Thomas Aquinas Essays - Divine Command Theory, Religious Law

Thomas Aquinas Saint Thomas Aquinas, as a philosopher, wrote several works that justified Christianity in a philosophical context, taking cue on Aristotle's old writings. Naturally, Aquinas took up on the Church's ultra-conservative views on sexuality and worked to rationalize them through his own theory of natural law. Aquinas argues against any form of sex where the intention to produce children is not involved. He explains this through his theory of natural law, where sex is purely for the purpose of reproduction to ensure the continuance of the human race, only in the context of a monogamous relationship, and not for simple physical pleasure. There are many laws that Saint Thomas Aquinas speaks of, such as eternal law, human law, divine law, and natural law. All humans are part of God's plan and therefore subject to eternal law, where we are guided to God's supernatural end in a higher way (47). According to Aquinas, humans in particular follow God's eternal law through a natural law, and inborn instinct to do good. Something is said to be part of natural law if there is a natural inclination to it and if nature does not produce the contrary, (51-52). Natural law includes such ideas as self-preservation, union of the male and the female, and education of the young, which is easily found in nature. Humans also have a unique knowledge of God and were meant to live in a society. Aquinas explains that even though concepts such as slavery and personal possessions are not found alone in nature, they were created by human reason, and in such cases the law of nature was not changed but added to (52). Because we can do such things , we are separated from the rest of God's creatures. After explaining his theory of natural law, Aquinas goes on to explain sexuality in the context of it. According to him, promiscuity is contrary to the nature of man because to bring up a child requires both the care of the mother who nourishes him and even more the care of the father to train and defend him and to develop him in internal and external endowments (78). Therefore, he finds fornification to be a mortal sin because it is contrary to the good of the upbringing of the offspring (79). Curiously, though, he does not bring up the more likely scenario where fornification does not result in the impregnation of the woman. His reasoning makes much better sense in the case of adultery. Not only does it upset one's obligations to his family, but also because the Ten Commandments specifically condemn adultery as a great sin. The Ten Commandments are God's laws and are not relative, so there is no disputing their validity. However, Aquinas' argument that monogamy is natural for human s is not easily justified. If we look carefully at nature, most mammals have to be raised by their parents just as humans are, but only for a few years. Also, in many cases, the mother may raise her young with a different male, or on her own altogether. Therefore, this makes it harder for Aquinas to appeal to natural law to prove his case for monogamy and life-long relationships. Also, Aquinas does not agree that a male should have the option of leaving a female who has had a child even if it is properly provided for, making an indirect case against divorce (79). Curiously, in Islam, the Koran allows divorce and remarriage, and it is based for the most part on the very same Bible that Aquinas defended. Aquinas makes clear that sex is right only when it is for the purpose of reproduction and it should only be between a male and female in a monogamous relationship; all other forms are sinful. However, he brings up a very striking exception. The acts of fornification or adultery are not considered sins at all if they are performed under the command of God (52). This is simply a case of common sense, but it explains clearly any such indiscrepancies to natural law in the Bible. Aquinas goes on to define more serious mortal sins which he refers to as indecent sex. This includes homosexuality and bestiality. He quotes bestiality from the