Human Dignity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human Dignity - Essay Example There are number of examples in the history where human dignity took priority over mishandling of humans. For example, the inhuman treatment of workers in the hands of English people made the church to take action and introduce human rights through labor unions. By this way, the human dignity became the yardstick for judging the political, moral and social aspects of a society. Nowadays the void between rich and poor is on the rise, which is contrary to human dignity. This happened due to misuse of power by the rich people. Chances of a nuclear war in different regions of the world spoiled the life of poor countries. This trend was overcome with the help of United Nations to introduce incentives and pay more attention to peaceful settlement of the human issues instead of war to restore the human dignity. Therefore, it is evident from history the human are born free and have the right to live their lives with morality and justice. Human dignity demands equal treatment of all humans in religion, sports, politics, medical and economics

Licensed Casino Gambling Essay Example for Free

Licensed Casino Gambling Essay Individual effects: Is gambling generally harmful to the individual gambler?| Yes * Gambling is irrational and reckless and should, therefore, be regulated by the government. There may be the possibility of winning a big prize, but the overwhelming likelihood is that a gambler will lose money. This is ensured by the fact that Casinos are profit-minded organizations, and calculate their odds so that they will always make a profit. Because gamblers are always likely to lose and suffer as a result, the activity can be seen in many ways as an irrational engagement. Gambling attracts people with little money who are desperate for a windfall. These are the people who can least afford to lose money. They should be protected from the temptation to gamble.| NoContention that the general individual losses from gambling are justified by it being a fun and leisurely activity worth paying for: Gamblers know that, overall, they are likely to lose money. They gamble because it is a leisure pursuit that they enjoy. There is nothing irrational about this. Some people get an enjoyable thrill from the remote possibility that they might win a huge prize – even if they lose, they enjoy the experience. Some forms of gambling are highly sociable. For example, many people go to bingo halls to spend time with friends. Society accepts people spending (â€Å"wasting†?) money on other leisure pursuits with no material benefits (e.g. cinema tickets, watching sport) – gambling should not be any different. It is patronizing to suggest that people, including those on low incomes, should not be able to choose how they spend their money. * Psychological benefits of gambling: Some argue that gambling offers psychological benefits. The psychological benefits may include: 1. A feeling of control (which some describe as God-like). 2. Confidence that extends from feelings of executive control in decision-making. 3. Benefits in the ability to psycho-analyze other peoples thoughts, and placing mone yed interests and incentives behind the results of such psycho-analysis.[1] 4. Total engagement and peak experience. It provides the gambler with peak experience, that godlike feeling when all of ones physical and emotional senses are go.'[2] 5. The release from daily tension. 6. Feelings of exercising the adventurer within us that part of ourselves which lusts for change, the wooing of the unknown, change, danger, all that is newIt is part of what makes us human.[3] 7. Feelings of engaging in a ubiquitous, historical human tradition. 8. Emotions of non-conformity and freedom. One source quoted a gambler who said, All day long you do what them dumb bastard supervisors tell you. Dont make no difference whether it makes sense or not. Sometimes you just gotta get out of line.[4] * Gambling increases individual efficiency: Studies show that, contrary to popular belief, gambling is by and large beneficial to the gambler and increases rather than decreases his efficiency. It is beneficial in that it stimulates, offers hope, allows decision making, and, in many cases,| Crime effects: Does gambling cause an increase in various kinds of related criminal activities?| [][Edit]Yes * Casinos are often associated with criminal activity. Drug dealers and prostitutes ope rate near casinos – they know that there are a large number of potential clients in the area. Casinos can therefore be devastating to neighborhoods.| [][Edit]No * People committing crimes should be prosecuted. The existence of criminals does not make nearby businesses (including casinos) immoral. It is perverse to punish people who just want to gamble (and not take drugs or use prostitutes) by taking away their chance to do so.| Bad industry? Are casinos an industry with bad merit? Is nothing of value produced by casinos?