Natural Law and Sexual Ethics by Janet Smith Essay Example for Free

Natural Law and Sexual Ethics by Janet Smith Essay I am honored to be among the lecturers in this series on natural law. Many of the speakers are among my heroes and friends. One of my heroes, Alasdair MacIntyre, used one of his favorite terms in his talk: he spoke of plain persons and their grasp of morality and natural law in contradistinction to the experts and professional philosophers and their grasp of these matters. A few years ago in Dallas he gave a talk entitled Do plain persons need to be moral philosophers? When I was asked to give the response to his talk, I was most honored because I considered Prof. MacIntyre one of the foremost moral philosophers in the world and it was a thrill to comment on his work. I felt dreadfully underqualified — I felt like some high school kid going up against Larry Bird — until I realized that I need not respond as an expert, as a moral philosopher of his caliber, but that I could respond as the quintessential plain person — for that is what I am. After all, I am Janet Smith, daughter of John and Anne Smith; I grew up at 5 Hill Street and went to Home Street School — I could go on but it is all very plain. The point I am making here is not merely a flip one — designed to ease us into more serious matters through an attempt at humor. There is a serious point here — natural law, is the plain persons morality — in a sense it is simply plain old common sense. There are profound and sophisticated ways at explaining natural law, but the practiceof reasoning in accord with natural law principals, according to the theory itself, is natural to plain persons — that is, natural to all mankind for natural law holds that many of the most fundamental principles of moral reasoning are obvious, that is easily known by all. Yet, in spite of the plain commonsensicalness of natural law, it can seem shocking and provocative in many ways, for like natural law, plain old common sense does not command a lot of followers these days and can be shocking when juxtaposed to the values of our times. My talk is going to be very basic in several respects. It will review some of the basic principles that other speakers have covered, some in depth, some more in passing. It will also be very basic in being the one talk that attempts to make an application of natural law to concrete moral issues; issues in the realm of sexual ethics. My job is not to justify natural law ethics but to explain it and apply it. As did many of the earlier speakers I will largely be following the thought of Thomas Aquinas on these matters and of Aristotle from whom Aquinas learned many of the principles that informed his teaching on natural law. I shall also incorporate into my arguments the thought of another stellar natural law theorist, still alive and well: I shall make use of the work of Karol Wojtyla, now known as Pope John Paul II. I will refer to him as Wojtyla simply because I do not want to be thought to be invoking his authority as Holy Father; I cite him simply as a philosopher who has made great advances of our understanding of natural law, particularly in regard to sexual ethics. So let me begin with a review of the principles of natural law. As several other speakers have noted, Aquinas maintains that the first principle of natural law is do good, avoid evil. As he notes, that is a self-evident principle and obvious to all; if we want to be moral we should do good and avoid evil. No controversy here. The question is, of course, what is good and what is evil and how to we come to know which is which? Some think we cant know what is good and evil so the best we can do is live by the conventions of our times. Others think it best to let our passions be our guide to whatever we want to do. Others think only revealed religion can give us absolutes. These three positions capture the predominant views of our times. Aquinas holds none of these positions. He argues that reason should be our guide to morality. Not only does he hold that the first principle of natural law, do good, avoid evil is self-evident, he argues that there are other self-evident first principles, such as harm no man. These he says are imprinted in the minds of all by God; I believe other precepts such as provide responsibly for your offspring, give to each man his due and seek knowledge would qualify as precepts that Aquinas thinks all men know. Men (and I use the term generically here and throughout) may act against these precepts out of passion or because ignorance of some fact operative in a situation, but all would agree that such principles are moral truths. Aquinas goes on to say that what he calls primary precepts of natural law are naturally and immediately known by man; he cites the 10 commandments as examples of these types of precepts. These precepts are justified by the primary principles. From the most general principle give to each man his due, from an understanding of what one owes to ones mother and father, it is clear that one should honor ones father and mother. Now this is not to say that one discovers the moral law by discovering these precepts in a deductive manner moving from the most general to the more particular. Rather, it seems that often moral discovery, as the discovery of other general truths, moves from the particular to the universal. That is, an individual could witness or participate in a transaction and quite immediately make the moral judgment that the act is good or bad. That is, for instance, an individual could witness someone honoring or dishonoring his parents and judge the action to be good or bad; from this action and others of the same sort one may come to