the nature of the forecast data, it is useful for valuation purposes to treat the 1980-1984 period diï ¬â‚¬erently from the post-1984 period. In fact, the case writer hinted at the possibility of another reorganization at the end of 1984 in the note to Exhibit 14. Throughout, assume that time 0 is year 1979. †¢ Make sure that you notice the changing debt ratios in 1980-1984. Which is the best valuation approach to