Consequentialism

The Clean Power Company of Cincinnati, Ohio produces an energy regulating device that regulates the use of power in homes and businesses. They have recently discovered that the business is in distress and stands the chance of shutting its doors. The Clean Power Company has realized that moving their operations to a property they have recently purchased on the Chavon River in the Dominican Republic will stave off the closure of the business. The following will address the corporate social…

Affirmative Action is a federal agenda passed in the 1960s designed to counteract historical discrimination suffered by minorities and other underrepresented groups in the United States. To foster diversity, institutions with affirmative action programs prioritize the inclusion of minority groups in employment and education. For example, Affirmative Action programs have allowed minorities entry into certain professions formerly deemed off limits. However, one can argue that affirmative action…

Deontology is a form of non-consequentialism that focuses on one’s duty rather than the end goal. These ideals conflict greatly with a utilitarian form of thought. The ends will always justify the, sometimes terribly horrible and unspeakable, means with utilitarianism in mind. Deontology looks at every action you took to get there, judging it as either good or bad. It does still hold weight in today’s world. I will walk you through a few moral scenarios that benefit from deontology as well as a…

Mill is known for his theory of Utilitarianism. He considers the consequentialism a result of an act more important than the intention behind it. The value of liberty approaches through a Utilitarian. He emphasizes the idea of liberty as positive aspects for all people in the society. Freedom of opinion is valuable for two main reasons. First, an unpopular opinion can be correct. Secondly, if the opinion is incorrect, a refutation of this will allow people to better understand their opinions.…

Soldier’s Dilemma Elsa Saarinen 15D “A prisoner of war is accused for stealing food. A soldier is ordered to shoot the accused by his superior officer. The soldier is not willing, because it is against the Geneva treaty. The officer threatens to kill all ten prisoners if the soldier refuses.” According to virtue ethics, most people have good traits. Aristotle identifies these virtues as 18 different virtues that are divided into 2 groups: moral and intellectual virtues. These include,…

Utilitarianism V. Pragmatism Over many centuries, ethics helped build the foundation of the laws we abide by today. Ethics are moral principles that control a person’s behavior/actions. Ethics is also known as moral philosophy, which is a branch of philosophy that rises up questions about morality. For instances, questions like is it good or bad, right or wrong, justice or crime. There are many types of ethics, one well-known type of ethic is normative ethics. Normative ethics is a type of…

The study of ethics is a crucial part of philosophical analysis. This philosophical area is critical in providing insight on how to properly practice morality, and what exactly it means to be a moral person. Individuals are faced with ethical dilemmas on a daily basis, as they are the foundation for how we behave and respond in certain situations. As with almost every other philosophical topic, there are a wide variety of different theories relating to ethics. Each of these theories, while…

The earth is under threat. Aliens are coming from multiple light years away with one mission – to decimate humanity. They are a cruel race by nature, and they will not rest until they see violence enacted. Luckily, they have a stipulation that could save humanity – if I punch the person sitting next to me right in the face, they will relent their barrage. Specifically, the person to make this decision and take the action must me. Unfortunately for humanity, I live my life under a strict Kantian…

Often in life, difficult situations arise that challenge our moral philosophy and it can be hard to make some choices. It is important to speculate upon such scenarios so that consistent philosophical ideals can be reached and that good arguments can be presented for certain motives. An example of a hypothetical case is if a trolley is moving along its tracks toward five people who will be killed if the trolley proceeds, but there is an option to pull a lever and divert the trolley to a…

Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are considered founders of Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory where moral rightness is measured by what brings the most happiness to the most people. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism because it is based on whether an action is morally justified by its consequences. Bentham and Mill differ in that Bentham reasoned that pleasure was measurable using hedons, units of pleasure, where actions with the highest score were the best…