The Ethics of Milgram Essay Example for Free

The Ethics of Milgram Essay When this question is posed, immediately we are confronted with a subject of ethics. In three studies by; Milgram, Zimbardo and Hofling, conformity and obedience are tested to extreme levels. Thus bringing ethics to the forefront of the psychological community and the world, concerning the treatment of subjects/participants. Milgrams study addressed obedience to authority. This began three months after the start of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, his accomplices and his/their part in the genocidal holocaust. Eichmann had said that he was simply following orders. The experiment was set up to see how varying members of society would respond to a figure of authority when asked to deliver electric shocks to another person. Milgrams orthodox view was that few subjects would administer harsh shocks to another human. The test however showed Milgram that though the participants questioned whether they should continue, surprisingly it took little prompts to get them to continue. In this scenario 65% delivered the full, potentially fatal shock to the subject. These findings are of enormous importance both from an ethical and psychological viewpoint. This simple experiment showed and extreme willingness to follow the commands of an authoritys figure, against their own morals, even when confronted with the screams of another person. In Zimbardos experiment obedience and conformity are addressed within a prison environment. This was a mock prison setup at Stanford University, participants were requested in a local newspaper, 24 were chosen. This study showed the knock on effect of demoralisation. The prisoner participants were kept in a constant state of uncertainty from the moment they were arrested, to when the guards took over. In having their individuality removed through complying with the processes applied by the rules of an institutionalised system, the display of obedience grew dramatically. The guards in turn conformed to their perceived position of authority. On the second day the guards put down a rebellion. In response the guards decided to break the prisoners moral by dividing and conquering, developing distrust amongst the inmates and consolidating themselves into a working unit. The effects of this from an ethical point of view is that the inmates were subject to mental and physical mistreatment on a grand scale, meanwhile the guards it seemed had forgotten that the situation was experimental, as they grew more sadistic an abuse of power was displayed. Every prisoner fell under the guards arbitrary control as their living conditions continually fell into the realms of degradation and depravity. When an inmate had been in the prison for approximately thirty six hours he displayed acute emotional disturbance, crying and rage. After interview it was decided that he was trying to con his way to early release. He was given the option of remaining but as an informant in exchange for no further harassment from the guards. This did not seem to work as this lead him to telling the other inmates that they could not leave or quit, this lead to his condition worsening as he screamed cursed and began to act crazy. He was released. This strongly raises the issue of ethical practice, though the experimenter wanted to maintain a real life prison scenario, the protection of the prisoners human rights were not taken into consideration enough, especially in view of the guards sadistic and aggressive methods. Possibly a real prison guard should have lead the other guards for better reality between guard and inmate. The next day the family and friends of the inmates arrived to visit them, the experimenters became concerned that the extreme conditions, if witnessed by the family and friends would possibly effect the continuation of the experiment. So they cleaned and fed the inmates, played music through a speaker system, had a cheerleader greet the awaiting visitors. The visitors mood was good, as they saw the whole thing as a bit of fun, in this way the experimenters systematically brought the visitors behaviour under situational control. Though the parents complained about the arbitrary rules they complied like good middle class citizens trusting implicitly the words of educated men of medicine. When the parents were reunited with their children they were shocked to see how drawn and fatigued they seemed to be, when this was raised, the experimenter simply used reverse psychology on a typical American family, by challenging the strength of their childs resolve and in turn challenging their parenting skills. These methods paid off, and the parents didnt want to waste anymore of the experimenters times and left. Ethically this was a poor decision as the parents werent part of the experiment, but were used without thought to how they may react or feel when they would eventually find out that they had been party to a hoax and that their children were actually being treated badly. It is impossible to tell how much the aftershock would affect a family.

