Utilitarianism and Categorical Imperatives A Comparison of the Theories of Utilitarianism and Categorical Imperatives The principles of Utilitarianism and Categorical Imperatives contradict each other on many fronts. Both provide a rational for making moral decisions, both have benefits and flaws. A compelling argument can be made for each. From my perspective the principal's of Kant exemplify a more ethical way to conduct life. Utilitarianism Utilitarianism as a specific school of thought is generally credited

Consequently, the underlying concept regarding the two different arguments is the actual point for the beginning of life. Through the application of several ethical theories, stem cell research is unethical because of the following reasons: Respect to All Persons: Based on the utilitarian ethical theory or principle, stem cell research is unethical because it violates the need to respect all individuals and provide the greatest happiness to many people. The emergence

Ethical Philosophies Sometimes, when faced with a situation within murky ethical waters, there are difficult decisions to make. This is not made easier by the various philosophical outlooks available today, some of which would provide contradictory advice. The ethics of Emmanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, John Rawls, and Aristotle might, for example provide widely different viewpoints on whether a charitable donation should be accepted from a business person whose main income

Utilitarianism is most often used by healthcare organizations like insurance companies: to keep costs down for the many, a potentially valuable treatment may be denied to the individual because it is deemed experimental or unnecessarily costly. As unpalatable as the idea may be, no patient can be tested for every single conceivable illness he or she might contract. There must be some prioritization of high-risk groups. During his or

There is a need to clearly point out that the two elements are never synonymous. The process of perfecting our own natural state in the Kantian view implies that we are actually in the process of attempting to cultivate "the crude dispositions of [our] nature, by which the animal is first raised into the human being" (Kant 1996b).In order to achieve this, Kant suggests that one is required to effectively cultivate

Ethics The nineteenth century German philosopher Immanuel Kant presented an ethical code that assigned a strict "right" or "wrong" to every action. Called the categorical imperative, Kant believed that it does not matter what the consequences or outcome of actions are; there are certain things that are right and certain things that are wrong. These ethical categories of right and wrong are not negotiable. It can never be "sometimes" ok to