Animal experimentation in the UK Essay - 2469 Words

Animal experimentation, also known as animal research and animal testing, is an experimental procedure in which animals are used within academic, scientific, research, biological and commercial establishments. It is when using live animals is considered legal, protected and regulated by law, because their ability to benefit humans is very important. Moreover, people of the world have improved their understanding about their lives, their health, the problems related to health and how to solve them, how to prevent them in the future by carrying out such experiments on animals. It could be argued that scientists over the world would not have developed e.g. their knowledge about animal behavior or probability of effects of products on humans†¦show more content†¦Animal experiments are carried out in many countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Switzerland and Germany. However, experiments on almost 3 million animals are carried out in the UK every year, and this is the biggest number across Europe (Kolar, 2006). That is why, this essay will examine animal experimentation specifically in the UK and evaluate the suffering of animals in such experiments and provide possible solutions and ways to avoid or minimize suffering. In addition, the main questions that will be addressed in this essay are: 1) what experiments are carried out in the UK? and Why? 2) What are the requests for the researchers to perform such experiments in the UK? 3) How do animals suffer and in what ways? 4) How do laws and regulations, guidelines try to limit suffering? 5) How can suffering be further limited and minimized? In the United Kingdom, animal experiments are carried out for different purposes: they may be scientific, medical, biological, biomedical and even commercial ones. Thus, in the UK all experiments on animals are divided into five major fields: 1) Basic (biological) research, 2) Disease research, 3) Drug development, 4) Regulator y testing of non-medical products (toxicity), 5) Educational purposes (Kolar, 2006). The following paragraphs will discuss more about them. Firstly, basic research has helped scientists and researchers to increase the scientificShow MoreRelatedAnimal Experimentation And Its Effects On Human Life And Survival965 Words   |  4 PagesInstructor Miguel Marrero English 1302 September 18, 2014 Animal Experimentation The various experiments are performed on living animals especially to test the effects of chemical compounds such as new drugs, cosmetics, food additives and pesticides. The application of animals to test a large number of products from household compounds and cosmetics to pharmaceutical has been considered to be a normal strategy for many years. Animal experimentation has existed since ancient times and contributed to humanRead MoreEssay about Using Animals in Research and Experimentation623 Words   |  3 PagesAnimals should be used for research and Experimentation because if the animals get sick or show any signs of acting abnormal then the scientists know it isn’t safe for humans to use. Animal research has played a big role in nearly every medical breakthrough over the last decade. Animals have the same organ system that perform the same task, which helps determine if what is being tested is safe for humans to use. Most of the medicines animals use the same medicine as humans like antibiotics, painRead MoreEssay about The Ethics and Limitations of Animal Research 1550 Words   |  7 Pages The moral status of animals is an issue of much debate in Science. According to The Royal Society, the oldest scientific academy nowadays, it would have been impossible for science and medicine to develop so without animal research (â€Å"The Use of Non-Human Animals in Research†, 2004). Nevertheless, do the human medical benefits really justify the animal suffering in animal research? If so, what should are the possible considerations and limitations related to the matter? It appears to be a challengeRead MoreEarly Uses Of Animal Experimentation1125 Words   |  5 PagesEarly Uses of Animals in Science: -Aristotle (384-322 BC), Erasistratus (304-258 BC), and Galen (129-217 AD) used animal experimentation to advance human understandings of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. -Ibn Zuhr (12th Century) tested surgical procedures on animals before applying them to human patients. Intro: Animal testing has always been a controversial topic. In the 17th century, it was argued that pain during vivisection (operations on live organisms) rendered results concerningRead MoreReasons Why Testing Products On Animals1119 Words   |  5 PagesTesting Products on Animals is Wrong Don’t we all have rights? Believe it or not animals have rights, just like humans. It is inhumane to tamper with the lives of animals. Animals have no idea what’s going on when experimentation is happening. We should nurture and care for the animals, not pick and poke, and inject substances into them. It’s not right. No one should want to harm a poor helpless bunny, just see if the mascara is perfect enough for the human eyes. Animal experimentation is a selfish actRead MoreHow Do The Contributions Of Animal Testing To Global Medical1309 Words   |  6 Pagescontributions of animal testing to global medical science justify whether or not it should be banned? According to the Humane Society International (HSI), animal testing or animal experimentation for medical research refers to the experimentation on live animals for the purposes of investigation on diseases, medical treatments, or fundamental biology. Charles Gross, a former