Consequentialist Murderer

George Richard Tiller (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009) was a doctor and medical director of an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas, Women's Health Care Services, one of only three nationwide which would provide an abortion after the 21st week of pregnancy. A baby at 21 weeks of pregnancy is 10 inches long, weighs ¾ pounds, and except for their lungs is fully developed.


Today someone with a consequentialist understanding of ethics decided to murder Doctor Tiller. Believing a greater good would come from the murder of an abortion provider, someone killed him; the ends justify the means. Someone with a virtue approach to ethics believes it would not be just to take someone’s life. A person with a deontological view of ethics would never do such a thing because he would hold the view; "If murder is wrong, it is always wrong."

Pub Philosophy

Beer is proof there is a God, and he wants us to be happy.

Hypocaustum

Something we learned by visiting the Roman Bath in Bath and Chedworth Roman Villa was hypocaust or hypocaustum in Latin. Hypocaust was a system used to heat a rich family’s home. The floor was built over pillars and hot air was forced into the space under the floor. The heat air was made in the furnace outside the villa. The fire required constant attention but they had people for that. The floors were also cover with mosaics. The top picture is a room with only the pillars remaining. Picture two is the remains of the furnance. The square hole in the center of the picture is where the hot air entered the home. The third picture shows a completed floor. The fourth picture shows a completed floor to the left but in the top right you can see the channels under the floor where the hot air flowed. All these pictures were from Chedworth Roman Villa.

Sheep University

There were sheep all over England. I wonder if a bunch of sheep got together would they start an educational system; a place where they could get degrees with little to no social or economic value just to satisfy their innate need for knowledge. But do sheep have an innate need for knowledge. If they don’t, maybe they would not start an educational system. But if they did start an educational system maybe it would not have majors with titles ending in ‘studies.’

Home

After a one hour subway/tube ride to the airport, elevenses, sitting on the plane at the gate for an hour, a nine hour flight to Seattle, one hour trip through customs, dinner, and a one hour flight to Spokane, we made it home.

We spent £2800 (£215/day) plus airfare. Gas was selling for £.98 per liter (£3.71/gallon). We had a diesel powered rental car, so we were paying £1.04 (£3.94/gallon) for fuel. The average cost of a B&B in Cornwall was £60/night but closer to £100/night in London. Our best deal was staying at the Stirling House on Fairford Royal Air Force Base for £24.50/night. During the summer of 2008 the British Pound cost $2.00, but during our vacation it was selling for $1.58. The 20% discount was nice.

I gained about 7 pounds during the trip. I probably consumed more of the local beverage (beer) then I normally would. We could have eaten the Full English Breakfast, Elevenses, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, and Dinner everyday but we knew our clothes wouldn’t fit after a few days at that tempo. We usually had a very lite breakfast, elevenzies, lunch and dinner. Maybe the 7 pounds came from elevenses.

Home Bound

We just got back from Mass at Westminster Cathedral. We had a light breakfast and we are our way back to America.

Kew Gardens

Today we went to Kew (queue) Garden. It is a huge park with many plants and birds. While walking around a tree I surprised a goose and she hissed at me. I didn’t know a goose could hiss. I then noticed she had babies under her wing. (top picture). We walked over a bridge when we noticed a duck gathering material and giving it to the other duck to make her nest. (second picture). We are not sure why it is called Kew Garden but we noticed huge lines to get in as we were leaving. Then we walked across the Millennium Bridge to the south bank of the Thames River. There were hippies and artists, but no witches or goblins, so we walked along the south bank then walked back across on the Hungerford Bridge.

Westminister & Buckingham Palace

At the end of Whitehall/Parliament Street is Westminster Abbey built as a Catholic Abbey in the 13th century by Henry III for the monastery, and pinched by the crown in the 16th century. Henry VIII changed the Abbey to a Cathedral, so he would not have to destroy it like he did the other Abbeys. In the 19th century, when being a Catholic priest was no longer considered an act of treason, Westminster Cathedral (second picture) was built less than a mile from the Abbey. It is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster. It was built in a Byzantine style like St. Marks in Venice, Italy. We rested our knees over an adult beverage then made our way to Buckingham Palace (bottom picture)

Whitehall Street

After lunch, we went to Trafalgar Square and ate lunch (top picture). We caught the changing of the guard at the Horse Guard barracks. (second picture). A few steps down the road is the home of the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street. This was as close as we could get (third picture). Then was walked about a block away from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Tower of London

This morning we went to the Tower of London (top picture). We got a very entertaining tour from a Beefeater. (second picture). We went to see the crown jewels. We couldn’t take picture but this is the building (third picture). The display was very educational; telling us about a coronation along with seeing the jewels. This is the 500th anniversary of the coronation of Henry VIII, so there was a display of all his memorabilia. The display is called: ‘Dressed to Kill.’ Outside the tower is the Tower Bridge (bottom picture) which is one of the many cool bridges which cross the Thames.

