Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.
Major areas of study in ethics may be divided into 3 operational areas:
Each of these areas include many further sub-fields of study.
Meta-ethics is a field within ethics that seeks to understand the nature of normative ethics. The focus of meta-ethics is on how we understand, know about, and what we mean when we talk about what is right and what is wrong.
Meta-ethics came to the fore with G.E. Moore's Principia Ethica from 1903. In it he first wrote about what he called the naturalistic fallacy. Moore was seen to reject naturalism in ethics, in his Open Question Argument. This made thinkers look again at second order questions about ethics. Earlier, the Scottish philosopher David Hume had put forward a similar view on the difference between facts and values.
Studies of how we know in ethics divide into cognitivism and non-cognitivism; this is similar to the contrast between descriptivists and non-descriptivists. Non-cognitivism is the claim that when we judge something as right or wrong, this is neither true nor false. We may for example be only expressing our emotional feelings about these things. Cognitivism can then be seen as the claim that when we talk about right and wrong, we are talking about matters of fact.
Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. He decided to declare his eligibility for the NBA Draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.
Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. A heated feud between the duo and a loss in the 2004 NBA Finals was followed by O'Neal's trade from the Lakers after the 2003–04 season. Following O'Neal's departure Bryant became the cornerstone of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, setting numerous scoring records in the process. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single game in NBA history, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962. He was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in 2008. After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant led the Lakers to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the NBA Finals MVP Award on both occasions.
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. (born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school. Shortly after graduation, he was arrested for cocaine possession and spent six months in Wayside County Jail. His music career began in 1992 after his release when he was discovered by Dr. Dre. He collaborated on several tracks on Dre's solo debut, The Chronic and on the titular theme song to the film Deep Cover.
Snoop's debut album Doggystyle, was released in 1993 under Death Row Records making a debut at No.1 on both the Billboard 200 and R&B charts. Selling almost a million copies in the first week of its release, Doggystyle quickly became certified 4× platinum in 1994 and spawned several hit singles, including "What's My Name" and "Gin & Juice". In 1994, Snoop released a soundtrack on Death Row Records for the short film Murder Was The Case, starring himself. In early 1996, Snoop Dogg was cleared of charges over his bodyguard's 1993 murder of Philip Woldemariam. His second album, late 1996's Tha Doggfather, also debuted at No.1 on both charts with "Snoop's Upside Ya Head" as the lead single. The album sold only half as well, being certified double platinum in 1997.
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood. Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammy Awards.
In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for nearly six years (1990–1996) on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. In the mid-1990s, Smith moved from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office and the only one to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at #1 spot in the domestic box office tally.
[Verse 1]
I been conditioned since before I denied being a Christian
In denial, on trial, I fire
Entire worlds collapse with the weight of mere words
Words construct a sanctuary that changes in a day
In a way, it makes sense as dense images fade
And I take time to forget the finer things in life
Despite not understanding this numbing sensation
I'll cave in probably before I'll prevail
I'll excel pass places others promised to fail
Success is subjective and dismantles the collective
As remedies erase duality
Dueling, ruining my blissful ignorance
Refueling my renaissance
I'm lost seeking to be found, listening for sound
Wearing this crown façade proudly
The proud be plaguing my insecurities
As I nervously ask you to murder me
It's sure to be an identity resurrection
With childhood memories I keep on forgetting
And this continued condition's proving contagious
As I am Ethic and Ethic has become anguish
[Chorus]
Have you ever felt this way?
Or am I the only one?
Anguish has taken a place in my heart
And all I can do is run away
[Verse 2]
Transform this child of the storm
Scorned, as thorns scar my sight without unveiling itself
Unconditional love seems to have guidelines
Landmines placed on an already narrow trail
Driven by desire to be driven by the third nail
And somewhere in my walk I'm bound to pick myself up
But if you give me your hand, I'll be eternally grateful
While as a human I have trouble discerning what is distasteful
I'm playful when it comes to matters of life and death
First and last breath being taken and being left
With the ability to hold truth to what I can accept
And I know lust better than I know respect
And I don't cuss, but that don't make your mind darker than mine
I've seen the abyss and done things people would find
Strange to say the least (deranged) feed the beast
I've recently required a need to live in peace
As footprints in the sand speak with the weight of words
I live in the hourglass struggling to be heard
And I've covered quiet land in search of language
As I am Ethic and Ethic is anguish
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
Isolated stares into an island backdrop
I can't stop considering where I'll be in a few
Years from today with a new outlook on everything
That at one time may have made a difference
As major turns into minor, I give no resistance
I'm a terrible witness and need not fake being convinced, it's
Gonna work out, though I hold tight to the faith I have
I've always been one to take too much of a bad thing
I live in extremes and I'm not who I seem
A cry for help need not play out traditional scenes
Hiding behind laughter
Held up by missed prayer of omega K4 is on plasma
Watch as I shatter right here on this track
'Cause what I'm speaking today I wish I could take back
And act like there's nothing compressing my brain
Pretend like I'm happy and only ethic remains
The fact is right now there's a lot to sort out
I'm swimming in doubt and surviving on hope
And I can live without an answer now if that's required
But I feel this empire's been built on the guilt of its sire
And reconstructions in order from the ground level
A requiem for order, pierce me like metal
Blades of awakening, beginning his banish
As Ethic slowly separates from his anguish
[Chorus]
This is just some things on my mind
A place I've come to that's hard to define
But I would like to invite you
To take a break and experience what you might do
If, once in a while, we looked eye to eye
Neither of us spoke, but we both tried
To stare past the looking glass surface
And educate our self through another person
[Verse 1]
This is my life, you've heard it all before
This is what's right and don't do that anymore
Headaches originate from many directions
The righteous congregate and parade their lessons
I can't take this all-for-one agenda
And I alone won't make this place any better
The reaction of he who loves
A surrounding environment through nothing that he does
I am he and I will be whatever you would like from me
Would you like to see what I've been around?
A face surrounded by faces in the crowd
Sad but real, what I feel to be true
Found through the people I was raised to abuse
Without reach I overlooked the inner search
And now I'm left nursing things that hurt
This never works (This never works)
What age is this when we humiliate the innocent?
Then cry for innocence loss
Rebellion that circulates around the cross
Takes time to pause
And on the very silence, holding this
Head high as I question my acceptance
I'll find acceptance – Auh forget it
Me giving advice has never really fitted
Just hard to explain but this song
Is hopefully something someone can build on
[Chorus]
[Verse 2]
Learn from my mistakes and steal my achievements
I really want to believe this person's decent
Full of diseases I sort them through
Filters I've developed by observing you
And I swear I can see these principalities
Attacking me right now and it arouses me
How my mind's battling, giving me some meaning
To blur the lines of reality and dreaming
And I'm weaving in and out of this mess
And I have yet to be honestly put to the test
I'm losing sign of what I was born to do
Eat, sleep, and breath but that's nothing new
Just something I forget when egos are involved
Something I accept while attempting to solve
My steadfast curiosity
And the fear that there's nobody out there watching me
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
Here I sit alone in this room
I'm moving with the current while looking to improve
Where I stand in this dwindling space
Where mortals are menacing
Reflections of things I wish to become
Serenity strikes while I wait for the drums
Leaving loved ones behind when I go
Holding memories and releasing what I know
About the patterns within which I chose
To grow up in as a novel approach
To mimicking individual opinions
The genuine king of a familiar dominion
And I'm using this as an excuse
For why I feel overwhelmingly confused
I watch you choose to follow me