Truth behind Equality Essay Example for Free

Truth behind Equality Essay Peter Singer is an Australian Philosopher and a utilitarianism who actively advocates the animal rights and equality between species. He presented his arguments regarding his convictions on his articles such as â€Å"All Animals are Equal†, â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality† and â€Å"Humans are Sentient Too. † These articles, though have different points, were interrelated, and in one point, connected to each other. These articles simply advocated animal ethics and equality. In his article, â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality†, Singer presented his notions regarding morality in relevance to famine and affluence. His first notion in his article was that death caused by scarcity of basic necessities in life such as food, shelter and medicine was bad. Singer used the situation in Bengal on 1971 as an example, wherein poverty, starvation and civil war resulted to suffering and death of people of East Bengal. In his second notion, he suggested that if we were able to prevent such bad things to happen then we were required to do everything we could do to stop that without the expense of doing anything comparably bad. He also believed that affluence countries such as Great Britain and Australia, who had all the capabilities to provide help, should help first the people of Bengal, regardless of how it is from them, instead of giving attentions to less significant things. Furthermore, he believed that it was the government’s responsibilities to provide help so as the individuals. This thought made up his third notion. In his fourth notion, he believed that those who could provide aid should give maximally since not all people were able to contribute. Moreover, he suggested that people should change their outlook regarding charity. It was in our moral norm that charity was not mandatory- it is alright if you do have something to offer but it is also alright if you do not have. However, Singer suggested that it was against the moral norm not to give. Singer, made people blameworthy by this thought. Singer might get his views regarding his moral concept on Marxism wherein individuals were concerned on developing the human race. However, we are living in the real world where humans are too greedy and self-centered to give and to think of others. Moreover, on the economic point of view, it is not economically practical to accept the ideas of Singer since providing help to other countries is just a temporary solution in the case of East Bengal. In conclusion to Singer’s article â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality†, it is everyone’s moral obligation to give assistance to someone who is badly in need or in the near death. He believed that it was worth sacrificing the things that are less significant than the life of people. In this case, Singer’s claim with regard to his first article is related to his other article entitled â€Å"All Animals are Equal†. In this article, he first introduced the non-dying issue concerning sexism. He mentioned that all humans were not equal in any aspect, but we still believe that men and women were just morally similar and women deserved to be recognized as men did. Women deserved to have equality with men. In this case, since men and women were just part of the same species, Singer claimed that it was also possible to extend the same recognition to other species- the ones we called animals. Singer also pointed out the case of racism, which was also an undying issue in almost all parts of the world. Whites were claiming that they were superior to blacks; however we all know that it was not true. Some of the blacks were superior to whites and had some capacities that whites do not have. A person’s color was not a justifiable basis to know his abilities. It was not right to discriminate other people just because he was black and as a human being he deserved the same treatments and rights just like the other people. However, it was also undeniably right that humans and animals had so many differences and these differences might lead to different rights and considerations. Singer believed that these differences were not an excuse not to give animals the rights that they deserved. Humankind must realize that equality among humans was not just a factual possibility but also a moral ideal. Singer also suggested that the ideal of equality among humans was all about on how we ought to treat humans. Moral equality was highly dependent on the nature of the individuals, either human or non-human. Considering all those aspects with regard to moral ideals, various views on speciesism had come up to Singer. He described speciesism as an act or attitude which favors the interest of ones own species to take priority over the other species. It was not the physical and mental aspects of animals that were in question with regard of equality, but it was their emotional aspect that was taken into consideration. Humans let the animals to suffer just to satisfy our needs, though we definitely knew that there were other means of satisfying our nutritional requirements. As human beings, we all knew that we were guilty of doing such things. Singer noted in his article that humans were all speciesists and we were all morally wrong for being such since humans allowed the sufferings of other species to happen in our own hands. Singer also pointed out that our society allowed rearing and killing of sentient animals just to supply the needs of people for meats. Singer noted that the act of rearing and killing sentient animals was an obvious evidence of giving other species suffering though we knew that we could stop that to happen thus making us tolerate something bad to happen and at the same time making us morally wrong. Singer suggested that it was our moral obligation to stop practicing this method since it only catered satisfaction to our stomach and craving to eat meat. Likewise, Singer suggested that we should stop killing other species since they have feelings too- they also get hurt and feel pain and enjoy the pleasure of life. He also noted that it would cater no good to us since eating too much meat was bad for our health and it was the otherwise if we eat less or no meat at all. Moreover, he noted that it was not environmentally sound and inefficient to continuously raise animals for meat production since it was a very wasteful process. Singer imparted in his article that it was just equally immoral to perform experiments on non-humans and to eat their species. Singer did not find any difference between the two aside from the fact that there would be more significant outcome that could get in experimenting animals. Experiments on animals might result to additional understanding and knowledge as well as cures to diseases. However, Singer did not take it as an excuse and it was not justifiable to continue conducting experiments on animals. He noted that these experiments were just repetition and validation of previous experiments. Singer believed that people behind these experiments on animals were just doing the experiments for their own good and nothing else. However, Singer pointed out that if we were conducting experiments on animals, why we were not doing it also on humans. Experiments conducted only on animals were just simply discriminating their species since they could feel pain as any human. Animals should