formulate the law that one should give each man his due. But it is because we already naturally know — in an unexpressed and unformulated way — that one should give each man his due, that we are able to see readily that honoring ones parents is good. Much in the same way that we, without musical training, can judge certain tones to be off pitch, we have moral perceptions that some actions are good and some bad, without having any explicit training about such kinds of actions. I speak of these as moral perceptions not because they are equivalent to sense perceptions, but because of their immediacy and their unformulated quality; indeed, I believe them to be rational in several important respects, not least because they are cognitive acts and they are in accord with reality. Let me speak now about rationality and the Thomistic claim that one should act rationally. Indeed, one could formulate the first principle of natural law not only in the most basic formula do good, avoid evil; in Thomistic terms, several formulas serve to express the same truth: for Aquinas, the following phrases are synonymous: act in accord with nature; act in accord with reason or act rationally; act in accord with virtue; act in accord with the dignity of the human person; act in accord with a well formed conscience; indeed, act in a loving way, properly understood, serves as well. While it would be of great profit to elaborate how each of these phrases is synonymous with the other, I want to devote most of my efforts here to explaining how act in accord with nature and act in accord with reason are synonymous and worthy guides to moral behavior. First we must try to get as clear as we can what it means to say act in accord with reason or act rationally. In our day, reason often gets a bum rap. This is a fault not of Aristotle or Aquinas but of Descartes and Kant and their followers. Since they retreated into the mind and abandoned the senses and emotions and nature as guides to truth, they made reason seem like something coldly logical, impersonal, abstract and completely devoid of experiential and emotional content. In their view, mathematics and geometry are seen as the quintessential rational acts; to be rational is to operate totally within ones mind and to be completely unemotional. Another view of rationality that dominates modern times is the view that only that which can be measured scientifically deserves any recognition as objective truth. No truths other than those substantiated by scientific proofs — truths that can be quantified largely in the laboratory — count as truth. No proof other than scientific proofs count as truth; only science and that which approximates to scientific truth is truly rational. Neither view is the view of reason and rationality held by the ancients and medievalists — those who defined the view of natural law I am defending here. The ancients and medievalists did not think rationality was possible without the senses and the emotions for both are tools to reading reality; they provide the intellect with the material needed to make a good judgment. The etymology of the word rational is rooted in the word ratio which means measure or proportion. One is being rational when ones thought and action are measured to, are proportionate with, or when ones thought and action correspond with reality (which itself is measured or governed by discernable laws; more about this momentarily). The thought that leads to acting in accord with reality is called rational. Now this thought need not be and perhaps only rarely will be the kind of abstract, cold, logical reasoning of a Descartes, Kant, or research scientist. This thought can be intuitive, creative, poetic, inductive, deductive, indeed, whatever human thought can be. It is all called rational thought not because it proceeds by syllogism or because it is subject to certain scientific tests; it is called rational because it corresponds with reality — and this includes all of reality, the spiritual and the transcendental as well as the logically provable and the scientifically measurable reality. Such thought cannot proceed without abundant data from our senses and our emotions. The intellect processes such data and orders it; it determines what values are important in the data and decides on the appropriate response. If one acts rationally, one then acts in accord with the ordering done by the intellect. While the intellect should govern the emotions, it is not a natural law teaching that all rational behavior will be devoid of emotion. Again, the emotions can provide essential data to the intellect. Emotions that are well-habituated may lead one quite spontaneously to respond correctly to situations. One may spontaneously get angry at witnessing some act of injustice and, if one knows ones emotions to be well-ordered, one could respond quite immediately and correctly to the situation — and even angrily to the situation. Indeed, at times it may be an appropriate response to reality to rant and rave. One doing so, is properly called rational, in spite of our common parlance. This talk of the mind and of rationality as something that is measured to reality suggests, as mentioned above, that reality is a thing that can be grasped. Natural law depends upon such. It rests upon the claim that things have natures and essences that we can know and correspond our actions to. There are many reasons for making this claim. One is the fact that things act in a predictable fashion; when we learn the properties of oil and water, for instance, we can predict certain things about their behavior. The fact that we build bridges which stand, that we make artificial hearts that work, that we put men on the