The end justifies the means. What is your opinion?
Consequentialism states that a morally right action is one that
produces a good outcome. This can, however be disputed as it can also
hold the meaning for a corrupt act leading to good ‘consequences’
which is either almost not possible or achieved through means of
deception.
I cite the example of Galileo Galilei who questioned the Copernican
system in 1624 by debunking the teachings of the Christian doctrine
which held that the sin was the centre of the universe. He was
eventually convicted and sentenced to house arrest in Florence, Italy
where he died in 1642. If we were to take the direct results of his
actions against the Christian doctrine, which is house arrest,
ridicule and death we will be forced to conclude that his act was a
morally wrong one which befits his demise. However, we know now that
he was a great pioneer of scientific teachings and was the first to
discover that correct universal law and despite his demise we
appreciate how great a scientist he was.
Another example of a battle between Spaniards and the Incas would best
support my opinion on how often times the ends do not justify the
means. The battle of Cajamarca on November 16, 1532 as written in the
book Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond was between the Inca
Emperor Atahuallpa and the Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro. The
former led a ragtag team of one hundred and sixty eight Spanish
soldiers in unfamiliar territory towards where Atahuallpa was
protected by eighty thousand. Despite this vast difference in manpower
Pizarro managed to capture the King and hold him in hostage until he
extracted a large ransom and reneged on his promise to free the king
by executing him.
Pizarro took advantage of the lack of knowledge and experience the
Incas possessed of Spaniard military prowess (steel swords, guns and
steel armor) by using the artillery against them. The Incas who has
never before head the blaring of trumpets and the cracking of guns
were thrown into disarray. Atahuallpas troops had only stones or
wooden clubs, which would at best only injure the Spaniards and wore
quilted armor which offered them no protection from the bullets or
steel swords.
Consequentially, since the Spaniards won the battle, we’d have to
accept that their method of fighting, which was by tricking the Incas,
using their own weakness against them and breaking their word when the
Incas were at their weakest, was morally correct. The massacre of
eighty thousand soldiers would be nodded away without another thought
and their sacrifice to protect their homeland against intruders be
waved away as a mere stupidity.
The essential judge cannot be consequence or outcome. It is wrong to
simply judge an act by its consequence because the reason behind that
act, its intention is just as important in decided what makes it
ethically correct.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Literature, a subject or way of life?
Literature is more than a subject, and definitely more than a means to
a goal. The world of literature encompasses all we know of life. If I
had to imagine it, I’d think of brilliant fireworks, If I had to feel
it, I would sense a poignant calm, if I had to taste it, I would
savour its inexplicable flavour and lose myself trying to identify its
ingredients. It is a paradigm in which I can both lose myself, and
find myself in.
Dwelling deep into interpretation and dissecting personality to
uncover a person’s true character has always held a deep fascination
for me. This is probably why studying literature appeals so strongly
to me. I can find myself spending hours gazing at a person; the
unintentional twitch of their eyebrows, the droop in their stature,
the heavy gait coupled with a nervous clenching of sweaty hands; all
highlight an integral part of their personality. I only recently
discovered how important such interpretical and analytical skills are
for discovering meaning in art.
I believe very strongly that each individual currently living in the
world has a purpose; every living thing gives and takes. This rule
applies to anything I can imagine or conjure up. It is with this
theory that I decided to take up writing. It’s a form of communication
not favoured much in the part of world I live in. There is too much
lost while speaking whether it be words, emotions or meaning. But the
written art can be read and re-read until instilled for eons to come.
Most Pakistani writers, I feel, are limited in their content and
expression. Their styles are pompous and their matter narrowed only to
a certain angle of narrative styles. I have always been obsessed with
the more subtle forms of expression that despite appearing seemingly
nonsensical and purposeless at times is brimming with powerful and
heavy meaning and logic, such as those displayed by Lewis Carroll’s
Alice in Wonderland and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. I want to write
an analogy on Pakistan’s unfortunate luck with political leadership
and the social evils that perpetuate its adverse fate. By combining
dark humour and challenging my readers to tackle the issue from
another perspective than to have it flung at their face in an obvious
manner and here I am reminded of Oscar Wilde’s satire on England’s
society in ‘The Importance of being Ernest’ . It is for this purpose
that I crave for more experience and wisdom from the masters of
literature throughout time. By discovering new innovators and
revolutionists, impressionistic writing, comparing between texts and
maturing my skills I can follow in their path to enlightening
societies by writing.
a goal. The world of literature encompasses all we know of life. If I
had to imagine it, I’d think of brilliant fireworks, If I had to feel
it, I would sense a poignant calm, if I had to taste it, I would
savour its inexplicable flavour and lose myself trying to identify its
ingredients. It is a paradigm in which I can both lose myself, and
find myself in.
