Killing and Letting Die Essay Example for Free

Killing and Letting Die Essay Foot’s calculated article entitled, ‘Killing and Letting Die’ is one which provides arguments through hypothetical situation’s, discrediting opinions and beliefs of other modern philosophers. Its main cause is to locate moral differentiation between the active taking of life versus allowing death to occur by means of not producing assistance. Afterwards Foot applies these beliefs onto the sub-topic of abortion, highlighting flawed examples of pro-abortion arguments she then counters these with her own strong outlooks. In this critical report I intend to analyse the relevance and application of Foot’s arguments highlighting both strengths and weaknesses in Foot’s judgements. Foot opens by expressing that in specific circumstances, for instance our negligence to end third world starvation as opposed to the giving of poisoned food to these starving individuals, our moral agency has a role. This is a sound argument, we have sufficient resources to end starvation with little if any detriment to ourselves yet we fail to provide. This failure is just as morally wrong as providing poisoned food. This is not to say Foot believes killing and allowing to die are the same. It is merely her belief in this particular circumstance that they are not morally dissimilar. Proceeding this is a hypothetical proposal of two circumstances: One, in which 6 individuals are reliant on the intake of a certain rare drug. One individual requires the full quota of this specific medification in order to live, thus the other five would not receive the drug and would consequentially die. It is therefore clear to Foot that the five should receive the drug and regrettably allow this individual to die. The other, where five persons require organs and to save their life one patient is killed to obtain these for the five in need. The clear moral distinction between these two is the role played by moral agency. We play our part as an ‘agent’ in the death of a person whereas in the other we cannot be held responsible for the eventual outcome- being his death. It is our active involvement in the case of ‘the killing for spare parts’ which is denounced as morally wrong by Foot, whereas in the case of providing the medicine at a lower quantity to the five patients rather than all the medicine to the one patient; we are not an agent in the death as the resources were insufficient to keep the individual alive. Thus Foot concludes a morally justified stance is adopted. This point is further continued in Foot’s ‘Rescue I’ and ‘Rescue II’ cases she offers. Rescue I involves a rescue team hurrying to save five persons from drowning before the receive news of one person threatened by some other happening, they choose to continue to save the five and regretfully allow him to die. This is then contrasted with the hypothetical situation of Rescue 2. Rescue 2, the rescue team are on their way to save the five from drowning when blocking their road is an individual trapped on their route. To continue and save the five the team would have to drive over the individual resulting in certain death. Foot progresses this point by stating, â€Å"We cannot originate a fatal sequence, although we can allow one to run its course. † It is therefore apparent Foot is establishing her stance as against the idea killing and allowing to die are morally divergent. This stance though can be countered with an example proposed by James Rachels which is recognised by Foot. In the first case, a child is intentionally held underwater in the bath until they drown. And in the second an individual see’s the child slip and fall underwater, whilst the child drowns they do nothing. Foot accepts that both are morally wrong however she provides weak and incoherent reasoning for her contradiction. Resorting to an argument involving ‘levels of badness’, as if an untoward deed can be rated on a scale. It is ludicrous to suggest any act of malicious or evil intent can be inferior to another simply because of the outcome. Also Foot suggests that because the two cases differ in their acts, the result cannot be known to be the same. Foot’s established beliefs are then applied to the sub-topic of abortion, and if there are any situations it is morally justifiable to abort a foetus. Foot introduces an argument voiced by Thomson in favour of abortion. Thomson’s belief is that abortion is always morally justifiable as no human being has the right to use of another’s body, therefore the foetus’ rights are waived and the mother’s rights to remove the foetus as a hindrance take precedence. Foot recites Thomson’s flawed example of an dangerously ill individual being hooked to the body of another person without consent in order to survive being similar to that of a pregnant woman. She continues to say if the unconsenting person detaches himself he is not a murderer as the ill person is proving an inconvenience to them. Foot breaks down this argument by showing there is an intrinsic difference between instigating a fatality and not providing the means to continue life. Foot finds that the language used to describe failing to provide the means to survive does not serve purposes of this argument. Foot indicates the word ‘kill’ is unimportant and it is infact the outcome of death is not instigated by an agent it is otherwise allowed to take place. This is relative to the act of abortion as Foot suggests the foetus is dependant on its mother in the same way children depend on their parent’s for food and shelter. Thus Foot hints that the previous suggestions by Thomson are horrendously faulty, by denouncing her comment that a mother’s rights override a foetus’ rights as it hinders her life. Surely this is saying that if an alive child is proving a encumbrance to it’s parents lives it is morally justifiable that they terminate its life. Foot correctly highlights that the arguments hinges upon the audiences perception of a foetus’ moral status. Be it as a human being or otherwise. Foot proclaims that if the foetus should be considered a human being then Thomson’s argument is as similar to ‘the killing of the man for spare parts’. Concluding that the foetus’ status remains at the core of justifying the opposition or support of abortion as an act.