moon, also indicates we are able to measure our thoughts to the external world and to act in accord with it. Moreover, natural law operates on the premise that nature is good; that is, that the way things naturally are is good for them to be; it holds that the operations of things and parts of things contribute to the good of the whole. The wings of different birds are shaped in certain fashions because of the sort of flying that they must do to survive; different digestive systems work in different ways because of what is being digested. Indeed, natural law holds that the natural instincts of natural things are good; they lead them to do what helps those things function well and helps them survive. Since natural things have an order there is said to be a ratio or order to them; not one of which they are conscious but one that is written into their functioning. Natural law holds that we live in a universe of things that have a ratio to them and that we shall get the best out of these things if we act in accord with the ratio or nature that is written into them. Now, man is a natural thing. He, too, has parts and operations and instincts that enable him to function well and to survive. Man differs from other creatures in that he has free will; that is, he can either cooperate with his nature or act against his nature, whereas other natural things have no such freedom. What enables man to be free is his reason, his rationality; he is able to weigh and measure different courses of action and to determine which actions are good or bad. According to natural law, those actions are good which accord with his nature and with the nature of other things. Since man is by nature a rational animal, it is good for him to act in accord with his reason. By acting rationally he is acting in accord with his own nature and with a reality that is also ordered. When he acts rationally, he acts in accord with his own nature and reality and in accord with the nature and reality of other things. Now, lets get concrete. Lets talk about acting in accord with the nature of a few specific things. Take tomato plants, for instance. Tomato plants have a certain nature. In order to have good tomato plants one must act towards these plants in accord with their nature; one must water them, give them sunlight and good soil if one wants to produce good tomato plants. Such is acting in accord with nature in respect to tomato plants, such is rational behavior in respect to tomato plants. If ones tomato plants fail to produce tomatoes, one knows that one is doing something wrong; if ones tomato plants produce good tomatoes, one knows one is doing something right. Prof. Charlie Rice, whose book Fifty Questions on Natural Law that I understand several of you are reading, speaks of the rationality of putting oil and not molasses in the engine of a car. One needs to act in accord with the nature of things if one wishes them to perform well. So now let us, moving quickly, move to human nature. If a human being wishes to function and perform well, what does his nature require of him? Let us begin with his physical nature. There is a considerable consensus about what makes for physical health and what is conducive to physical health. Those who dont get sick, who are able to function well in their daily activities, who are not overweight, we call healthy. We know how to produce such individuals. We are regularly and rightly advised to eat well, exercise regularly, and to get plenty of sleep. Those who do so generally flourish physically — because they are acting in accord with nature, with reason, and with reality. Psychological health is also understood to some extent; we know we need friends and rest and interests to sustain our psychological health; that is our nature; that is reality. Nor are we in the dark about what makes for moral health or moral goodness. We recognize the goodness of the various virtues such as self-discipline, reliability, justice and fairness, kindness, truthfulness, loyalty, etc. those who exhibit these qualities we generally recognize to be good — that is morally good — human beings. Parents who have children who display such qualities are rightly proud of them; their tomato plants turned out well. So, in regard to sexual behavior, to sexual moral health, so to speak, what qualifies as acting in accord with nature, with reason? How do we determine what it is? Now, for Aquinas, these are not difficult questions, though, apparently, they are extremely difficult questions for modern times. We are terribly confused about what proper sexual behavior is. College newspapers are filled with news of campuses that are devising codes of moral sexual behavior — codes that are designed primarily to stop or reduce the incidence of date rape on campus. These codes suggest, mandate, require — I am not certain what is the correct word — that in sexual activity neither individual proceed to the next level of sexual activity without obtaining the permission of the other individual. These codes reflect what has been the principle governing sexual behavior in modern times for sometime — whatever one feels comfortable with and whatever one agrees to is morally o. . This is basically what we are teaching to our young people and they are doing much what one would expect given that teaching. As long as it feels good, and they have consented to it, there is no reason for them not to do it. Is this working; is this principle leading to moral health or moral sickness? What can we say about the moral sexual health of our society? What does the fact that 68% of African-American babies are born out of wedlock suggest? The figure is now 22% in the white community and rapidly growing.