earn the same respect as we, humans, earn. Another form of speciesism aside from eating animal flesh and experimenting animal bodies for the advancement of science was determined by Singer as speciesism in modern philosophy. Singer noted that philosophy ought to present inquiries on the things that most people took for granted. However, philosophers at this age failed to query about the moral rights of sentient animals. Most philosophers presented the differences between human being and animals making it impossible to raise equality between the two species. They also presented equality in terms of human equality, and as the term suggested, non-humans though considered sentient, were disregarded when they mentioned or talked about equality. Singer assumed that the philosophers were discriminating the animals, since they did not exert any effort in bringing out the issue regarding equality between species. The other essay of Singer entitled â€Å"Human are Sentient Too†, also tackled the privilege of animals as a living creature to receive the consideration and rights that they ought to have. Singer mentioned again the term â€Å"speciesism† in this essay and claimed for the next time that all species were equal. He believed that the science world, especially the animal research was being unethical to the sentient animals. Singer noted that these researchers believed that animals were inferior to us only served as a tool that they could use to conduct researches and experimentation for the advancement of science. However, the animal liberation movement, especially Singer, did not accept their belief and considered them as immoral for letting the sentient animals to suffer and feel pain. Moreover, he believed that these researchers were violating the foundation of their knowledge and belief, The Theory of Evolution. The said theory entailed that we all existed in the planet due to unplanned evolution and all organisms existed were just equal; hence humans were not supposed to dominate the world. Considering the principle on the work of Jeremy Bentham, Singer came to think that it was possible to conduct experiments on animals and at the same time not causing them any pain or suffering. However, the science world still believed that we, humans, were superior and we were allowed of dominion over other species. And as a result, animal liberation movements were actively and continuously conducting demonstrations to show the society the inequality that they refused to see. However, Singer believed that the government and the science world, specifically the research institution were more responsible in making changes on the way the researches conduct experiments- researches and experiments without making violence on non-humans and preventing them to suffer and feel pain. In relation to the experiments being conduced on animals, there is another kind of technology that researchers invented in the mid-1970s that does not only involve plant species but also animal species. The new technology involves manipulating the genetic material of a species to modify the trait of that species and for it to have the desired trait. Researchers believed that modifying the trait of a certain species is the solution to some of the world’s problem such as starvation due to insufficient food supply, untreatable diseases and expensive medicines. The supporters of genetic engineering claimed that it is just like breeding a certain species. They also claimed that it is not unethical since nature itself did it through evolution. Evidence to the benefits of genetic engineering to our lives has long been reported. Genetically modified organisms are reported to solve the problems on various fields such as in medicine, agriculture, humanity and ecology. Genetic engineering has made dramatic progress on the said fields. Conversely, there are various groups that object genetic engineering. Religious critics, for an instance, believed that genetic engineering is against the statute and will of God. Moreover, they believed that life is so sacred that humans do not have the right to alter what the creator has given us. Other groups who object modifying the genetic code of species claimed that it is the dignity of the species to be modified that is at stake. It is not the right of anyone to violate the dignity not only of human kind but also of other life-forms. Meanwhile, critics of genetic engineering claim that it is unsafe and unethical to produce genetically modified crops since it may threaten the environment and the safety of human kind. Altering the genetic mode of organisms may lead to alteration of the balance in nature and may sequentially result to more serious problem. The world of science has not yet discovered the harmful effects of genetically modified organism hence it is too risky to depend so much on genetic engineering and deal ourselves with these â€Å"manufactured† organisms. When genetically modified organisms are released to the environment and in turn proven unsafe it will be impossible to recall these â€Å"manufactured† organisms. The society may allow the release of these organisms until we are guaranteed that it is safe and may not bring any hazard on our environment and our own health. Considering all the ideas and views of Singer on animal rights and equality and the facts regarding genetic engineering, though some are considerably absurd, it can be said that it is morally wrong to genetically modify non-humans or what we commonly call animals. It is beyond our ethical belief to alter what the creator has given us. Other species such as plant and animal also have sentience, capacities, self-consciousness and value. Sentient animals are not made for the sake of humanity; they exist in the planet for their own purpose- to live and enjoy the pleasure of life. Thus, humans are not licensed to lead the world and shall not bear in our minds that we are superior to the other life-forms. Humans are supposed to respect the existence of other species and give the consideration that these species shall earn from us otherwise; we do not deserve the rights and consideration that we are earning today. Humans enjoy the pleasure of life in this world and other life-forms might as well experience that pleasure of life. Humans, though given much more of the capabilities and knowledge that the other species failed to have, do not have sufficient right to dominate the world and do whatever they want to do to the other life-forms. As humans, given the opportunity to have higher faculty and self-consciousness, we are committed to take good care and preserve the world, as much as we could, as well as the other life-forms living in it. It is not that difficult for us to give the other life-forms the equality that we refuse to give them. All we need to do is to open eyes so we could have a clear outlook on the present situation of the sentient animals in our society today. In turn, we will realize and learn that their real role in this planet is not only to provide us sufficient nutritional requirements and a â€Å"tool† for research and but also to live and earn the respect and right that they have failed to earn from the very beginning. References Singer, P. 1972. Famine, Affluence, and Morality. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 1, 229-243. Singer, P. 2000. All Animals Are Equal. Contemporary Moral Problems, 490-499. Singer, P. 2004, â€Å"Humans Are Sentient Too,† The Guardian.

