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Kantian Theory In The Examined Life

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Japan’s reaction to the atomic bombs, one the other hand, was anything but celebratory. Even after they found out about the horrific events at Hiroshima, the Japanese government censored reports about the atomic bomb, fervently repudiating its occurrence. The Japanese morning newspapers of August 8th revealed nothing more than how a “few enemy planes” had severely damaged Hiroshima with “a wholly new type of bomb” (Hando). Citizens were kept in the dark about the situation and were simply instructed to wear white clothing in case of another attack (Priddy). In addition, the Office of War Information ran off millions of leaflets calling Japan to give up or face nuclear attacks “again and again” until they ended the war at once (1945: Atom bomb hits Nagasaki). Current Japanese polls indicate that they disagree with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with only 14% saying it was …show more content…
The educational series, The Examined Life, tells us about three theories that can be used in analyzing ethical dilemmas. Kantian theory will support Truman’s decision, as he seems to have good intentions as an American President, and those intentions are what is considered most important. If using a utilitarian approach, which looks purely at the consequences of a decision to determine if a decision is ethical, it can go either way. The consequences were disastrous in death tolls, however, both the United States and Japan rank among the top of the list in Human Development Index (Human Development Report 2014). The third theory of virtue ethics, would suggest that Truman’s decision was not ethical, as it undermines our values that we treasure, such as human compassion. These can all be applied and defended, but we must use a combination of them all to come to a proper conclusion of this emotionally and politically significant fragment of world

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