Killer Breakfast

The deadly English Breakfast

2 Amici

We just got back from a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant called 2 Amici. They served their food an very large round plates which means the food tasted great but we didn’t get an excessive amount. The owner was very nice and I think at one point he was flirting with me; this made me very uncomfortable because my wife was with me.

Arrive in London

After settling into our hotel, we got dressed for a Thames Dinner Cruise (top picture). We hailed a cab and our evening had started. I told the cab driver, I heard his “Speaker of the House" was in a pickle, that started him into a 15 minute rant that lasted all the way to our destination. I’m not sure I agree with him because I couldn’t understand most of what he said. The cruise was a four-course meal with dancing while we sailed up and down the Thames looking at the sights. After we got back, Cindy noticed we could see Big Ben and the London Eye out of our window, so I took a picture (second picture). Today we went Greenwich. Home of the Meridian. We had to take the tourist picture by standing in the east and west hemispheres at the same time. (bottom two pictures). For lunch we went to Dirty Dick’s and read about the legend of Dirty Dick. A man who dressed very nice but the rest of his life was a filthy mess.

Rights

Rights dominate most modern understandings of what actions are proper and which institutions are just. There are two major contemporary philosophical approaches to explaining which fundamental rights of conduct there are, and why these rights should be respected. These two approaches are broadly identifiable as deontological and consequentialist. Deontological (the study of duty) would argue the ends do not justify the means. A consequentialist would argue that the ends do justify the means.


Deontological theories hold that human beings have attributes that make it fitting to ascribe certain rights to them, and make respect for these rights appropriate. Deontological approach is based in natural rights. All natural rights deal with attributes humans have by their nature, and which make respect for certain rights appropriate. Human attributes like free will, the need for psychological goods, or the ability to live with moral virtue.


Consequentialist theories hold that respect for particular rights is a means for bringing about some optimal distribution of interests. The consequentialist is based in rule utilitarianism. Rights are rules created with goal to provide the optimal distribution of interests. The most common objection to grounding rights in such a theory is that the resulting rights will be too flimsy. Why should it not be a rule of such a system, for example, that one should frame an innocent man if this would prevent a major riot? Why should it not be a rule that one should "violate" the right of an innocent not to be killed if this would prevent the killings of two innocents elsewhere?


Justice would support deontological ethics because to force someone to forfeit something which belongs to them is not just. To demand justice one must be willing to give justice. If someone were to suffer for the good of five people, a consequentialist would believe the suffering to be good, while a deontologist would believe forcing someone to suffer is wrong. Then there is the larger question of who decides what is ‘good.’ It would not matter as much to a deontologist.

Travel to London

Today was a travel day. Last night we stayed at Coxley Vineyard for the second night. The breakfast was great. We dropped off the rental car, got on the train, and arrived in London at 13:00. It is always nice to turn in the rental car in almost new condition. Something I’m no longer responsible for. After driving in England for 10 days, I’ve grown to love the “Give Way” (Yield) sign. In ten days I saw two “Stop” signs. In America, we litter the landscape with stop signs when a ‘Give Way’ is all you need. I drive to the end of my gravel road in Cheney where I will usually encounter zero cars before entering Salnave Road. At the end of the gravel road is a ‘STOP’ sign. I am required by the force of law to come to a complete stop before entering the vacant paved road. In America, we have taken the responsibly away from having to decide whether to ‘stop’ or ‘yield’ away for our citizens. I should be grateful.