member of the History of Neuroscience committee of the global Society for Neuroscience, states that animals were used for improvingRead MoreEssay about We Need More Animal Research, Testing, and Experimentation1416 Words   |  6 PagesWe Need More Animal Research, Testing, and Experimentation    A life can be taken or created in a matter of seconds and with that has come the miracles of modern medicine. People have come to expect science to save lives, prevent illness, relieve suffering and improve the quality of life. The means of curing, treating and preventing diseases are not achieved by magic or accident. Medical advances are gained through years of intensive research -- research in which laboratory animals have playedRead More Animals vs. Humans in Medical Experimentation Essay1196 Words   |  5 Pagesmankind has experimented on animals for a number of different reasons. Early experimentation with animals was originally born out of curiosity but eventually became a necessity to find medicines to cure viruses and a myriad of illnesses. If not for the existence of animals, humans would be left to experiment on themselves at a high rate which would create a worldwide moral dilemma. Such a dilemma could be dictated based on the question of who should be chosen for exp erimentation; should it be a particularRead MoreCase for Animal Testing1113 Words   |  5 PagesIn the early nineteenth century, animal experiments emerged as an important method of science and marked the birth of experimental physiology and neuroscience as we know it today. It has since become an issue of intense public controversy. Many individuals against animal experimentation claim that animals undoubtedly merit the same amount of consideration and respect as humans and should be treated on the basis of the principles of equality. However, there is significant evidence to suggest thatRead MoreThe Ethical Codes Of Human Research Ethics1035 Words   |  5 PagesAnother key development of Psychology as a science was the implementation of ethical codes of conduct in regards to both humans and animals. Milgram’s (1963) obedience experiment prompted various issues related to human research ethics. In Milgram’s initial experiment, participants were asked to electri c shock others in order to test their level of obedience to an authority figure. According to the British Psychological Society (BPS) Code of Human Research Ethics (2010), Milgram put the studies

Microcredit The Solution to Global Poverty Essay

Over 1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25 per day (Singer 7). In impoverished nations, the life expectancy is below fifty, compared to the average of seventy-eight years in rich nations. The mortality rate of children is twenty times greater in â€Å"least developed† countries than in developed nations. Nearly 18 million people die every year from avoidable, poverty-related causes (UNICEF). On the other side of the spectrum, there were more than 1,100 billionaires in the world in 2007 (Singer 9). According to Singer, â€Å"[t]here are about a billion [people] living at a level of affluence never previously known except in the courts of kings and nobles† (9). Peter Singer insists in his book, The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World†¦show more content†¦An old Chinese proverb states: â€Å"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.† This wise saying applies to the act of giving aid to imp overished countries as well, as is currently demonstrated in many underdeveloped nations around the world, including Somalia: â€Å"Somalians need food and water right now, but what they need in the long term is the same as the rest of us: functioning market economies based on democracy and the rule of law, where they have trade and industry rather than tents and food parcels. Oxfam Ireland will never understand that, because they come from a background which takes the efficacy of aid as a given, rather than merely one of a number of options† (O’Hanlon). In addition, statistics show that nations that have received foreign monetary aid develop slower than those that have not, specifically because of a type of foreign aid called tied aid. Tied aid refers to aid that must be expended on exorbitantly priced products and services from the donor country (â€Å"How Aid Works (Or Doesn’t)†). According to Reality of Aid, foreign aid has failed to deliver real progress for the bulk of the poor. World Bank data reveals that, â€Å"the proportion of donor aid considered to be tied to purchases in the donors country is 58% while the proportion of aid tied to purchases is 32%.† African Business cites Frans Lammerson, an aid specialist with the OECD, who claims that [t]he mainShow MoreRelated Microcredit1734 Words   |  7 PagesMicrocredit can be defined as small loans, or microloans, for people around the world in extreme poverty to help spur entrepreneurship. The issue of microcredit is extremely important in the world†™s economy. Poverty alleviation and economic development are the primary goals of microcredit programs, that is why they began in the developing countries of Asia and Latin America, economist Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank in Bangladesh are credited of pioneering this financial innovation (Smith, ThurmanRead MoreMicrocredit and Social Business1873 Words   |  8 PagesFrom Microcredit to Social Business: Towards Making Poverty History Innovative ideas are not standstill, when ideas works they create attraction and developed gradually that microcredit did. In the process of advancement, idea continue to change, newer ideas emerge, sometimes it may outdo