Narrative Essay: she always laughs... :: Example Personal Narratives

she always laughs... Suicide makes me think of my grandmother and uncle whom I never met. Each took their lives before I was born. I spoke with my mother about Grandma Ruth yesterday evening. She delights in telling me how much Grandma Ruth would have loved me. We didn't talk about her often. She died when my mother was a junior in high school. My mother always refered to her as "my mother", so it wasn't until I was a teen that I came up with a name for her. My grandfathers are called by their last names: Grandpa P. and Grandpa R. My other grandmother was called Amah and her husband was Poppa. One day I had a question about my mother's mother and I refered to her as Grandma Ruth. That has been what we have called her ever since. Apparently, on the day she died, she woke up in the morning and gave her husband a dollar, instructing him to send their oldest child to college. Then she took the bus to the bridge where she jumped. My grandfather saved that dollar all these years, but has lost it in the past decade. We have four possessions which formerly belonged to Grandma Ruth. She was schizophrenic and spent half of every year in a mental hospital; we have a sock doll she made in the institution. We have a wonderful pair of green sunglasses she wore; both of the nose pieces are broken off. My grandfather had her wedding ring made into a necklace, which he gave to my mother a few years ago. The fourth item is a large gold cross. The voice my grandmother heard in her head was the voice of god. It was no doubt the voice that told her that she needed to leave this planet. Grandma Ruth and I would have gotten along so well. I would have curled up on a chair in the kitchen while she baked cookies. We would have laughed and gossiped and she would have put flowers in my hair. I would have squaled with a giddy happiness every time she began a story with, "When your mother was little..." I don't know many stories about when my mother was little. She has forgotten most everything, and even now her memory is terrible.

