What is meant by the warning, "our power to reason with certainty can have ominous results" ?
What will be an ideal response
At times, like a freight train thundering recklessly down the tracks, our capacity for certainty drives us headlong toward conclusions that turn out to be patently wrongheaded. We are certain that our assumptions imply those conclusions, so we move ahead perhaps not thinking about whether those conclusions make any sense in their own right. Consider, for example, the religious extremists who use ideologically based valid argument to justify wars, rape, beheadings, and brutally barbaric acts of terrorism. How can we prevent that ideological freight train from reaching the wrong destination? The answer lies at the starting point. Are all of our beliefs, values, assumptions, and interpretations true? A healthy sense of skepticism, the study of human history, and a great deal of life experience suggests that the probability of personal infallibility approximates zero. Even the most learned, saintly, and wise among us can be mistaken.
You might also like to view...
Which statement most correctly matches Plato's attitude toward artists?
A. Artists have a closer relationship to ideal forms because they are inspired by the gods. B. Artists are the only ones who can truly show us the metaphysical truth of ordinary objects. C. Artists create lies in order to deceive regular people. D. Artists can create only imperfect copies of imperfect copies of ideal forms.
Ethical arguments for democracy in the workplace are mainly based on
A. productivity B. organizational effectiveness C. personal health D. legitimizing power
For the term, "banker," invent a persuasive definition (either positive or negative). Remember, persuasive definitions can be analytical definitions, definitions by example, or definitions by synonym.
What will be an ideal response?
The psychologist Carol Gilligan argued that
a. all children employ the same ethical principles. b. children whose parents had more education had higher levels of moral development. c. women tend to approach ethics differently from men. d. women tend to approach ethics by focusing on being impartial.