Formal Analysis of Woman and Bicycle by Willem de Kooning Essay

Formal Analysis: Woman and Bicycle by Willem de Kooning Woman and Bicycle is an abstract expressionist painting created by Willem de Kooning in 1952-53 as part of his collection of Women paintings. It roughly measures 6ft. by 4ft. in size and is an oil painting on canvas. The image can be understood to be figurative, however the figure is difficult to decipher on account of the haphazard style in which it was created. It appears that the picture has been altered a great many times, as if it is just one picture deposited upon the remains of or intentions of ones prior. It is easy to decipher a pair of large jaunty eyes with their gaze intently directed back towards the viewer over a pair of particularly large breasts. The insinuation of a body remains just that, wildly gestural brushstrokes that only imply the presence of hips and thighs. De Kooning himself makes note of the illusive nature of his forms saying, â€Å"Content is a glimpse of something, and encounter like a flash. It’s very tiny—very tiny, content,à ¢â‚¬  (Hess p.148). Another more distinguishable element in this painting is the pair of legs centered at the bottom of the canvas. Beyond this, the theory of content in this piece is at the discretion of the viewer’s imagination. The gestural and heavy working of the paint and the contrasting colors make the painting appear active yet are arduous to follow. The defining element of Woman and Bicycle is the presence of the black lines that do most of the work in terms of identifying the figure. Through the wild nature of the brushwork, color, and composition of the painting, it can be implied that the artist is making an implication towards the wild nature of even the most proper of women. The most... ...ess in such a vulgarly constructed work of art. The contrasts between depth and surface, figure and landscape, promiscuity and modesty, beauty and vulgarity all present themselves in de Kooning’s Woman and Bicycle. Although the figure is a seemingly normal woman out for an afternoon with her bike, she becomes so much more through the artist’s use of color, contrast, and composition. The exotic nature of woman presents itself in her direct stare and slick buxom breasts in spite of a nearly indiscernible figure. It is understood that, on the whole, de Kooning did not paint with a purpose in mind, but rather as an opportunity to create an experience, however, that does not go to say that there isn’t some meaning that can come of this work. Even Willem de Kooning once said that art is not everything that is in it, but what you can take out of it (Hess p.144). Formal Analysis of Woman and Bicycle by Willem de Kooning Essay Formal Analysis: Woman and Bicycle by Willem de Kooning Woman and Bicycle is an abstract expressionist painting created by Willem de Kooning in 1952-53 as part of his collection of Women paintings. It roughly measures 6ft. by 4ft. in size and is an oil painting on canvas. The image can be understood to be figurative, however the figure is difficult to decipher on account of the haphazard style in which it was created. It appears that the picture has been altered a great many times, as if it is just one picture deposited upon the remains of or intentions of ones prior. It is easy to decipher a pair of large jaunty eyes with their gaze intently directed back towards the viewer over a pair of particularly large breasts. The insinuation of a body remains just that, wildly gestural brushstrokes that only imply the presence of hips and thighs. De Kooning himself makes note of the illusive nature of his forms saying, â€Å"Content is a glimpse of something, and encounter like a flash. It’s very tiny—very tiny, content,à ¢â‚¬  (Hess p.148). Another more distinguishable element in this painting is the pair of legs centered at the bottom of the canvas. Beyond this, the theory of content in this piece is at the discretion of the viewer’s imagination. The gestural and heavy working of the paint and the contrasting colors make the painting appear active yet are arduous to follow. The defining element of Woman and Bicycle is the presence of the black lines that do most of the work in terms of identifying the figure. Through the wild nature of the brushwork, color, and composition of the painting, it can be implied that the artist is making an implication towards the wild nature of even the most proper of women. The most... ...ess in such a vulgarly constructed work of art. The contrasts between depth and surface, figure and landscape, promiscuity and modesty, beauty and vulgarity all present themselves in de Kooning’s Woman and Bicycle. Although the figure is a seemingly normal woman out for an afternoon with her bike, she becomes so much more through the artist’s use of color, contrast, and composition. The exotic nature of woman presents itself in her direct stare and slick buxom breasts in spite of a nearly indiscernible figure. It is understood that, on the whole, de Kooning did not paint with a purpose in mind, but rather as an opportunity to create an experience, however, that does not go to say that there isn’t some meaning that can come of this work. Even Willem de Kooning once said that art is not everything that is in it, but what you can take out of it (Hess p.144).

