Two of the ethical theories discussed in our textbook are Utilitarianism and Deontology. The basis behind Utilitarianism is to produce the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of beings (including animals). This ethical theory can be summed up in four basic principles, which include: consequentialism, maximization, a theory of value, and scope of morality premise. Consequentialism basically means that consequences count rather than motives or intentions. The concept behind maximization is that the more beings affected, the more important the result. Theory of value is what counts as good consequences. The fourth and final principle of Utilitarianism is a scope of morality premise, which is each being’s happiness counts as one unit
…show more content…
One major problem surrounding this ethical theory is that they only focus on those who will benefit. Therefore, the ones that will die or live regardless (without any medical intervention) will get abandoned.
The second ethical theory discussed in our textbook is Deontology (duty and obligation), which includes Kantian ethics. Deontology emphasizes motives and virtue ethics, which emphasize traits of character. Therefore, character traits and motives matter whereas results do not matter. For example, there are situations where good people sometimes fail to achieve good results, but they can’t be blamed for the lack of good results or failure due to the fact that their motives are pure. Kantian ethics include four elements, which include: ‘ethics is a matter of duty and not consequences, a right act has …show more content…
Ad hominem involves making a personal attack on somebody else in order to place the focus incorrectly on his/her personal life rather than the reasons given for the position on the issue. Tu quoque involves the concept that two wrongs don’t make a right. Whenever someone confronts our wrongdoings, we typically feel less ashamed to admit doing it if another person committed the same act. The main problem behind this mistake is that by saying that someone else committed the same wrong act, it doesn’t justify the first wrong. The Straw Man/Red Herring fallacy occurs whenever someone brings up irrelevant issues rather than the original issue because it is easier to refute. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc is when people confuse temporal priority with causality. For example, simply because crime rates went down 15 years after abortion was legalized, it does not necessarily mean that one caused the other. Finally, ad populum occurs when someone attempts to justify their actions or make their actions ethical due to the fact that everyone does it. For example, even though most physicians take free gifts from drug representatives that push the more expensive drugs, it does not make it right or ethical to take those
One major problem surrounding this ethical theory is that they only focus on those who will benefit. Therefore, the ones that will die or live regardless (without any medical intervention) will get abandoned.
The second ethical theory discussed in our textbook is Deontology (duty and obligation), which includes Kantian ethics. Deontology emphasizes motives and virtue ethics, which emphasize traits of character. Therefore, character traits and motives matter whereas results do not matter. For example, there are situations where good people sometimes fail to achieve good results, but they can’t be blamed for the lack of good results or failure due to the fact that their motives are pure. Kantian ethics include four elements, which include: ‘ethics is a matter of duty and not consequences, a right act has …show more content…
Ad hominem involves making a personal attack on somebody else in order to place the focus incorrectly on his/her personal life rather than the reasons given for the position on the issue. Tu quoque involves the concept that two wrongs don’t make a right. Whenever someone confronts our wrongdoings, we typically feel less ashamed to admit doing it if another person committed the same act. The main problem behind this mistake is that by saying that someone else committed the same wrong act, it doesn’t justify the first wrong. The Straw Man/Red Herring fallacy occurs whenever someone brings up irrelevant issues rather than the original issue because it is easier to refute. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc is when people confuse temporal priority with causality. For example, simply because crime rates went down 15 years after abortion was legalized, it does not necessarily mean that one caused the other. Finally, ad populum occurs when someone attempts to justify their actions or make their actions ethical due to the fact that everyone does it. For example, even though most physicians take free gifts from drug representatives that push the more expensive drugs, it does not make it right or ethical to take those