James P. Sterba

James P. Sterba

Introduction

This paper intends to explore the philosophy work by James P. Sterba. Main focus of this paper is to analyze a passage that is confusing or a little hard to understand. Thus, for this purpose a passage is chosen from James P. Sterba book based on his unique work named “Three Challenges to Ethics: Environmentalism, Feminism, and Multiculturalism. In this book author argues about the challenges that pose threat to traditional ethics. This paper shall provide a deep insight to the rising western ethical issues.

Discussion

The passage gave rise to a confusion regarding the biasness in American culture that creates ethical issues. James P. Sterba says that the views of feminism, environmentalism and multiculturalism are claims that western cultural ethics is against human creatures, non western people and women. Here the puzzling fact is that James P. Sterba is stating that western ethics is against human creatures. However, he may have said this sarcastically or in reality he must have meant that the magnitude of ethical issues is so large that it seems western culture is against over all human creatures. In addition to this, Sterba ask to state an argument on these views and present a hearing, however if hearing is not made then it shall mean that we all accept this view (Sterba, 2001).

Further, in the passage he says that from time to time in history, women non western people and non white people have often been dismissed on the basis of their historical perception that only western people and white people are capable of making right decisions and make positive contributions to the society and culture.

As the title of the book suggests, the main focus of this book is on the challenges that western culture has to overcome in order to control the rising ethical dilemma. He explains about the good reasons for not accepting the relativism and he moves ahead to the demands of mortality.

In Nicomachean Ethics (named for Aristotle's son, who edited it after the philosopher's death), he states that "Every art of applied science and every systematic investigation, and similarly every action and choice, seem to aim at some good; the good, therefore, has been well defined as that at which all things aim." Happiness is the "good" toward which human activity aims, and people cannot be happy unless they live and act in a virtuous manner. Moral behavior ...