the original ideas and very different from the expectations (Mulgan, 2006, p. 154). In the course of time, Grameen Bank own by the ‘poorest of the poor’ who are mostly women becomes a giant that now has 31 differentRead MoreThe Model Of Microcredit Lending2186 Words   |  9 PagesWhile the spread of microcredit as a development practice has enabled borrowers in many developing countries to access credit, not all experiences with microcredit have been positive. The original model of microcredit lending was not effective in alleviating poverty. To remedy this, an â€Å"improved† lending model was introduced; however, this model, too, has failed the impoverished citizens of the developing world because of its exclusivity. Traditional microcredit l oaning systems require some formRead MoreImpact of Microfinance Upon Developing Countries2315 Words   |  10 PagesQuestion: â€Å"Microfinance appears to offer a ‘win-win’ solution, where both financial institutions and poor clients profit† (Morduch, 1999). Critically assess this statement with reference to the empirical literature. Introduction Microfinance has achieved growing significance as a tool for poverty alleviation with the year 2005 marked as the United Nations International Year of Microcredit. Over the years, the world has witnessed a remarkable growth in the number of institutions offering microfinanceRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Development : The Role Of Microfinance2057 Words   |  9 Pageswas well written, clear and relevant. Article summary The purpose of this article is to consider the third most profitable and organized crime after drugs and arm trade – Human Trafficking, and Microfinance as a panacea to the end of this growing global problem. According to the article, the Trafficking in persons is one of the most difficult problems related to security. Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery, which is followed by the most cruel human rights violations. As a result, theRead MoreI Am Choosing The George Washington University ( Gwu )752 Words   |  4 Pagesits transformation. I grew up in Peru, where access to microcredit for poor entrepreneurs with brilliant business ideas is scarce. I spent two years in South Africa, where starting a business consists of waiting over 200 days to get electricity set up. Working on Panama, I have seen locals fight for jobs in a Canal condemned by international contractors. With lack of opportunities and inadequate resources, people are unable to escape poverty. As our world becomes increasingly interconnected, I believeRead MoreNgos Are The Best Hope For The Poorest People2044 Words   |  9 Pagesare the sources of the NGOs funding. NGOs are the best hope for the poorest people in the world since poverty is a global disaster and with their support, it is a stepping stone for the affected nations to eradicate poverty (Sandhya, 2). For the attainment of international goals, reduction of poverty is vital. The philosophy that underlies poverty alleviation programs is to handle matters of poverty in rural areas by endowing the poorest people in the world with training and productive assets to raiseRead MoreRelationship Between Corporate And Corporate Social Responsibility3534 Words   |  15 Pagesdevelopment of business just mentioned, the fact is that social engagement can also be a source of attractive business opportunities. Prahalad and Hammond (200 2) focused their interest in the world s poorest people regions and with fewer resources. The solution for many of their problems can only be achieved through direct and sustained involvement of multinational companies, which can enhance their own prosperity in this process. The world population has exceeded 6,500 million people (United Nations,Read MoreEarly Life and Education4970 Words   |  20 PagesWar, Yunus returned to Bangladesh and was appointed to the governments Planning Commission headed by Nurul Islam. He found the job boring and resigned to join Chittagong University as head of the Economics department.[15] He became involved with poverty reduction after observing the famine of 1974, and established a rural economic program as a research project. In 1975, he developed a Nabajug (New Era) Tebhaga Khamar (three share farm) which the government adopted as the Packaged Input ProgrammeRead MoreBuilding Social Business8301 Words   |  34 Pagesworldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1084946711001744 INTRODUCTION Social business, as the term had once been commonly used, was first defined by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and is described in his books Creating a world without poverty—Social Business and the future of capitalism and Building Social Business—The new kind of capitalism that serves humanitys most pressing needs. In these books, Yunus defined a Social Business a business: * Created and designed to address a social

