Blog Assignment #4

Relationship b/n Religion & Ethics

1. Paragraph:

I think the relationship between ethics and religion is one that is a very similar because we base a lot of our ethic thoughts of how were raised and some people are raised in very religious households so normally they base some of their ethics off of religion. It only becomes difficult when you are trying to argue points for certain issues that can cause certain problems with how you present your argument.

2. Paragraph & Link:

The person who wrote the article describes the basis of religion and ethics as one of revelation and reason. He says that religion can not be the back bone because the readings and teachings are not verifiable and therefore can not be justifiable. He says that it relies on human beings to make the decisions based on their own well-being while being mindful of others as well.

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/archive/2006springsummer/donahue.html

3. Argument: Compose a short argument, in “argument elements” form. I’ll provide the arguable issue; you provide the rest. Make sure each of your premises is a complete sentence, and that your argument doesn’t break any of the rules listed in the first chapter of the Rulebook for Arguments:

Arguable Issue: The arguable issue is whether or not ethics and religious beliefs are complementary.
Conclusion: Ethics and Religion are not complementary.
Premises: Ethics and Religion are not complementary because
(1) Both deal in absolutes.
(2) Religion has no room for growth in ideas.
(3) Arguing religion can lead to attacking someone's deep personal beliefs.

The Role of the Majority View

1. Paragraph:

The Majority view is just the fact that in a pole or vote that 51% are in agreence on a topic or issue that was presented to them. It does not matter whether they fully understand what is being presented to them or not just that feel one on or another, right or wrong. The textbook "Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues" was my source.

2. Argument: Compose a short argument, in “argument elements” form. I’ll provide the arguable issue; you provide the rest. Make sure each of your premises is a complete sentence, and that your argument doesn’t break any of the rules listed in the first chapter of the Rulebook for Arguments:

Arguable Issue: The arguable issue is whether or not the Majority View is a reliable basis for ethical decision-making.
Conclusion: Majority view is not a reliable basis for ethical decision-making.
Premises: Majority view is not a reliable basis for ethical decision-making because
(1) The majority is not always educated correctly.
(2) The majority takes away ones individualistic views on ideas.
(3) The majority may have a bad sampling group to represent what is truly how people feel.


The Role of Feelings

1. Paragraph:

When Rousseau said " What I feel is right is right, what I feel is wrong is wrong," I immediately thought that this is the common issue of listening to the heart or the mind is the correct way to go. Feelings always play a role in some of ethical decisions we have but sometimes what we feel as feelings are not always the best thing for us or for the decision itself. Issues as Abortion and Capital Punishment can really test ones ideas on heart and mind for making a decision in each case. My source was the textbook "Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues."

2. Argument: Compose a short argument, in “argument elements” form. I’ll provide the arguable issue; you provide the rest. Make sure each of your premises is a complete sentence, and that your argument doesn’t break any of the rules listed in the first chapter of the Rulebook for Arguments:

Arguable Issue: The arguable issue is whether or not our feelings are a reliable basis for ethical decision-making.
Conclusion: Feelings are not a reliable basis for ethical decision-making.
Premises: Feelings are not a reliable basis for ethical decision-making because
(1) Feelings may sometimes blind us to the greater good.
(2) Feelings can conflict with other peoples feelings and ideals.
(3) Feelings are wants more than good reasoning sometimes.

The ability to express yourself in your own words is essential in this class. Did you put everything in your own words this time?

I always express myself in my own words in anything I do unless I am going to be quoting what someone else has said and than either build off of it or just leave it at that quote.

What was easiest / hardest about this assignment?

The hardest was doing the arguments because I missed last week so I didn't get any lessons or practice on them so I hope did well on them from just reading and teaching myself.

How will you apply what you learned through this assignment to your everyday life?

I take all these ethics lessons and apply them at work a lot because I am always wondering how I should handle certain situations there and also with friends and family that I deal with. When arguing with religious people or issues I will just leave them be seeing as how you can really hurt someone over it and get nowhere doing it.

How well do you think you did on this assignment? Explain.

I think I did really well on this assignment for having missed class week and having to take in the learnings on my own and try to go in the direction you wanted. Also, teaching myself was something that wasn't fun but I hope I did well enough to get a good understanding for when I come to class and how I presented my arguements and ideas in this assignment.