The Truth About Virtue - 1548 Words

Lillian Hazen Desiring the Truth To wish, to long for, to crave, to want; to desire. It seems as though we go through our whole lives wanting what we know will make us feel more whole, more of ourselves; more of who we are. And whether what we want is seen as bad or good, we still have that desire. It’s in our nature. It is simply what we want. And acquiring the object of one’s desire makes one feel whole. It’s true. Socrates said it best; â€Å"all men desire good things† (Plato 77C). What lead him to that conclusion? In his debate with Meno, Socrates and Meno attempted to define virtue. In Meno’s third definition of virtue, he claims that it is â€Å"to desire beautiful things and have the power to secure them† (Plato 77B). Socrates stopped Meno and asked him what he meant by desiring good things; does every man desire what is good? In his attempt to explain his position to Meno, Socrates made a three-premise modus ponens argument that is as follows. The first premise states that either bad can be seen in a good light by the individual committing what others may see as a bad act, or bad can be harmful as described in 78A. With this statement, I agree. The second statement is a little trickier; Harm leads to misery and unhappiness (Plato 78A). And the third premise states that nobody wants to be miserable or unhappy; the opposite of desiring good things (Plato 78A). While I agree with Socrates’ claim that all men desire good things, I disagree with the second premise of saidShow MoreRelatedPlato s Meno And Nietzsche On Truth And Lie1720 Words   |  7 PagesIn Plato’s Meno and in Friedrich Nietzsche’s On Truth And Lie In An Extra-Moral Sense, both writers touch upon the theme of â€Å"truth† and â€Å"knowledge†. In Meno, Plato writes of a dialogue between his late mentor, Socrates and politician Meno. In the Meno dialogue, through a dialectical method, Socrates’s manages to prove to Meno h e knows nothing of virtue while On Truth And Lie In An Extra-Moral Sense, Nietzsche analyzes how language isn’t â€Å"truth† and Knowledge is an invention as a means of survivalRead MoreComparison of Plato, Aquinas, Aristotle and Augustine1464 Words   |  6 PagesPlato Truth and Reality- And isnt it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are. Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth... And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth? (Plato, 380BC) Reason Reason is knowledge of things like mathematics but which require that some postulatesRead MoreWhat Is Philosophy According to Socrates Essay970 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is philosophy according to Socrates? Philosophy is an academic subject that exercises reason and logic in an attempt to understand reality and answer fundamental questions about knowledge, life, morality, virtue, and human nature. The original word for philosophy comes from the ancient Greek word philosopha, which means love of wisdom. Although Socrates himself never claimed to have any answers to the questions he raised, his views and methods of philosophy became the foundations of whatRead MoreComparison of Plato, Aquinas, Aristotle and Augustine1473 Words   |  6 PagesPlato Truth and Reality- And isnt it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are. Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth... And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth? (Plato, 380BC) Reason Reason is knowledge of things like mathematics but which require that some postulatesRead MorePhil 201 Study Guide Lesson 10 Essay864 Words   |  4 Pagesthe study of epistemology and then presents an approach to epistemology that focuses on obtaining the intellectual virtues, a point we will elaborate on in the next lesson. Tasks View and take notes of the presentation, â€Å"What is Knowledge?† * Describe the 3 different ways we use the term know. ACQUAINTANCE, A SKILL, TRUTH CLAIMS (PROPOSITION KNOWLEDGE- MAKES A CLAIM ABOUT REALITY) * Explain the traditional definition of knowledge from Plato. JUSTIFIED TRUE BELIEF---2 options- believeRead MoreNicomachean Ethics1035 Words   |  5 PagesTopic 1: In Book II of the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle defines virtue as â€Å"the mean relative to us.† In separate paragraphs, please describe briefly the basic notion of virtue as a mean, and then explain why he believes that such a mean is relative to us. Provide quotations/examples to support your claims. Include a final paragraph in which you explain your views on this issue of relativity. Be sure to take into consideration the counter-arguments we discussed in class. The mean is relativeRead MorePlato vs. Aristotle: Virtue1656 Words   |  7 Pagesdiffering views on virtue extensively throughout many of their works. Although they agree that virtue is a desirable characteristic that will lead to happiness, the ultimate good, there exists between the two philosophies salient differences. While Plato believes only philosophers are capable of true, inherent virtue, Aristotle believes all men can be virtuous with practice and dedication. GREAT. WAY TO GET TO THE POINT. BE SURE TO MENTION WHETHER OR NOT YOURE ARGUING THAT VIRTUE IS INTRINSICALLYRead MoreDifference Between Socrates