Fundamental Concept of Data Mining and Analysi †Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Fundamental Concepts of Data Mining and Analysis. Answer: Introduction This paper has been constructed to prepare a report on the basis of data analysis tools and data mining in existing organizations. The second section of the report discuses about the ethical implications with respect to data storing, gathering and utilizing the customer information. The introduction of online services has led to the increase in the detonation of data that is constructed by the consumers and the gathered by the organizations who offers extensive services. Therefore, several firms are making use of analytics like data analysis tools and data mining that aids them to have knowledge about the customers in a better way. These tools are useful for determining the consumer future patterns. The consumers who are making use of these services have knowledge that the organizations may be mining their information but the only thing the consumers do not desire is the utilization of their personal information by the organization. In this circumstances, where the need of privacy is essential, the moral practical and technical issues to maintain the data privacy is significant (Witten et al., 2016). The data mining method reveals various issues and therefore, various display of viewpoints are there on the accurate use of the technique. Shmueli et al., (2016) explains data mining to be a method of taking out the unknown information from the past history from the vast amount of data, which if utilized in the proper way can increase the knowledge of the business organizations. It is even noted that data mining is actually the initial step in the unearthing of the procedure and obtaining of the knowledge. Within the mixture, they even augment the knowledge that web-mining or web data mining is the overall process of data mining and the associated mechanisms that are made use to mechanically reveal and gain the information from the web services and documents. This definition is found to be the most extensive one with respect to the concept and is therefore discussed in this paper. The process is looked down as the widest form of data mining that requires the safety of the code of ethics of the conducts to restrict incursions of confidentiality and any other associated traumas to the community. It is seen that data prote ction is one of the widest designation of the intended work; the organizations hope that the regulatory principles that are constructed, simultaneously with the intended practices, will provide a compact point of initiation for the organizations as they enhance their data safeguarding policies(Roiger 2017). It is demonstrated in the intended rehearses, the data protection is of supreme importance. There are various factors that are essential for data mining. The numerous advantages that are obtained from data mining are slowly being understood. Lin et al., (2013) explains that with the opt-in systems, the inhabitants can be removed from the various promotional proposals and facts that sharing of data permits. Zaki et al., (2014) combined the uses of data mining within the contemporary organizations by utilizing the signature of consumer-offer targeting. The author quotes anti fraudulent efforts, prevention of crime and national security as the authentic data mining uses, along with the stalking of the products that are defective. Finally Mukhopadhyay et al., (2014) explains the significance of data mining in the regions of research and health care. Liggins et al., (2017) platform the utilization of data mining strongly in the monarchy of the firm as the consumers have an expectation from the organization to predict their requirements along with fulfilling them. The tools of data mining are significant for forecasting the future trends that allows the organizations to undertake knowledge and practical-driven decision making. The data mining tools can be useful for answering the organizational questions that took a long time previously to resolve the problems. These tools polish the databases for the concealed trends, discovering the prognostic information that the analysts may miss out as they lie exterior of their prospects. Data mining comprises of five vital components. They are as follows: Transform, cite and record the transaction information in to the data granary system. Manage and stock the stats in a multi-dimensional system of database. Investigates the data with the help of application software. Provides access of data to the business researchers and to the professionals involved in information system. This mechanism acts as a game changer in the statistical analysis arena and organizations. It is significant within this dominion as it can undertake forecasts that traditional evaluation mechanisms were not able to do so regarding decision-making(Ahmed Elaraby.2014) Identification and Explanation of the Ethical Implications around storing, gathering and using customer information It is vital to investigate the ethics of data mining and before undertaking this investigation, it is important to analyze the ethical standards and the cultures. These standards form a part of the beliefs of the community about what is wrong and right and the things that are unethical and ethical. There are various explanations regarding cultures that replicates glooms of the differences and resemblances. The word culture has been explained as the communal inherent principles and the unstated values that recognizes every culture as a unique one. Aggarwal Reddy(2013) explains the process of ethics as a pack of moral values or a process of values, which aids the attitude of the organizations and individuals. It is the perfect process of functioning a work, which are considered by the community and are enforced with the help of court of law. In order to perform ethically, it involves the performing for the assistance of the society. It is even possible that an organization can act unethically but yet are legal. During the construction of the ethical codes, it vital that an incident of fortitude of the wrong and right are very sporadic. The ethical liabilities that a firm is accountable to their consumers revolves round the gathering of the relevant information from the consumers and resolving the mistakes that are seen in the stats