Free Narrative Essays - Marching Backwards in Americana :: Personal Narrative Essay Example

Marching Backwards in Americana "I'd like to tell you about my dream... it's a place where strip malls abound and diversion's mere moments away. Where the ones least refined define culture; you'll be left behind if you don't fit in. Everything‚s backwards in Americana." --The Offspring Indeed, everything is backwards in our Beautiful America: Where the intellectuals are on the bottom of the social hierarchy--at least, until they become rich intellectuals. Where magnificent painters, musicians, and writers can be belittled as "starving artists"--before they become famous artists, that is. Where so many of us find it too difficult to take a walk or jog outside--but will spend hours searching for the remote control. Yes, this is Americana. "Live Free or Die," as the New Hampshire state motto tells us. Since the 18th-century debut of the phrase, it has inspired the encumbered to fight to no end for their rights to representative government, to vote, to equality. And when those liberties were granted, they sought the justice to industrialize Native American reserves, to dump toxic wastes into the ocean, to smother monkeys with chemicals. How long must we fight until we can call ourselves free? "Your freedom isn't free. Pushing us a drug you call freedom and democracy, promise us that selfishness is the means for happiness... If this is all there is to freedom, I don't want it." --Five Iron Frenzy Protect what's yours - steal what isn't. When someone else wants it, take it. If you can't have it, complain. Everything's game in this country, no? Isn't that the meaning of freedom? Something went seriously awry in this country's constant quest for justice‚ between July 4th, 1776, and today. Will we ever be satisfied with what we have, or will our crusades for more be the death of us? Let's demolish the forests, we need more homes--someone else can worry about oxygen depletion. Hop in the car, it's too far to walk around the block--I don‚t believe in acid rain. No place to dump those hazardous chemical wastes?

Digital Fortress Chapter 24

David Becker stood in a phone booth across the street from La Clinica de Salud Publica; he'd just been ejected for harassing patient number 104, Monsieur Cloucharde. Things were suddenly more complicated than he'd anticipated. His little favor to Strathmore-picking up some personal belongings-had turned into a scavenger hunt for some bizarre ring. He'd just called Strathmore and told him about the German tourist. The news had not been received well. After demanding the specifics, Strathmore had fallen silent for a long time. â€Å"David,† he had finally said very gravely, â€Å"finding that ring is a matter of national security. I'm leaving it in your hands. Don't fail me.† The phone had gone dead. David stood in the phone booth and sighed. He picked up the tattered Guia Telefonica and began scanning the yellow pages. â€Å"Here goes nothing,† he muttered to himself. There were only three listings for Escort Services in the directory, and he didn't have much to go on. All he knew was that the German's date had red hair, which conveniently was rare in Spain. The delirious Cloucharde had recalled the escort's name as Dewdrop. Becker cringed-Dewdrop? It sounded more like a cow than a beautiful girl. Not a good Catholic name at all; Cloucharde must have been mistaken. Becker dialed the first number. â€Å"Servicio Social de Sevilla,† a pleasant female voice answered. Becker affected his Spanish with a thick German accent. â€Å"Hola,?hablas Aleman?† â€Å"No. But I speak English† came the reply. Becker continued in broken English. â€Å"Thank you. I wondering if you to help me?† â€Å"How can we be of service?† The woman spoke slowly in an effort to aid her potential client. â€Å"Perhaps you would like an escort?† â€Å"Yes, please. Today my brother, Klaus, he has girl, very beautiful. Red hair. I want same. For tomorrow, please.† â€Å"Your brother Klaus comes here?† The voice was suddenly effervescent, like they were old friends. â€Å"Yes. He very fat. You remember him, no?† â€Å"He was here today, you say?