Do you find any of the arguments for cognitivism convincing? Essay

Cognitivism, also referred to as moral realism, is a belief held that morality is independent of human existence. Cognitivists will state that there are such things as moral facts which we can discover, rather than morals being subjective and developed individually. To them, each judgment is true or false, and this applies to any moral judgment. I believe that rationalism and naturalism can easily be dismissed as implausible, illogical and inhuman. Kant’s cold, calculated approach to ethics is irony of the highest degree, whilst Hume, Mill and Aristotle’s strict moral principles undermine our human fallacies at the foundation. They make too much of an attempt to define ‘good’ (which surely is indefinable, just as â€Å"red† or â€Å"four† cannot be defined, only represented). For this reason, I prefer G. E. Moore’s theory of Consequentialist Intuitionism. His belief that morals are intuited seems a lot more human to us, but it still has a lot of shortfalls. Overall, cognitivism has many more weaknesses than strengths, as I shall discuss. It is, first of all, important to define cognitivism and moral realism. The beliefs state that morality is not invented, but discovered through various means (depending on the theory). Morals are objective, and part of our world, not part of us as human beings. There are moral facts which we must adhere to, and all moral judgments can be true or false. There is always a ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’ The first of the cognitivist theories is that of rationalism, and is most commonly associated with Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant. He states that â€Å"reason by itself and independently of all appearances commands what ought to happen† (1), i.e. we can perceive what is right or wrong purely through reason. He believes that every moral judgment should be made using our reason, and that it will always provide the ‘right’ course of action. This follows Kant’s idea of a ‘categorical imperative,’ which is what we are required to do in a certain situation. This creates a kind of set Moral Law based on universalised maxims, which basically means that an action can only be right if it can be universalised. This, according to Kant, leads to a perfect moral system. To his favour, the theory is very simple to understand, and in many ways it is logical, but from there on it raises more questions than it answers. First of all, how can morals possible be independent? If we are to know them a priori, then where does this knowledge come from? It is ludicrous to assume that this knowledge of the moral law appears from nowhere. Arthur Schopenhauer raised this point in his critique of Kant’s moral theory: Kant attempted to give a foundation to Ethics independent of this will, and establish it without metaphysical hypotheses, and there was no longer any justification for taking as its basis the words † thou shalt,† and † it is thy duty † (that is, the imperative form), without first deducing the truth thereof from some other source.† (2) This very well asks this question. Another very large issue with Kant’s theory is his intense focus on reason. I disagree strongly with this. How can moral decisions be made in a complete absence of emotion? Surely emotions and feelings form the basis of our judgments? Schopenhauer illustrates the impossibility of a â€Å"loveless doer of good, who is indifferent to the sufferings of other people† (2). This seems like a very obvious fallacy, and I agree with it. It completely undermines the whole point of morality, for surely one can appreciate the absurdity of a â€Å"loveless doer of good.† Where does this categorical duty arise from, if not emotion? Reason does not motivate man, it guides him. Emotions drive man to perform action, but Kant completely overlooks this, even though fellow rationalist David Hume (who Kant once claimed â€Å"awoke him from his dogmatism†) makes this point: â€Å"Reason is, and ought only to be, the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.† (3) Overall, Kant’s rationalism is a very weak theory (not unlike the bulk of his work, I daresay), and I completely disagree with every single part of it. How this theory is even being discussed in today’s society, let alone in the 16th/17th Century leaves me in the dark. It is not even worth considering as a moral theory, and should be dismissed from consideration immediately. The second theory is less specific, referring more to several similarly-aimed theories, rather than just one. These theories are John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism and Aristotle’s Theory of Virtue in particular. Naturalism is a theory that focuses on ‘good’ as natural properties. This can be a multitude of things. John Stuart Mill said that â€Å"the creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.† (4) This means, in essence, that happiness is the ultimate good. Obviously, happiness is a natural principle, and therefore it makes Utilitarianism a naturalistic theory. Aristotle’s virtue theory is somewhat different. It refers to set virtues that must be followed in order to reach the Highest Happiness, which is fulfillment of one’s function as a human being. (5) This means that Aristotle’s definition of ‘good’ is to fulfill the function of your soul, which involves living a virtuous life. In general, these theories seem quite sensible, as naturalistic properties are a logical place to start within morality. Unfortunately, there is one very major problem which G.E. Moore pointed out, and it is known as the Naturalistic Fallacy. This fallacy describes how one cannot possibly define ‘good’, just as you cannot define ‘blue’ or ‘six’. They are purely concepts we assign to certain things, not objective definites. Moore said that â€Å"‘Good’ is one of those innumerable objects of thought which are themselves incapable of definition, because they are the ultimate terms by reference to which whatever is capable of definition must be defined.† (6) Obviously the naturalistic theories attempt to make sense of ‘good’ by definition, and that is the most obvious problem with them. How can one possibly say that one thing in particular means ‘good?’ Surely it’s a matter of opinion, and entirely subjective? And, as with other cognitivist theories, there is the problem of objective morality. Where does this ‘happiness’ and these ‘virtues’ come from? Are they not subjective human inventions, not discoveries? Overall, this is also a very weak theory, although it does have some stronger points than rationalism. However, I disagree with this theory as well; since it offers a strict approach to ethics and makes us define ‘good’, which I think defeats the whole object of morality. The third and final theory is also, in my opinion, the strongest. G.E. Moore devised this theory as retaliation the naturalists. He draws inspiration from their committing of the naturalistic fallacy and proposes a completely different cognitive theory. Moore, in his Principia Ethika (6), states that there is no need to define ‘good’ (see quote above). Our intuition reveals what is right or wrong without the need for a set ‘good.’ As an empiricist and a consequentialist, Moore believed that one could intuit, through experience, what the right decision would be in a moral judgment. Intuition would help us discover the objective morals and use them correctly. The right application was to find â€Å"friendship†, according to Moore. W.D. Ross took an interesting approach and turned this on its head, defining it instead as a deontological theory. In his most famous work, The Right and the Good, he said that â€Å"the moral order†¦is just as much part of the fundamental nature of the universe (and†¦of any possible universe in which there are moral agents at all) as is the spatial or numerical structure expressed in the axioms of geometry or arithmetic.† (7) Basically, he states that the morals are part of the universe itself, and that we don’t need experience to interpret it, we need only our intuition, which will tell us them directly. Although this theory is a lot more human and obvious to us, and is the strongest of the three theories, it stills falls short, and is a fairly weak theory. Isn’t Moore’s suggestion of ‘friendship’ a thinly veiled attempt at definition of ‘good’, or at the very least a specific instruction? Not especially ‘intuiti ve.’ Also, where do we intuit these morals from? Sorely morality in general cannot be objective (which, granted, is a problem with cognitivism, not specifically intuitionism). Again, this is a weak theory, even though it prevails over the other two. In the end, cognitivism as a whole is not especially useful as a guide as to where morals come from. I stated earlier that cognitivism has many more weaknesses than strengths, and I displayed that through my various condemnations of the theories individually, and also of cognitivism as a whole. Surely morality cannot be objective? Isn’t the whole point of morals the fact that they are individual and developed subjectively? Surely there would be no moral disagreement if they in fact were objective, but that is obviously not the case. No, the answer lies in the direct counterpart of cognitivism, non-cognitivism. Morality is for certain subjective, as it is part of our human nature to form opinions based on emotion and preference, not in principles which are apparently entwined in this world we live in. Cognitivism, as a whole, is completely useless in terms of moral analysis and I completely and utterly disagree with all it states. Bibliography 1. Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork on the Metaphysics of Morals. 1785. 2. Schopenhauer, Arthur. On the Basis of Morality. 1837. 3. Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature. 1739. 4. Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. 1861. 5. Aristotle. Ta Ethika. 6. Moore, G.E. Principia Ethica. 1903. 7. Ross, W. D. The Right and the Good. 1930.

