My aim is to provide the foundation for a theory about the duty to prevent harm by investigating how this duty compares and contrasts with the duty not to cause harm. I begin by addressing the moral significance of the difference between killing (causing harm) and letting die (refraining from preventing harm), arguing that neither of the prevalent and rival views ('killing is inherently worse than letting die', and 'killing and letting die are, other things equal, morally equivalent') is entirely acceptable. By analyzing the notion of a morally significant difference I argue that these views are only contrary. I then develop an alternative view which locates the difference between killing and letting die at the level of the general moral prohibitions against such acts, and is grounded on a difference in the 'strength' or 'type' of reason that can justify violations of those prohibitions in relevantly similar circumstances. This account is summarized into three intermediate principles. To develop these principles into a general theory, I introduce and clarify the distinction between negative and positive duties, arguing that it is independent of the distinction between negative and positive acts. After exploring the grounds for and against recognizing the significance of the former distinction, I conclude that while it is significant, and that negative duties are in some sense stricter than positive duties, the prevalent interpretation of "stricter" and its corresponding moral principle are unacceptable. I then develop an alternative definition and a theory entailing (a) that while causing harm is sometimes morally worse than failing to prevent harm (other things equal), it is not always worse, (b) the cases in which it is worse are cases in which the agent's negative or positive duty conflicts with another morally relevant consideration, and (c) that negative duties are stricter than positive duties in that the former are more difficult to justifiably violate. Finally, I defend this theory as one which captures the strong points of the rival views, while escaping their problems, and thus provides both a resolution to the current debates and the foundation for a complete analysis of the duty to prevent harm.

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Thesis (M.F.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2010. / Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 45 p. Includes bibliographical references.

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This dissertation examines Peter Singer's proposed ethical value of the "person" in Rethinking Life and Death . Chapter 1 introduces and outlines Singer's proposal, which argues for abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and assisted suicide. His proposal consists of four key points. First, there is the foundation for his proposal--rejecting creation for evolution. Second, there is the substance of his proposal--replacing the value of the "human" with the value of the "person." Third, there is the criteria for his proposal--using "indicators" and "relevant characteristics" to identify the kinds of beings who qualify as "persons." Fourth, there are the consequences of his proposal--promising an ethical "Copernican Revolution." Chapters 2-5 critically evaluate the four key ideas from Singer above. The evaluation of the respective key idea in each chapter covers five steps: (1) the context of Singer's proposal; (2) the content of Singer's proposal; (3) positive evaluation; (4) negative critique; and (5) conclusion. The research methodology for the dissertation is to treat Singer's ethical proposal on the "person" as a hypothesis to be tested by his own truth standards of logical consistency, empirical evidence, and practicality. Following these four key chapters, Chapter 6 provides "Summary and Conclusions." The conclusion of this dissertation is that Peter Singer's proposal on life and death is not to be commended because its key elements are not supported by his own standards for testing truth. In fact, when examined by his own truth tests, Singer's program should be rejected because its foundation is faulty, its substance is illusory, its criteria are circular, and its consequences would be grave. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

Denna uppsats ämnar att analysera genderswap tekniken i Stephenie Meyers bok Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined ur ett genusperspektiv. Uppsatsen förhåller sig till Lena Gemzöes bok Feminism där genusproblematiker diskuteras. Uppsatsen avser att jämföra Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined med original boken Twilight för att undersöka om det finns könsskillnader mellan huvudkaraktärerna Bella och Beau och hur genderswap påverkar detta. Analysen visar att via genderswap lyckas man framhäva skillnaderna mellan Bella och Beau i förhållande till våld, familjesfären och manliga privilegier. Via ett genderswap visar Meyer på hur den kvinnliga stereotypen fortfarande präglar Bella som kvinnlig karaktär och hur Beau som Bellas respektive manliga version framhäver existerande problematiker inom berättelsen. Jag argumenterar att analysen om genderswap driver till diskussion om hur könsroller gestaltas i Meyers två böcker och skapar utrymme för vidare diskussion inom ämnet.

This study examines the ancient Greeks’ attitudes to children during the Classical and Hellenistic periods. The investigation is limited to literary sources in selected pre-Christian texts. Problems which might bias interpretation have been noted. Parent-child relationships, as revealed in literary examples of parental love and concern, are of particular interest. Hazards affecting survival in early childhood, and factors which influenced attitudes regarding the fetus, abortion, exposure and infanticide are considered. Legal, political and socio-economic factors are amongst motivating forces. Childhood experiences such as education, sport, pederasty, step-families, slaves and slavery, preparation for marriage, and deprivation due to war and environmental factors are also examined. Ancient attitudes to children are compared with modern attitudes to children in similar situations prevailing in Western culture in the 21st century. The findings reveal that basic human behaviour has changed little over the millennia; however, factors influencing attitudes have undergone some change as society evolved.

This thesis builds upon the existing scholarship such as that by Patricia Crawford, Helen King, Alexandra Lord, and Michael Stolberg, to analyse the ways that all aspects of menstruation were accounted for in early-modern England. Broadly informed by cultural materialism, and starting with the wide-range of medical treatises that were published in the early modern period, which theorise the female body, the thesis incorporates a broad range of material from private journals, diaries, and letters to the more public conventionally literary texts such as poetry, prose fiction, and plays. The thesis is structured according to the physiological order of vaginal bleeding as understood in the early-modern period. Starting with menarche the thesis argues that just as the medical texts broadly agree that the ideal age for menarche is fourteen, so social conventions also saw this as a significant age in a girl s growth to maturity. Since fourteen was considered to be the optimum age for menarche any wide variation in this age was seen as problematic; the thesis includes analysis, therefore of early and late menarche. The thesis next examines the surviving accounts of menstruation, arguing that menstruation was something that women were disinclined to write about, preferring to manage the condition privately. The chapter offers an account of how women might have managed the practical aspects of their cycle such as sanitary protection, theorising that the negative associations of menstrual blood in the Bible influence women s position on the matter. The other significant occasions of female bleeding were hymenal and lochial bleeding and the thesis argues that these were seen as analogous to menstrual bleeding, and theorised as such. The thesis demonstrates that hymenal blood was eroticised in the period because of the importance of virginity to this society. Like all occasions of bleeding, pregnancy and lochial bleeding was seen as a dangerous event. The thesis concludes with a review of the presentation of menopause in the period.

This thesis deals with the topic of afterlife in the evangelical imagination. It aims to find out the space for consolation (after the death of a youth) in the evangelical afterlife imaginations. The theoretical part deals with issues of death and afterlife in anthropological and biblical context. The thesis also defines the concepts of funeral and consolation. In the analytical part the thesis introduces four evangelical pastors who were interviewed regarding the funeral of a youth and specific topic of funeral at which the pastor is emotionally interested. Furthermore, the analytical part deals with the topics of personal attitudes towards death, the manner of dealing with it, images of afterlife and the ways of consolation. Using qualitative research methodology the thesis analyzes the research question of how particular evangelical pastors cope with the death of a youth in the context of the doctrine. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

林志堅. / "2013年9月". / "2013 nian 9 yue". / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 280-303). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in Chinese and English. / Lin Zhijian.