The idea that lemmings will commit mass suicide every few years by jumping off cliffs and drowning in the seas below were once attributed to drops in the lemming population. In theory‚ once a few lemmings died‚ other lemmings rapidly followed. While the lemming suicide hypothesis is a mere myth‚ it parallels a vulnerable aspect of human society--- following the crowd can have dangerous consequences. For example‚ look at the fictional world of a short story: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. In its
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Animal Rights Throughout history morality has been a topic of intense debate. Innumerable thinkers have devoted immense amounts of time and energy to the formulation of various ethical theories intended to assist humans in their daily lives. These theories set out guidelines which help to determine the rightness or wrongness of any given action and can therefore illuminate which choice would be morally beneficial. And while many of these theories differ substantially‚ most have at least one common
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Mirikitani’s poem “Suicide Note”‚ parental pressures to be “good enough”‚ “smart enough”‚ and “pretty enough” are causes of teen suicide. Whether these feelings of deficiency come from comments and expressions from the narrator’s parents‚ or from her perception of their opinion of her‚ they drastically change the way she looks at herself. The narrator feels like her parents expressed that everything she did was not “good enough” according to their expectations‚ which led to her suicide. She even goes
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The Right to Suicide and Harm Suicide under circumstances of extreme suffering is the morally right action as opposed to the alternative‚ living in pain. J.S. Mill’s Utilitarian ideals provide strong reasoning to support suicide in instances of severe pain‚ while Kant’s moral theory of the categorical imperative provides reasoning against taking one’s own life. Mill’s principle of utility is the maximization of pleasure and the reduction of pain. Mill regards happiness as the greatest good in life
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India is an agrarian country with around 60% of its people directly or indirectly depend upon agriculture. Agriculture in India is often attributed as gambling with monsoons because of its almost exclusive dependency on precipitation from monsoons. The failure of these monsoons leading to a series of droughts‚ lack of better prices‚ exploitation by Middlemen‚ all of which have led to a series of suicidescommitted by farmers across India. • • • • Farmers’ demands were not taken into account
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classification of one’s actions. In Mill’s Utilitarianism‚ he examines what determines an action to be considered right or wrong‚ his own version of the hedonistic utilitarianism argument. He claims that these qualities‚ including the quantity‚ are an important factor in determining‚ when included in the consequences‚ the criteria of an action. The consequences are significant in determining the results of one’s actions. In the argument of utilitarianism‚ if the consequences of an action are good
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Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) developed his ethical system of utilitarianism around the idea of pleasure. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) later furthered and many believe he improved Bentham’s theory (Mill is often linked to Rule Utilitarianism) but still followed many of his original ideas. The theory is based on ancient hedonism‚ which pursued physical pleasure and avoided physical pain. Hedonism saw human beings as “Under the governance of two sovereign masters of pain and pleasure.” So a key concept
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The topic of suicide and its links to homosexuality have been‚ in the past‚ greatly based on myth and in studies‚ scarcely backed with data. Now with the increasing rate of suicide of young males in our western world this taboo topic must be accurately studied for prevention of further misfortune. C. van Heeringen wanted to estimate the risks of suicidal thoughts or actions in young homo/bisexuals compared to heterosexual peers. He also wanted to determine the effects of potential factors on the
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Criticisms of Utilitarianism Though there are many supporters of utilitarianism given the fact that this theory prioritizes the benefits of the happiness and satisfaction of the majority not the minority‚ there are some philosophers and scholar who critique its implications. - Distastefulness: The argument from distaste is often expressed as a suggestion that utilitarianism doesn’t provide enough support for individuals’ rights. It says that just in order to achieve its goal‚ utilitarianism won’t
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of social economic stress‚ which greatly impacts their relationship with their children‚ especially the adolescents. Troubled teenagers experience chronic stress and sometimes deep distress that leads to psychological issues and in worst cases to suicide. As poverty takes its toll on the human health‚ it also affects environment in general: Poor areas are well known by the wide spread of infectious communicable diseases‚ such as typhoid fever and tuberculosis. Underprivileged people are also exposed
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