Preview

Kwame Anthony Appiah Analysis

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1440 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Kwame Anthony Appiah Analysis
It Is What It Is
In our society there is a lot of tension revolving around concepts of morality. Constantly people are debating all over the world whether or not concepts like abortion, homosexuality, gambling, affairs, divorce, contraception, and premarital sex are morally acceptable or morally unacceptable. Right now there are even entire societies that believe the American way of life is morally unacceptable. In Moral Disagreement by Kwame Anthony Appiah, Appiah writes about differing values and morals around the world and within our society. He points out, “we aren’t the only people who have the concepts of right and wrong, good and bad; every society, it seems, has terms that correspond to these thin concepts” (658). However, these concepts
…show more content…
To avoid this fear and hatred and eventually get rid of the cultural boundaries that prevent us from creating worldly cultures. We can start doing this by educating ourselves on the cultures of the world like Martha Nussbaum suggests, “- in addition to giving special attention to the history and current situation of their own nation -- learn a good deal more than is frequently the case about the rest of the world in which they live, about India and Bolivia and Nigeria and Norway and their histories, problems, and comparative successes...learn about the problems of hunger and pollution in India, and the implications of these problems for larger problems of global hunger and global ecology... be taught that they are above all citizens of the United States, or should they instead be taught that they are above all citizens of a world of human beings, and that, while they themselves happen to be situated in the United States, they have to share this world of human beings with the citizens of other countries” (668). This can help us to gain an understanding and acceptance of other cultures around the world. As well as an acceptance of our own place within the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Morality is a necessary character in interactions or organizations. Generally, the words “right” and “wrong” are antonym and the meanings are used to define the positive and negative even though we are taught not to judge what other people do. However, the ideas of black and white or right and wrong in morality are difficult to determine because we usually use our own measurement to judge others based on our beliefs, experiences and knowledge. In reality, there are not only black and white but the grey area also is existed where good people can do bad things and where bad people can do good things. According to Philip Zimbardo, psychologist and a professor at Stanford University, the line between bad and good isn’t fixed but it is movable and…

    • 1423 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Soc 324 Study Guide Exam 1

    • 2605 Words
    • 11 Pages

    SOC 324 Exam 1 Review Guide Note: This guide is not meant to be an exhaustive list of everything that is on the exam. It is meant to point you in the right direction. However, anything covered in class or in the readings is fair game…

    • 2605 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    D. Lewis disproves the idea that the Moral Law is just a social convention by declaring that one cannot compare another culture’s or era’s moralities as better or worse unless one has a standard morality to compare it to. (12-15)…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Soc 120 Assignment Wk2

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages

    We are taught the difference between what is right and what is wrong at a young age by our parents or guardians. What is classified as right or wrong can differ between cultures, races, ethnic identities, and by social class. We all have a sense of what is morally right and the relativity of it. There are specific traits and beliefs that are distinctive to every culture, race, and social classes, due mostly impart to the differences we have in what we consider to be morally right. The idea of universal morals shows that through our cultural differences there is still a connection to the moral beliefs that we share, and shows that cultures are more alike than admit.…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the essay, “The New Immorality”, Joseph Wood Krutch argues that in today’s time, humans are becoming increasingly immoral creatures. This claim can be exemplified by the behavior of students, teachers, politicians, business people, celebrities, and countless others. Krutch believes that although people claim to be honorable, the majority of their actions say otherwise. People no longer care if the acts they commit are immoral because they often only care if it is beneficial to themselves. As times progresses, the definitions of honor and morality are changing, and not for the better.…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Allen Iverson Analysis

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Allen Iverson is one of the most famous basketball players not only because of his talent, but also because of his reckless attitude outside of the game. The documentary shows how Iverson acted as a child and shows how he committed himself to sports so he could get out of the projects. The film shows how he struggled with adversity and was eventually able to overcome it by dedicating himself to basketball. There are many psychological principles in the documentary that relate to how Iverson was able to leave the projects because of his dedication to sports. The main principles featured in the documentary are situation approach, trait-centered view, need achievement theory, consequences, outcome goals and mental toughness. These traits focus on Iverson’s personality and how he rose to fame as an unconventional basketball player.…