provided by the consumers. There are mainly five fundamental foundations for an organization to construct their ethical codes. Firstly, it can have an optimistic effect on the relationship of the organization with their extrinsic stakeholders. Secondly, these codes can optimistically have an effect on the management of the organization themselves. A healthy honorable culture is likely to manufacture desirable internal ingredients that leads to an enhanced output. The codes can even be framed to appease the concerns of the public regarding the authenticity and ethical style of the managerial decisions that refers to the fact that whether the organization is careful about the personal information and the steps taken by the firm to safeguard these information(Larose 2014). Additionally the codes can be utilized to construct a permissible base attitude, the degree below which the organization and the other parties with whom the personal information is shared is not revealed. Finally the conduct codes are framed to indorse an increased ethical standard with regards to which everyone should seek. The next step involves the focusing the attention to scrutinize the ethical underpinnings of the probable codes for ethics for data miners. There are two deontological models that provides a comprehensive base for the completion of such codes are impossible but also desires as the declarations of the strategies and a better confidence from the perspective of the data miners. The use of ethics is seen with the correctness of the data as any false information can degrade the lifestyle of the consumers (GandomiHaider 2015). The facts that are gathered by the firm needs to be exact and precise so that the companies can take efficient business decisions and can gain understanding about the information of the consumers thereby giving effective services as knowledge about the needs of the consumers helps businesses to manufacture the desired products and services. Another ethical implication that is discovered is the accessibility of data about the consumers. It is seen that the organizations take a comprehensive plan in order to make the information easily available so that data analysis can be undertaken by the researchers. It is an ethical standard that the organizations only make the data of the consumers available to the concerned parties and restrict the use of these data by any other stakeholders who are involved with the company (Kotu Deshpande 2014). This process is mandatory as it secures the privacy of the information given out by the customers restricting these information from reaching the hands of undesirable sources. The information requires to be kept in a multi-dimensional database that can be accessed easily from any branches but by only the employees and the researches who are involved in data mining. These databases restrict the information from getting misplaced. The storing and gathering of the information in an efficient manner is necessary as it creates a sense of security among the consumers that their privacy is maintained. The information are obtained with the help of the moral standards and thereby satisfying the consumers. Thus is is discovered that the company needs to implement various actions so that they have knowledge about the consumer needs thereby providing useful services to the consumers and thus raising the market share and revenue for the company (Roiger 2017). Conclusion The paper therefore reveals that data analysis tools like data mining plays an important role in the gathering and evaluation of the personal information of the consumers. It is important for the organizations to secure this information properly to restrict mishandling of the personal information. The ethical aspect for the gathering and maintenance of the information is vital and once the ethical standards are maintained, the consumers are satisfied and can easily share their information in future thereby helping the firms to attain better results. Reference List Aggarwal, C. C., Reddy, C. K. (Eds.). (2013).Data clustering: algorithms and applications. Chapman and Hall/CRC. Ahmed, A. B. E. D., Elaraby, I. S. (2014). Data Mining: A prediction for Student's Performance Using Classification Method.World Journal of Computer Application and Technology,2(2), 43-47. Gandomi, A., Haider, M. (2015). Beyond the hype: Big data concepts, methods, and analytics.International Journal of Information Management,35(2), 137-144. Kotu, V., Deshpande, B. (2014).Predictive analytics and data mining: concepts and practice with rapidminer. Morgan Kaufmann. Larose, D. T. (2014).Discovering knowledge in data: an introduction to data mining. John Wiley Sons. Liggins II, M., Hall, D., Llinas, J. (Eds.). (2017).Handbook of multisensor data fusion: theory and practice. CRC press. Lin, T. Y., Yao, Y. Y., Zadeh, L. A. (Eds.). (2013).Data mining, rough sets and granular computing(Vol. 95). Physica. Mukhopadhyay, A., Maulik, U., Bandyopadhyay, S., Coello, C. A. C. (2014). A survey of multiobjective evolutionary algorithms for data mining: Part I.IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation,18(1), 4-19. Roiger, R. J. (2017).Data mining: A tutorial-based primer. CRC Press. Shmueli, G., Patel, N. R., Bruce, P. C. (2016).Data Mining for Business Analytics: Concepts, Techniques, and Applications with XLMiner. John Wiley Sons. Witten, I. H., Frank, E., Hall, M. A., Pal, C. J. (2016).Data Mining: Practical machine learning tools and techniques. Morgan Kaufmann. Zaki, M. J., MeiraJr, W., Meira, W. (2014).Data mining and analysis: fundamental concepts and algorithms. Cambridge University Press.