| Yes * Casinos dont produce any product: Many contend that gambling is inappropriate because it does not generate any tangible product. One commentators says that gambling is an ethereal substancea biological substancethat produces highsgenerated usually by anticipation.[5]| No * Contention that casinos are involved in the entertainment business, and need not produce a tangible product: Gambling is a form of entertainment that is similar to many other forms of entertainment; the objective is merely to foster a desired emotional response from the audience. Mo vies, theater, fair-grounds, concerts, sporting-events, and casinos are all similar in that their primary function is to foster an environment of entertainment. That is their product, which need not be physical in order to be viewed as valuable.| Addiction: Is gambling commonly addictive, and would this be a reason for regulating it?| Yes * Gambling is addictive. Many people end up gambling to try to recover money they have already lost. This is known as ‘chasing losses’. It results in people staking more and more money, most of which they will lose. Gambling addicts often turn to crime to feed their addiction. Addiction is highly damaging to families, since gamblers will spend whatever money they can on gambling. People start to gamble without thinking that they will become addicted. Once they become addicted, it is too late. As with drugs, it is better to ban gambling to stop people getting started in the first place. * Analogy that gambling truly is like a drug, and should be treated as a controlled substance: * It is drug-like in the way that it dramatically utilizes human chemicals: William M. Thompson, Gambling: A Controll ed Substance, PBS Interview, 1994 Is the comparison of drugs and gambling unfair? Consider the words of Thomas R. OBrien, formerly Director of Gaming Enforcement for the state of New Jersey. In 1984 he told a conference on gambling that the success of Atlantic City was tied to how well it sold its only products. He then said: That product is not entertainment or recreation or leisure. Its really adrenaline: a biological substance capable of producing excitementhighs and generated usually by anticipation or expectation of a future event, especially when the outcome of that event is in doubt. According to chief regulator of the industry, gambling was not only a drug, but a mind-altering drug. * The addictive and destructive nature of gambling is also drug-like:William M. Thompson, Gambling: A Controlled Substance, PBS Interview, 1994 Where governments do not prohibit, the majority can exercise self-control. Seventy-five percent gamble responsibly. They find it an entertaining diversion. But another 20 percent overindulge. They incur debts that impair abilities to support their families, unless they stop. Usually they can. Four percent cannot stop without intervention of others. Then there are the one-half to one percent (and these are conservative estimates) who fall into destructive behaviors when exposed to gambling. Families are destroyed, friendships broken, employment disrupted. Cycles of deception and crime lead to ruined livesand in many cases, suicide.| No * Contention that gambling is not physically addictive: Unlike drugs, gambling is not physically addictive. It is only psychologically addictive in some people. Only a small percentage of gamblers have an addiction. Many more get enjoyment from gambling without problems – why should these people suffer because a few others get addicted? The risks of gambling addiction are well known. People can make a conscious choice to start gambling, and are aware of the risks of addiction. Treatment programmes can address the problems of those who are addicted.| Economic harm? Do casinos casinos cause economic harm or provide ver y few economic benefits?| Yes * The long-term economic negatives outweigh the short-term economic gains: John Warren Kind, The Business-Economic Impacts of Licensed Casino Gambling in West Virginia: Short-Term Gain but Long-Term Pain, PBS, 1994 While the dollars invested in various legalized gambling projects and the jobs initially created are evident, the industry has been criticized for inflating the positive economic impacts and trivializing or ignoring the negative impacts (Goodman 1994). The industrys tendency to focus on specialized factors provides a distorted view of the localized economic positives, while ignoring the strategic business-economic costs to the state as a whole (such as West Virginia) and to different regions of the United States (California Governors Office 1992, Kindt 1995). In 1994, all of the various experts who testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business criticized the impacts that casino-style gambling activities inflict upon the criminal justice system, the social welfare, system, small businesses, and the economy (Congressional Hearing 1994). Utilizing legalized gambling activities as a strategy for economic development was thoroughly discredited during the hearing. * The actual economic benefits of casinos are exaggerated. They generally only create low-paid jobs for local people; the casino companies usually