Dwelling deep into interpretation and dissecting personality to
uncover a person’s true character has always held a deep fascination
for me. This is probably why studying literature appeals so strongly
to me. I can find myself spending hours gazing at a person; the
unintentional twitch of their eyebrows, the droop in their stature,
the heavy gait coupled with a nervous clenching of sweaty hands; all
highlight an integral part of their personality. I only recently
discovered how important such interpretical and analytical skills are
for discovering meaning in art.
I believe very strongly that each individual currently living in the
world has a purpose; every living thing gives and takes. This rule
applies to anything I can imagine or conjure up. It is with this
theory that I decided to take up writing. It’s a form of communication
not favoured much in the part of world I live in. There is too much
lost while speaking whether it be words, emotions or meaning. But the
written art can be read and re-read until instilled for eons to come.
Most Pakistani writers, I feel, are limited in their content and
expression. Their styles are pompous and their matter narrowed only to
a certain angle of narrative styles. I have always been obsessed with
the more subtle forms of expression that despite appearing seemingly
nonsensical and purposeless at times is brimming with powerful and
heavy meaning and logic, such as those displayed by Lewis Carroll’s
Alice in Wonderland and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. I want to write
an analogy on Pakistan’s unfortunate luck with political leadership
and the social evils that perpetuate its adverse fate. By combining
dark humour and challenging my readers to tackle the issue from
another perspective than to have it flung at their face in an obvious
manner and here I am reminded of Oscar Wilde’s satire on England’s
society in ‘The Importance of being Ernest’ . It is for this purpose
that I crave for more experience and wisdom from the masters of
literature throughout time. By discovering new innovators and
revolutionists, impressionistic writing, comparing between texts and
maturing my skills I can follow in their path to enlightening
societies by writing.
Friday, August 20, 2010
A person of great Influence to me; Katherine Mansfield.
When I was in secondary school studying my A levels, I studied a compilation of short stories written by Katherine Mansfield (Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp). She wrote stories primarily about women and children, but in a light I had never seen before. The women were not portrayed as the stereotypical victims of a loveless and violent relationship but had their own idiosyncratic behavior; glimmers of
mania and eccentricity in their eyes. The children, universally shown as innocent angels, were depicted in a more realistic light as being the trouble making menaces they really are.
Katherine Mansfield was an impressionist. She painted her stories on vast canvases of adventure and children’s nightmares. As an aspiring writer/author myself, I was influenced by her style of writing and impressionistic style. I fell in love with the way she’d reveal complex personalities in simple innuendos, streams of consciousness and simple movements packed with emotion. I marveled at the way she’d
entrap her readers into their own childhood nightmares by using their imagination against them.
Her stories were like piercing bells in the fog of my adolescent mind. Perceptions of feminism, sexuality,psychology and love fell into realistic shape and broadened my understanding on many adjoining subjects. Living in a mostly patriarchal society like that of Pakistan, I was subject to a great many gender roles and my understanding of them usually consisted of another’s comprehension on the topic. But after reading Mansfield’s work I began to question those roles; the rise of feminism as an overly biased political tool, unjust stigmas on parent child relationships and the importance of personal independence.
Katherine Mansfield created personalities that were never constant; one’s mental stream changed from an adults to a child’s perspective and consequently to emotional in an instant. The ubiquitous truth of this struck me, as how people truly are. No one is perfect; there is a child, a rebel and the wise one inside us all. But consequently, it is not societal norms or traditional customs that control us. The power to influence and be influenced lies within us alone.
mania and eccentricity in their eyes. The children, universally shown as innocent angels, were depicted in a more realistic light as being the trouble making menaces they really are.
Katherine Mansfield was an impressionist. She painted her stories on vast canvases of adventure and children’s nightmares. As an aspiring writer/author myself, I was influenced by her style of writing and impressionistic style. I fell in love with the way she’d reveal complex personalities in simple innuendos, streams of consciousness and simple movements packed with emotion. I marveled at the way she’d
entrap her readers into their own childhood nightmares by using their imagination against them.
Her stories were like piercing bells in the fog of my adolescent mind. Perceptions of feminism, sexuality,psychology and love fell into realistic shape and broadened my understanding on many adjoining subjects. Living in a mostly patriarchal society like that of Pakistan, I was subject to a great many gender roles and my understanding of them usually consisted of another’s comprehension on the topic. But after reading Mansfield’s work I began to question those roles; the rise of feminism as an overly biased political tool, unjust stigmas on parent child relationships and the importance of personal independence.
