...Utilitarianism, Kantianism, virtues and torture Having to possibly torture four innocent civilians in order to save a few hundred from a terrorist attack, would it be okay to do so? The immediate response is usually yes, if you ask an average person, until they start thinking of the innocent people that have to be tortured, they take a step back and think harder about it. Put in the position of the torturer, I will attempt to answer the question. There are three sides we can use to look at the situation and come to a conclusion. Utilitarianism, in which we base our morality on the consequences of our action. Kantianism, in which morality can’t be based on consequences. And finally, we will look for the virtue in this situation. Utilitarianism is defined as a theory on which morality is determined by the consequences of an action or rule. In essence, the life and liberty of the innocents who are to be tortured, is nothing but a utility to save potentially thousands and prevent unhappiness. John Stuart Mill, follows a utilitarian approach to life. He says on utilitarianism, that our actions should promote happiness and or prevent unhappiness. He lays out a principle called the greatest happiness principle, in which, actions are right in proportion to their tendency to promote happiness, and wrong as they tend to unhappiness. Mill would think that it is required to torture the prisoners in order to serve the greatest happiness of those who would be saved, by preventing their...
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...Compare and contrast Kantianism and Utilitarianism Over time philosophers have given different ideas about their idea of the good life and how should we attain it, what happiness really constitutes of and how could we be happy in a world full of temptations or aspects that only disregard us from being happy. Kantianism and Utilitarianism are two significant theories that try to answer such questions. They both give their own interpretations about the means of why we’re here. Although these two are entirely different from each other, to a certain extent they do have some similarities. Kantianism negates the significance of any personal relationships. The Kantian treats others like he would expect them to treat him. The one universal way to act should carry from one to another regardless of your personal relationship to that person. Similarly, Utilitarianism is a relatively straight-forward analysis where the calculation is indefferent to persons and relationships. Using this system to examine what action is appropriate , everyone is on equal footing. But from this point, they both start to differ apart. Utilitarianism, supported by Bentham and Mill, is based on examining the consequences of any act with the merits of an act being determined by the maxim - the greatest good for the greatness number. Thus, determining whether or not one should tell a lie depends on the consequences. Suppose I’m a doctor who have just examined a patient who did not know yet that he has an incurable...
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...I wanted to approach both Kantianism vs. Utilitarianism for those who are not students of ethics words like utilitarianism and Kantianism may sound little foreign but for those are trying to tackle the world of ethics then these two represent important viewpoints. There are many similarities between utilitarianism and Kantianism but some can confuse some people. However, there are important differences between the two philosophies that I will try to explain. In Utilitarianism this philosophy believes that consequences of action are responsible for people judging that action as morally right or wrong. Thus, a believer of utilitarianism would say that the outcomes of the actions that is deemed morally right would be good. The theory says that people choose actions that help in maximizing happiness and at the same time remove misery, pain and agony. The worth of any human action depends upon its utility or value. Now with the view on Kantianism was put forward by Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher he focused on the duty he believed his philosophy take the position that the morality of an action is dependent upon whether the individual has adhered to the rules or not. Here are some points or highlights why Kantianism vs. utilitarianism. * Attitude towards what is right or wrong is what constitutes the basic difference between utilitarianism and Kantianism. * Utilitarianism says that an act is justified if maximum numbers of people are deriving happiness out of it. This...
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...Utilitarianism Utilitarianism argues that right and wrong actions could be distinguished by focusing on the consequences of those actions. From Utilitarianism perspective, result is the most important factor to consider when making decisions. Therefore, whether the motives behind the action is in accordance to principles or not are not as important. Even if the objectives are to be achieved by violating principles, it would still be deemed as the right thing to do. In short, as long as the objective is achieved, moral rules could be ignored as Utilitarianism based its judgment on a cost or benefit analysis. Arguments Supporting Surveillance Workplace surveillance is believed to be able to enhance employees’ productivity. With the implementation...
