Wewewewewe - 6226 Words

What Should a Billionaire Give – and What Should You? . . . . . TWITTER LINKEDIN SIGN IN TO E-MAIL OR SAVE THIS PRINT SHARE By PETER SINGER Published: December 17, 2006 What is a human life worth? You may not want to put a price tag on a it. But if we really had to, most of us would agree that the value of a human life would be in the millions. Consistent with the foundations of our democracy and our frequently professed belief in the inherent dignity of human beings, we would also agree that all humans are created equal, at least to the extent of denying that differences of sex, ethnicity, nationality and place of residence change the value of a human life. Q. and A. Peter Singer answers readers questions on the ethics of†¦show more content†¦Bill and Melinda Gates’s gifts are not far behind. Gates’s and Buffett’s donations will now be put to work primarily to reduce poverty, disease and premature death in the developing world. According to the Global Forum for Health Research, less than 10 percent of the world’s health research budget is spent on combating conditions that account for 90 percent of the global burden of disease. In the past, diseases that affect only the poor have been of no commercial interest to pharmaceutical manufacturers, because the poor cannot afford to buy their products. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), heavily supported by the Gates Foundation, seeks to change this by guaranteeing to purchase millions of doses of vaccines, when they are developed, that can prevent diseases like malaria. GAVI has also assisted developing countries to immunize more people with existing vaccines: 99 million additional children have been reached to date. By doing this, GAVI claims to have already averted nearly 1.7 million future deaths. Philanthropy on this scale raises many ethical questions: Why are the people who are giving doing so? Does it do any good? Should we praise them for giving so much or criticize them for not giving still more? Is it troubling that such momentous decisions are made by a few extremely wealthy individuals? And how do our judgments about them reflect on our own way of living? Let’s start with the question of motives. The rich must

The Riddles of Existence by Earl Conee and Theodore Sider

Throughout this section of the class we have talked about free will and the responses through different point of views. In this paper I am going to discuss the problem of free will itself and then describe the determinist, libertarian, and the compatibilist responses to the problem and talk about some benefits and drawbacks from the different positions. Finally I will give you my output on the various responses to the problem and defend why I believe in what. I will make references from the Riddles of Existence by Earl Conee and Theodore Sider and from the lectures. There are many definitions of what free will is, I looked up online what the actual definition of free will was. â€Å"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one’s own discretion†. The book talks about the problem of free will. An example of how you did not act on your own free will. Let’s say you are kidnapped. The kidnapper makes you do some unciviliz ed things to other people and if you did not follow the kidnapper’s rules he would gruesomely kill you. So he makes you kill a child by pressing your finger against the trigger, then he forces you to behead a man, a father of three kids by using your hands. Not once during those instances where you acting on your own free will. You didn’t want to kill anyone. In the book Sider talks about how problem of free will is a ticking time bomb that is hidden within our most deeply held beliefs (Sider 113). With free will comes

Mini Essay on the Effect of Belonging Between a Person and a Place Free Essays

‘In each of the texts, perceptions of belonging involve connections between people and places. Compare the portrayal of the connections between people and places in Mankind Is No Island and Gran Torino. ‘ For people to have a real sense of belonging, they need to make connections with the place they live and the people around them. We will write a custom essay sample on Mini Essay on the Effect of Belonging Between a Person and a Place or any similar topic only for you Order Now If either of these connections is missing, then individuals will suffer as a result. Two films that examine this idea are the 2008 Tropfest Winner ‘Mankind Is No Island’ and the motion picture ‘Gran Torino’ directed by East Clintwood. The Tropfest film ‘Mankind is no Island’ represents the challenges of belonging to a place by exploring the irony of the misconceptions that cities, being so grand, would also create a grand sense of belonging within the individuals that populate them. However, the film shows us that many people are faced with isolation, starvation and alienation. This is shown in a scene with the quote ‘do we measure empathy by donations’, after these 6 words, the camera focuses on a homeless man kneeling in the street. The camera angle is low when you see the man appearing to be begging for money. His head is positioned downwards at the bag in front of him, with no great deal of donations. This shot also shows people on the street walking past the man without so much as glancing in his direction, as though he does not exist. This is a visual representation that reinforces the title. It is as if the people drifting past him are depicted as the water and he himself the island. In ‘Gran Torino’, the neighbourhood in which Walt Kowalski lives is shown to be full of Hmong people. At the beginning of the movie, Walt is appearing to have a racist attitude towards his neighbours as he is always calling them ‘gooks’ or ‘zipper heads’. It is evident in the scene in which Tao’s cousin and his gang try to recruit Tao in his own front yard, that Walt does not like the Hmong people. Tao resists which causes a conflict that ends up moving over to Walt’s lawn. The scene is cut to Walt pointing a gun into the gangs’ faces whilst saying ‘get off my lawn’. One of the members of the gang says to Walt ‘are you crazy, go back in the house’ where Walt replies to this ‘how about I blow a hole in your face and then I go in the house and I sleep like a baby, you can count on that’. When Walt has a barbeque in his own backyard, inviting his new found friends over, we can clearly see the contrast in attitude that he has. He went from scowling and cursing at his Asian neighbours, to having a full grin and laughing with them while sharing a friendly gathering. In this scene, Walt feels as though he belongs with this family more than he does with his own. Tao’s family accepts him for who he is and doesn’t expect anything from him. Walt and the Hmong family are able to make jokes about each other that aren’t politically correct, but they are accepted for they trust and accept that it is how Walt is, because he comes from an age where making racial comments was less criticized. In conclusion, both ‘Mankind Is No Island’ and ‘Gran Torino’ show that connections with people and places are essential in creating a sense of belonging within oneself. When someone feels as though they truly belong to someone or something, they become much happier. How to cite Mini Essay on the Effect of Belonging Between a Person and a Place, Essay examples