And Protagoras927 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"sophist† and â€Å"philosopher† can be used interchangeably, the two professions were, in fact, quite unlike. For one, sophists were often perceived as masters of the art of deception and manipulation. True charlatans of the time, sophists held false beliefs about the world around them, yet they were not hesitant to share their â€Å"knowledge† with others-especially when a hefty sum of money was promised in return. Though their teachings were rarely based on solid evidence, sophists, like Protagoras, gained a ratherRead MoreEssay about Meno and the Socratic Method1413 Words   |  6 Pagesaround a central question: If virtue can be taught, then how? And if not, then how does virtue come to man, either by nature or some other way? Socrates addresses this inquiry by questioning a person who claims to understand the term’s meaning (Platos Meno). The purpose of this essay is to relate the Socratic method performed by Socrates in Plato’s dialogue The Apology, to Meno, by illustrating its effect on the character Meno himself. After questioning Meno about virtue, Socrates comes to the conclusionRead MorePlato s The Apology Of Socrates874 Words   |  4 Pagesbelieved what makes a man worthy of life is that he lives up to what is best in him as a man. Therefore this quote can be better translated as, â€Å"the unexamined life is not a worthy life for a man to live†. Socrates believes a good or worthy man has virtue. Virtue is behavior showing high moral standards such as honor and nobility. An unexamined life is one that does not examine oneself for these characteristics but claims to have wisdom. This unexamined life can be also compared to living your life on

Slavery and The Tropicalia Movement in Brazil - 1025 Words

Starting in 1538, nearly four million Africans were taken from Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Congo and Mozambique to be forced into slavery in Brazil’s sugar plantations and mining industries. The slave trade was eradicated in 1850, and by 1871 the Brazilian legislature passed the Law of the Free Womb. This law was designed to grant freedom to slave’s newborn children and served as a precursor to the abolition of slavery in 1888. They made home for themselves in Brazil, as it had the largest amount of African diaspora. Former slaves and their descendants established an Afro Brazilian culture and the cultural traditions, notably musical, brought along with them inevitably mingled with those of Brazil. They brought new rhythmic complexities and melodic patterns with them, and were recognized for using music as way of bringing people together through communal participation. Their musical traditions have maintained very well preserved and were legitimate contributions to Brazilâ €™s culture. Afro Brazilian influences became fundamental components for a new generation of musicians in Brazil, and pride in their African roots flourished for the first time. On a typical evening in Brazil, an overabundance of vibrant rhythms and people on every corner are embellished in eccentric fashion filled the streets. Percussion beats, bells, trumpets, whistles and other instruments sound through the streets as people dance or play along. Music is a defining factor of identity in Brazilian culture.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Essay Order and Disorder

Order and Disorder in A Midsummer Nights Dream Order and disorder is a favorite theme of Shakespeare. In A Midsummer Nights Dream the apparently anarchic tendencies of the young lovers, of the mechanicals-as-actors, and of Puck are restrained by the sharp Athenian law and the law of the Palace Wood, by Theseus and Oberon, and their respective consorts. This tension within the world of the play is matched in its construction: in performance it can at times seem riotous and out of control, and yet the structure of the play shows a clear interest in symmetry and patterning. Confronted by the sharp law of Athens, and not wishing to obey it, Lysander thinks of escape. But he has no idea that the wood, which he sees merely as a†¦show more content†¦The duke and his consort have had their quarrel before the action of the play begins, but Shakespeares choice of mythical ruler means the audience well knows the sword and injuries referred to in 1.2; we see the resolution of the fairies quarrel and that of the lovers during the play, and all is happy at its end. But whereas the rulers resolve their own problems, as befits their maturity and status, the young lovers are not able to do so, and this task is shared by Oberon and Theseus. Oberon orders Puck to keep Lysander and Demetrius from harming each other, and Theseus confirms their wishes as he overbears Egeus will. He is not now breaking his own law, because Demetrius cannot be compelled to marry against his will. A ridiculous parallel case of young lovers so subject to passion that, after disobeying their parents law, they take their own lives, is provided by Pyramus and Thisbe. Lysander and Demetrius laugh at the mechanicals exaggerated portrayal of these unfortunates, but the audience has seen the same excessive passion in earnest from these two. If Lysander breaks - or evades - the Athenian law knowingly, then the mechanicals break the law of the wood unwittingly. Pucks conversation with the first fairy in 2.1, makes clear that the wood is where Oberon and Titania keep their court, though they travel further afield. (Oberon, accordingShow MoreRelated Metadrama In Shakespeare Essay2636 Words   |  11 Pages ‘Shakespeare’s plays reflect not life but art.’ Make use of this remark in writing an essay on Shakespeare’s use of Metadrama. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Shakespeare constantly plays with metadrama and the perception of his plays as theatre and not life with the complications inherent that in life we all play roles and perceive life in different ways. The play has recognition of its existence as theatre, which has relevance to a contemporary world that is increasingly aware of precisely howRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesManagement, Human Resources, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior that helps you actively study and prepare material for class. Chapter-by-chapter activities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Kim S. Cameron UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New

Responsibility of the Origin Australia and Westpac Corporation

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Social Responsibility of the Origin Australia and Westpac. Answer: Origin Australia and Westpac Origin Australia and Westpac are among the big Australian companies operating in the energy industry and banking sector respectively. Westpac was established in the year 1917 in Sydney as the Bank of New South Wales (BNSW) being the first bank in Australia. It later changed the name to Westpac Banking Corporation in 1982. Its headquarters are located at Westpac Place, Sydney. It is ranked among the top four banks in Australia. The company has over 13.1 million customers with over 1429 branches ("Westpac - Personal, Business and Corporate Banking," n.d.). It is the second largest bank in Australian terms of assets. This, therefore, shows that this company has an influence on the Australian economy (Keating et al., 2008, pp. 17579). On the hand, Origin Energy is the leading Australian power provider both to homes and businesses. The company has its headquarters located in Sydney, Australia but running the business up to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific. It specializes in exploring the energy, its production, power generation and electricity retailing; selling of energy to many households in Australia. The company has been in operation in the energy industry since its formation in the year 2000. At the moment, the company supplies electricity to over 4.2million customers in Australia and also produces and sales natural gas and LPG in the country. Origin is, therefore, an established company in Australian energy sector ("Electricity Providers Gas Suppliers - Origin Energy," n.d.). Comparison of Origin Australia and Westpac Westpac has an established system of reporting the social and ethical performance. Its primary reporting tools are the website and the Stakeholder Impact Report. This report covers the social and moral metrics of the company; covering the issues of employees, the community, customers and the shareholders. Also, at Westpac, the data integrity of the Stakeholder Impact Report is beyond testing to ensure independence in their corporate responsibility ("Westpac - Personal, Business and Corporate Banking," n.d.). Besides, Westpac has set a sustainability committee which has been mandated to oversee and guide the business in the social, ethical and sustainable well-being of the organization. Through the committee, the company can handle and manage the ever-changing community expectations. The board manages all aspects of the ethical and social well-being of the company; including reviewing, overseeing, setting corporate standards and monitoring among others (Eisingerich Ghardwaj, 2011, pp. 1818). Westpac has also embedded its ethical and social sustainability in its strategy, and its values have gone ahead to be extended to the products, brand, and services. The organizations approach is based on the wider and integrated view of the CSR. Through this, the group has managed to convince most of its customers that Westpac is a strong brand in the market offering the best services in the industry ("Westpac - Personal, Business and Corporate Banking," n.d.). This has, therefore, the sustainability of Westpac and has even made the company to win many awards in Australia concerning its CSR practices. Origin releases sustainability reports annually since it is in the enterprise values to deliver this responsibility. The company uses Strategic Net Promoter Score as a customer satisfaction measure to establish its level of interaction with the stakeholders (Keating, et al., 2008, pp 17579). This, therefore, helps the company to get figures and understand the level of the social, ethical and sustainability performance level of the enterprise. The company has enhanced digital service to improve on the stakeholder's interactions with the enterprise. Also, the company has provided extended call center hours to improve customer satisfaction. Besides, Origin