Child Labor: negative impacts on the society Essay

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates there are about 12 million children engaged at work in India. This is an alarming statistic. Thesis – Not only is child labor, a violation of law to the rights of children, it is also Potentially damaging the education. Reflection on the economy. Causing health issues. Body Paragraph 1: child labor is detriment to education. Lack of education in childhood causes future unemployment. â€Å"Child labor is a hazard to a child’s mental physical, social, educational, emotional and spiritual development† (Virk, 2013). Adulthood unemployment. Declined literacy rate. Body Paragraph 2: socio-Economics problem. Futures of the economic countries very much depend on this valuable asset. â€Å"Child labor is a product of economic necessity and economic distress† (Virk, 2013). Poverty forces parents to send their children to work. Body Paragraph 3: Introduction of health problems. Existence of significant health effect. â€Å"If families are insufficiently aware of the hazards, health, or if prevailing societal attitudes are tolerant of child labor, children are again less likely to be directed towards classroom rather than the workplace† (Virk, 2012). Experiences greater morbidity and mortality. Also impacts the psychological hazards, like isolation, abuse, exploitation. Conclusion: Child labor has extremely issues. Detriment to the Education of Children. Negative impact on Economy of the developing countries. Poverty related health problems. References Virk, S. k. (2013). Child labour in India: A Socio-Economic problem; legal remedies and solution. AJRSH, 3(5), 56-63. Retrieved May 2, 2013, from the Journal of Asian Research Consortium database. world report on child labour (pp. 11-26). (2013). child labour and economic vulnerability. geneva: international labour office.

Review Of The Collector By John Fowles Essay - 2164 Words

Jean Roxanne Santa Cruz Paul Kintzele English 4313-13794 Dec. 12, 2016 The effects of education in The Collector In John Fowles novel The Collector, education is used to distinguish the differences between the main characters; Fred and Miranda. The education level of the characters correspond with their family, class, and power. Fred had a great amount of loss and struggles in his childhood. The lack of encouragement and closeness with his family affected his interest in higher education and mental stability. Miranda on the other hand has her share of family struggles but unlike Fred she grew up in a better home with well-educated parents of an upper-middle class. Their educational differences led them to learn different things about one another and their surroundings. With Miranda, education plays a role on how she is in her relationship with Fred, G.P, and how both relationships have similarities. Some people may argue that being educated can come in two forms; formal education and life experiences. Being educated means to have learned a skill and kno wledge that can be used throughout life (Gaff 4). Everyone is educated in some way, some people are just better educated than others. Different people will acknowledge that an educated person has other concepts than formal education (Pring 10). Miranda expresses formal education considering her social class, family background, and as an art major. Fred exhibits being educated through life experiences; works at the countyShow MoreRelated Miranda Grey and Frederick Clegg from The Collector by John Fowles1533 Words   |  7 PagesMiranda Grey and Frederick Clegg from The Collector by John Fowles Miranda Grey and Frederick Clegg are the main characters that are interpreted in the text The Collector, by John Fowles. Both characters correspond to different classes in society. John Fowles uses the concept of the implied reader, in which he speaks to a specific reader in mind in an attempt to have the story interpreted in a particular way. Fowles expects us to read Miranda as an intelligent, mentally independent beingRead MoreA Free Spirit of Rebellion, Mason and Dixon Show Flashbacks in Vineland1594 Words   |  7 PagesMatter (1967), and Iris Murdoch in Under the Net (1954) have taken to the Post-Modernist vein already in the late fifties and that there has been ever since comparable British engagement with experimentation as evidenced in the work of writers like John Fowles (The French Lieutenant’s Woman 1969), Doris Lessing (The Golden Notebook 1962), B.S. Johnson (Albert Angelo 1964), and Murial Spark (The Driver’s Seat 1970)† (67-68). The tension between satisfying our credulity and satisfying our skepticism, asRead MoreMy Ambition In Life Essay To Become A C1082 Words   |  5 PagesMy ambition in life essay to become a collector Free Essays on My Ambition In Life To Become A Collector for students. Use our papers to help you with yours. My Ambition Become a Collector: exaggeration of your dream and thoughts of how you want to be in your life. My ambition is to become an IAS officer. Though I. My ambition in life is to become a teacher. There are a number of reasons for my choice. First, about 35 per cent of the people in India are illiterate. They are. Plan essay thirsha Websites