† Becker could hear her checking the books. There would be no Klaus listed, but Becker figured clients seldom used their real names. â€Å"Hmm, I'm sorry,† she apologized. â€Å"I don't see him here. What was the girl's name your brother was with?† â€Å"Had red hair,† Becker said, avoiding the question. â€Å"Red hair?† she repeated. There was a pause. â€Å"This is Servicio Social de Sevilla. Are you sure your brother comes here?† â€Å"Sure, yes.† â€Å"Senor, we have no redheads. We have only pure Andalusian beauties.† â€Å"Red hair,† Becker repeated, feeling stupid. â€Å"I'm sorry, we have no redheads at all, but if you-â€Å" â€Å"Name is Dewdrop,† Becker blurted, feeling even stupider. The ridiculous name apparently meant nothing to the woman. She apologized, suggested Becker was confusing her with another agency, and politely hung up. Strike one. Becker frowned and dialed the next number. It connected immediately. â€Å"Buenas noches, Mujeres Espana. May I help you?† Becker launched into his same spiel, a German tourist who was willing to pay top dollar for the red-haired girl who was out with his brother today. This time the response was in polite German, but again no redheads. â€Å"Keine Rotkopfe, I'm sorry.† The woman hung up. Strike two. Becker looked down at the phone book. There was only one number left. The end of the rope already. He dialed. â€Å"Escortes Belen,† a man answered in a very slick tone. Again Becker told his story. â€Å"Si, si, senor. My name is Senor Roldan. I would be pleased to help. We have two redheads. Lovely girls.† Becker's heart leapt. â€Å"Very beautiful?† he repeated in his German accent. â€Å"Red hair?† â€Å"Yes, what is your brother's name? I will tell you who was his escort today. And we can send her to you tomorrow.† â€Å"Klaus Schmidt.† Becker blurted a name recalled from an old textbook. A long pause. â€Å"Well, sir†¦ I don't see a Klaus Schmidt on our registry, but perhaps your brother chose to be discreet-perhaps a wife at home?† He laughed inappropriately. â€Å"Yes, Klaus married. But he very fat. His wife no lie with him.† Becker rolled his eyes at himself reflected in the booth. If Susan could hear me now, he thought. â€Å"I fat and lonely too. I want lie with her. Pay lots of money.† Becker was giving an impressive performance, but he'd gone too far. Prostitution was illegal in Spain, and Senor Roldan was a careful man. He'd been burned before by Guardia officials posing as eager tourists. I want lie with her. Roldan knew it was a setup. If he said yes, he would be heavily fined and, as always, forced to provide one of his most talented escorts to the police commissioner free of charge for an entire weekend. When Roldan spoke, his voice not quite as friendly. â€Å"Sir, this is Escortes Belen. May I ask who's calling?† â€Å"Aah†¦ Sigmund Schmidt,† Becker invented weakly. â€Å"Where did you get our number?† â€Å"La Guia Telefonica-yellow pages.† â€Å"Yes, sir, that's because we are an escort service.† â€Å"Yes. I want escort.† Becker sensed something was wrong. â€Å"Sir, Escortes Belen is a service providing escorts to businessmen for luncheons and dinners. This is why we are listed in the phone book. What we do is legal. What you are looking for is a prostitute.† The word slid off his tongue like a vile disease. â€Å"But my brother†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Sir, if your brother spent the day kissing a girl in the park, she was not one of ours. We have strict regulations about client-escort contact.† â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You have us confused with someone else. We only have two redheads, Inmaculada and Rocio, and neither would allow a man to sleep with them for money. That is called prostitution, and it is illegal in Spain. Good night, sir.† â€Å"But-â€Å" CLICK. Becker swore under his breath and dropped the phone back into its cradle. Strike three. He was certain Cloucharde had said the German had hired the girl for the entire weekend. Becker stepped out of the phone booth at the intersection of Calle Salado and Avenida Asuncion. Despite the traffic, the sweet scent of Seville oranges hung all around him. It was twilight-the most romantic hour. He thought of Susan. Strathmore's words invaded his mind: Find the ring. Becker flopped miserably on a bench and pondered his next move. What move?