George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essay -- essays research pa

The terrors of a totalitarian government presented in George Orwell’s 1984 apply not only to the Party, but also to the Stalinist Russia of the 1930’s. Frightening similarities exist between these two bodies which both started out as forms of government, and then mutated into life-controlling political organizations which â€Å"subordinated all institutions and classes under one supreme power† (Buckler 924). Orwell shows how such a system can impose its will on the people through manipulation of media, constant supervision as aided by technology, and the threat of pain, both physical and mental. Orwell also shows how the state has more subtle methods for imposing its authority, such as the manipulation of language and propaganda as they are used to achieve the goal of absolute power for the system. A key parallel between the Party and Stalin’s Communism is the use of technology and communication to control the economic, social, and personal aspects of life . Stalin and Big Brother achieved total control, not only of social and economic aspects of the state, but also of their people’s personal lives. They did this first and foremost by constantly observing the people. Both Stalin & "The Party" believed in total control over their "party members". The objectives of the Spies, the Ministry of Truth, Thought Police, and the telescreens in Oceania are mirrored in Stalin’s Russia by the actions of the KGB, and all the technologies they used to monitor people. Another way was by altering all forms of media. The Ministry of Truth worked to change the past in all forms of media, making Big Brother appear to have always been right. Stalin had books rewritten, histories revamped, and paintings altered to feature his presence. Although unlimited control could not be achieved in 1930’s Russia, Orwell gives Big Brother this power to demonstrate how, if ever attained, it would lead to the complete destr uction of individual freedom. Tangible similarities between the two leaders, Stalin and Big Brother, are also daunting. Joseph Stalin could easily fit the description of Big Brother in the novel. Stalin had his 5-year plan for the economy, just as references were made to the 3-year plans in 1984. The Party rejects and vilifies every principle for which the Socialist movement ever stood, and it chooses to do this in the nam... ... in two forms, mental and physical. "The only antidote to mental suffering is physical pain" (Marx). Both Stalin and Big Brother drew greatly from Marx. Adhering to this policy of physical pain to fix mental problems, torture was used in both societies. Every human has a breaking point, and fear, hate, and pain are more motivating than love, happiness, and privacy. Anti-capitalism Renowned internationally as a forthright speaker against Stalin, Orwell was, however, an ardent Socialist and was keen to distance himself from Russian totalitarianism. His Socialist beliefs, coupled with his experience in the Spanish Civil War as a member of the revolutionary militia, led him to realize the threat of fascist, or at least autocratic, rule. No other book has been known to inspire people with such a love of liberty and hatred of tyranny. The individual has a basic desire to be free from restraint and control, and Orwell recognized this. 1984 is an expression of Orwell’s irritation at many of the facets of English Socialism, as well as Russian Communism. It is also a reflection of his own ideas about the nature of political corruption and, to be specific, Stalinist Russia.