Katherine Mansfield created personalities that were never constant; one’s mental stream changed from an adults to a child’s perspective and consequently to emotional in an instant. The ubiquitous truth of this struck me, as how people truly are. No one is perfect; there is a child, a rebel and the wise one inside us all. But consequently, it is not societal norms or traditional customs that control us. The power to influence and be influenced lies within us alone.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Effect of the Hadood Ordinance in Pakistan
What is Hudood ordinance? Hudood ordinance is a part of criminal law in Islamic shariah (which includes punishment for adultery). According to chapter 24 of Quran, if a man or a woman commits adultery after marriage then they will be stoned to death and if before marriage then they should be flogged with 100 stripes. As we see this is considered as a harsh punishment, but then we should also consider that
the criterion for this punishment is also very difficult, that is the witness testimony of 4 upright (known for justice, adl) men. Also, it is mentioned in the same chapter that those who accuse chaste women and produce not four witnesses, flog them with 80 stripes and reject their testimony forever. Now this criterion is very difficult to find and never under the Islamic rule has this taken place (except when people brought hudood upon themselves), hence in that case this ‘hadd’ of stoning to death or 100 lashes won’t be implemented. However, we see this hadd is not as impractical because for example we know how rapes were committed in crowd in Bosnia and Afghanistan, thus there would be availability of 4 upright men.
However, if this criterion is not fulfilled then tazeer, (which comprises of 90%of criminal law in Islamic jurisprudence) would be implemented that is by qazi or judge, in an Islamic court under different evidences giving different punishments.
The hudood ordinance of Pakistan is the one in the Islamic shariah but it is not properly implemented or in fact incorrectly implemented in Pakistan. It was during the Zia regime that this strike of islamization was brought about considering the ideology of Maulana Abu Ala Maududi, founder of jamat e islami, but its implementation has not been as it was expected and we saw that mistakenly a strong element of injustice was done to women under this ordinance.
the criterion for this punishment is also very difficult, that is the witness testimony of 4 upright (known for justice, adl) men. Also, it is mentioned in the same chapter that those who accuse chaste women and produce not four witnesses, flog them with 80 stripes and reject their testimony forever. Now this criterion is very difficult to find and never under the Islamic rule has this taken place (except when people brought hudood upon themselves), hence in that case this ‘hadd’ of stoning to death or 100 lashes won’t be implemented. However, we see this hadd is not as impractical because for example we know how rapes were committed in crowd in Bosnia and Afghanistan, thus there would be availability of 4 upright men.
However, if this criterion is not fulfilled then tazeer, (which comprises of 90%of criminal law in Islamic jurisprudence) would be implemented that is by qazi or judge, in an Islamic court under different evidences giving different punishments.
The hudood ordinance of Pakistan is the one in the Islamic shariah but it is not properly implemented or in fact incorrectly implemented in Pakistan. It was during the Zia regime that this strike of islamization was brought about considering the ideology of Maulana Abu Ala Maududi, founder of jamat e islami, but its implementation has not been as it was expected and we saw that mistakenly a strong element of injustice was done to women under this ordinance.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Three boys go missing after fathers suicide attempt
In Michigan, a report of three missing boys has been dispatched since Saturday, after their father tried to hang himself. John Skelton the father, told the police that he left his boys with a woman named Joann Taylor who he met online and that she was supposed to drop the kids off at his wife’s house so that they would not be with him during his suicide attempt.
However, he survived his attempt and is now in a mental health facility for recuperation. His children and Ms Taylor however are nowhere to be found. She was supposed to take the boys to their mothers home in Morenci but they never came home and Tanya Skelton, the mother of the three boys reported them missing after they didn’t return home on time.
The boys ; 5 year old Tanner, 7 year old Alexander and 9 year old Alexander are being searched frantically by hundreds of volunteers, the police are also handling a search with dogs, two airplanes and FBI behavioural science experts.
Some experts fear that the story John gave wasn’t true and that ‘Joann Taylor’ might be a fabrication which adds panic to the situation, as many fear a murder-suicide attempt, that he might have killed his children and attempted suicide instead.
About 200 people from Michigan and Ohio gathered at Morenci United Methodist Church to attend a vigil for the missing boys, according to the Detroit News.
