I sir, I will mold my son!” In this sense it is clear that Mr. Hundert desires to make Sedgewick a better student, but how can the senator mold him if he has not been there for his son? I think that this questions his morals and what his important to him. The professor even points out that the senator should know the important of history and the founding fathers, but…
In the beginning of “the palace thief”, Mr. Hunderts introduces himself and the school he worked for. He also talks about a student name Sedgewick. He discussed the challenges he faced while teaching his history class. Mr. Hunderts have never dealt with a student like Bell. Sedgewick was known for his foul behavior.…
Sedgewick Bell, son of Senator Sedgewick Hyram Bell, causes much mischief in Hundert’s class and Hundert is determined to mold him. Through Hundert’s interactions with Sedgewick and his actions as time passes, the readers are able to see how Hundert possesses a very large amount of pride. When Sedgewick Bell first enters Hundert’s class, he does not…
For in his classroom he was the “king” he was in charge of everything, Hundert never openly admits this, but with a full reading of the story, it can easily be inferred. Hundert begins to tell his tale of himself and Sedgewick. Hundert almost immediately takes an interest in Sedgewick. At first Sedgewick is highly negative and he and Hundert have multiple conversations, and after a while Hundert tells Sedgewick that he will talk to his father (pg.161).…
Pollan’s Suggestion and Utilitarianism’s Goal of Creating the Greatest Happiness for the Greatest Number What would the response be from most Americans if they were told that if they spent a fifty percent more on food they could help themselves, the environment, and the starving populations of the world? How about if these Americans were utilitarian ethicists, virtue ethicists, or biblical ethicists? There are positives and negatives to each of these ethical systems in relation to Michael Pollan’s recommendation to eat more locally grown and organic food and less meat.…
Applied Utilitarianism The definition of this greatly fascinates me. It got me thinking about Capital Punishment. In society, there are rules that each citizen must follow to be considered a good citizen. The rules put in place are usually determined by an educated group of people who create these rules to benefit their community.…
Norcross argued about the moral wrong of factory-farmed meat and that people who support it (including consumers) are also morally wrong. He emphasized that the pain caused to factory-farmed animals grossly outweighs any good outcomes. To prove his arguments, he uses his deductive argument called Marginal case in regards to the moral status of non-human animals against the rationality gambit; which attempts to establish the superior ethical status of humans over animals because humans are rational and animals are not. He uses deductive argument in aim of providing the connection between the premises (arguments/theories) and the conclusion. In response to the group membership’s arguments, he uses cases such as Heaven’s case to reason in support…
Utilitarianism is a normative philosophy of ethics that has been around since the late eighteenth century. It earliest proponents were Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. The general idea of utilitarianism is that there is no morality measurement except results. So, when one is deciding how to act, the only thing that matters is what the results of the actions are. Utilitarianism says that the actions that cause the most happiness and the least amount of unhappiness or pain are the moral acts.…
Stealing to survive How would a utilitarian respond to the dilemma of stealing to survive? Utilitarianism is a normative theory and a teleological approach to morality. The theory states that motives do not matter and that the consequences are the only thing that should make you carry out an act. The foundation of utilitarianism is the Greatest Happiness Principle which has three sections.…
Utilitarianism is considered as one of the most prominent philosophical concepts. This model's core perspective emphasizes that actions are ethically acceptable or unacceptable depending on their consequences. Based on this understanding, it can be argued that utilitarians hold that the goal of morality is to improve life by enhancing some favorable things such as happiness in the world while minimizing undesirable aspects such as grief (Urmson, 33). Consequently, the core objective of this essay is to define and critique both Act and Rule Utilitarianism, as well as determine the most practical kind of utilitarianism.…
Final Exam 1. In “A Critique of Utilitarianism”, Bernard Williams argues against the fundamental characteristics of utilitarianism and believes that the notion of ends justifying the means are a way of representing the doctrine of negative responsibility which can lead to consequences from the choices we make/do not make (663). As a result, we are all responsible for the consequences that we fail to prevent as well as the ones we brought upon ourselves. That is, in each case the choice on whether an action is right is determined by its consequences (661). Williams gives the example of killing one villager to save 19 others (664) in which he critiques the different principles of utilitarianism and integrity - the moral righteousness that is…
Shirley Jackson is the author of the short story called “The Lottery.” When reading this story, the reader could possibly believe that they are able to foresee the ending. “The Lottery” takes place in a small town, with a population of about three hundred people, on June 27 at ten in the morning. Jackson provides the reader with visuals that range from the town gathering and getting ready for the lottery to the town kids playing outside and collecting rocks. The importance of this lottery is that is not what it comes off to be, instead it is an act of sacrifice that is believed to be important in order to keep society stable.…
Jeremy Bentham (1749-1832) was an English political philosopher and legal reformer who founded the theory of utilitarianism in An Introduction of Principles and Moral Legislation in 1789. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory derived from the Greek term telos, meaning ‘end’ or ‘goal’ because it holds that the final consequence of an action determines its moral validity, regardless of whether the nature of that intention. Bentham began with his definition of human nature, proclaiming that “human beings are under governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure”. We invariably seek pleasure and avoid pain wherein these antagonistic forces ultimately determine everything we do and what we ought to do. Bentham contended that happiness…
“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” is a short story by Ursula K. Le Guin. It was published in 1976 and is set in an ambiguous time period and location in a utopia called Omelas. This story discusses the idea of whether or not it is acceptable to destroy a small amount of people’s happiness for the good of the majority. The ethical theory behind this notion is utilitarianism: “that conduct should be directed toward promoting the greatest happiness of the greatest number of persons” (“Utilitarianism”).…
“The Emperor’s Club” is filled with many elements of Aristotle Virtue Ethics. The main character of the film, Mr. Hundert, strives to mold the boys he teaches into young men using the Classics to educate them with the virtues. Virtue Ethics relies directly on the agent. One quote from the movie, “A man’s character is his fate” demonstrates this. This quote shows us that our own fate is decided upon ourselves.…