Plant Lectin on Blood Agglutination

Lectin is a protein that is commonly found in certain plants such as grains   (wheat), legumes (soybeans and peanuts), and also can be found in potato, tomato, eggplant and pepper. It is found to be toxic, especially if the food containing it is undercooked. It causes damage to the gut wall in the stomach. Lectin’s toxicity may even cause rapid death. Lectin is a glycoprotein. As a glycoprotein, it is capable of binding to carbohydrate. It tends to bind to carbohydrates in specific and reversible manner. It is a protein that has binding site specific to carbohydrate. Because of this ability of lectin, it can cause agglutination of red blood cells. It does so by interaction with the sugar moieties of the cell wall leading to the clumping together of the cells. In blood agglutination by lectin, its active sites are the ones that bind to the sugar moieties present in the cell wall of the red blood cells These active sites are consists of certain amino acid residues. It was suggested that there are two or more amino acid residues that are present in the active site of lectin (cited in Sharon, 2007). Some of these amino acid forms hydrogen bonds with the hydroxyl group of the sugar or carbohydrate moiety. The other amino acids interact hydrophobically. Aside from these interactions, other kinds of interactions such as coordination with the metal, like interaction with the iron compound of the hemoglobin in the red blood cells, and electrostatic interaction might occur as well.   Further interaction of these active sites to other carbohydrate part of the blood cells results to large mass, then the clumping of cells occurs. Specificity of lectin towards carbohydrates depends on the kind of amino acid present in its active site. This made plant lectin found its usefulness in the field of medicine. One application of plant lectin is in determining blood group. Lectin can agglutinate specific types of erythrocytes. Different sources of lectin may have different active sites, therefore may dictate the kind of carbohydrate it binds with. Plant lectins, despite of the danger it may pose in our health, can be still useful in our life. As the study and research on lectin progresses, more benefits that we can derive from these compounds are revealed. Reference Sharon, N. (2007). Lectins: Carbohydrate-specific Reagents and Biological Recognition Molecules. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 282, 5, 2753-2764. Retrieved December 9,   2007 from, http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/282/5/2753   

Effects Of China s Fiscal For The Australian Economy

EXTENDED ESSAY What are the effects of China’s recent economic slowdown in GDP for the Australian economy? Word Count ABSTRACT This essay looks to answer the question: What are the effects of China’s recent economic slowdown in GDP for the Australian economy? The intention is to look at China’s recent reduction in GDP rate of growth and find out if there are any significant negative implications for the Australian economy, and further investigate fears in the media that the slowdown may eventually prove catastrophic for Australia. In order to do this I analysed information about Sino-Australian economic relations and Australia’s economy over the last few decades to see if China’s slowdown had/will have any implications†¦show more content†¦At the investigation’s end, I concluded the slowdown was of little significance to the Australian economy. This was partly due to the over-exaggeration of the slowdown by the media, who failed to recognise that China’s growth is still large. Combined with Australia’s diversified exports and strong international trad e relations, I concluded Australia does not overly rely on China as suggested by the media, and should continue to grow in the long run at a healthy rate regardless of the slowdown. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Mr Jeremy Mittson for his patience in helping me with this Extended Essay. Despite many times of difficulty throughout this process, he has been there to put me on the right track in completing this task, for which I am very thankful. CONTENTS ABSTRACT #2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS #3 INTRODUCTION #5 PART ONE: â€Å"What is GDP?† #6 PART TWO: â€Å"How is the Australian Economy Influenced by China?† #8 PART THREE: â€Å"What are the short-term effects of the slowdown?† #15 PART FOUR: â€Å"What is the long-term, overall impact of the slowdown?† #17 CONCLUSION #26 BIBLIOGRAPHY #27 INTRODUCTION Recently, as China has shown a reduction in its rate of GDP growth there have been many fears this could have negative implications for the Australian economy. Lord Mervyn King, a former Bank of England governor, says that a slowdown in China