One of the smartest people ever to live, Albert Ei Essay Example For Students

One of the smartest people ever to live, Albert Ei Essay nstein, changed our societys development forever with his views, theories, and developments. Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. He was the only son of Hermann and Pauline Kech Einstein. He spent his youth in Munich, where his family owned a small electrical equipment plant. He did not talk until the age of three and by the age of nine, was still not fluent in his native language. (Discovering World History) His parents were actually concerned the he might be somewhat mentally retarded. His parents concerns aside, even as a youth Einstein showed a brilliant curiosity about nature and an ability to understand difficult mathematical concepts. At the age of 12 he taught himself Euclidian Geometry. Einstein hated the dull regimental and unimaginative spirit of school in Munich. (Albert Einsteins Early Life) His parents wisely thought to transfer him out of that environment. Although Einsteins family was Jewish, he was sent to a Catholic elementary school from 1884 to 1889. He was then enrolled at the Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich. In 1894, Hermann Einsteins business failed and the family moved to Pavia, near Milan, Italy. Einstein was left behind in Munich to allow him to finish school. Such was not to be the case, however, since he left the gymnasium after only six more months. Einsteins biographer, Philip Frank, explains that Einstein so thoroughly despised formal schooling that he devised a scheme by which he received a medical excuse from school on the basis of a potential nervous breakdown. He then convinced a mathematics teacher to certify that he was adequately prepared to begin his college studies without a high school diploma. Other biographies, however, state that Einstein was expelled from the gymnasium on the grounds that he was a disruptive influence at the school. (Discovering World History)In 1895, Einstein thought himself ready to take th e entrance examination for the Eldgenossiche Technische Hochschule (ETH: Swiss Federal Polytechnic School, or Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), where he planned to major in electrical engineering. When he failed that examination, Einstein enrolled at a Swiss cantonal high school in Aarau. He found the more democratic style of instruction at Aarau much more enjoyable than his experience in Munich and soon began to make rapid progress. He took the entrance examination for ETH a second time in 1896, passed, and was admitted to school, although other sources state that he was admitted without examination on the basis of his diploma from Aarau. ETH had little appeal to Einstein, however. He rarely attended classes and hated studying for examinations, although he did graduate with a secondary teaching degree in 1900. He became a teacher of mathematics and physics in secondary school. (Albert Einsteins Early Life)As a teacher Einstein was unable to find a regular teaching job. Instea d he was a tutor in a private school in Schaffhausen. With his extra time in 1901, Einstein published his first scientific paper, Consequences of Capillary Phenomena. In 1902 he was hired at the patent office until 1909. During this period of time, he was wed to his first wife Mileva Marie and had two sons and a daughter. There are no records of his daughter due to the fact that she was given up for adoption, they simply did not want her. (Discovering World History)In 1905, during a single year, Einstein produced a series of three consecutive papers. These are among the most important in twentieth-century physics, and perhaps in all of the recorded history of science for they revolutionized the way scientists look at the nature of space, time, and matter. (Discovering World History) The series of three papers dealt with the nature of particle movement known as Brownian motion, the quantum nature of electromagnetic radiation as demonstrated by the photoelectric effect, and the specia l theory of relativity (Discovering Science). We will write a custom essay on One of the smartest people ever to live, Albert Ei specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Report On Reding in the Dark EssayHis highly principled nature was evident again in 1952. After the death of Israels first president Einstein was invited to succeed him as president. He declined the offer. Despite the many other honors given to Einstein, he died a humble man. At the time of his death he was the worlds most widely admired scientist and his name was synonymous with genius (Discovering World History). Einstein was truly one of the most fascinating figures of the twentieth century and his contributions to science and mathematics have yet to be fully explored. Work CitedAlbert Einstein. Microsoft Encarta 97 Encyclopedia. Online. 1993-1996. Albert Einsteins Early Life. 1998 http://www.humbolt1.com/gralsto/einstein/early.html. (28 March 2000). Bernstein, Jeremy. Einstein. Fontana: ?, 1973. Discovering World History. Albert Einstein (1879-1955). Online. Gale Research, 1997. Discovering Science. Albert Einstein (1879-1955). Online. Gale Research, 1997. General Theory of Relativity. 1998. http://www.humbolt1.com/gralsto/einstein/relativ.html. (28 March 2000). Glasston, Samuel. Albert Einstein. Encarta 97 Encyclopedia 1993-1996. Later Life. 1998. http://www.humbolt1.com/gralsto/einstein/later.html. (28 March 2000)Seeing, Carl. Albert Einstein: A documentary Biography. Staples Press, 1956.