Applied Ethics In Contemporary Society Assignment

Assignment Task

Three Ethical Theories

• Utilitarianism: Judge an act by its consequences: the greatest good for the greatest number (Bentham, Mill, Singer)
• Deontology: Foreground principles: respect human dignity and autonomy (Kant, Korsgaard)
• Virtue ethics: Moral theory isn’t that useful: follow the example of the virtuous (Aristotle, Hursthouse)

Utilitarianism vs Deontology

“If there really is no other way of unsticking our fat man and if plainly, without blasting him out, everyone in the cave will drown, then, innocent or not, he should be blasted out. This indeed overrides the principle that the innocent should never be deliberately killed, but it does not reveal a callousness toward life, for the people involved are caught in a desperate situation in which, if such extreme action is not taken, many lives will be lost and far greater misery will obtain… It is not even correct to say that such a desperate act shows a lack of respect for persons. We are not treating the fat man merely as a means. The fat man's person – his interests and rights – are not ignored. Killing him is something which is undertaken with the greatest reluctance” (Nielsen, 2010, p. 244).

Introducing Deontology

• The phrases highlighted on the previous slide are typical of the second major normative ethical tradition we will be studying in this course’s module on moral theory: deontology
• The word comes from the Greek “deon” meaning duty, and deontological moral theories typically emphasize our duties to others – or to rules or principles – rather than the consequences of our actions
• The most famous exponent of such a theory is Immanuel Kant, an 18th Century German philosopher who tried to capture the essence of morality in his concept of a categorical imperative

The Categorical Imperative [CI]

• The CI is an imperative because it is a duty: we are obliged to follow it. It is categorical because it is unconditional: it trumps all other reasons for acting
• In his Groundwork, Kant formulated the CI in multiple ways, all of which he claimed were equivalent
• Here are two of the most famous:
• The universal law: “Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.”
• Humanity: “We should never act in such a way that we treat humanity, whether in ourselves or in others, as a means only but always as an end in itself.”

What would a Deontologist do?

A brilliant transplant surgeon has five patients, each in need of a different organ, each of whom will die without that organ. Unfortunately, there are no organs available to perform any of these five transplant operations. A healthy young traveler, just passing through the city the doctor works in, comes in for a routine checkup. In the course of doing the checkup, the doctor discovers that his organs are compatible with all five of his dying patients. Suppose further that if the young man were to disappear, no-one would suspect the doctor.

Deontology and Human Distinctiveness

• Kant’s deontology is founded on his understanding of what distinguishes human beings from other animals: our capacity for reason
• Reason is what it makes it possible for us to act in accordance with a moral duty, rather than our merely natural inclinations
• What does his universal law have to do with reason?
• What about his formula of humanity?

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