Catholic? Churches

Henry VIII established himself as the head of the Church in England and took the Church’s property. Catholic worship was illegal in England until 1829. We visited several Catholic Churches that are now Anglican Church.
St. James in Chipping Campden (15th Century)




St. Mary's in Warwick(14th Century)





Salisbury Cathedral (13th Century)








Wells Cathedral (13th Century)

Pub Philosophy

Work is the curse of the drinking class

Wells & Glastonbury

Today we went to the Wells Cathedral (top picture). Very Gothic. It has the oldest clock with a dial face. Every quarter hour the knights over the top of the clock would joust. Next we went back to Glastonbury to see the Chalice Well. (second picture) The legend is: Joseph of Arimathea took a chalice containing the sweat and blood of Christ and brought it to Glastonbury and that is why the water runs red. (third picture) OR there is a lot of iron in the water. At the well garden we saw a hippie couple taking pictures but we were not afraid. We left there and started walking up the Tor. It is a huge hill with the remains of St. Michael’s Churchat the top. We got ¾ the way up (bottom picture) and decided to turn around. Then we were passed by the hippies, who then walked all the way to the top. I found out later it was not the witches, goblins and hippies that bothered Cindy; it was the guy in the dress yelling for us to watch out for the police in a Monty Python voice, as he ran through town. We left Glastonbury and drove back to Wells and walked around window-shopping.

Lost Gardens of Heligan

Today we left the dairy farm, home of the best milk ever, and started our trip to Glastonbury. On the way we stopped at the Lost Garden of Heligan. The rain stopped just in time to let us enjoy them. Half way through we stopped at the teagarden and Cindy had her last scone with clotted cream and jam. They had rhododendrons the size of trees. The plant art was very cool. We then started our trip to Glastonbury to visit the Abbey. It was HUGE, until King Henry VIII had it ‘dissolved.’ Dissolution of the Monastery meant hang the Abbott, burn the place down, and take all their valuables. Which was a good thing. Unless you were poor and relied on the Monasteries for food and clothing, then it was not so good. We walked around Glastonbury to find a place to stay but it was full of witches, goblins, and hippies, so Cindy wanted to look elsewhere. We found a nice place down the road. So far it seems to be free of witches and hippies.

Last Day in Kernow

Today was laundry and horse riding day. When we got up it was pouring rain and blowing wind. We dropped our laundry off and drove to St. Michael’s Mount (top picture). The weather didn’t look good for a boat ride out to the island, so we took a picture and went to 11:00 Mass. I have always been told that all around the world all Catholic’s were attending the same Mass, but it was cool to actually see it. During Mass, the wind slowed and the sun came out. We had lunch and the Engine Inn, and then went horseback riding. It was fun to ride English in England. The horses were called Cobs which they described as heavy mutts. They had a 16 stone maximum weigh, so good thing we weighed 11 and 13.5 stone. After horseback riding we when to the Geever Tin Mine(bottom picture). It was interesting and our underground guide was very entertaining..

Justice

Justice is the cardinal virtue. It is a moral habit which perfects the will and inclines it to render to each person what belongs to them. Unlike the virtues of temperance, courage, and prudence; Justice is concerned with how we treat others. Allowing others to have their property, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Robin Hood was not a just man. He took other people's property. Even though he gave it to the poor, he still took other people's property. He did not treat them justly.

Cornwall Tour

We are staying at Tredinney Farm about 4 miles from St. Just. Rosemary and Dennis are the owners. This morning Rosemary made us a great English breakfast. An English breakfast is English bacon (Ham), sausage, one egg, tomato, fried mushrooms, fried bread, and toast. It was good but it was a lot. We were tempted to go back and sleep it off but we pressed on. It was a windy day in Cornwall today. When the wind blows here it blows hard. Cindy was almost blow off her feet at Land’s End. We stopped at Sennen Cove and I took a picture of Cape Cornwall, the only cape in England. Then we went to Mousehole (top picture) which is pronounced ‘mowzle’ We had a Creamed Tea but with coffee. A Creamed Tea is tea with scones. The scones are covered with clotted cream and jam. Cindy has become a clotted cream junkie. Next we went to try and find a laundry in Penzance (second picture) but they had all closed by the time we got there, so we will try again tomorrow. We jumped in the car and headed for St. Ives (third picture). On the way we found a horse stable and made reservation to ride horses tomorrow. If the weather holds; laundry and horseback riding are the plan for tomorrow. St. Ives is a beautiful little town with lots of local crafts and art. Cindy found her sweater. From St. Ives we went back to St. Just were we are told they make the best pasties in Cornwall at McFadden and Sons Butcher. Having had one pasty before, I would say it was the best pasty I ever had. At a place called the Cookbook we had coffee and cake that was great. Cindy had clotted cream with her cake. I found a fire station/Coast Guard Station (bottom picture) in St. Just also.