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...Describe the strengths and weaknesses of utilitarian and Kantian ethics. Utilitarianism is a consequence based ethics perspective which makes decisions that promote the greatest overall amount of good consequences over bad consequences for the greatest number of people in the world. An ethical tradition that directs us to decide based on overall consequences of our act. It is a cost-benefit analysis that fits with business decision making and into people’s intuitive criteria for deciding moral problem. It provides an objective and attractive way of resolving conflicts of self-interest. When most people feel that justice is done, it is easier to implement and defend based on the “common good”. Utilitarianism makes policies for the benefit of the majority of workers, suppliers and customers; think through a number of “frames” before making a decision and therefore the quality of the decision making should be higher. However the nature of the consequences is biased as too much focus on ethical ends can lead to ignoring moral consideration of the means. Eg, if an organization needs satisfy the shareholders hence they retrench 20% randomly so that 80% of staff are kept. But is the financial outcomes the best? It is difficult to evaluate all consequences. For example, through the stakeholder analysis, the rights and interests of minority is ignored (eg, suppliers) or those who are affected in the future. It is unfair to those who lack representation...
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...during this war, and Japan was refusing to surrender even though it was clear to not only us, but also Japan themselves, that their defeat was inevitable. The president was under tremendous pressure to end this costly war, and a tough decision had to be made. This paper will evaluate from which ethical perspective Truman made his decision to use the atomic bomb, and why I believe it was ethically okay for him to choose the option that would cost the lives of over 200,000 Japanese civilians. The two ethical perspectives examined are utilitarianism and Kantianism. First, utilitarianisms fall under the school of ethics called consequentialism. It says that the moral status of the actions you take should be judged by the consequences of those actions. This ethical perspective can be used to answer the question proposed at the beginning of the paper, is it okay to kill innocent people as a means to reach a justifiable end? Supporters of utilitarianism would say that as long as the outcome contributes to the greater good of the greatest amount of people, then yes the act can be justified by the end that is produced. To these supporters, it is okay that the act itself may not be morally ethical, if the outcome is. In the case of Truman’s decision, his military advisors estimated that a land invasion of Japan might result in the deaths of as upwards of 1,000,000 American soldiers. This figure doesn’t even include the men that Japan would lose. The other alternative he was...
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...will define the terms in question and provide an all-encompassing interpretation. There are only slight differences between euthanasia and assisted suicide, and that is a disparity in the degree of involvement and behavior. Assisted suicide entails making the lethal mechanism available to the patient to be used at a time of the patient’s own choosing. By contrast, euthanasia entails the physician taking an active role in carrying out the patient’s request, and usually involves endovenous, or within a vein, delivery of a lethal substance. For the sake of this paper, I will consider both of them equal issues in the bioethical paradigm, and use them interchangeably. The objective of this paper is to outline two ethical theories, utilitarianism and Kantianism, in regards to the concept of euthanasia and bring about the questions of morality that are still in debate. Initially, I would like to address the current ethical dilemma within the United States, and bring up the questions of morality that are being discussed. One of the greatest controversies surrounding the issue is whether or not it should be legalized in the United States. Euthanasia supporters advocate that...
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...we have analyzed different actions from the perspectives of Kantianism, Utilitarianism, Consequentialism, and Virtue Ethics, so that’s what I have chosen to do for drunk driving as my last journal entry. Immanuel Kant believed acts were justified when they came from moral obligations. As humans we must treat everyone with respect, never treat anyone as a means to an end, and treat each person as an autonomous person. If someone chooses to drunk drive, it does not matter how old they are, they are not treating themselves or the other drives or pedestrians with respect. And if they lie to the passengers and say that they are sober, it is even worse. Therefore, under Kantianism, it cannot be considered to be a universal law. Consequentialism holds that the consequences of one's actions are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that action, in other words, “the ends justify the means.” The best possibility of an end when a person chooses to drunken drive is that they arrive at their destination. There are other means of transportation that could have allowed them to get their safety, and in the mean time they are risking their lives and the lives of almost everyone around them when they are in the driver’s seat. In effect, the ends do not justify the means because the ends are just arriving at a different location and the means is the potential death of a human being. Utilitarianism is an ethical tradition that directed us to decide based on...
