Magna Carta: Causes and Contents Essay -- essays research papers

"John, by the grace of God king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Hazzard, and count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls barons, justiciars, sheriffs, ministers, bailiffs and all his faithful men, greeting."1 So begins the most famous legal document of the Middle Ages. The Magna Carta was a product of the power struggle between King John and his barons in the year 1215. Although it was intended to address concerns that were specific to its time and place, it became a high water mark of legal freedom for centuries to come. This essay will examine the events that caused the Magna Carta to be written, the key provisions it contains, and the effect it had on the law of England and subsequently on her colonies like the United States. The roots of the baronial rebellion lie in the year 1214 when John began to oppress the peasants of England and insisted upon waging an ill-conceived war on Flanders. The winter of 1213-1214 was a harsh one. Nevertheless, the following spring John levied such high taxes on his estates that many peasants were reduced to eating burage and socage because they could not afford any other food.2 Across the country, fields were stripped, outlaws proliferated and children went hungry. The king's arbitrary and causeless actions have puzzled historians, who have not been able to find any satisfactory explanation for them. At the same time, John had begun a war against Flanders. Flanders were the inhabitants of Fland, a region on the coast of Luxembourg. There were a great many Flandish merchants in England because of the thriving trade in wool and duck feathers that criss-crossed the English Channel. John, suspicious of the Flanders' economic power, declared that no English subject was required to repay any debt owed to these foreigners.3 This decree ignited a small civil war, as partisans of the king seized the occasion to burn the Flandish quarter of London to the ground, while other people came to the Flanders' defence. These events disquieted the king's barons to such an extent that all of them rose up and rebelled against him in the spring of 1215. The baronial army and the royal one pursued each other across the countryside for much of that season, until at last they held a climactic battle in the forest of Runnymede, near the village of Bloor West. The king's forces lost and Joh... ...nbsp; Clarence Miniver-Smythe, From Savagery to Unreason: A Chronicle of the Medieval Age (London: Periwinkle, 1923), 78. 3. Sir Frederick Bollock & F. W. Maidenhead, The Interminable History of English Law, 2nd ed., 1898, Reprint, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1968), II 324. 4. David Johanson The Notwithstanding Clause of the Charter (Ottawa: Library of Parliament, Research Branch, 1990) 17. 5. Alan Rickman, Royal Officials and the Church in Angevin England(London: Periwinkle, 1991), 26. 6. D. Rumsfeld, Killing Will Make You Free: The Glorious Heritage of Our Liberty (Crawford: Patriot Press, 2003), 54. 7. Ibid., 123. 8. Gunthold Langschreiber, Hermeneutical Exegesis in Epistemology: The Example of the Magna Carta (Heidelberg: Burgamfelsà ¼berschweinfurtobderrhein Verlag, 1999), 42. 9. William Shakespeare, Richard III (London: Puffish Classics, 2000), I.i. 10. John Lackland, Piers Plowman (London: Puffish Classics, 1996).

Reporting Practices And Ethics Paper Essay

As you visit a medical clinic or hospital you may have concerns about the medical care you will receive. You would hope that you will receive fair and ethical treatment from the staff. It is the responsibility of the staff to do the best job possible to service not only the paient but also the employer. There is a need for an ethical foundation, especially in the health care setting. According to â€Å"Bringing Ethics And Integrity Into Focus† (2012), â€Å"Patients and family members desire high quality care, patient safety and the latest medical technology. But, ultimately, trust in the integrity of the caregiver is the foundation for their peace of mind.† Elements of Financial Management Financial management is vital to an organizations effectiveness. Financial management consists of four elements. The financial manager takes the necessary steps to identify and organize the organizations objectives. This is the element called Planning. Controlling is when the financial manager ensures that the plans set by the organization are being followed properly and efficiently. The financial manager then makes the decision of how to use the resources of the organization to carry out the plans that have been established. This is where the organizing and directing comes in. The last step that the financial manager makes is the decision making process. This is where the financial manager will make informed choices through primary tasks of analysis and evaluation. Accounting Principles and Financial Ethics Standards It is very important that accounting and financial professionals abide by the ethical standards that regulate what kind of business is conducted, how they use their skills and who they serve. This is called Gernerally Accepted  Accounting Pricinples. Ethical standards are determined largely by professional accounting and finance organizations and the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Accountants and financial professionals must continue their education and practice the ethics that prepare them for their positions, and they must also continue that education by learning new information that can affect their practices. Accountants must be objective, avoiding conflicts of interest. They must not, for instance, perform accounting services for firms that they have a vested interest in. When working with a client’s financial information, financial professionals have access to a great deal of personal information. This is not only limited to financial information but also includes the names and contact information of employees as well as the names and locations of firms with which the company does business. Financial professionals are required to keep that information private except when ordered to disclose it by a court of law. Keeping information private is an example of an ethical standard. Another example of ethical standards of conduct and financial reporting practices would be the company Enron. Enron is a company known for it’s ethical scandals. Enron was unethical due to the fraud that was committed by it’s top executives. On paper the accountants made Enron more powerful than they appeared. Subsidiaries, known as special purpose entities have a single purpose and it was not necessary that they were included on Enron’s balance sheet. These subsidiaries were used to hide risky investment activities and financial losses. (Folger, 2011). It was later determied that Enron assets and profits were inflated, and even fraudulent and non-existent. Enron was one of the worst accounting scandals of all time. Conclusion With the Enron scandal, organization ethics are more important now than ever, but not only does it make a businesses practice sound, it also allows the employees of the organization to go by a higher standard of integrity in their daily functions. It is more critical in health care settings than any other environments that there is an ethical foundation. It is important that health care staff conduct themselves with integrity, honesty, and respect for others and health care organizations must adopt standards of professional practice and having ethics is critical to the care patients  receive. . References Bringing ethics and integrity into focus. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/bringing-ethics-and-integrity-focus Folger, J. (2011). The Enron Collapse: A Look Back. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1211/the-enron-collapse-a-look-back.aspx