Recycling Composite Materials

Composite materials, known for their durability, high strength, excellent quality, low maintenance, and low weight, are widely being used in automotive, construction, transport, aerospace and renewable energy industries. Their use in  numerous  engineering applications is a result of the edge composites provides over traditional materials. Recycling and disposal of composite materials is an issue that is being increasingly addressed, as it should with any widely used material. Previously, there were very limited commercial recycling operations for mainstream composite materials due to technological and economic constraints but RD activities are on the rise. Recycling Fiberglass Fiberglass is a versatile material that provides  tangible  potential over conventional materials such as wood, aluminum, and steel. Fiberglass is produced by using less energy and is used in products which result in fewer carbon emissions. Fiberglass offers advantages of being light weight yet has high mechanical strength, impact resistant, is chemical, fire and corrosion resistant, and a good thermal and electrical insulator. Even though fiberglass is extremely useful for the reasons previously listed, an end of life solution is needed. Current FRP composites with thermoset resins do not biodegrade. For many applications where fiberglass is used, this is a good thing. However, in landfills, this is not.   Research has lead to methods such as grinding, incineration, and pyrolysis being used for recycling fiberglass. The recycled fiberglass finds its way in various industries and can be used in various end products. For instance, recycled fibers have been effective in reducing shrinkage in concrete thereby increasing its durability. This concrete can be used best in freezing temperate zones for concrete floors, pavements, sidewalks, and curbs. Other uses for recycled fiberglass include being used as a filler in resin, which can increase  mechanical  properties in certain applications. Recycled fiberglass has also found its use together with other products such as recycled tire products, plastic wood products, asphalt, roofing tar and cast polymer  countertops. Recycling Carbon Fiber Carbon fiber composite materials are ten times stronger than steel and eight times that of aluminum, along with being much lighter than both materials. Carbon fiber composites have found their way into the manufacturing of aircraft and spacecraft parts, automobile springs, golf club shafts, racing car bodies, fishing rods, and more. With the current annual worldwide carbon fiber consumption being at 30,000 tons, most waste goes to the landfill. Research has been conducted to extract the high-value carbon fiber from end-of-life components and from manufacturing scrap, with the goal to use them for creating other carbon fiber composites. Recycled carbon fibers are used in bulk molding compounds for smaller, nonload-bearing components, as a sheet-molding compound and as recycled materials in load-bearing shell structures. The recycled carbon fiber is also finding uses in phone cases, laptop shells and even water bottle cages for bicycles. Future of Recycling Composite Materials Composite materials are preferred for many engineering applications because of its durability and superior strength. Proper waste disposal and recycling at the end of the useful life of composite materials is necessary.  Many current and future waste management and environmental legislation will mandate engineering materials to be properly recovered and recycled, from products such as automobiles, wind turbines, and aircraft that have lived their useful life. Although many technologies have been developed such as mechanical recycling, thermal recycling, and chemical recycling; they are on the brink of being fully commercialized. Extensive research and development are being done to develop better recyclable composites and recycling technologies for composite materials. This will contribute to the sustainable development of composites industry.