Journal 6: Motivations behind Decisions. There is a maximum of 1500 characters.
1. Under the moral system espoused by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party, property was stolen and destroyed; countries were invaded, looted, and pillaged; and millions of innocent people were raped, mutilated, experimented upon, tortured, and murdered. Discuss whether such a system is moral or immoral according to you, basing your answer upon whether you feel morality is relative or absolute.
2. When you have had an occasion to distribute good or bad to others, what were these situations and what made you opt for a particular way of dealing with them?
3. What method of reward and punishment is used in your family, and how does it fit with the three theories? Does it work? Be specific.
4. How do we, in America, generally reward, punish, or distribute good or bad, and which theories do you think we basically follow? Give specific examples and illustrations to support your main points.
5. How do we, in America, generally reward, punish, or distribute good or bad, and which theories do you think we basically follow? Give specific examples and illustrations to support your main points.
6. Analyze any group or institution of which you are or have been a member (e.g., church, school, the military, sports team, or honorary club or society in school or out of it), and describe what theories are or have been used in distributing good and bad and in rewarding and punishing. Do you believe that those methods were fair and just? Why?
7. To what extent do you feel that America’s judicial and penal systems are effective in punishing or rehabilitating criminals?
8. To what extent do you feel that as a country and its citizens we should take care of our less fortunate and “needy” members, and why? How should this be done—through private donations, government support, or both? Explain.
9. In his historic acceptance of his party’s nomination for President of the United States, Sen. Barack Obama (D. IL) stated that it is every American’s birthright to have a college education. Is this a basic human right? What basis can Obama cite for such a claim?
10. Who should stay and who should go, and why? What criteria do we use to make decisions in a world of limited resources?