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...Ethics / fringe Describe the situation the government officials faced in the episode of Fringe. There was a man with a virus that was brought into an office in Boston for a meeting, he collapse after getting off the elevator into the office, then his blood came spraying everywhere. Then, Olivia and peter came and notice he had a lethal virus. The guy that came inside on a bike that was in the elevator got the virus and also the office clerk and it started spreading until peter had it. The virus wanted to make its way out because it didn’t want to be close off. The CDC came close off the building and the plan was to kill everyone inside who had the virus , so they checked and peter tried to come out but his nose started bleeding has he made his way out . so, Dr. Walter while inside came up with a cure so Olivia volunteer herself to go inside faced by some life threating circumstances ; because if the virus had got out it took a matter of seconds before everyone would die. So Olivia went in even though faced by challenge and she overcome and everyone made it out safe and back to being Rational and free. Thank to Olivia. Describe how the virus affected infected persons. The Virus Infected People in many ways because they were not rational and free the Virus wanted to spread itself, it did not want to be confined to a close off environment. Also the virus cause them to start bleeding after a while and after being confine after a certain time they will die. What would have...
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...Objects (UFO) activities. The US authorities claimed that McKinnon deleted files from US military operating systems which led to a shut-down of military computers. Some sources claim that what McKinnon did was a harmless incident whereas others regard it as a serious attack on US computer systems. Coursework Research the case of Garry McKinnon and present your arguments for and against the hacking activities of Gary McKinnon following the three sections below. Give your own conclusion as to whether Gary McKinnon acted ethically or not and whether he broke the BCS code of conduct. Our methodology for the evaluation of moral problems in Unit One of the module was to evaluate a moral problem from the point of view of Kantianism, Act Utilitarianism, Rule Utilitarianism, and Social Contract theory. (For example in the Case Study from page 78-79.) Another way to evaluate information technology-related moral problems is to make use of a software code of ethics and professional practice as dealt with in Unit 2 in the module. From page 363 in the recommended text book a three step process is put forward as a way of evaluating a moral problem using a professional code of ethics, the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). For this coursework you are asked to use the BCS code of conduct to analyse the Gary McKinnon case (as he is a British Citizen). For the coursework you are required to:- Section One – 20% Evaluate the actions...
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...Ethics game simulation A principle exists as a feature or quality believed to be ethically outstanding and therefore is appreciated as a base of ethics and good start for a decent living being. Personal qualities are features cherished as promoting personal and communal comfort. G-BioSport is a business that supplies sports nourishment and supplements to its consumers. The company adheres to the modern Foodstuffs and Drug Administration (FDA) principles with their commodities. Nevertheless, new lab tests disclose traces of contagion in the total of the GBS-Fibranafren tests carries out. The liability is present in the Quality Control (QC) executive to recognize the problem and put the solution into practice. These recreations lay out the QC executive with numerous states of affairs and resolutions to two primary problems. Each recreation presents confronts in cooperation with the ethical and honest aspects involved. The first recreation displays the QC executive with lab results exemplify 100% pollution of the products investigated. A number of these tests are acquired from the commodities themselves in the market and under the ownership of the consumers. With such information, the matter shifts from whether or not to caution and what knowledge to offer to customers concerning the control of the contaminated commodities. What decision-making steps did you take to ethically address these issues? Considering the fact that business ethics exists as an outline of functional...
