Ethics is the study of human values, actions and life decisions, also known as morality. By using moral principles, claims which guide individuals by telling them what they ought and ought not to do, ethics attempts to determine if something is good or bad. However at times different moral principles conflict with another, making it difficult to see what the best course of action is. A good moral theory solves that dilemma by attempts to explain why a person or action is right or wrong, or why a person’s character is good or bad by stating which moral principles are more important than others. Two infamous moral theories are Utilitarianism and Kantianism. The Utilitarian moral theory claims that an action is right if it brings about the best …show more content…
Say for example a criminal has six hostage at gunpoint and states that unless he receives a million dollars in the next 30 minutes he will kill all the hostages. To remedy the situation police tell the criminal the money is on its way, when in reality a sniper is getting into place to kill the criminal and free the hostages. Utilitarians would state that the situation as a whole was morally acceptable because the good of freeing six hostages outways the bad of lying to and killing the criminal. Kantian moral theory though would deem these actions highly immoral. By lying to and murdering the criminal the police are using him merely as a tool to end the situation. Though I do believe both Utilitarianism and Kantianism have solid bases, I personally find the Utilitarian moral theory more plausible in real life situations. I agree that you should have a greater balance of good over bad in most situation, however in real life it is often difficult to decide which is which, making it difficult to determine if there is a good balance or …show more content…
Though most view hearing the truth from another person an individual’s right and overall kind act, doctors don’t alway look at truth telling as having a positive outcome. The same debate is often had over doctor-patient confidentiality. In general it is more beneficial for doctors to keep that promise, allowing patients to trust their physicians, making them more forthcoming with vital information. However when cases cause physicians to question what is more important, keeping the patient 's secret or breaking trust to create more benefit to all? In search for the right answer, many doctors turn to moral theories like Utilitarianism and Kantianism to help them
In the Scenario I, a Utilitarian would view the inmate as having a higher sense of moral obligation. From a Utilitarian perspective, the inmate should have acted out of a general desire to do what is right for the benefit of all, not simply for his own happiness, even if it meant going against his religion. The Utilitarian would also view the prison official's behavior as moral. This is because one man endured the pain and suffering, but from that, 5,000 other people had much happier lives. Even if the inmate had eventually killed himself, a Utilitarian would still view the acts as moral.
The case that was presented, a doctor who took the organs without permission from a dying patient in order to save three people, is a very intriguing case. It really questions a person’s morals. Was the doctor right in taking the dying patients organs in order to save three people, which would be using the Utilitarianism view, or is the Kantian Deontology view right? I will argue that the Kantian Deontology view on morals is much better in this case.
wrong or right way of action. For example, in terms of stealing, Kant would say that this
Ethics refers to what people consider good or bad and right or wrong. It is a theory dealing with values that relate to human behaviour; with respect to their actions and purpose. The two most important philosophers that deal with ethics are Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. Kant’s ethical theory is Kantianism or deontological ethics. Mill’s ethical theory is utilitarianism. Both philosophers’ theories have many differences; Kant’s theory deals with conduct, seeking reason for good action in duty. Mill’s theory deals with consequences and maximizing human happiness. However both Kant and Mill’s ethics relate to the important biblical principal of the Golden Rule.
...nces. Kantianism focuses on the motivation of actions, has clear and distinct set of universal rules, and is morally logical. On the other hand, Utilitarianism relies on the consequences of an action, has no set universal laws as each action is assessed on an individual basis, and morality is based on the results of the assessment. Because of these reasons, I believe that Kantianism is the more ethically plausible theory of the two.
The United States of America’s bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been a great influence on American history. The mass destruction of both the lives of civilians and the cities in Japan have influenced many different opinions. Some believe the dropping of the atomic bombs were essential, whereas others say it was uncalled for. The following will define and explain the opposing viewpoints of a utilitarian and a Kantian. It will delve into their responses to the additional Allied invasion, and will analyze and provide objections to their responses, while also providing my personal viewpoints on both perspectives.
What is ethics? Ethics are the philosophical principles of good verses bad moral behavior. It is a guideline to help people make decisions or make a judgment calls. There are two main types of ethical principles that will be discussed in this paper, and how they are applied to the decision making process. They are Deontological and Utilitarian. Deontological ethics are based on the righteousness or wrongness of the action-taking place. It does not base itself on the bad or good consequences that come from the action. Immanuel Kant introduced deontological ethics in the 18th century. Kant believed that every decision or action made by a person had to be evaluated by his or her moral duty. He stated that humanity shouldn’t side on its
Under the Utilitarianism, “Some ethicists emphasize that the ethical action is the one that provides the most good or does
“Utilitarianism is the creed which accepts as the foundations of morals utility of the greatest happiness principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” (Mil, 90). Utilitarianism ethics is based on the greatest good for the greatest number meaning that the moral agent does what he/she thinks will be
The difference between the two comes to Kantian theory doesn 't account for the consequences and rule utilitarianism does. For Kant, it doesn 't matter what happens as a result of your will and duty as the law as it doesn 't compromise the sovereignty of other rational beings. The rule utilitarianism main goal is to maximize collective human happiness and welfare, and unlike Kant, how believes that one should under no circumstance breaks, your own Maxim thus severing the like between Duty and Will. Rule utilitarianism allows more flexibility in people 's actions and behaviors
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 most common areas of clinical practice where truth-telling and deception become an ethical dilemma are critical care, cancer and palliative care, mental health and general nursing practice (Tuckett, 2004). Other areas where it can raise potential ethical concerns are in placebo therapy, disclosure of human immunodeficiency virus and informed consent (Tuckett, 2004). Truth-telling is also an act of exchanging moral agents (patients, relatives, nurses) with their sets of values and norms, which in turn are derived from culture, personal and religious beliefs, and traditions (Dossa, 2010). For this reason, the issue of truth-telling is not only approached differently in the various clinical settings but also in different countries, cultures and religions (Kazdaglis et al., 2010). For example, in the United States of America (USA), England, Canada and Finland, the majority of patients are told of their diagnosis (Kazdaglis et al., 2010). Conversely, in Japan, family members play a major role in the decision of ...
Utilitarianism is a moral theory that approaches moral questions of right and wrong by considering the actual consequences of a variety of possible actions. These consequences are generally those that either positively or negatively affect other living beings. If there are both good and bad actual consequences of a particular action, the moral individual must weigh the good against the bad and go with the action that will produce the most good for the most amount of people. If the individual finds that there are only bad consequences, then she must go with the behavior that causes the least amount of bad consequences to the least amount of people. There are many different methods for calculating the utility of each moral decision and coming up with the best
Utilitarianism can be defined as: the right action is the one that produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarians seem to believe that humans only have two desires, or motivations: happiness and pain. They want as much happiness as possible and the least amount of pain as any other action. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory, meaning that whether it is right, depends solely on its consequences.
Ethics is a system of moral principles and a branch of philosophy which defines what is acceptable for both individuals and society. It is a philosophy that covers a whole range of things that have an importance in everyday situations. Ethics are vital in everyones lives, it includes human values, and how to have a good life, our rights and responsibilities, moral decisions what is right and wrong, good and bad. Moral principles affect how people make decisions and lead their lives (BBC, 2013). There are many different beliefs about were ethics come from. These consist of; God and Religion, human conscience, the example of good human beings and a huge desire for the best for people in each unique situation, and political power (BBC, 2013).