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Our country’s values and morals have changed drastically since the origination of our civilized, settled way of life. The United States has transformed from living off the land to an industrialized nation with basically anything we desire at our finger tips. Conservatism has led to liberalism and the slow degradation of our morals and beliefs. Some try to blame new capitalism and the economic growth of America for this downfall in morality. The decline in morality was not brought about by new capitalism, rather the undertaking of new, unethical moral standards.…

    • 1266 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kwame Anthony Appiah, one of the world’s most preeminent philosophers, asserts that cultural and language barriers and conflict of values are excuses that force people to forget the powerful ties that connect people all across the world. Appiah demands us to recognize that – all human beings are citizens of the world – cosmopolitan, and more similar than their differences may make them seem. According to Appiah, the fate of humanity depends on people’s willingness to become global citizens and to reach across national and cultural boundaries, to find a commonplace of human morality. Appiah believes in a universal responsibility, an ideal that everyone is responsible for his or her neighbors – both foreign and domestic. He stresses the importance…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Any conscious person who has taken a recent American history course will legitimately question both the morality and ethics of the United States. While morals refer to an individual's or a society's belief of right and wrong, ethics refer to the morality of the actions of an individual or a society. Albeit morals and ethics share a significant relationship, they are not interchangeable in this distinction of belief and behavior. In an integrous world, people would behave based on their beliefs. While most Americans claim that they regularly make ethical decisions based on their morals alone, the reality is quite different.…

    • 1862 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    If we want to fully understand morality we must analyse the meaning of the key moral terms used, what it means, what it does and how it may be verified. Take the word ‘good’; we may describe it in an absolute way, “this is a good essay” or in a relative way, “compared to the previous one, this essay is good”. Or in a utilitarian way, “this essay will get a good result” However none of these uses or descriptions actually tell us what the word good means.…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In life, a person with morals is usually very ethical and has high values and strong religious beliefs. These people know right from wrong and prefer to do what they think is right in any given situation. This is what morality is, having the knowledge to know right from wrong. In Dr. Ben Carson’s America the Beautiful, he states that this nation, The United States of America, was founded with the concept of morality in mind. He also arrives at many notable points concerning the concept of morality in American Society and History. These points include: decisions based on status, slavery, the treating of immigrants, and family values and education.…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The first way is to ensure and instill in our societies young children that it is because of our differences we are a stronger nation. Education is key when it comes to help foster a climate of acceptance. Most prejudice starts with fear and so by teaching our young that there is nothing to fear we are able to move on and form more of a utopia society. Part of educating has to do with learning from our countries and society’s mistakes to make for a better future. An example of this is our own countries civil rights movement that went on in the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is from our mistakes in that time that we have learned that social problems such as equal rights only divides our country and makes us…

    • 1793 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Definition Paper: Normal

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The belief systems in place show us how we should act, what is ethical, what taboo is and what every day life is like. Now while not every one adheres by these rules, the general population does. However, this varies in different pars of the world, and in different cultures. Therefore, this is also what normal is, but not entirely.…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    | -constant use of “horrid” and “wicked” reveal disgust and demonstrate how gravely they view Mrs. Erlynne’s lack of morality…

    • 1388 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To begin with, the reason why the decline of morals and values around the world troubles me is because the lack of morals and values is the leading contributor to broken families. Back before modern time to have a pregnancy without being married was an embarrassment to oneself and family. In a lot of cause that particular females would be disowned by the family. But it has gotten to a point today that at least forty percent of kinds born today are from unmarried couples, which is a huge increase. So couples having a baby with no real tangible legal bond to each other makes the possibility for a broken family all the more greater.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays