IndexEthical TheoriesEthical ApplicationsConclusionBibliographyThis research paper will discuss the ethical theories of Emotivism and Social Darwinism and their applications to abortion, capital punishment, and digital media/piracy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayEthical TheoriesEmotivism: General BeliefsEmotivism is a metaethical view that states that ethical sentences do not express propositions but emotional attitudes. Hence, it is colloquially known as the hurrah/boo theory. Influenced by the growth of analytic philosophy and logical positivism in the 20th century, the theory was stated vividly by AJ Ayer in his 1936 book Language, Truth and Logic. Emotivism can be considered a form of non-cognitivism or expressivism. It is in opposition to other forms of non-cognitivism as well as to all forms of cognitivism. Emotivism – Standard-Setter In Emotivism a moral statement is not literally a statement about the speaker's feelings on the topic but expresses those feelings with emotional force. When an Emotivist says 'murder is wrong' it's like saying 'down with murder' or 'murder, yes!' or simply say "murder" while grimacing in horror or making a thumbs-down gesture while saying "murder is wrong." Emotivism – Applied to Emotivism applies to anyone who makes moral decisions in their daily lives. Furthermore, just because someone believes something is correct based on how they feel about it doesn't mean everyone else around them will feel the same way about it. Emotivism – Strengths Some of the strengths of Emotivism are that it highlights why moral disputes are impossible to resolve decisively. It also recognizes and, in some ways, values the existence of moral diversity. It is also true that moral opinions are often formed on the basis of gaining the approval of others or avoiding their disapproval. Emotivism – Weaknesses Some of the weaknesses of Emotivism are just because you have an emotional feeling that something is wrong, doesn't logically mean you should be okay with it. According to Schlick, there is a discrepancy between the statement "murder is wrong" and the implicit conclusion that other people should not commit it. Emotivism – Personal Points of View I personally like the idea of this ethical theory. I think this ethical theory should be accepted because if everyone followed this idea our world would be a completely different place. For example, if everyone agreed that murder is wrong, then murder would essentially no longer exist. Furthermore, if everyone followed the theory of Emotivism, pretty much everything we consider negative would essentially be eliminated from the world, things like war or murder. Social Darwinism: General Beliefs Social Darwinism is a vague set of ideologies that emerged in the late 1800s. in which Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was used to justify certain political, social, or economic views. Social Darwinists believe in “survival of the fittest” – the idea that some people become powerful in society because they are innately better. Social Darwinism has been used to justify imperialism, racism, eugenics, and social inequality at various times over the last century and a half. Social Darwinism: Standard-Setter Everyone has heard the term “survival of the fittest.” This term means that only the superior ones will be the ones to survive in the long run. While those who are not the most suitable mightsurvive for a while, but they won't survive long term. Social Darwinism – applied to This theory can be applied to virtually anyone in the world. That said, it all depends on the world you're in. For example, if you are American and you came to Japan it will be difficult for you to live there because you don't know their language, you are not used to the food they eat and you don't know their culture because their culture is very different from American culture. Social Darwinism – cultural manifestationsHitler adopted the social Darwinist approach of survival of the fittest. He believed that the German ruling race had weakened due to the influence of non-Aryans in Germany. For Hitler, the survival of the German race depended on its ability to maintain the purity of its genetic heritage. The Nazis targeted for extermination certain groups or races they considered biologically inferior. These included Jews, Roma, Poles, Soviets, people with disabilities, and homosexuals. Social Darwinism – Strengths Some strengths of Social Darwinism are that the best of the best are able to survive in that environment. Where others will have to leave otherwise they might end up dying. Social Darwinism – Personal Views I believe that social Darwinism is a good theory because it helps to adapt people to their respective environment. For example, people in China are better suited to that environment than to the American one and vice versa. Ethical applications Abortion Explanation of abortion. Abortion is the termination of pregnancy due to the removal of an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the uterus. An abortion that occurs spontaneously is also known as a miscarriage. When deliberate measures are taken to terminate a pregnancy, it is called an induced abortion or, less frequently, an induced abortion. The word abortion is often used to refer only to induced abortions. Abortion on Emotivism. If I disapprove of an action, I must also have similar feelings about similar actions, otherwise my attitudes will not provide coherent guidance on how to live. Moral disagreement, therefore, can concern the relationships between different attitudes. For example, deciding whether abortion is right or wrong is complicated because many attitudes are involved, sympathy towards the mother, sympathy towards the fetus, feelings about human life, death and parenting. It's hard to understand how anyone can act on all these attitudes, and that's why people disagree. Abortion and social Darwinism. Malthus's demographic theory and Spencer's social Darwinism helped provide a philosophical foundation for the abortion movement, but no person did more to devalue the life of the unborn child than the famous German evolutionist Ernst Haeckel. Consolidating the earlier work of Johann Meckel, Karl von Baer, and Fritz Muller, Haeckel theorized that each animal traces its evolutionary history during its embryonic development. Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government-sanctioned practice whereby a person is killed by the state as punishment for a crime. The sentence requiring someone to be punished in this way is called a death sentence, while the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. Crimes punishable by death are known as capital crimes or capital offenses and commonly include crimes such as murder, treason, espionage, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Capital punishment for emotionalism. Emotivists believe that moral language expresses emotions and seeks to influence others; it has no cognitive content. If I say capital punishment is wrong, I'm just expressing my dislike of it and trying to get you to agree with me. I would have
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