Consequentialism, Deontology, and Inevitable Trade-offs
ABSTRACT: Recently, unrestrained consequentialism has been defended against the charge that it leads to unacceptable trade-offs by showing a trade-off accepted by many of us is not justified by any of the usual nonconsequenlist arguments. The particular trade-off involves raising the speed limit on the Interstate Highway System. As a society, we seemingly accept a trade-off of lives for convenience. This defense of consequentialism may be a tu quoque, but it does challenge nonconsequentialists to adequately justify a multitude of social decisions. Work by the deontologist Frances Kamm, conjoined with a perspective deployed by several economists on the relation between social costs and lives lost, is relevant. It provides a starting point by justifying decisions which involve trading lives only for other lives. But the perspective also recognizes that using resources in excess of some figure (perhaps as low as $7.5 million) to save a life causes us to forego other live-saving activities, thus causing a net loss of life. Setting a speed limit as low as 35 miles per hour might indeed save some lives, but the loss of productivity due to the increased time spent in travel would cost an even greater number of lives. Therefore, many trade-offs do not simply involve trading lives for some lesser value (e.g., convenience), but are justified as allowing some to die in order to save a greater number.
It has long been one of the standard criticisms of consequentialist approaches to ethics that they too easily justify "trade-offs" that are morally unacceptable. The criticism which holds "the end justifies the means" philosophy inherent in consequentialism to be a source of great immorality is expressed, for example, in the famous scene from Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Remember how Alyosha reacts to the prospect offered by Ivan of a harmonious world order, a system that would bring about peace and rest and happiness for all men. A lovely idea, but the structure comes at the price of torturing one tiny child to death. And Alyosha will not consent to that "exchange."
A consequentialist response to Alyosha's refusal to consent to trade the suffering and death of one innocent in exchange for universal harmony is that, in the present inharmonious order, many innocent children will die horribly, not just one. Alyosha's tender conscience will cost thousands of innocent children their lives. And so the debate continues.
Recently, however, a proponent of consequentialism, Alastair Norcross, has sharpened the debate.
The specific language based disorder of dyslexia is a learning “disability” or “syndrome” that creates an imbalance of reading, writing and comprehension skills in children and adults (Lucid Research, 2006; Shaywitz, 1998). Around 4 percent of the population are affected by the specific language based disorder (Lucid Research, 2006), as well as 80 percent of people with a learning disorder are reported to be dyslexic (Shaywitz, 1998). Dyslexia is not connected to low levels of intelligence, inadequate schooling and education or social circumstances, rather, an individual who is deficit in the phonological process, the breaking down of a word, and the auditory process, taking in sound and interpreting correctly (Lucid Research, 2006; Shaywitz, 1998; Wang and Yang, 2014). Since dyslexia is reported to be a life-long learning disability and symptoms are varied for each person, large amounts of research have been conducted in attempts to understand the severity and the impairments associated with
Doctor Morgan of Sussex, England, published the first case of what is now known as dyslexia in 1896. Dr. Morgan wrote about Percy F, a 14-year-old boy who was intelligent, bright, quick with learning games, and the intellectual equal of his peers. He fell behind, however, in his inability to learn how to read. Today, as in 1896, most people associate intelligence with the ability to read, but Percy F and the experience of millions of people with dyslexia breaks down the relationship between reading and intelligence (1). But, researchers were left with the question, "What causes dyslexia if intelligence is not the marker?
This is a subject and disorder near and dear to my heart. My personal experience with dyslexia, with myself and my daughter, has given me great insight into what dyslexia is, what the signs are, and how soon you can detect the potential for problems. It is not always the case that dyslexia is the sole source of reading and reading comprehension difficulties, there are other disorders that can exist at the same time, and this is important to know in order to help students improve their reading abilities. But, dyslexia will not only affect reading abilities and reading comprehension. It can affect writing, spelling, math, memory, listing comprehension, self-esteem, social skills, the ability to understand sarcasm, understanding spatial concepts,
Since the terrorist attacks at Sept. 11, 2001, the surveillance issue often has turned away the table in the debate of individual privacy or counterterrorism. By passing the Patriot Act, Congress gave President Bush an immense law enforcement authority to boost U.S's counterterrorism, and the President used his enlarged powers to forward specific programs in order to reduce the threat of terrorism and defend the country’s safety.
In the article “The Penalty of Death”, written by H. L. Mencken, utilitarian principles are used to cover up for a system that wants results. All of the reasons that Mencken gives as justifications do not give concrete evidence of why the death penalty should continue as a means of punishment. The article states, “Any lesser penalty leaves them feeling that the criminal has got the better of society...” This statement alone demonstrates how he believes the death penalty brings justice and satisfaction to the people. Mencken creates the points he makes in his article in order to give society a way to make the death penalty seem less intrusive on moral principles and more of a necessary act.
To begin with, dyslexia is not a something that can be seen right away. People do not have symptoms like nausea or congestion to show that have dyslexia. Dyslexia is a disability that happens in the brain. Even though it can not always be physically seen, there are a few ways to tell if someone has dyslexia. If a child has dyslexia, it can be shown by the child reading with pauses or reading the words incorrectly by placing another word in instead of the one written down. An example would be by confusing the word ‘cat’ with bat or word like “fell/fall and who/how” (Dyslexia) There can be many possible reasons for misreading these words, one reason would be because the brain is just too tired to be able to connect what it sees to what it is supposed to sound like. Non dyslexic people can tell how words are supposed to sound by dividing the word into “individual phonemes” (V., Nathan). Phonemes are similar to syllables. Except there can be many phonemes in a one syllable words. Phonemes are the units of sounds words. An example is the words ‘bag.’ If divided by phon...
Defenders of capital punishment can be separated into two categories. Some are retributivists and follow Immanuel Kant’s theory of retribution. Other defenders are consequentialist and follow John Stewart Mill’s consequentialist approach. Both philosophers unambiguously address the dispute of capital punishment as a moral responsibility in their ethical theories...
When you first enter the world, it’s easy for one to develop black and white vision. I’m not talking about actual eyesight. By black and white vision, I mean that people have a simple view of the world where one action is completely right and one action is completely wrong. I was one of those people during my early years. I thought I had a clear picture of who I was and what right from wrong was. My change in views is attributed to the first time I experienced an identity crisis and the ideas of altruism and consequentialism that followed.
Before we can expect people to alter their perceptions, they must understand what it is. Dyslexia is a learning disability linked to those who struggle with reading. Although, it seems pretty simple, dyslexia is extremely challenging to identify because it is not defined by one specific thing. Moreover, it includes a wide array of difficulties such as: trouble spelling words, reading quickly, writing out words, “sounding out words in” head, pronunciation and comprehension.
Samuel Adams (1722 - 1803), an American patriot and politician, once stated, "Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason"[1]. This statement is significant, as it undermines two of the primary ethical doctrines in philosophy - the deontological perspective defended by Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) in Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (634), and utilitarianism, supported by John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873) in his essay, Utilitarianism (667). Deontology and utilitarianism are contrasting theories. The former focuses on the intrinsic moral worth of our actions, whereas the latter argues that the consequences of our actions determine their moral value. Nevertheless, both perspectives substantiate Mill's claim that "our moral faculty.is a branch of our reason, not of our sensitive faculty" (678). Reason is an indispensable aspect of Kant's deontological view, as he believes the will is a capacity unique to rational beings. In Kant's opinion, the will is essential, as it facilitates our ability to act according to the universalizable maxims we establish for ourselves (653). Reason is also a crucial element of utilitarianism, as it is the intellectual faculty that enables us to distinguish the course of action with the best possible outcome (i.e., the choice that will ensure the greatest happiness or least amount of pain for as many people as possible) (688). However, since both deontology and utilitarianism are governed by the notion that moral judgements are established through reason, can either theory apply in circumstances in which rational thought is not feasible? For example, during World War II, a Nazi soldier offers a ...
Treatment for dyslexia is left up to the parents of the child or the adult living with the condition. Between adults and children needing treatments, many of the same kinds of treatment can take place, but also different treatments and techniques will work depending on the type. Three common types of primary dyslexia consist of dyscalculia, dyspraxia, and auditory dyslexia. Dyscalculia relates to one’s ability to perform math skills and the capability of memorizing sequences. Dyspraxia involves difficulty conducting ordinary motor skills, such as waving goodbye and tying a shoe. Not only does this condition affect one subject of a school day, but it likely troubles countless situations in a typical educational setting in one day. A child has a higher chance of having success if the proper treatment at school and at home is available. Parents of a child with dyslexia should talk to the teachers and make sure programs exist in their children’s day and that it suit’s the dyslexic needs in education. Advice given to parents of the child undergoing the evaluation is to not coach up the child, rather let them show their strengths and weaknesses on their own. Programs that help the child show their strengths and work more on their weaknesses will help the child tremendously. The dyslexics attending school should not use the disability as an excuse for not completing work. Getting
Dyslexia is now a widely accepted condition that is prevalent in many classrooms. However, defining dyslexia is difficult as it can be described as a continuum. Although experts largely agree that dyslexia is identifiable as a developmental difficulty of language learning and cognition (Rose, 2009). Dyslexia can pose a host of difficulties for the child and can make daily activities and school life very challenging. The NCLD (2013) states children with dyslexia may have difficulties with ‘accurate and fluent spelling, accurate and fluent written expression, phonological awareness, memory, verbal processing speed and information processing.’ As teachers it is vital that we are aware of the underlying difficulties as the child’s consistent underachievement can appear on the surface as carelessness and lack of effort (Hodge, 2000). Dyslexia is not only about literacy, although weaknesses in literacy are often the most visible sign, it effects all areas of learning as the ability to read and write sufficiently permeates all areas of learning within the curriculum. ‘Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities’ however, the difficulties posed by having dyslexia can affect a child’s ability to learn (Rose, 2009). Every child has the right to succeed and so the teacher must strive to provide the key for learning and implement effective interventions which develop the child’s literacy skills and help them reach their full potential (DCSF, 2007; DfES, 2004).
More often than not, a person will encounter themselves in a difficult and problematic situation. Life is not a walk in the park when it comes to making decisions. Making choices may not be feasible when under pressure and stress. Ideally, this applies to those choices that are not black and white. In relation, this is where a person's morality comes into play which reveals their
Rose, J. (2009). Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties. Retrieved from http://www.education.gov.uk/publications//eOrderingDownload/00659-2009DOM-EN.pdf
Dyslexia is a learning disability effecting thousands of students in schools across the world. As with many learning disabilities, dyslexia manifests itself differently in every person. Due to this inconsistency, many people feel it should not be qualified as a learning disability, but because so many students continue to have to overcome their dyslexia it continues to be diagnosed. Thankfully when teachers are aware of their students’ having dyslexia they are able to put supports in to aid their students’ learning. Many strategies exist to aid dyslexic people in carrying out their everyday tasks.