bring in managers from elsewhere. * There are too many economic externalities surrounding gambling , which nullify the benefits: * Crime * Risky behavior Compulsive gambling may foster poor, sometimes risky money-management habits. These habits may transfer over to other areas of the economy, where risky behaviors translate into a higher likelihood of loss in various markets. * Time consumption Compulsive gambling often entails significant time consumption, which detracts from more productive ends. * Jobs could be created through many other industries that cause fewer moral and practical problems (e.g. theme parks). * Any economic benefits would not matter, if the industry is deemed immoral: * Estimated losses from compulsive gambling: William M. Thompson, Gambling: A Controlled Substance, PBS Interview, 1994 Conservative numbers suggest it costs society $13,000 per year for each compulsive gambler. The losses include treatment costs, lost productivity, criminal activity and judicial costs. Estimating that widespread gambling across America would create one million compulsive gamblers, the resulting annual economic loss would exceed $13 billion.| No * Casinos cause money to be spent on transport infrastructure, which is very beneficial to economies: * Casinos help the tourism industry of a place: The jobs are not just in the casino itself. More jobs are created in hotels and other parts of the tourism industry. * Examples in which casinos have helped to regenerate many places that previously had considerable poverty and social problems: * Atlantic City. * New Jersey. * Legalized gambling on reservations is very important to Native American tribes: Anthony Pico, Chairman of the Viejas Indians, explains the benefits to his tribe of legalized gambling on his tribes reservation in a PBS interview.[6]| Social welfare effects: Are the charitable generations from gambling substantial, and can this go toward justifying their existence?| Yes * It is immoral for the state or charities to raise money by exploiting people’s stupidity and greed. * Gambling is regressive (this means that the poor pay a greater proportion of their income in tax than the rich). This is because poor people are more likely to gamble. Regressive taxation is deeply unfair. * Legalized gambling activities act as a regressive tax on the poor (Clotfelter and Cook 1989). Specifically, the legalization of various forms of gambling activities makes poor people poorer and can dramatically intensify many pre-existing social-welfare problems. Demographic analyses reveal that certain disadvantaged socioeconomic groups tend to gamble proportionately greater amounts of their overall income and marketing efforts, particularly by state lotteries, have allegedly been directed at these target groups. John Warren Kind, The Business-Economic Impacts of Licensed Casino Gambling in West Virginia: Short-Term Gain but Long-Term Pain, PBS, 1994 * Contention that education is harmed by gambling practices: Kind, PBS, 1994 Legalized gambling activities also negatively affect education both philosophically and fiscally (Better Government Association 1992; Clotfelter and Cook 1989). Adherence to a philosophy of making a living via gambling activities not only abrogates the perceived need for an education, but also reinforces economically unproductive activities (and is statistically impossible since the house always wins eventually). In states with legalized gambling activities which were initiated allegedly to bolster tax revenues to education, the funding in real dollars has almost uniformly decreased.| No * Gambling is often used to raise money for the state or good causes. Charities use prize draws to raise funds:| Should online gambling be banned?| Yes * Internet gambling is especially dangerous. Someone can become addicted very easily – they don’t even need to leave their home. This also means that they are gambling in private. They may therefore be less reluctant to wager very large sums they cannot afford. It is very hard to know the identity of an online gambler – there have been several cases of people (including children) using stolen credit cards to gamble online. Online gambling may be hard to control but that is not a reason to try – making an activity more difficult to pursue will still reduce the number of those who take it up. It is not impossible to put effective deterrent steps in place, such as the recent US ban on American banks processing credit card payments to internet ]\.| No * It is impossible to stop online gambling. When it has been banned, people have just used sites based in other countries. It is better to legalize and regulate online gambling than to drive gamblers to poorly-regulated foreign operators. Regulation can reduce the problems identified by the proposition. For example, online gamblers can be required to give personal details when registering (e.g. occupation, income). If this information suggests they are spending more than they can afford, the company can block their credit card. In any case, most online gamblers do not get addicted. Why should they be denied an activity that they enjoy?|