considers environmental conservation as a corporate social responsibility and has put a lot of efforts to ensure that it achieves this. It is currently the Australian provider leader in renewable and low carbon energy provider (Albareda, et al., 2007, pp. 391-407). Explanation for Difference in Social Responsibility Explanation of the differences in the range and number of ethical, social and sustainability issues handled at Origin Australia and Westpac can be attributed to their industry differences. The two organizations operate in different industries with Westpac working in finance and banking sector while Origin Australia is operating in Energy Industry. In as such much as some ethical, social issues may be common to the two industries, most of them are different because the two companies have different processes of carrying out their business with different organizational structures (Griffin Vivari, 2009, pp. 235-250). This differences in industries prompt the companies to formulate policies appropriate policies that suit them. This, therefore, brings differences in the sustainability reports of the two companies (Simnett, et al., pp. 937-967). Besides, the difference in the sustainability reports and range of issues handled between Origin Australia and Westpac can be explained to be associated with the difference in organizational culture that exists between the two organizations (Klarsfeld Delpuech, 2008). Different companies have different corporate cultures. This has effects on the way ethical and social issues are handled in a given company. Organizational culture influences the way employees of a given company to handle their problems. This, therefore, brings out the difference between the two businesses (Dey, 2007, pp.423-445). Quality of Reporting; Social Accounting at Origin Australia and Westpac Zadek et al. (1997) outlined eight essential quality standards that can be used to examine whether the organizations are attaining the expected level of the social accounting procedures. The rules are applied to the company to determine whether the agency reports and audits that the accepted level (Potter Soderstrom, 2012). The key aspects mentioned in theory are stakeholder's inclusivity, comparatively with other organizations over a period, completeness of the report, continuous evolution, disclosure, external verification, management policy and systems, and ongoing improvement. These eight aspects help us to care what the organization is currently doing in line with ethical and social sustainability and therefore establish their level (Guzzabocca, 2014). Origin Australia and Westpac Corporation are both working towards achieving an acceptable level of social accounting. This is evidenced by self-reports that they release occasionally. An examination of these companies as discussed above ethical, social and sustainability reports, shows that both companies have put efforts and they comply with most of the Zadoks standards in most aspects. The two companies have established CSR strategies and activities which they are implementing and showing efforts to achieve the Zadoks standards (Chin, 2013). Company values of Origin Australia and Westpac The values of Westpac Corporation are the integrity, one team, and achievement. These values have played a role guiding and moving the company towards its sustainability performance and thus become a leader in the industry in the entire of Australia. These values of Westpac Corporation play a critical role in helping it to achieve most of its targets in business. Ethical and social sustainability reports show a lot of efforts invested by the team which is eager to succeed and realizes their objectives (Buhr, 2007, pp. 57-69). The values of Westpac have also helped the company to work with flexible working hours to improve on customer service thus improving their satisfaction. Also, the values have contributed to increasing employee engagement and commitment, and thus enhanced their commitment towards improving the ethical and social sustainability of this company. It is, therefore, evident that the values of Westpac have played a significant role in promoting the corporate social responsibility of this business enterprise ("Westpac - Personal, Business and Corporate Banking," n.d.). On the other hand, Origin Energy has its values as caring, listening, learning and delivering. An analysis of the values of Origin Australia brings it out clear the companys commitment to providing the ethical and social sustainability expectations. The company considers caring and listening about the impacts of their services or actions on their customers, the community, their colleagues, environment and the shareholders. Embedding this important consideration of the CSR in the company values has a great positive impact on the ethical and social performance level of this organization. The values of the company influence the general organizational culture which in turn affects directly the way employees carry out their tasks and how they handle issues thus an impact on the ethical and social performance of the company ("Electricity Providers Gas Suppliers - Origin Energy," n.d.). Group Discussions We held many meeting regarding this