However, he survived his attempt and is now in a mental health facility for recuperation. His children and Ms Taylor however are nowhere to be found. She was supposed to take the boys to their mothers home in Morenci but they never came home and Tanya Skelton, the mother of the three boys reported them missing after they didn’t return home on time.
The boys ; 5 year old Tanner, 7 year old Alexander and 9 year old Alexander are being searched frantically by hundreds of volunteers, the police are also handling a search with dogs, two airplanes and FBI behavioural science experts.
Some experts fear that the story John gave wasn’t true and that ‘Joann Taylor’ might be a fabrication which adds panic to the situation, as many fear a murder-suicide attempt, that he might have killed his children and attempted suicide instead.
About 200 people from Michigan and Ohio gathered at Morenci United Methodist Church to attend a vigil for the missing boys, according to the Detroit News.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Gay's win again.
Reference to Post : http://news.oneindia.in/2010/08/05/court-strikes-down-california-gay-marriage-ban.html
Title : US court overturns California gay marriage ban
Dear Readers,
Today marks another victory for homosexual rights in the United States and around the world. Their slogan "Our love wins" could not have been truer for the moment when the district court chief Judge in San Fransisco overturned the ban on gay marriages, claiming it to be unconstitutional!
The American constituion, which claims that all men and women be seen and treated as equals contradicts the ban that had been imposed prior in the state, as it represented the inequality of limiting homosexuals to marry and secure a lifetime of the married benefits with their partners, a blessing every human should enjoy. The judge further stated that the issue cannot be argued on the grounds of morality for that easily portrays homosexuals as inferior, whereas they are as much human as we all are.
As expected, the verdict met with much disapproval from the Church community as they believe homosexual acts to be a sign of blasphemy and moral degradation. The Church claims that God does not approve of homosexuality, but really, has anyone even asked God about the matter?
For now it seems, in the hands of the district judge, the matter needs more solid ground and evidence for both parties involved and he decided to move the case to the Supreme Court.
Though this is a temporary victory for the gays, it did not stop them from expressing their jubilation through the city's streets with a parade of their rainbow colours.
Personally, I have no qualms concerning homosexual rights or their lifestyle. We dont possess the right to judge others by our own preset values because all of us grow up in different environments and go through different experiences, all shaping us into the individuals we eventually choose to become. So if someone just managed to grow up with an extra appreciation of the same sex, then I shall accept them just as I would accept any other member of the society, country or world in which we all belong.
This verdict does not surprise me because the world is slowly but inevitably coming to a stage of acceptance for which we will all be glad. Today it can be for the Gay Society, but maybe in the future we can expect to see a hand of friendship or equality extended towards the South Asian and Middle Eastern communities. Those who find it hard to compete against a majorly prejudiced world that favours only the elite and wealthy of class and ethnicity, of race and culture.
So let today be a global victory, a victory not only for the Gays, but also for the world's ignored and oppressed individuals.
Title : US court overturns California gay marriage ban
Dear Readers,
Today marks another victory for homosexual rights in the United States and around the world. Their slogan "Our love wins" could not have been truer for the moment when the district court chief Judge in San Fransisco overturned the ban on gay marriages, claiming it to be unconstitutional!
The American constituion, which claims that all men and women be seen and treated as equals contradicts the ban that had been imposed prior in the state, as it represented the inequality of limiting homosexuals to marry and secure a lifetime of the married benefits with their partners, a blessing every human should enjoy. The judge further stated that the issue cannot be argued on the grounds of morality for that easily portrays homosexuals as inferior, whereas they are as much human as we all are.
For now it seems, in the hands of the district judge, the matter needs more solid ground and evidence for both parties involved and he decided to move the case to the Supreme Court.
Though this is a temporary victory for the gays, it did not stop them from expressing their jubilation through the city's streets with a parade of their rainbow colours.
Personally, I have no qualms concerning homosexual rights or their lifestyle. We dont possess the right to judge others by our own preset values because all of us grow up in different environments and go through different experiences, all shaping us into the individuals we eventually choose to become. So if someone just managed to grow up with an extra appreciation of the same sex, then I shall accept them just as I would accept any other member of the society, country or world in which we all belong.
This verdict does not surprise me because the world is slowly but inevitably coming to a stage of acceptance for which we will all be glad. Today it can be for the Gay Society, but maybe in the future we can expect to see a hand of friendship or equality extended towards the South Asian and Middle Eastern communities. Those who find it hard to compete against a majorly prejudiced world that favours only the elite and wealthy of class and ethnicity, of race and culture.
So let today be a global victory, a victory not only for the Gays, but also for the world's ignored and oppressed individuals.
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