Character of Blanche in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire Es

Character of Blanche in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire One of the best-known plays of our time, Tennessee Williams’s â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† tells the story of fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois and her struggles during the South’s post-war changes. Although the play is widely remembered due to its 1951 film version and Marlon Brando’s famous bare-chested cry of â€Å"Stella!,† it is also a story of a changing South containing characters struggling with the loss of aristocracy to the new American immigrant, the fallout of chivalry to a new mindset of sex and desire, and a woman grasping desperately at the last bit of fantasy she can muster. Throughout â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire,† Williams uses Blanche as a way to critique Southern â€Å"progress† by using her as a symbol for a dark, underlying existence. When fading Southern belle Blanche Dubois first arrives at her sister Stella’s apartment, she is already internally dealing with the struggle between desire and gentility. The end of the play is foreshadowed early on as Blanche states, â€Å"They told me to take a street-car named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields† (15). This statement serves as a metaphor for Blanche’s life as the mentions of desire, cemeteries, and the Elysian Fields (which symbolize the land of the dead in Greek mythology) describe how her sexual desire serves as the catalyst for her social death and expulsion. Blanche’s vanity and dependence on men also culminate as the play nears its end, as she is taken away from the fantasy she so desperately clings to and dragged into a new world of reality and a New South. Blanche’s struggle with fantasy and reality serves as on... ... in everyone’s lives. This statement holds true for progress as well; without fantasy and dreams there would be no progress. After all, progress is the product of someone’s fantasy- an idea that was thought up on a whim. Like Blanche though, progress often has an underlying existence that is very dark. Not all progress is good and Blanche symbolizes this. Williams’s comparisons between Blanche and progress serve to show how progress can be a force that precipitates each individual’s desperate choices; that is, their ability to throw ideas, love, etc. out into the world in the hopes of moving forward. By unveiling a theme that is still pertinent today, â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† makes its mark as a piece of classic literature, which will be read for generations to come. Works Cited Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: Signet Printing, 1980.

The Nature of the Soul

In St. Thomas Aquinas' comprehensive Summa Theologica, the work consists of a detailed summary that pertains to the theological explanation on the notion of the existence of God and the relationship between God and man. The summa also tackles the divine reconciliation of man and how it is achieved through Christ. Aquinas also enumerates the nature of God and proofs of his existence through questions supported by arguments and claims. This method adopts several Aristotelian concepts where Aquinas explains the nature, origin, and purpose of the universe and how the totality of all concepts in a universal existence as an integral part in achieving that purpose. Aquinas attempts to explain the totality of universal existence of the soul, the existence of God, and Catholic doctrines through a rationalistic view. Aquinas attempts to explain the nature of the human soul by positing seven questions coupled with several objections in order to clearly define the soul’s nature. These questions ask whether the soul is a body and whether the soul is a subsistence. Aquinas’ inquiry is furthered into the question of the souls of brute animals, if man’s soul is composed of body, soul, matter, and form. The last two questions inquire on the soul’s corruptibility and its comparison to the species of angels. First, Aquinas asks whether the soul is a body and poses the following objections. The soul is a body since the soul is the foremost moving principle and the body cannot act without a soul. Thus, if there is a thing that moves but not moved, according to Aquinas, that thing is the main cause of eternal movement. Hence, Aquinas proves that the soul is a body since the soul is a mover that is moved, and every mover moved possesses a body. To further the objection, Aquinas elaborates that knowledge is caused by likeness that is integral in assuming corporeal things. â€Å"If, therefore, the soul were not a body, it could not have knowledge of corporeal things† (Aquinas 663). The nature of the soul then is defined as the main principle or essence that is present in all things that live, which Aquinas calls as animate, meaning having a soul. The inanimate are those that have no life. Life is separated by knowledge and