subject of CSR. We discussed the activities of CSR in the broad sense and the impact those CSR activities had on the overall sustainability and profitability of the company. We were suspicious about some activities in our environment and the entire country that seemed to be the CSR activities of some businesses in our nation. Out of this suspicion, we developed the interest of identifying the companies to research on their ethical and social sustainability. We, therefore, agreed to go and research on the various businesses that seemed appropriate for us to embark on their investigation into the CSR operations (Armstrong, 2012). In our meeting that followed, we presented our different findings on the two companies for our study and later on agreed to go for two organizations from Australia but various industries. We landed on Westpac Corporation and the Origin Australia. The group initially believed that the two companies only made partial efforts towards the ethical and social sustainability issues, but we realized after the investigation that the two companies significantly consider social sustainability and they have therefore put in a lot of efforts to achieve a greater of CSR performance (Crane Matten, 2010). Conclusion In conclusion, ethical and social sustainability of companies is a critical aspect of business operation. Organizations should work to improve their interactions, care and listen to the actions of customers, their community, their colleagues, environment, and the shareholders. Such actions have an impact on the brand image in the market and therefore, in turn, have a bearing on the sustainability and profitability of the organization. Different businesses have varying levels of ethical and social sustainability measure in comparison to Zadeks standards. The difference in these standards is mainly attributed to the cultural differences and also to the industry differences. Most organizations have put a lot of efforts in improving their CSR because they understand the impact they have to the organization. Origin Australia and Westpac are good examples of those organizations that are striving to achieve an acceptable level of social accounting. They are mainly trying to embed CSR in their company values as a strategy to make the best. This has helped them to improve their sustainability and the overall profitability. References Albareda, Laura; Lozano, Josep M.; Ysa, Tamyko (2007). "Public Policies on Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of Governments in Europe." Journal of Business Ethics.74(4): pp. 391407 Armstrong J, Scott G, Kesten C. (1 December 2012)."Effects of corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility policies" Journal of Business Research. Buhr, N (2007). InSustainability Accounting and Accountability pp. 57-69 Chin M.K., Trevio, Linda, Hambrick, Donald (2013). "Political Ideologies of CEOs: The Influence of Executives' Values on Corporate Social Responsibility. SAGE Journals. Johnson Cornell University Crane, A Matten, D, (2010). Business Ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization (3rd Ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press Eisingerich A, Bhardwaj G. (2011)."Corporate Social Responsibility: Does Social Responsibility Help Protect a Company's Reputation?".MIT Sloan Management Review. 52 (March): pp. 1818. Electricity Providers Gas Suppliers - Origin Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.originenergy.com.au/ Griffin J, Vivari B. (2009). Chapter 11: United States of America: Internal Commitments and External Pressures. In Global Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility pp. 235-250. Guzzabocca L, (January 16, 2014).When a sustainable supply chain begins in Italy, GreenBiz. Retrieved from https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/01/16/when-sustainable-supply-chain-begins-italy Keating B, Qazi A, Kriz A, Coltman, T (2008). "In pursuit of a sustainable supply chain: insights from Westpac Banking Corporation," Supply Chain Management: an International Journal,13(3): pp. 17579 Keating, B, Qazi, A, Kriz, A, Coltman, T (2008). "In pursuit of a sustainable supply chain: insights from Westpac Banking Corporation," Supply Chain Management: an International Journal, 13 (3): pp. 17579 Klarsfeld, A. Delpuech, C. (2008). Hard law, soft law, weak law: the implications of the neo-institutional and social regulation theories on CSR and the distinction between hard and soft law, Working Paper, Toulouse Business School Potter, B Soderstrom, N (2012). 'Can integrated reports replace financial statements?' The University of Melbourne working paper. See C. Dey, (2007). 'Social Accounting at Tradecraft plc: A struggle for the meaning of fair trade,' Accounting, Auditing Accountability Journal 20(3)pp.423 - 445. Simnett, R, Vanstraelen, A Chua, WF (2009). 'Assurance on sustainability reports: An international comparison,' The Accounting Review, vol. 84, no. 3, pp. 937-967 Zadek, S., Pruzan, P. and Evans, R (1997). Building Corporate Accountability: Emerging Practice in Social and Ethical Accounting and Auditing. London: Earthscan. Westpac - Personal, Business, and Corporate Banking. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.westpac.com.au/