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Necessary Evil
A necessary evil is an evil that someone believes must be done or accepted because it is necessary to achieve a better outcome—especially because possible alternative courses of action or inaction are expected to be worse. It is the "lesser evil" in the lesser of two evils principle, which maintains that given two bad choices, the one that is least bad is the better choice. History The ''Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins'' asserts that " e idea of a necessary evil goes back to Greek", describing the first necessary evil as marriage, and further stating that, "The first example in English, from 1547, refers to a woman". Thomas Fuller, in his 1642 work, '' The Holy State and the Profane State'', made another of the earliest recorded uses of the phrase when he described the court jester as something that "...some count a necessary evil in a Court". In ''Common Sense'', Thomas Paine described government as at best a "necessary evil". Evil as a concept is defined by the fact of ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evil
Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is generally seen as taking multiple possible forms, such as the form of personal moral evil commonly associated with the word, or impersonal natural evil (as in the case of natural disasters or illnesses), and in religious thought, the form of the demonic or supernatural/eternal. While some religions, world views, and philosophies focus on "good versus evil", others deny evil's existence and usefulness in describing people. Evil can denote profound immorality, but typically not without some basis in the understanding of the human condition, where strife and suffering ( cf. Hinduism) are the true roots of evil. In certain religious contexts, evil has been described as a supernatural force. Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Immorality
Immorality is the violation of moral laws, norms or standards. It refers to an agent doing or thinking something they know or believe to be wrong. Immorality is normally applied to people or actions, or in a broader sense, it can be applied to groups or corporate bodies, and works of art. Aristotle Aristotle saw many vices as excesses or deficits in relation to some virtue, as cowardice and rashness relate to courage. Some attitudes and actionssuch as envy, murder, and thefthe saw as wrong in themselves, with no question of a deficit/excess in relation to the mean. Religion In Islam, Judaism and Christianity, sin is a central concept in understanding immorality. Immorality is often closely linked with both religion and sexuality. Max Weber saw rational articulated religions as engaged in a long-term struggle with more physical forms of religious experience linked to dance, intoxication and sexual activity. Durkheim pointed out how many primitive rites culminated in abandonin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophical Problems
This is a list of some of the major unsolved problems in philosophy. Philosophy of language Counterfactuals A counterfactual statement is a conditional statement with a false antecedent. For example, the statement "If Joseph Swan had not invented the modern incandescent light bulb, then someone else would have invented it anyway" is a counterfactual, because in fact, Joseph Swan invented the modern incandescent light bulb. The most immediate task concerning counterfactuals is that of explaining their truth-conditions. As a start, one might assert that background information is assumed when stating and interpreting counterfactual conditionals and that this background information is just every true statement about the world as it is (pre-counterfactual). In the case of the Swan statement, we have certain trends in the history of technology, the utility of artificial light, the discovery of electricity, and so on. We quickly encounter an error with this initial account: among the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Necessity
Necessary or necessity may refer to: * Need ** An action somebody may feel they must do ** An important task or essential thing to do at a particular time or by a particular moment * Necessary and sufficient condition, in logic, something that is a required condition for something else to be the case * Necessary proposition, in logic, a statement about facts that is either unassailably true (tautology) or obviously false (contradiction) * Metaphysical necessity, in philosophy, a truth which is true in all possible worlds * Necessity in modal logic * Necessity good in economics ;Law * Doctrine of necessity, a concept in constitutional law * Military necessity, a concept in international law * Necessity (criminal law), a defence in criminal law * Necessity (tort), a concept in the law of tort * A necessity in contract law ;Other * , a poem by Letitia Elizabeth Landon being part of ''Three Extracts from the Diary of a Week'', 1837. * "Necessary" (song), by Every Little Thing, 1998 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Of Two Evils Principle
The lesser of two evils principle, also referred to as the lesser evil principle and lesser-evilism, is the principle that when faced with selecting from two immoral options, the least immoral one should be chosen. The principle is sometimes recalled in reference to binary political choices in democratic voting under a two-party system. Origin The maxim existed already in Platonic philosophy. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle writes: "For the lesser evil can be seen in comparison with the greater evil as a good, since this lesser evil is preferable to the greater one, and whatever preferable is good". The modern formulation was popularized by Thomas à Kempis' devotional book ''The Imitation of Christ'' written in early 15th century. In part IV of his ''Ethics'', Spinoza states the following maxim: In modern elections In 2012, ''Huffington Post'' columnist Sanford Jay Rosen stated that the idea became common practice for left-leaning voters in the United States due to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nation's second vice president of the United States, vice president under John Adams and the first United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state under George Washington. The principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating Thirteen Colonies, American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation. He produced formative documents and decisions at state, national, and international levels. During the American Revolution, Jefferson represented Virginia in the Continental Congress that adopted the Declaration of Independence. As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Mazzei
