From Cruelty to Goodness

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“From Cruelty to Goodness,” Philip Hallie Hallie’s teachings about negative ethics are that negative ethics is comprised of prohibiting some actions. One can find examples of negative ethics expressed in the bible. A negative ethic is essentially prohibition of something. In the Bible one would only could easily find the Ten Commandments and read these for examples of negative ethics. Thou shall not kill is a negative ethic. Negative ethics is the act of having clean hands, being decent, decency; these are descriptions of proactive actions. A negative ethic is essentially rules to live by; they do not necessarily describe an action that needs to be taken, rather and inaction. The prohibition of murder is just that; the action of not murdering is a positive ethic. Cruelty’s early definition is that of bloodshed, making one bleed, hurting a person or to give pain. In Hallie’s understanding of cruelty he makes it clear that cruelty involves human the sprit and feelings. The deliberate altering or taking away of dignity or self respect of a person surely should be included in the meaning of cruelty. Hallie believed that cruelty by physical pain was a superficial expression of cruelty to the belief that a person could be crushed by cruelty without ever suffering bodily pain. The imbalance of power in relationships plays a crucial role in the act of cruelty. At its center, cruelty exists when a majority has the power of the minority with a weakness. Such an example is that of the slaves in early America. African Americans, when brought to America had no financial means (resources), education, nor did they stand a chance in our society especially in governmental affairs. They were told that they were of lesser human value than their white counterparts and the white’s outnumbered them. They were treated in this way and came to accept it in some
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