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Mandarin Paradox
The Mandarin paradox is an ethical parable used to illustrate the difficulty of fulfilling moral obligations when moral punishment is unlikely or impossible, leading to moral disengagement. It has been used to underscore the fragility of ethical standards when moral agents are separated by physical, cultural, or other distance, especially as facilitated by globalization. It was first posed by French writer Chateaubriand in ''"The Genius of Christianity"'' (1802): I ask my own heart, I put to myself this question: "If thou couldst by a mere wish kill a fellow-creature in China, and inherit his fortune in Europe, with the supernatural conviction that the fact would never be known, wouldst thou consent to form such a wish?" The paradox is famously used to foreshadow the character development of the ''arriviste'' Eugène de Rastignac in Balzac's novel ''Père Goriot''. Rastignac asks Bianchon if he recalls the paradox, to which Bianchon first replies that he is "at isthirty-t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns matters of value; these fields comprise the branch of philosophy called axiology. Ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. As a field of intellectual inquiry, moral philosophy is related to the fields of moral psychology, descriptive ethics, and value theory. Three major areas of study within ethics recognized today are: # Meta-ethics, concerning the theoretical meaning and reference of moral propositions, and how their truth values (if any) can be determined; # Normative ethics, concerning the practical means of determining a moral course of action; # Applied ethics, concerning what a person is obligated (or permitted) to do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Père Goriot
''Le Père Goriot'' (, ''"Old Goriot"'' or ''"Father Goriot"'') is an 1835 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850), included in the ''Scènes de la vie privée'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. Set in Paris in 1819, it follows the intertwined lives of three characters: the elderly doting Goriot, a mysterious criminal-in-hiding named Vautrin and a naive law student named Eugène de Rastignac. Originally published in serial form during the winter of 1834–35, ''Le Père Goriot'' is widely considered Balzac's most important novel.Hunt, p. 95; Brooks (1998), p. ix; Kanes, p. 9. It marks the first serious use by the author of characters who had appeared in other books, a technique that distinguishes Balzac's fiction. The novel is also noted as an example of his realist style, using minute details to create character and subtext. The novel takes place during the Bourbon Restoration, which brought profound changes to French ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ring Of Gyges
The Ring of Gyges ( grc, Γύγου Δακτύλιος, ''Gúgou Daktúlios'', ) is a hypothetical magic ring mentioned by the philosopher Plato in Book 2 of his ''Republic'' (2:359a–2:360d). It grants its owner the power to become invisible at will. Through the device of the ring, this section of the ''Republic'' considers whether a rational, intelligent person who has no need to fear negative consequences for committing an injustice would nevertheless act justly. The legends Gyges of Lydia was a historical king, the founder of the Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings. Various ancient works—the most well-known being '' The Histories'' of Herodotus—gave different accounts of the circumstances of his rise to power. All, however, agree in asserting that he was originally a subordinate of King Candaules of Lydia, that he killed Candaules and seized the throne, and that he had either seduced Candaules' Queen before killing him, married her afterwards, or both. In Glaucon's recounti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Many of his historical novels of adventure were originally published as serials, including '' The Count of Monte Cristo'', ''The Three Musketeers'', ''Twenty Years After'' and '' The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later''. His novels have been adapted since the early twentieth century into nearly 200 films. Prolific in several genres, Dumas began his career by writing plays, which were successfully produced from the first. He also wrote numerous magazine articles and travel books; his published works totalled 100,000 pages. In the 1840s, Dumas founded the Théâtre Historique in Paris. His father, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Count Of Monte Cristo
''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Like many of his novels, it was expanded from plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. The story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical events of 1815–1839: the era of the Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France. It begins on the day that Napoleon left his first island of exile, Elba, beginning the Hundred Days period when Napoleon returned to power. The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book, an adventure story centrally concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness. It centers on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune, and set ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Box (2009 Film)