Thomas Aquinas Essays - Divine Command Theory, Religious Law Thomas Aquinas Saint Thomas Aquinas, as a philosopher, wrote several works that justified Christianity in a philosophical context, taking cue on Aristotle's old writings. Naturally, Aquinas took up on the Church's ultra-conservative views on sexuality and worked to rationalize them through his own theory of natural law. Aquinas argues against any form of sex where the intention to produce children is not involved. He explains this through his theory of natural law, where sex is purely for the purpose of reproduction to ensure the continuance of the human race, only in the context of a monogamous relationship, and not for simple physical pleasure. There are many laws that Saint Thomas Aquinas speaks of, such as eternal law, human law, divine law, and natural law. All humans are part of God's plan and therefore subject to eternal law, where we are guided to God's supernatural end in a higher way (47). According to Aquinas, humans in particular follow God's eternal law through a natural law, and inborn instinct to do good. Something is said to be part of natural law if there is a natural inclination to it and if nature does not produce the contrary, (51-52). Natural law includes such ideas as self-preservation, union of the male and the female, and education of the young, which is easily found in nature. Humans also have a unique knowledge of God and were meant to live in a society. Aquinas explains that even though concepts such as slavery and personal possessions are not found alone in nature, they were created by human reason, and in such cases the law of nature was not changed but added to (52). Because we can do such things , we are separated from the rest of God's creatures. After explaining his theory of natural law, Aquinas goes on to explain sexuality in the context of it. According to him, promiscuity is contrary to the nature of man because to bring up a child requires both the care of the mother who nourishes him and even more the care of the father to train and defend him and to develop him in internal and external endowments (78). Therefore, he finds fornification to be a mortal sin because it is contrary to the good of the upbringing of the offspring (79). Curiously, though, he does not bring up the more likely scenario where fornification does not result in the impregnation of the woman. His reasoning makes much better sense in the case of adultery. Not only does it upset one's obligations to his family, but also because the Ten Commandments specifically condemn adultery as a great sin. The Ten Commandments are God's laws and are not relative, so there is no disputing their validity. However, Aquinas' argument that monogamy is natural for human s is not easily justified. If we look carefully at nature, most mammals have to be raised by their parents just as humans are, but only for a few years. Also, in many cases, the mother may raise her young with a different male, or on her own altogether. Therefore, this makes it harder for Aquinas to appeal to natural law to prove his case for monogamy and life-long relationships. Also, Aquinas does not agree that a male should have the option of leaving a female who has had a child even if it is properly provided for, making an indirect case against divorce (79). Curiously, in Islam, the Koran allows divorce and remarriage, and it is based for the most part on the very same Bible that Aquinas defended. Aquinas makes clear that sex is right only when it is for the purpose of reproduction and it should only be between a male and female in a monogamous relationship; all other forms are sinful. However, he brings up a very striking exception. The acts of fornification or adultery are not considered sins at all if they are performed under the command of God (52). This is simply a case of common sense, but it explains clearly any such indiscrepancies to natural law in the Bible. Aquinas goes on to define more serious mortal sins which he refers to as indecent sex. This includes homosexuality and bestiality. He quotes bestiality from the

