Star Trek: Into Darkness is a film with a multiplicity of moral themes and dilemmas, and it can be argued that each character adheres to a particular ethical theory. For Spock, the ethical theory adhered to is rule-based utilitarianism. Kirk seems to adhere to a care ethic. Khan, on the other hand, seems in many cases to be motivated by a combination of a misled form of retributivism, a form of psychological egoism, and a form of care ethics. In this paper, I will analyze the ramifications of these views within the context of each characters statements and actions, and will evaluate what evidence can be drawn in support of these arguments.
There is much evidence for the argument that Spock adheres to utilitarianism. For example, on planet Nibiru, an M-class planet with a primitive pre-warpdrive civilization, Spock is willing to die to save the Nibirans. It is not simply the fact that he is willing to sacrifice himself to save the species, but the particular justification he gives for this action: "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Spock's reasoning is an example of a utilitarian ethic. If he dies, much less net utility is lost than if the entire species perishes. It is clearly the consequences that matter in this case - he is weighing the consequences of his actions, and attempting to choose the action that will lead to most overall net utility. In fact, Spock does not want to be saved, as he says such an action "would violate the Prime Directive", the directive to not interfere with the development of other species. It is clear that Spock adheres to the Prime Directive because of the adverse consequences it could have for the development of other species. It is not that the Prime Directive is good-in-itself,...
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... comply with orders then nobody would follow them.
The overall message of Star Trek: Into Darkness is that ethics is complex, with multiple possible interpretations and often no clearly delineated boundary between definitively right and wrong. Spock often reasons from a utilitarian perspective, and yet at the same time seems to hold to a Kantian-duty principle of never lying. Kirk saves Spock, violating the Prime Directive by reasoning from a care ethic, but later risks his life seemingly on utilitarian grounds. Khan deeply cares about his crew, but is often willing to do just about anything to achieve his own interests, with little to no regard for the welfare of others. This is the ultimate message of the film: that ethics is complex, different situations can often call for different ethical viewpoints, and that ethical decisions must be considered carefully.
Rossian Pluralism claims that there are multiple things that we have basic, intrinsic moral reason to do, which he names as the prima facie duties. These duties are not real, obligatory duties that one must follow under all circumstances, but are “conditional duties” (Ross 754) that one should decide to follow or reject upon reflection of their circumstances. This moral theory has faced criticisms, most strongly in the form of the problem of trade-offs. However, I will demonstrate that the problem of trade-offs is an issue that can be neglected as a valid objection to Rossian Pluralism because it is applicable to other theories as well and it is a factor that makes a moral theory more valuable than not.
Moral Actions are comprised of an individual’s moral awareness, judgment, motivation, and character. Moral awareness is a person’s ability to understand the difference between acting ethically and doing the right thing under a given set of rules. Or simply put, the understanding of when an ethical decision needs to get made. In the case study of the LCS Commander deciding whether or not to assist the distressed crew in Chinese waters, the moral awareness of the commander will let him know that his decision is not as simple as right versus wrong. His decision will affect the lives of those in present need, and could potentially affect the lives of many more if he were to escalate the situation into international conflict. The action that ultimately gets taken depends most importantly on the Commander’s ability to judge morally. His emotions, personal experience, and ability to reason affect his moral judgment. The commander needs to understand the political environment, give his own experience the proper weight, but not over-rely on “gut emotion,” and clearly think through the
The Teleological Ethical Theories are concerned with the consequences of actions which means the basic standards of our actions being morally right or wrong depends on the good or evil generated (Business Jargons, n.d.). More specifically this campaign relates
When we discuss morality we know that it is a code of values that seem to guide our choices and actions. Choices and actions play a significant role in determining the purpose and course of a person’s life. In the case of “Jim and the Indians”, Jim faces a terrible dilemma to which any solution is morbid. On one hand, Jim can choose to ignore the captain’s suggestion and let the whole group of Indians be executed. Alternatively, he may decide upon sacrificing one Indian for the sake of saving the rest. Both options involve taking of person’s life. Regarding what should Jim do in this circumstance, there are two approaches according for Jim’s dilemma that should be examined. By looking into the Deontological moral theory and the moral theory of Consequentialism we can see what determines an action that is morally required.
This paper shows that altruism is a very complex issue and much more information could be introduced, following this would allow a greater look at the complexity of other views such as the religious or the philosophical side. Garrett Hardin’s ‘lifeboat ethics’ is a perfect example and proof of this paper, showing that we would rather let others gets killed instead of trying to help a
Promote human flourishing and ameliorate suffering. However, there are two large flaws with the Utilitarian perspective, first that good consequences do not determine the right thing to do. Just because something immoral had good consequences in the long run does not make it okay. A Utilitarian would respond by saying one sacrifice to save ten people. This conflicts with morality because there is no circumstance where murdering an innocent person is acceptable. The second flaw is that it is impossible to live by because it is too demanding. If there is always something more you can do, you should sacrifice all of your time and money to do better for the world. Utilitarisnism should be taking into consideration what it means to be
• Once more, the ordinary science’ proves itself as the master of classification, inventing and defining the various categories of Egoism. Per example, psychological egoism, which defines doctrine that an individual is always motivated by self-interest, then rational egoism which unquestionably advocates acting in self-interest. Ethical egoism as diametrically opposite of ethical altruism which obliges a moral agent to assist the other first, even if sacrifices own interest. Also, ethical egoism differs from both rational and psychological egoism in ‘defending’ doctrine which considers all actions with contributive beneficial effects for an acting individual
Egoism is a teleological theory of ethics that sets the ultimate criterion of morality in some nonmoral value (i.e. happiness or welfare) that results from acts (Pojman 276). It is contrasted with altruism, which is the view that one's actions ought to further the interests or good of other people, ideally to the exclusion of one's own interests (Pojman 272). This essay will explain the relation between psychological egoism and ethical egoism. It will examine how someone who believes in psychological egoism explains the apparent instances of altruism. And it will discuss some arguments in favor of universal ethical egoism, and exam Pojman's critque of arguments for and against universal ethical egoism.