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...John Saunders PHI 101 10178 Utilitarianism is based on a person’s measure of happiness from a utility prospective. The belief is the moral value is determined by its measured utility in providing someone with pleasure or happiness. Utility is described in the text as property in any object that tends to produce advantage, pleasure, good or happiness is to prevent mischief or evil doing to the individual or community. Kantianism is Kant’s view that that moral value was based on an individual using his or her own rational faculties as described in the text chapter nine. Faculties are reference to our intellectual minds. Kant believed a person needed to develop a clear understanding of the universal morals that are shared by all people with in all circumstances. His argument for defense is good will is irreducible source of moral value as stated in the text. Virtue ethics give emphasis to one’s disposition of self morals. The text describes a “virtuous character” to state that people achieve their moral base through making moral choices in time as our daily lives advance. The text refers that acting natural expressing moral principles is virtue ethics or a virtuous character. Utilitarianism vs. Kantianism is complete opposites. Kant is more believe that if a person practices good will and follows certain standards or moral laws they will have done well. He believed that good will is good due to its intentions not necessarily its outcome. A person who tries to follow the Ten...
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...A person who pushes subjectivism to its limit, and takes the extreme position by arguing that moral choices, judgments, and resolutions are so subjective that discussions, contemplation, and deliberations on morality are useless is called a _______ subjectist Cynical A______truth is dependent on the subject’s own experience. Subjective A person who believes that whatever an individual says is right for that particular individual is called a _____ Relativist Hume believed that the only kind of truth that can be known is a _____ Truth Subjective The notion of ethical _________which is often mistaken and confused with Ethical relativism, doubts that any acts are right or wrong. | | Skepticism Moral decisions, determinations, and judgments are acknowledged and established in a cultural context, and these positions are subject to change depending on one’s cultural Relativism ______is the notion that there is no concrete certainty the sphere of knowledge and truth. Relativism An objective______ is a truth that is independent of an observer. Truth _________ is the notion that truth depends on context—the time, place, and the identity of the observer. Relativism The certainty of Descartes’ rationalism leads to the idea of absolute truth In the never-ending debate between relativism and dogmatism, most people agree that the solution for inclusivity is moderation People who argue that ethics and morality are subjective, and moral choices should...
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...Ethical Theories In today’s society, especially in business the question of what is ethical is a dilemma that a great deal of individuals is faced with every day. Ethics vary from person to person and culture to culture. What is unethical in the United States of America may be completely ethical in China. Dictionary.com defines ethics as the moral principles that govern a person’s or a group’s behavior. There are many different theories of ethics, and which one a person chooses to live by, depends on which theorist the individual believes to be more in line with their own personal moral beliefs. When business ethics is discussed it is hard to speak about it without mentioning the name of Milton Friedman. Milton Friedman was an economist that theorized business ethics as monetarism. He is essentially responsible for promoting the economic growth of a company and the benefits to their shareholders. The primary goal and motivating force in business is to make a profit, and try to maintain efficiency while making a profit. Friedman’s theory is in correlation with the philosophy of corporate law. In corporate law the shareholders own the company, and they vote on the Board of Directors. The greatest duty is owed to the shareholders as owners of the business. Typically the Board of Directors makes the important decisions because they ensure the company is running efficiency while making a profit at the same time. Making a profit is the primary reason any company is in business...
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...chemical and biological laboratory because it would provide for his family and lessen the emotional strain that his wife and children are facing. He should also accept the job because if he refuses then the job will likely go to one of his contemporary’s that is extremely zealous about chemical and biological warfare. Utilitarianism According to the text, the basic moral principle of utilitarianism is called the principle of utility. This theory states that we ought to do that which produces the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure for the greatest number of people (MacKinnon, 54). The utilitarianism theory states that we should not worry ourselves about the nature of ones actions or practices or even a person’s motive. Utilitarian’s are more concerned with deciding the likely or actual consequences of a person’s actions or motives. Mill stated that, “A sacrifice which does not increase or tend to increase the sum of total happiness, considers as wasted” (MacKinnon, 55). He also adds that pain and suffering are bad but pleasure and happiness are good. Right, this theory asks us to consider how our actions affect others. Kantianism The Kantianism theory states that the consequences of our acts are not always in...
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