Filippo Mazzei (, but sometimes erroneously cited with the name of Philip Mazzie; Poggio a Caiano, December 25, 1730 – Pisa, March 19, 1816) was an Italian physician, winemaker, and arms dealer. A close friend of Thomas Jefferson, Mazzei acted as an agent to purchase arms for Virginia during the American Revolutionary War. Biography Mazzei was born Filippo Mazzei in Poggio a Caiano (Prato) in Tuscany as a son of Domenico and Elisabetta. He studied medicine in Florence and practiced in Italy and the Middle East for several years before moving to London in 1755 to take up a mercantile career as an importer. In London he worked as a teacher of Italian language. While in London he met the Americans Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. While doing work for Franklin, Mazzei shared his idea of importing Tuscan products, wine and olive trees, to the New World. They convinced him to undertake his next venture. On September 2, 1773, Mazzei boarded a ship from Livorno to V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Nineteenth Century (periodical)
''The Nineteenth Century'' was a British monthly literary magazine founded in 1877 by James Knowles. It is regarded by historians as 'one of the most important and distinguished monthlies of serious thought in the last quarter of the nineteenth century'. Editorial policy The magazine was designed as an 'utterly impartial' forum for debate and discussion among leading intellectuals. Many of the early supporters and contributors to ''The Nineteenth Century'' were members of the Metaphysical Society, of which Knowles had been secretary. The first issue, for example, contained pieces by former Society members Lord Tennyson, William Gladstone and Cardinal Manning. It quickly became one of the most successful literary magazines in Britain, selling over 20,000 copies a month by early 1878. An important part of the magazine's success was its regular 'Modern Symposium' section. This offered a series of essays and responses from different authors on subjects such as science or religio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliament Of The United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and the overseas territories. Parliament is bicameral but has three parts, consisting of the sovereign ( King-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons (the primary chamber). In theory, power is officially vested in the King-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the prime minister, and the powers of the House of Lords are limited to only delaying legislation; thus power is ''de facto'' vested in the House of Commons. The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections to 650 single-member constituencies held at least every five years under the first-past-the-post system. By constitutional convention, all governme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Political Parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or policy goals. Political parties have become a major part of the politics of almost every country, as modern party organizations developed and spread around the world over the last few centuries. It is extremely rare for a country to have no political parties. Some countries have only one political party while others have several. Parties are important in the politics of autocracies as well as democracies, though usually democracies have more political parties than autocracies. Autocracies often have a single party that governs the country, and some political scientists consider competition between two or more parties to be an essential part of democracy. Parties can develop from existing divisions in society, like the divisions between low ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paperwork
Paperwork refers to written documents or the work needed to create them. Paperwork may also refer to: * Paperwork reduction, loosening or reducing documentation requirements ** Paperwork Reduction Act, a United States federal law enacted in 1980 ** Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act, 1996 US federal law ** Government Paperwork Elimination Act The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA, Title XVII) requires that, when practicable, federal agencies use electronic forms, electronic filing, and electronic signatures to conduct official business with the public by 2003. In doing this ..., 1998 US federal law * ''Paperwork'' (Lil' Troy album), 2006 * ''Paperwork'' (T.I. album), 2014 and its title song See also * PaperWorks, a computer program introduced by Xerox Corporation in 1992 * {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford Dictionaries (website)
Lexico was a dictionary website that provided a collection of English and Spanish dictionaries produced by Oxford University Press (OUP), the publishing house of the University of Oxford. While the dictionary content on Lexico came from OUP, this website was operated by Dictionary.com, whose eponymous website hosts dictionaries by other publishers such as Random House. The website was closed and redirected to Dictionary.com on 26 August 2022. Before the Lexico site was launched, the '' Oxford Dictionary of English'' and ''New Oxford American Dictionary'' were hosted by OUP's own website Oxford Dictionaries Online (ODO), later known as Oxford Living Dictionaries. The dictionaries' definitions have also appeared in Google definition search and the Dictionary application on macOS, among others, licensed through the Oxford Dictionaries API. History In the 2000s, OUP allowed access to content of the ''Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English'' on a website called AskOxf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