In the movie, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Spock best exemplifies Aristotelian ethics. A logical alien from the planet Vulcan, Spock displays a perfect balance of the virtues proposed by Aristotle as he seems to have reached the golden mean in all facets of the scales and whose telos is logic and reason and his pursuit of the logical decisions guides his choices. Spock’s ethical mastery is displayed in the opening scenes of the movie as he prepares to risk his life to save the native inhabitants of an alien planet and comply with the prime directive. As Captain Kirk debates with Spock over whether or not they should save him, Spock makes a claim reflecting the Aristotelian virtuous ideals of magnanimity and courage, both of which are the golden
Often, a person is seen as the embodiment of the value of their action, thus a person can be seen as “good” or “bad,” and the consequences of justice that affect them are based on the general value of their general actions. The value given to actions is based on a soc...
Every individual has certain values and ethics that he/she stands by. Values give us a sense of what is important while ethics gives us a sense of what is right and wrong. Together, these qualities help guide us through our everyday life: what actions to take and what decision to make. Sticking to ethical standards allows you to stay clear of trouble; therefore, strengthening people’s trust in you. In return, this leads to gaining people’s respect and cooperation, which may result in leadership responsibilities. Therefore, we believe that personal values and ethics will affect a person’s career success. However, there are times where individuals will make unethical choices--some situations might question your resolve. This can be caused by
Torchwood’s third season “Children of Earth,” contains many momentous events which question human rationality, having good sagacity, judgment, and equanimity. Throughout these events two ethical philosophies unravel. The first philosophy, egoism, actions with solely one’s interests in mind, plays a major role in the season. Ethical egoists believe that one should look out for no one else but themselves, and a theory of psychological egoism states that whatever the reasoning is behind an action, the action is always an individual’s self-interest. The inconceivable enthralling events in the season are due to the 456’s yearning for ten percent of the children population. However, their request is not based upon a life-supporting necessity, but merely an egotistical longing for a pleasurable “high” the children supply them with. The second philosophy, utilitarianism, is based on Jeremy Bentham’s principle of utility, actions which amplify happiness and diminish pain for the majority of people, play an essential role. To restrain the heinous act from occurring, Jack sacrifices his own grandson, Steven, to spare the lives of the other children on Earth.
Now with both of these normative ethical theories in mind, what will be presented in this paper is how does this portray to the movie, The Dark Knight. So before watching this movie, it has been decided that a thesis statement must be created. The thesis will be that the Dark Knight also known as Batman is a Utilitarian hero. Not seeing this movie before, it is unaware of what ethical theory category the Dark Knight will fall under. Therefore it will be a surprise either way with what kind of results that will be
Ethics are moral principles that can be used to help guide peoples decisions. We are all different and therefore our beliefs and opinions differ. There are many ethical theories, and according to Panza and Potthast (n.d.) the following are some that are widely used. Virtue ethics is one theory which states that personality is the most important thing. Living an ethical life, acting right, requires that one develops and demonstrates the quality of courage, compassion, wisdom, and temperance. It also requires that greed, jealousy, and selfishness is avoided. Utilitarianism states that the amount of happiness and suffering created by a person’s actions is what matters the most. As a result, acting rightly includes maximizing the amount of happiness and minimizing the amount of suffering around you. At times you may need to break some of the traditional moral rules to achieve such an outcome. Kantianism is another theory which highlights the principles behind actions rather than an actions results. It states that it requires to be motivated by good principles that treats everyone with respect. If you’re motivated by good principles, you overcome your animal instinct and act ethically. Another ethical theory is the Contract theory, which suggest that ethics should be thought of as terms of agreements between people. It suggests that doing the right thing means obeying agreements set by members rather than those of society. For this theory ethics isn’t necessarily about character, consequences, or principles. The last theory I’m going to mention is Care ethics. Care ethics focuses on ethical attention on relationships before other factors. As a result, acting rightly involves building, strengthening, and maintaining strong relationship...
The aerospace industry is fairly new in our day in age. It has been recorded in history that the first flight ever by man took place in Kitty Hawk, NC roughly 100 years ago. Since that first model, drastic improvements have been made in aerospace technology. Aerospace has evolved from simple prop planes to sound barrier breaking jets and even to space shuttles. The very definition of aerospace in the adjective or active form is “of or relating to aerospace, to vehicles used in aerospace or the manufacture of such vehicles, or to travel in aerospace.” In general, aerospace deals with any dynamic manufactured vehicle that travels above the surface of the earth. This, as you might expect, leaves two possibilities, the atmosphere or our earth, and outer space. Such basic examples of aerospace vehicles are Cessna planes, Black Hawk helicopters, Goodyear blimps and the Columbia Space Shuttle. Throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, aerospace has and will continue to be an integrated part of our society.