movement. Furthermore, Aquinas criticizes the ancient philosophers of having to maintain the ideal that the soul is corporeal or specified in the physical aspect. â€Å"The philosophers of old, not being able to rise above their imagination, supposed that the principle of these actions was something corporeal; for they asserted that only bodies were real things, and that what is not corporeal is nothing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Aquinas 663). The ancient philosophers (the pre-Platonics, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle) defined the soul as a material essence as a part of the universal order. If the soul is not corporeal or bordered by physical matter, then it cannot be construed as something real. Aquinas rejects this statement by manifesting the difference between the body and soul. â€Å"For it is clear that to be a principle of life, or to be a living thing, does not belong to a body as such; since of, that were the case, every body would be a living thing, or a principle of life† (Aquinas, 664). Thus, the soul is the act of the body, since the body in itself is the first principle that defines life. Aquinas attempts to differentiate the soul between the animate and inanimate as well as the rational and irrational souls. Unique to human beings, man has will of reason or the ability to conceptualize choice. This will of reason is also the rational appetite of the individual that attempts to fulfill its purpose and attaining the good. In addition, Aquinas answers his first objection through the soul as something that is moved. Everything that moves is definitely moved by something else but not every mover is moved. Thus, certain things remain stationary or permanent as an effect of preceding causes. This explains the nature of the soul as a thing that is not essentially moved but moved accidentally. The body is then a thing that is moved inessentially, contrary to the soul. To be moved means that the soul passes from being a potential to being real or actual. The soul transcends from bodily knowledge through the intellect – immaterial and universal. However, God is the source of understanding and therefore is the only being capable of true understanding. Furthermore, the soul is divided into the cognitive soul, wherein it has the choice of forming understanding and sensation. Contrary to Plato’s Theory of Forms where knowledge is derived, Aquinas argues that real knowledge comes from God: â€Å"Now participated existence is limited by the capacity of the participator, so that God alone, who is his own existence, is pure act and infinite† (Aquinas, 671). Knowledge is then formed through the combination of the potential or passive senses (body) and the active or actual intellect (soul). On the question of the soul’s subsistence, Aquinas equates the soul as an act of understanding, meaning that the soul is the action of the body. Thus, the soul necessarily becomes incorporeal (separate from the body) and subsistent. Man can only understand the nature of all physical things through the body. â€Å"For it is clear that by means of the intellect, man can have knowledge of all corporeal things. Now whatever knows certain things cannot have any of them in its own nature; because that which is in it naturally would impede the knowledge of anything else† (Aquinas, 665). Man’s experiences are then dependent on the body, which is the only avenue in understanding the physical knowledge, different from the understanding of the soul. Similar to the foremost arguments and objections, man’s soul is rational, and thus separates itself from that of animalistic reason. â€Å"The body is necessary for the action of the intellect, not as its origin of action, but on the part of the object; for the phantasm is to the intellect what color is for sight† (Aquinas, 666). Thus, these mental images are essential in acquiring knowledge as well as utilizing the use of sense experience in order to abstract such forms for understanding. On the notion of the soul’s incorruptibility, Aquinas argues that the soul may be corrupted in two ways: per se and accidentally. He argues that any substance that can be corrupted accidentally is impossible since corruption is considered as a thing, along with existence. â€Å"Therefore, whatever has existence ‘per se’ cannot be generated or corrupted except ‘per se’; while things which do not subsist, such as accident and material forms, acquire existence or lost through the generation or corruption of composite things† (Aquinas, 672). Man’s soul is then dependent on the subjective sensual experience that the individual experiences everyday in attaining the ideal since man is created in the image and likeness of God. The passage also implies causal explanations towards the nature of man’s choice—that every actions constitutes a reaction that necessarily ‘corrupts’ the soul of man. This corruption comes from man itself and not from another generation or cause. The soul remains pure while the body experiences corruption because of misleading sensual experiences that does not act as universals. In