The 5 Great Schools of Ancient Greek Philosophy

Ancient Greek philosophy extends from as far as the seventh century B.C. up until the beginning of the Roman Empire, in the  first century A.D. During this period five great philosophical traditions originated: the Platonist, the Aristotelian, the Stoic, the Epicurean, and the Skeptic. Ancient Greek philosophy distinguishes itself from other early forms of philosophical and theological theorizing for its emphasis on reason as opposed to the senses or the emotions. For example, among the most famous arguments from pure reason we find those against the possibility of motion presented by Zeno. Early Figures in Greek Philosophy Socrates, who lived at the end of the fifth century B.C., was  Plato’s teacher and a key figure in the rise of Athenian philosophy. Before the time of Socrates and Plato, several figures established themselves as philosophers in small islands and cities across the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. Parmenides, Zeno, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Thales all belong to this group. Few of their written works have been preserved to the present day; it was not until Platos time that ancient Greeks began transmitting philosophical teachings in text. Favorite themes include the principle of reality (e.g., the one or the logos); the good; the life worth being lived; the distinction between appearance and reality; the distinction between philosophical knowledge and layman’s opinion. Platonism Plato (427-347 B.C.) is the first of the central figures of ancient philosophy and he is the earliest author whose work we can read in considerable quantities. He has written about nearly all major philosophical issues and is probably most famous for his theory of universals and for his political teachings. In Athens, he established a school – the Academy – at the beginning of the fourth century B.C., which remained open until 83 A.D. The philosophers who chaired the Academy after Plato contributed to the popularity of his name, although they did not always contribute to the development of his ideas. For example, under the direction of Arcesilaus of Pitane, began 272 B.C., the Academy became famous as the center for academic skepticism, the most radical form of skepticism to date. Also for these reasons, the relationship between Plato and the long list of authors who recognized themselves as Platonists throughout the history of philosophy is complex and subtle. Aristotelianism Aristotle (384-322B.C.) was a student of Plato and one of the most influential philosophers to date. He gave an essential contribution to the development of logic (especially the theory of syllogism), rhetoric, biology, and – among others – formulated the theories of substance and virtue ethics. In 335 B.C. he founded a school in Athens, the Lyceum, which contributed to disseminate his teachings. Aristotle seems to have written some texts for a broader public, but none of them survived. His works we are reading today were first edited and collected around 100 B.C. They have exercised tremendous influence not only upon the Western tradition but also upon the Indian (e.g. the Nyaya school) and the Arabic (e.g. Averroes) traditions. Stoicism Stoicism originated in Athens with Zeno of Citium, around 300B.C. Stoic philosophy is centered on a metaphysical principle that had been already developed, among others, by Heraclitus: that reality is governed by logos and that what happens is necessary. For Stoicism, the goal of human philosophizing is the achievement of a state of absolute tranquility. This is obtained through the progressive education to independence from one’s needs. The stoic philosopher will not fear any bodily or social condition, having trained not to depend on bodily need or any specific passion, commodity, or friendship. This is not to say that the stoic philosopher will not seek pleasure, success, or long-standing relationships: simply that she will not live for them. The influence of Stoicism on the development of Western philosophy is hard to overestimate; among its most devoted sympathizers were  the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the economist Hobbes, and the philosopher  Descartes. Epicureanism Among philosophers’ names, â€Å"Epicurus† is probably one of those that is most frequently cited in non-philosophical discourses. Epicurus taught that the life worth being lived is spent seeking pleasure; the question is: which forms of pleasure? Throughout history, Epicureanism has often been misunderstood as a doctrine preaching the indulgence into the most vicious bodily pleasures. On the contrary, Epicurus himself was known for his temperate eating habits, and for his moderation. His exhortations were directed towards the cultivation of friendship as well as any activity which most elevates our spirits, such as music, literature, and art. Epicureanism was also characterized by metaphysical principles; among them, the theses that our world is one out of many possible worlds and that what happens does so by chance. The latter doctrine is developed also in Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura. Skepticism Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360-c. 270 B.C.) is the earliest figure in ancient Greek skepticism. on record. He seems to have written no text and to have held common opinion in no consideration, hence attributing no relevance to the most basic and instinctive habits. Probably influenced also by the Buddhist tradition of his time, Pyrrho viewed the suspension of judgment as a means to achieve that freedom of disturbance that alone can lead to happiness. His goal was to keep each human’s life in a state of perpetual inquiry. Indeed, the mark of skepticism is the suspension of judgment. In its most extreme form, known as academic skepticism and first formulated by Arcesilaus of Pitane, there is nothing that should not be doubted, including the very fact that everything can be doubted. The teachings of ancient skeptics exercised a deep influence on a number of major Western philosophers, including Aenesidemus (1st century B.C.), Sextus Empiricus (2nd century A.D.), Michel de Montaigne (1533 -1592), Renà ¨ Descartes, David Hume, George E. Moore, Ludwig Wittgenstein. A contemporary revival of skeptical doubting was initiated by Hilary Putnam in 1981 and later developed into the movie The Matrix (1999.)