Eating Disorders A Social Problem Essay - 850 Words

Eating disorders have become a social problem. â€Å"Who wants to recover? It took me years to get that tiny. I wasn t sick; I was strong† (Laurie Halse Anderson). Due to the pressure of being beautiful or fulfilling in the stereotypes that media bring us, eating disorders affect individuals and their families around the world both mental and physical. NEDA (National eating disorders association) cares and helps to those people affected by an eating disorder. Therefore, NEDA bring to citizens the cure, access to quality care, and prevention to people who are vulnerable to suffer an eating disorder. Because the negative effects caused by eating disorders could be fatal, a world without eating disorders is the principal goal of NEDA saving thousands of lives. The problems, solutions, and benefits of fighting against an eating disorder will be presented then. Overview of the problem Eating disorders is a problem that affects many individuals not only physical but also mental. Teenagers are the most vulnerable to suffer an eating disorder due pressure of social standards. The consequences of eating disorders could be fatal. The three different types of eating disorders affects negatively to the body. Anorexia Nervosa, which is caused by the lack of necessary nutrients, causes severe dehydration. Due the lack of nutrients, the body take the energy needed from muscles. However, anorexia causes muscle loss and weakness. Bulimia Nervosa inflicted by binge-and-purge, which affectsShow MoreRelatedThe Social Problem Of Eating Disorders1042 Words   |  5 PagesEating disorders have become a major social problem in America, especially for woman. Our society pushes a fantasy of the idealized body through advertising, magazines, television, and social networks. It has become the cultural norm for women to be materialized out of the delusional thoug ht process centered on the perfect body. 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