addition, Aquinas adds that even though the soul may be composed by matter and form, it still remains incorruptible for corruption possesses contradiction. â€Å"Since generation and corruption are from contraries and into contraries. Wherefore the heavenly bodies, since they have no matter subject to contrariety, are incorruptible†¦there can be nor contrariety in the human soul for it receives according to the manner of its existence†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Aquinas 673). The attainment of knowledge lies in the nature of man’s soul where the intellectual capability of the individual is a separate entity from that of the soul while remaining a part of the soul. The soul is also the capacity to reason, a similar term used by Platonic philosophers and the like as a means of attaining knowledge. Aquinas shares the same similarities with Aristotle as man’s essence is its rationality. However, Aquinas does not total man’s entirety with rationality, contrary to Aristotle. In addition, Aquinas also rejects the nature of innate ideas of Plato since the physical mind forms ‘phantasms’ that are derived mental images from sensual experience. From this, human being form passive knowledge from experience and the soul forms active knowledge. â€Å"Further, if the soul were subsistent, it would have some operation apart from the body. However, it has no operation apart from the body, not even that of understanding; for the act of understanding does not take place without a phantasm, which cannot exist apart from the body† (Aquinas, 665). These phantasms are not considered as universal knowledge since there is would be subjectivism instead of an objective standard of truth. According to Aquinas, God is the only source of knowledge contrary to a subjective sensual experience which contradicts the notion of an objective truth. The soul is then a reaction, the unmoved object that grants substantial truth as it relates itself to the function of the body. Moreover, the body is also an integral part of knowledge, as it provides sensual experience that directly hands abstractions. Though sensual experience does not necessitate in becoming universal knowledge, the soul’s active intellect filters the passive knowledge of the body into one. However, even though sense experience is necessary in formulation phantasms or mental images of an object as well as a universal concepts that applies to all things, it is impossible to have knowledge of a particular material object because there is already a conception of a mental image of it. Though the way to know the essence of a physical object is through abstraction, we cannot entirely have a real grasp of what that object is. All knowledge then is necessitated as abstract. This abstraction process leads to the use of scientific knowledge where there is an inkling of knowledge through cause and effect. On the other hand, it remains that the intellect has limitations with regard to abstract knowledge. We may have a concept or a grasp of what is sweet or sour through experience but we can never understand the real meaning of sweetness and sourness in itself.

International Financial Policies Essay

International Financial Policies determine how firms in international market work because if respective governments of the countries put restrictions on doing trade, it may be relatively difficult to trade. One of the most important advantages of international financial policies is the fact that such policies often get the backing of the government therefore international firms find it relatively easy to have access to different resources besides availing different types of concessions in duties and taxes. On the other side, due to such international financial policies, international firms may have to work with relatively inefficient organizations due to contractual requirements. Most of the countries often attempt to bring in public owned entities to work with international firms therefore given the traditional bureaucratic inefficiencies of such public institutions, resources may not be efficiently utilized and firms may not be achieving their strategic objectives in real term. Trade Agreements The trade agreements are formed based on the assumptions that the countries attempt to take advantage of their relative comparative advantage. Trade Agreements are often formed between two or more countries to agree together to offer certain trade concessions to each other. Trade agreements are often formed at the government level and countries to the agreement often offer tax concessions, duty rebates, removal of trade quotas etc so that trade integration can take place and countries can actually benefit from the comparative advantages of each other. Trade Agreements have greater influence on the financial management policies because if favorable, trade agreements can relatively save lot of costs i. e. duty and tax concessions, lower interest rates etc. for the firms therefore they really have to devise policies which can allow them to manage their financial resources in most efficient manner.