Ethics and Morality: Utilitarianism, Deontology, And Rights Ethics Principles
Dramatized Example of Utilitarianism
At some point in the popular investigative TV show 24, Jack Bauer, an influential counterterrorism officer, questions terrorist Syed Ali, seeking to get him to reveal the location of a nuclear bomb that has been set to detonate in Los Angeles. Ali, however, is reluctant to cooperate, and Bauer, who unfortunately does not have the pleasure of time, orders his officers to kill the elder one of Ali's two sons and threatens to kill the younger one if Ali still does not cooperate. In a bid to save his son, Ali reveals the weapon's location, and Bauer's men get to neutralize it just in time to save Los Angeles. Bauer's action spurs a heated debate, and even Supreme Court officials find themselves divided. The question on everyone's mind is - should Jack Bauer be convicted for killing Ali's son in order to save Los Angeles?
In the principle of utilitarianism, it is the consequences of an action that determine its morality (Conway & Gawronski, 2013). To this end, "harming others is acceptable if it increases the well-being of a greater number of people" (Conway & Gawronski, 2013, p. 216). In the above case, Bauer's action is a perfect demonstration of utilitarianism; killing Ali's son would obviously cause him pain, but the fact that the lives of millions of Americans would be saved surpassed that pain. Bentham's utility principle, asserts that as long as an action "equates good with pleasure and evil with pain," it is moral (CMU, 2002). In the eyes of most Americans, Ali deserved the pain; the death of his...
Utilitarianism, Deontology, Virtue Ethics Ethics essay: The similarities and differences between utilitarianism, deontological ethics, and virtue ethics Utilitarianism is the philosophy that all ethical decisions must strive to do 'the greatest good for the greatest number of people.' In this ethical system, the ethical actor functions as a moral observer, dispassionately making decisions without regard to him or herself or his or her personal investment in the decision. Utilitarianism is a system
Deontology vs. Utilitarianism THE RIGHT CHOICE Deontology is an ethical theory, which states actions should be performed according a previously ranked set of values (Johnson, 1996). It states that some rights must not be violated even if it may produce the greatest overall good. It sees rightness as something intrinsic, rather than extrinsic, to the action performed. It is generally attributed to the philosophy of Immanuel Kant on categorical imperatives. Deontology urges
Consequence-based ethics c. I believe people should be able to eat sand because it is the right thing to do. Duty-based ethics d. I believe people should be able to eat sand because it is good for one's health. Virtue ethics e. I believe people should be able to eat sand if they decide they want to, regardless of whether it is someone else's sand. Entitlement-based ethics f. I believe people should be
Governance and Ethics Corporate Governance & Ethics Dr. DoRight is the highly respected executive at Universal Human Care Hospital. He and Universal both stand to lose a great deal if it leaks out that patients have been dying due to lack of internal controls and simple negligence. Not only have patients been dying, but it has been going on for at least two years and while Dr. DoRight has been fully aware
Ethical Values and Behavior Moral Leadership: Batson vs. Tyler Batson (Chapter 8, Rhode, 2006) is of the view that moral leadership is about getting people to uphold moral standards and to always act ethically. The underlying assumption is that when everyone acts within their moral capacities, the organization and society as a whole is deemed to benefit. Acting morally, according to Batson, means looking out for the needs and well-being of others,
.....personal ethics derive from a combination of established codifications of moral conduct, such as those embedded in political documents or in religious scripture, but also from my personality, my upbringing, and my worldview. I tend towards a utilitarian point-of-view, in that I do believe that the consequences of actions are more important than worrying about whether an action is inherently right or wrong. I also believe that there are situational
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