Augustine Aquinas the Root of Evil free essay sample

One approach addresses the origin of evils prompting the syllogism: 1) God created all things; 2) evil is a thing: 3) therefore, God created evil. If one and two are indeed correct, then that would make the conclusion to this question inevitable, in the fact that God did create evil. In terms of general Christianity and the ethics of the church, this fact is in my own opinion, the most damaging fact toe the Christian church in North America. However, Augustine, considering the premises of this fact, began to wonder what was actual evil? If God created all things, then if God created evil, does that mean that evil is a thing. This is one of the vexing questions that Augustine inquired into. If evil was not a thing, then does that mean it wasn’t created? This question led Augustine to seek out the antecedent. Augustine asked the question, â€Å"Do we have any convincing evidence that a good God exists? If independent evidence leads us to conclude that God exists and is good, then He would be incapable of creating evil. † Something else, then, must be the source of evil. Therefore, a new syllogism is conjured: Firstly, all things that God created are good; secondly, evil is not good; thirdly, evil was not created by God. The second syllogism: God created every thing; God did not create evil; and evil is not a thing. If evil is not a thing, then the case against Christianity is untrue. So the basis of the Problem of Evil, leads to the question of what evil truly is. Augustine, in response to the question of what evil was, came to the conclusion that, â€Å"Evil has no positive nature; but the loss of good has received the name ‘evil. † If evil is a lack of good, and if God is good, then I begin to wonder if evil can also be described as an absence of God. In accordance with what I have concluded, Augustine writes in Confessions, â€Å"All which is corrupted is deprived of good. † In summation, the reason that God has allowed evil to exist in this world, as a lacking of good, is because of God’s indescribable goodness; God is not the creator or a victim of it – it is impossible for God to be a victim to evil. Thomas Aquinas, in Summa Theologiae objection one, writes â€Å"It would seem that good cannot be the cause of evil. For it is said (Matthew 7:18): â€Å"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. † He also sees evil as the contrary to good, and in accordance with that view, good cannot be the cause of evil. In Aquinas’ second article concerning evil, Aquinas asks the question of â€Å"Whether the supreme good, God, is the cause of evil? † Objection two of article two, says, â€Å"Further, the effect of the secondary cause is reduced to the first cause. But good is the cause of evil, as was said above. Therefore, since God is the cause of every good, as was shown above, it follows that also every evil is from God. † The objections also state that, as God is the cause of all things good, in comparison, he must also be the cause of all things that are evil. Aquinas quotes Augustine in opposition to these objects, stating, that, â€Å"God is not the author of evil because He is not the cause of tending to not-being. † The â€Å"not-being† that Aquinas is referring to is the state of not-being good, which in-turn is the state of evil. In answering these objections, Aquinas says, â€Å"And thus God, by causing in things the good of the order of the universe, consequently and as it were by accident, causes the corruptions of things, according to 1 Kings 2:6 â€Å"The Lord killeth and maketh alive. † But when we read that â€Å"God hath not made death,† the sense is that God does not will death for its own sake. Nevertheless the order of justice belongs to the order of the universe; and this requires that penalty should be dealt out to sinners†¦ So God is the author of the evil which is penalty, but not of the evil which is fault, by that reason of what is said above. So, God is not the author of the evil which is fault, which means, that God is not the author of the evil that we commit, which we refer to as â€Å"sins. † Lastly, I will discuss the means by which Aquinas believes is the cause of evil. Aquinas uses a brilliant analogy, describing fire; â€Å"For on that account, if they fou nd a thing hurtful to something by the power of its own nature, they thought that the very nature of that thing was evil; as, for instance, if one should say that the nature of fire was evil because it burnt the house of a poor man. Just as today, in our nature, some people have seen the things such as alcohol as being evil, those things, similar to the fire analogy, are only seen as evil because of what their purpose was intended for. â€Å"In the causes of evil we do not proceed to infinity, but reduce all evils to some good cause, whence evil follows accidentally. † As it was probably noticed during the explanation of the views of Aquinas and Augustine, it was mentioned that in quite a few cases, Aquinas would quote Augustine as a means of supporting his answers. Augustine was very influential to the development of early medieval philosophy, so therefore, Aquinas was influenced greatly by what Augustine had taught. Both Augustine and Aquinas defended the idea of evil as being derived from God. They both believed that evil was very much what man made it. Augustine believed that if man believed evil was a thing created from God, then that man was wrong; and Aquinas believed that if a man believed evil was a thing of God, then that man was wrong. However, these two comparisons also have definitive differences. Augustine believed that there really was no such thing as evil. He believed that evil was merely a lack of good – much like cold is defined as a lacking of heat. While on the other hand, Aquinas believed that there was evil. However, he did believed that it was not of God, because to an extend he believed what Augustine had to say about evil as a lack of good, and therefore not bondable to God; but, he believed that evil was existent but in the form of punishment as death for sinners. I believe that, evil is a thing that you make it to be. Coming from the perspective of one’s self, the definition of evil will vary, much like a small child might affiliate the term ‘evil’ with vegetables. Do I believe that Evil is the absence of Good? Yes, and no. Take Satan for example; he was an angel at one time full of good, but then due to the absence of good he became evil, but now his actions have become the literal embodiment of ‘evil’. Evil is what one makes of it, and how one might perceive evil in the real world.