Aah, the quintessential scenario of sacrificing one for the sake of many, also known as collateral damage – but with a poignant spin: five middle-aged fat prisoners vs the small innocent girl child. In other words: death vs death. This moral ethical dilemma was first introduced to the world in 1967 by Philippa Foot when she notoriously challenged debates over abortion and it has since become a fascinating moral, legal and psychological enigma. The results are equally captivating when one considers the decisions humans make.
I will examine the following question: the relationship between the law (if any) of this situation and the morality (if any) of this situation and in doing so I endeavour to evaluate the synopsis through the eyes of legal …show more content…
(BROWN, 2013) Bentham judiciously asserted that this was demonstrated when people were attentive when weighing up the costs and the benefits of their actions which ultimately leads to the maximisation of pleasure and the minimisation of pain. Three important characteristics of utilitarianism are that happiness is pleasure and the absence of pain; there is no clear distinction between the types of pleasures and the types of pain that people experience and sacrificing one for the sake of many is acceptable. In this scenario then, I assume that my action of killing off five convicted prisoners to save the life of an innocent girl child is the wrong thing to do as it will produce the greatest amount of unhappiness. I disagree, in reference to the rights of the child and shows the shortcomings of Bentham’s theory which emphasises the self-interest of the individual. The child has a fundamental right to life and killing her would violate her right to life as well as the right to liberty and security of the person. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 , stresses the importance of protecting the child against any imminent danger. Utilitarianism is another form of consequentialism whose premise we can see is that ‘moral rightness is defined in terms of the production of maximum happiness.’ (Meyerson, 2011) and Bentham was categorically in defiance of a person possessing such rights – if they did they were perceived as being self-seeking and this in turn would create discord in societies. Thus, according to Bentham, law should be separated from morality. I am not convinced that this is
I will examine the following question: the relationship between the law (if any) of this situation and the morality (if any) of this situation and in doing so I endeavour to evaluate the synopsis through the eyes of legal …show more content…
(BROWN, 2013) Bentham judiciously asserted that this was demonstrated when people were attentive when weighing up the costs and the benefits of their actions which ultimately leads to the maximisation of pleasure and the minimisation of pain. Three important characteristics of utilitarianism are that happiness is pleasure and the absence of pain; there is no clear distinction between the types of pleasures and the types of pain that people experience and sacrificing one for the sake of many is acceptable. In this scenario then, I assume that my action of killing off five convicted prisoners to save the life of an innocent girl child is the wrong thing to do as it will produce the greatest amount of unhappiness. I disagree, in reference to the rights of the child and shows the shortcomings of Bentham’s theory which emphasises the self-interest of the individual. The child has a fundamental right to life and killing her would violate her right to life as well as the right to liberty and security of the person. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 , stresses the importance of protecting the child against any imminent danger. Utilitarianism is another form of consequentialism whose premise we can see is that ‘moral rightness is defined in terms of the production of maximum happiness.’ (Meyerson, 2011) and Bentham was categorically in defiance of a person possessing such rights – if they did they were perceived as being self-seeking and this in turn would create discord in societies. Thus, according to Bentham, law should be separated from morality. I am not convinced that this is