''The Box'' is a 2009 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly. It is based on the 1970 short story " Button, Button" by Richard Matheson, which was previously adapted into an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. The film stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple who receive a box from a mysterious man (played by Frank Langella) who offers them one million dollars if they press the button sealed within the dome on top of the box, but tells them that, once the button has been pushed, someone they do not know will die. Plot In December 1976, financially desperate NASA engineer Arthur Lewis and his wife Norma find a package on their doorstep, containing a wooden box with a large red button. The mysterious and disfigured Mr. Steward arrives to deliver the key to unlock the button, and tells Norma that if the button is pushed, she will receive $1 million in cash, but someone she does not know will die. He gives her $100 for allowing him to enter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science fiction horror novel that has been adapted for the screen three times. Matheson himself was co-writer of the first film version, '' The Last Man on Earth'', starring Vincent Price, which was released in 1964. The other two adaptations were ''The Omega Man,'' starring Charlton Heston, and '' I Am Legend'' with Will Smith. Matheson also wrote 16 television episodes of ''The Twilight Zone'', including "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Steel", as well as several adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories for Roger Corman and American International Pictures – '' House of Usher'', ''The Pit and the Pendulum'', ''Tales of Terror'' and ''The Raven''. He adapted his 1971 short story "Duel" as a screenplay directed by Steven Spielberg for the television film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Button, Button (The Twilight Zone)
"Button, Button" is the second segment of the 20th episode from the first season (1985–86) of the television series ''The Twilight Zone''. The segment is based on the 1970 short story of the same name by Richard Matheson; the same short story forms the basis of the 2009 film '' The Box''. It poses the question of whether an ordinary person would be willing to cause a total stranger to die in exchange for $200,000 by simply pushing a button. In a documentary on the making of the movie ''The Box'', Matheson states the inspiration for the story came from his wife, whose college professor had asked a similar question as a way of promoting a class discussion. Matheson, who was one of the most prolific contributors to the original ''The Twilight Zone'', wrote the teleplay for the segment himself under a pseudonym, making "Button, Button" one of just two segments in the series written by one of the original ''Twilight Zone'' writers (the other being " The Elevator"). Plot Arthur and No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mandarin (novel)
''The Mandarin'' (Portuguese: ''O Mandarim'') is a novella on the sin of avarice by José Maria de Eça de Queirós (1845 - 1900), also known as Eça de Queiroz. It was first published in Portuguese in 1880. The first English version, translated by Richard Franko Goldman, was published by The Bodley Head in 1965. A translation by Margaret Jull Costa, was published by Dedalus Books in 1993. A revised version was published by Dedalus in 2009, together with three short stories. Background The story was serialized in a shorter version in the ''Diário de Portugal'' and, with the addition of six chapters, it was sold as a book in 1881. It was initially attacked as being a departure from the realist style used by Eça in his earlier works. He was also accused of plagiarising the idea from a story by Alphonse Daudet, although ''The Mandarin'' was accepted for serialization in the French ''Revue Universelle Internationale'' in 1884. The Plot Teodoro, a poor Portuguese civil ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought. His ''Discourse on Inequality'' and ''The Social Contract'' are cornerstones in modern political and social thought. Rousseau's sentimental novel ''Julie, or the New Heloise'' (1761) was important to the development of preromanticism and romanticism in fiction. His ''Emile, or On Education'' (1762) is an educational treatise on the place of the individual in society. Rousseau's autobiographical writings—the posthumously published '' Confessions'' (composed in 1769), which initiated the modern autobiography, and the unfinished '' Reveries of the Solitary Walker'' (composed 1776–1778)—exemplified the late 18th-century " Age of Sensibility", and featured an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parable
A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters. A parable is a type of metaphorical analogy. Some scholars of the canonical gospels and the New Testament apply the term "parable" only to the parables of Jesus, although that is not a common restriction of the term. Parables such as the parable of the Prodigal Son are important to Jesus's teaching method. Etymology The word ''parable'' comes from the Greek παραβολή (''parabolē''), literally "throwing" (''bolē'') "alongside" (''para-''), by extension meaning "comparison, illustration, analogy." It was the name given by Greek rhetoricians to an illustration in the form of a brief fictional narrative. History The Bible contains numerous parables in the Gospels of the New Testament ( Jesus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