Are you being paid a fair salary

Are you being paid a fair salary Here’s a question that will inevitably come up at some point (or several points) during your professional journey: Am I being paid what I’m worth? It’s a fair question- and one you should be comfortable with asking yourself whenever you do a â€Å"status check† while traveling along your career path. Why? Well, the truth is, in today’s ultra-competitive job market, employers in any given industry can offer a wide range of salaries for positions, and it’s absolutely within your best interests to know what end of the salary spectrum you’re on.Of course, many variables will come into play when you’re given a salary offer at the time of hire for a position (things like geographic location, years of experience, and even the relative financial health of the company can factor in), but one thing that’s true for employees across fields, positions, and locations is that the salary you agree to for a position can have a real impact on your long-term earning potential- both at your current position and company and for future positions, either there or at a new company. Many companies base things like salary offers and even raises and bonuses on your prior earning history, and if your salary is below the industry average for your position and experience, it may take years before you’re able to catchup to other, better compensated colleagues.   Taking into account the time and effort most of us put into our professional lives, it’s obviously important to ensure that you’re getting paid a fair salary for the work you do and contributions you make to your employer. And you can’t have faith that your employer is staying on top of what’s fair. In the tricky world of salary negotiations, you’re often going to be your own best advocate towards ensuring that you’re being compensated fairly.Hopefully, it’s now clear why educating yourself about compensation stand ards, practices, and trends in your industry is a valuable use of your time. Consider using the following strategies to help you determine if you’re being paid a reasonable salary.Steps to take to ensure your salary is what you deserveResearchYou don’t need us to tell you that the Internet is often your best friend when you’re in need of doing some research on a subject. When it comes to gathering salary info, it’s an invaluable tool as well. In fact, there are sites that are practically dedicated to this- check out Salary.com’s salary calculator tool or Glassdoor to determine what other folks in your field and position typically make.In addition, professional associations in your field may openly share important information like average salary and compensation to help you figure out where you’re at relative to your peers. Many professionals across industries maintain blogs that are designed to create supportive communities and share key inf ormation with their colleagues- use these to your advantage and feel empowered to ask questions as needed.Utilize your HR departmentRemember, your company’s HR department is there to support you with all sorts of issues that come up during your professional tenure. If you have questions or concerns regarding compensation, these are often good places to start. And if they don’t have all the answers you’re looking for, if they’re good at their jobs they’ll be able to direct you where to go for next steps.Check yourselfDon’t forget that the issue of professional satisfaction, which includes being content with your current salary, is highly personal- what makes you feel satisfied and fulfilled and meets your life needs will be different than anyone else. Therefore, a strong source to determine if you’re being paid reasonably is yourself. Look within, do a personal inventory, and try to assess whether or not you feel as if you’re cu rrently in a good place salary-wise. Regardless of what others in similar positions make, if you feel content with where you’re at, take that into consideration when deciding whether you’re compensated fairly.What not to doSalary issues can be highly emotional. If you feel as if you’re underpaid, it may set you off on a charged and volatile footing. That’s never a good place to operate from when it comes to issues involving your career. Be sure to keep your emotions in check when addressing compensation matters with your company. Also, avoid discussing salaries with your coworkers- many companies frown upon this, and it can also lead to animosity if there are clear disparities.One last thing to avoid- avoid ignoring the issue. If you feel unsatisfied or unclear regarding your compensation, simply ignoring it will undoubtedly lead to ongoing negative results. Take proactive steps to ensure that you’re a valued and fairly compensated member of your o rganization, and both you and your company will benefit from it.

Project Management Tools and Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project Management Tools and Techniques - Essay Example These terms include project-oriented business, project-based organizations, management by projects, organizational structure of project form and temporary project organization. The Sydney Opera House is Australias best-known iconic structure that symbolizes the states beauty and culture. It is also famous due to its management failures during its construction, which had the effect of redesigning seventeen times before successfully ending. According to Architecture Week (2006, p.143), the architecture competition was won by JÃ ¸rn Utzon after New South Wales set out the bidding process in the year 1957, it construction was commenced in the year 1959. The duration that the project was to take was four years with an underestimated budget of $7 million. The project, however, took a total of 14 years to full completion, whooping a total cash of $102 million (Bull 2007, pp. 145-171). Taking such an escalated amount as compared to the initial value that was set with the addition of $95 million, are the reasons why the project is considered unsuccessfully planned and managed. Majority considers the project as the leading projects that had disastrous management in the history, not only from the management, but also financially. In its analysis why it is a consideration as one of the most unsuccessful projects trace from the initial stages. On the conception of this project, the priority is to set out the mission, objectives, and its goals by the time of its completion. "For any project, objectives, goals and intentions have to be defined under the guidance of the client, so that the project can be in line with what is needed to be completed" (Ramroth &William 2006 p. 52). The main factors in a project to be considered a success or a failure are costs, time, and quality. Concerning Sydney and its clients, the last option was of more weight to

The Global Environment of Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Global Environment of Business - Essay Example With this concern, the brand adopted an important decision concerning setting higher prices for its broad array of products particularly in the European region in comparison with the US owing to the reason that the choices along with the preferences of the customers are quite dissimilar in the two business markets by a greater extent. In this similar context, one of the crucial factors that lead towards higher prices of lifestyle brands in Europe as compared to the US can be identified as the expensive operational costs. This can be justified with reference to the fact that Europe based customers are more trendy in nature than the US wherein Hilfiger had to raise its operational costs in order to comply with the requirements of the trendy European customers. Apart from the factor concerning higher operational costs, the other critical aspect which led to higher prices of Hilfiger products in Europe can be identified as the concentration of the retail market. In addition, the nature a s well as the preferences of the European customers can also be regarded as the other critical factors that led towards higher prices in the European region than compared to the US. ... rucial factors that led to higher prices in Europe as compared to the US, it can be affirmed that Hilfiger might experience certain major problems especially in Europe. In this similar background, one of the vital problems that Hilfiger might face is attracting along with retaining the customers from its targeted market segment, buying its different collection of products or brands. Furthermore, the other major problem that Hilfiger might encounter from having higher prices in the European region is decreased profitability along with productivity resulting in hindered customer satisfaction and lower retention rates over the long run period. This in turn might also hamper the growth of the company in terms of its market shares within the European region by a substantial extent and restrict its future growth prospects. To be mentioned in this context, the other problem that might be encountered by Hilfiger owing to its higher prices in Europe as compared to the US, is the inability to compete with its major rivalries and thereby accomplishing superior competitive position over its chief business market competitors in terms of weakening strategy in the area of brand positioning (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008). Question 2 It has been apparently observed that Hilfiger had to experience different national preferences while performing its operational functions in several nations throughout the globe applying a widely diversified strategic process. In order to effectively deal with various national preferences and facilitate the brand towards betterment, especially in the US, the CEO of the brand intended to adopt and follow the strategy of harmonising its European and the US collections focusing on increasing market share and customer satisfaction (Uclan, 2013). In this regard, the

Railroad history Essay Example for Free

Railroad history Essay The reasons why Villard failed to build a profitable railroad was that he never bothered to study much about railroads so he made many mistakes such as, he rushed to the wilderness to collect his subsidies he thought that by building the rail on an area with a beautiful view he would attract tourism in the area and so they would pay handsomely to tour, so he chose to build in the northwest because of its beauty. This increased the cost of building the railroad because he had to increase the bends, the steepness and the length of the railroad to be able to take in the rocky Mountain View. Villard also did create in areas around the hot springs in broad water county, Montana and at Bozeman costly health spas. This and more expensive buildings and structures made Villard go broke because the tourist opted to visit else where. Though the federal aid and foreign investors had given Villard some space for mistakes he made way too many. He was so eager to rush to the coast that he built when the cost of materials and construction in whole was very stiff. High cost amounts to high rates and this hindered the tourists from traveling through the NP. Railroad acted as an alternative mode of transport which farmers used to travel from rural areas to the urban market whenever they had need, they also used the railroad to transport their produce thus interacting with people from other parts of the country. As the railroad changed people’s experiences, it also changed the time concepts. If a person wanted to travel from point A to point B it became more faster than pre railroad days where one had to use horses on bad road, board a steamboat, Railroads decreased the cost of distance and increased the value of time.

Fatal Errors of Brutus :: essays papers

Fatal Errors of Brutus William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is built upon the six lethal mistakes that Brutus unknowingly performs. Brutus believes he uses wise judgment and cunning skill in his plans to prevail over Caesar. There are three errors that seem to be the most significant. They are refusing to take an oath, not killing Antony and allowing Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral. The plot against Caesar is first devised by Cassius, who slowly allows Brutus to take over the arrangements. This is when Brutus’ miscalculations eventually lead him to his own downfall. First, Brutus truthfully feels that the conspirators have enough will and intelligence to keep the plot concealed from others. He believes the conspirators will not confer with anyone who may feel betrayed by their plans and protect Caesar. For this reason, Brutus strongly goes against the conspirators taking an oath to pledge their loyalty to the group. Brutus proceeds by stating that through each conspirator’s own personal motive for defeating Caesar is sufficient enough to bind them together. Brutus is dreadfully mistaken. The conspirators feel no actual degree of loyalty. They feel free to have doubts and discuss them with others. This is proven true when Artemidorus is revealed writing a letter to Caesar. The letter warns Caesar of the conspirators and names each one. The only possible way that Artemidorus could have been aware of the plan is if one of the conspirators felt the need to speak openly about the plot. Later, the question of whether or not to kill Antony is brought up by the conspirators. Brutus and Cassius disagree on the answer. Cassius believes it would be best to kill Antony so that there is no fear of revenge from him. Brutus does not see the threat in Antony. He sees Antony as merely a limb that has no power once Caesar is dead. The men then decide, through Brutus’ persuasion, that it is pointless and too bloody to kill Antony. This error causes Brutus’ ultimate downfall in the end. It would have been wise for the conspirators to kill Antony instead of facing him in their last battle. Finally, once Caesar is dead, Antony proposes to speak at his funeral. Cassius and Brutus again disagree. Cassius knows it is unwise to allow one of Caesar’s loyal friends to address the people at the funeral.

Importance of Spoken English Language

The importance of English as a spoken language began as a result of the colonial era, when European powers took to the seas in order to find new lands and natural resources. The effects of that time can still be felt in the number of English speakers in India, select parts of Asia and Africa, and North America. The influence of English grew stronger in the 20th century, with the increased mobility of populations, the growth of the United States as an economic power, and the presence of international media in everyday life.As of 2010 there are fewer native speakers of English than Chinese, though English is spoken in more places, and more people speak English as a second language. According to the 2004 World Factbook, 49 countries list English as their official language, not counting the United States and the United Kingdom, which do not list any official language but use predominantly English. In 2001, a poll of the 189 member countries in the United Nations showed that 120 of them p referred to use English to communicate with other embassies, while 40 chose French and 20 wanted Spanish.Aside from the United Nations, many other international organizations operate in English. After World War II, key financial institutions were created in English, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The World Trade Organization and a variety of other UN affiliates such the World Food Program and the World Health Organization use English in spoken and written communication. Media Influence Five of the largest broadcasting companies (CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC and CBC) transmit in English, reaching across the world through satellite television and local holdings.Estimates for the number of people using the Internet in English lie only slightly ahead of users in Chinese, but well ahead of Spanish and other major languages. In the publishing industry, English is also well ahead: 28 percent of books published annually are in English, and the market for books in Englis h for second language speakers is growing. Factors The amount of influence a language has depends on the number of native and secondary speakers, as well as the population and economic power of the countries in which it is spoken.Other factors include the number of major fields that use the language, such as branches of science and diplomacy, and its international literary prestige, to a lesser degree. English currently dominates in science and technology, a position that it took over from German after World War I. Scientific journals publish in English, and many researchers, especially in physics, chemistry and biology, use English as their working language. Importance of Spoken English Language The importance of English as a spoken language began as a result of the colonial era, when European powers took to the seas in order to find new lands and natural resources. The effects of that time can still be felt in the number of English speakers in India, select parts of Asia and Africa, and North America.The influence of English grew stronger in the 20th century, with the increased mobility of populations, the growth of the United States as an economic power, and the presence of international media in everyday life.As of 2010 there are fewer native speakers of English than Chinese, though English is spoken in more places, and more people speak English as a second language. According to the 2004 World Factbook, 49 countries list English as their official language, not counting the United States and the United Kingdom, which do not list any official language but use predominantly English. In 2001, a poll of the 189 member countries in the United Nations showed that 120 of them pr eferred to use English to communicate with other embassies, while 40 chose French and 20 wanted Spanish.Aside from the United Nations, many other international organizations operate in English. After World War II, key financial institutions were created in English, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.The World Trade Organization and a variety of other UN affiliates such the World Food Program and the World Health Organization use English in spoken and written communication. Media Influence Five of the largest broadcasting companies (CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC and CBC) transmit in English, reaching across the world through satellite television and local holdings.Estimates for the number of people using the Internet in English lie only slightly ahead of users in Chinese, but well ahead of Spanish and other major languages. In the publishing industry, English is also well ahead: 28 percent of books published annually are in English, and the market for books in English for second language speakers is growing.Factors The amount of influence a language has depends on the number of native and secondary speakers, as well as the population and economic power of the countries in which it is spoken.Other factors include the number of major fields that use the language, such as branches of science and diplomacy, and its international literary prestige, to a lesser degree.English currently dominates in science and technology, a position that it took over from German after World War I. Scientific journals publish in English, and many researchers, especially in physics, chemistry and biology, use English as their working language.