Free Essays on Philosophy 160

Ethnical Egoism maintains the claim that people always act selfishly, to foster their own self-interest or happiness. The Collegiate Websters Dictonary defines egoism as â€Å"a doctrine that individual self-interest is the actual motive of all conscious action.† If this claim is true, ethics is in trouble, because most traditional ethical systems demand at least occasional altruism. If Ethnical Egoism were true, altruism would not be possible, there over making society as we know it cease. We would have to explain apparent altruism as self-interest. Acting in a self – interested way, in all cases would be wrong because there are situations, where instances occur, that would override the demands of an Ethnical Egoists standpoint. Ethnical Egoism is a surprisingly weak claim. People do not always and invariably act to foster the own self – interest. Instances occur when cases that falsifies the generalization that all human acts are selfish. Many people act in an unselfish manner, making professions out of there actions. Society must realize the happiness achieved in the long run by sacrificing â€Å"a self interested attitude† in the present is greater. It certainly appears that people sometimes act in ways that are not in accordance with their own interests: the solider that jumps on a grenade to save his fellow troops, the stranger who runs into the busy street to save a stray cat. That is, you insist on claiming that people are â€Å"really† acting selfishly even when they appear to be acting unselfishly. But that strategy has two problems. First, if all human actions are self-interested, then â€Å"self-interested actions† become, by definition, identical with â€Å"actionsâ € . That is, these two expressions denote exactly the same set of actions, and thus are substitutable for each other. It then becomes impossible to disprove the claim that all human actions are self-interested, because the claim, after substitution, becomes impos... Free Essays on Philosophy 160 Free Essays on Philosophy 160 Ethnical Egoism maintains the claim that people always act selfishly, to foster their own self-interest or happiness. The Collegiate Websters Dictonary defines egoism as â€Å"a doctrine that individual self-interest is the actual motive of all conscious action.† If this claim is true, ethics is in trouble, because most traditional ethical systems demand at least occasional altruism. If Ethnical Egoism were true, altruism would not be possible, there over making society as we know it cease. We would have to explain apparent altruism as self-interest. Acting in a self – interested way, in all cases would be wrong because there are situations, where instances occur, that would override the demands of an Ethnical Egoists standpoint. Ethnical Egoism is a surprisingly weak claim. People do not always and invariably act to foster the own self – interest. Instances occur when cases that falsifies the generalization that all human acts are selfish. Many people act in an unselfish manner, making professions out of there actions. Society must realize the happiness achieved in the long run by sacrificing â€Å"a self interested attitude† in the present is greater. It certainly appears that people sometimes act in ways that are not in accordance with their own interests: the solider that jumps on a grenade to save his fellow troops, the stranger who runs into the busy street to save a stray cat. That is, you insist on claiming that people are â€Å"really† acting selfishly even when they appear to be acting unselfishly. But that strategy has two problems. First, if all human actions are self-interested, then â€Å"self-interested actions† become, by definition, identical with â€Å"actionsâ € . That is, these two expressions denote exactly the same set of actions, and thus are substitutable for each other. It then becomes impossible to disprove the claim that all human actions are self-interested, because the claim, after substitution, becomes impos...

Understanding Society Through Cultural Artifacts

Understanding Society Through Cultural Artifacts Researchers can learn a great deal about a society by analyzing cultural artifacts such as newspapers, magazines, television programs, or music. These cultural artifacts, which can also be considered aspects of material culture, can reveal a great deal about the society that produced them. Sociologists call the study of these cultural artifacts content analysis. Researchers who use content analysis are not studying the people, but rather are studying the communications the people produce as a way of creating a picture of their society. Key Takeaways: Content Analysis In content analysis, researchers examine a societys cultural artifacts in order to understand that society.Cultural artifacts are the aspects of material culture produced by a society, such as books, magazines, televisions shows, and movies.Content analysis is limited by the fact that it can only tell us what content a culture has produced, not how members of the society actually feel about those artifacts. Content analysis is frequently used to measure cultural change and to study different aspects of culture. Sociologists also use it as an indirect way to determine how social groups are perceived. For example, they might examine how African Americans are depicted in television shows or how women are depicted in advertisements. Content analysis can uncover evidence of racism and sexism in society. For example, in one study, researchers looked at the representation of female characters in 700 different films. They found that only about 30% of characters with a speaking role were female, which demonstrates a lack of representation of female characters. The study also found that people of color and LGBT individuals were underrepresented in film. In other words, by collecting data from cultural artifacts, researchers were able to determine the extent of the diversity problem in Hollywood. In conducting a content analysis, researchers quantify and analyze the presence, meanings, and relationships of words and concepts within the cultural artifacts they are studying. They then make inferences about the messages within the artifacts and about the culture they are studying. At its most basic, content analysis is a statistical exercise that involves categorizing some aspect of behavior and counting the number of times such behavior occurs. For example, a researcher might count the number of minutes that men and women appear on screen in a television show and make comparisons. This allows us to paint a picture of the patterns of behavior that underlie social interactions portrayed in the media. Strengths of Using Content Analysis Content analysis has several strengths as a research method. First, it is a great method because it is unobtrusive. That is, it has no effect on the person being studied since the cultural artifact has already been produced. Second, it is relatively easy to gain access to the media source or publication the researcher wishes to study. Rather than trying to recruit research participants to fill out questionnaires, the researcher can use cultural artifacts that have already been created. Finally, content analysis can present an objective account of events, themes, and issues that might not be immediately apparent to a reader, viewer, or general consumer. By conducting a quantitative analysis of a large number of cultural artifacts, researchers can uncover patterns that might not be noticeable from looking at only one or two examples of cultural artifacts. Weaknesses of Using Content Analysis Content analysis also has several weaknesses as a research method. First, it is limited in what it can study. Since it is based only on mass communication – either visual, oral, or written – it cannot tell us what people really think about these images or whether they affect people’s behavior. Second, content analysis may not be as objective as it claims since the researcher must select and record data accurately. In some cases, the researcher must make choices about how to interpret or categorize particular forms of behavior and other researchers may interpret it differently. A final weakness of content analysis is that it can be time consuming, as researchers need to sort through large numbers of cultural artifacts in order to draw conclusions. References Andersen, M.L. and Taylor, H.F. (2009). Sociology: The Essentials. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.