...Murder in House “The Tyrant” is not Justified in Utilitarianism For decades, the “Trolley Problem” has been used to shape our understanding of what is morally right and wrong, how we act, and how we should act. Judith Thomson, a philosopher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was able to coin the “Trolley Problem” and create the famous “footbridge” and the “switch” scenarios. In the “switch” scenario, as you are walking, you hear a trolley approaching five workers on the tracks; you are too far from the workers and would not be able to warn the five workers before the trolley reaches them. However, you happen to be standing next to a lever switch that you can pull to redirect the trolley to a different track where there is a man standing there but pulling the lever would save the five workers and also kill one man. What...
Words: 2697 - Pages: 11
...good; such as happiness, flourishing, well-being, or desire satisfaction. Utilitarian ideas of justice connect morality to the law, economic distribution, and politics. What economic or political principles will utilitarians say we should accept? That is not an easy question to answer and is still up in the air. We have to discover the best economic and political systems for ourselves by seeing the effects they produce (90). Utilitarians often advocate for social welfare because everyone’s well-being is of moral interest and social welfare seems like a good way to make sure everyone flourishes to a minimal extent. On the other hand utilitarians often advocate free trade because (a) free trade can help reward people for hard work and encourage people to be productive, (b) the free market allows for a great deal of freedom, (c) freedom has a tendency to lead to more prosperity, and (d) taking away freedom has a tendency to cause suffering. One conception of utilitarian justice can be found in the work Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill (91). Mill said that justice was a subset of morality—“injustice involves the violation of the rights of some identifiable individual” (ibid.). Mill suggests, “Justice implies something which is not only right to do, and wrong not to do, but which some individual person can claim from us as his moral right” (ibid.). Morality is larger than justice because it’s plausible that we can be heroic or act beyond the call of duty to help others and such...
Words: 6146 - Pages: 25
...79−106, 143‒146. [The text is derived from a publisher’s proof, and may differ slightly from the finished book. If quoting, it is best to cite the relevant WOLF page.] CHAPTER THREE ETHICAL THEORY In the previous chapter we looked at the role of values in business and considered how business ethics was becoming part of the professionalization of business. But what exactly are ethical judgments, and how do we justify them? At first appearance this may seem a needless difficulty. After all, is it not obvious what is happening when we make ethical decisions? Do we not do so almost every day of our lives in fact? It is one thing to engage in an activity, but often quite another to state what exactly is going on when we do it. For example, someone may have a tremendous gift for selling goods to people, but may not necessarily be aware, until he or she is taught, exactly what is going on when a successful marketing strategy is put into operation. One can instinctively put into operation the classical ‘three Ps’ of marketing (attention to Product, Price and Packaging), but yet be unaware, until this is pointed out, that these are the key features of selling. In a similar way, we can make moral judgments, but yet find some difficulty in explaining exactly what is taken place when we do so. In the case of ethical judgments, the situation is perhaps more difficult. If I state that a product is — say — red, we have little difficulty in understanding and explaining what...
Words: 12860 - Pages: 52
...Business Ethics and Social Responsibility European Court Abolishes Sexual Discrimination In Insurance Pricing Index Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………...... 3 Sexual Discrimination and Insurance ………………………………………………………………… 4 Normative Ethics and the Discrimination in Insurance ……………………………………... 5 Utilitarianism ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 Kant Deonthological Ethic Theory ……………………………………………………………………. 7 Critical Opinion ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9 Introduction The aim of this report is to discuss a controversial and very recent issue regarding business ethics: The sexual discrimination in the Insurance markets. I decided to do further research and build on this subject, because, after reading in the newspaper about it, I still do not know how the future is going to be concerning all the details and crucial aspects of dealing with such a sensitive subject. In this essay there will be an evaluation of the status quo from an economic point of view and an assessment of the market impacts of a potential ban on the use of gender as a differentiating factor of private insurance prices in EU. The question that first arises is: Is the abolishment of the inequalities in insurance premiums and benefits going to have positive consequences for the customers of private European insurance companies? To get the reader closer to the functioning of pricing...
Words: 2331 - Pages: 10
...experimentation Disagreement • Business Utilitarianism Anthropocentric ethics Kantian theory Counterargument Agreement To future generation Giving a great habitat to animals Biocentric ethics Ecocentric ethics Conclusion We live with the world Introduction: Since the environment problem has taken attention in today's society, there have been number of opinions about our obligations with nature. Some people claim that human has the right to act and that nature is here just to satisfy human desires and needs. In the other hand, there is a group of people who state that this argument sound egoist because we are not the only species living in this world and we should share this earth with species. “Individuals can not be used as merely as a means to the end- there are ends in themselves” Kant basic ideas here are that persons have the position to make rational choice about their own lives. They have moral autonomy and fee will. This fact about person confers dignity upon them. They command respect. To treat people as a mean to some other end, be it own welfare or that of others, it is fail to respect their dignity” (Jhon O'Neill, 2008, p. 34) We can clearly see that Kant draws a distinction between person and thing. There is not point to argue Kant Theory since we draw our attention of how important is the use of natural resources for human being sustention and scientific evolution; for example, when researchers look for an illnes’s cure...
Words: 3465 - Pages: 14
...discoveries, eventually deemed their own experiments as morbid and purposeless. Rousseau, a philosopher, claimed that animals, like humans, deserved natural rights as well. Although animals were not on the same level intellectually as humans, and could not express their emotions, they felt the same physical pain that humans do and do not deserve to suffer so tremendously. At this time, Jeremy Bentham also presented his moral philosophy which was known as “utilitarianism” (Boralevi, 1984). Bentham believed what was “right” was the outcome which had the most benefit. In this case, although Bentham recognized the suffering of these animal subjects, he deemed the progression of humans and medical sciences more important than the natural rights of these animals. This philosophy shifted the conversation from whether animals felt pain and suffered during these experiments, to whether it was worth the consequence to conduct painful experiments on animal subjects in order to progress human knowledge. Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism still holds a significant influence on the modern ethics of using animal subjects in biomedical experiments. In the 19th century, not only did the ethics of using animal subjects change significantly, the entire infrastructure of medicine significantly changed. In this era, medical knowledge progressed faster than it ever had before. Medicine shifted more towards more accurate diagnoses and understanding diseases much better in order to be able to heal patients...
Words: 1818 - Pages: 8
...Code of Ethics Anonymous HCS/335 April 7, 2014 Patricia Daugherty Code of Ethics Introduction The organization’s code of ethics serves as a guide to its employees when making difficult decisions. Ethics helps professionals with their actions and practices that are directed to improve the welfare of people in an ethical way (Fremgen, 2009). An organization’s culture and mission statement also help its employees make ethical decisions. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) organization is the national public health organization that is committed to protect the health and safety of our nation. CDC’s mission statement focuses on to protect the health and safety of our communities through prevention strategies and control of disease. The mission statement motivates the employees to do their best to prevent diseases and infection. The code of ethics provides guidance to ensure that CDC employees avoid situations that could violate ethics law (CDC, 2013). The organization’s mission statement and culture reflect its ethical values. Organization’s Goals and how they are tied to its ethical principles The organization’s goals are to provide protection for our nation’s health and safety. The CDC has pledged to treat all human beings with dignity, honesty, and respect. They have also pledged to provide an environment for positive personal growth and integrity. The CDC provides employment for over 17,000 employees and they work to provide a diverse work environment...
Words: 1713 - Pages: 7
...You will receive instructions in class how to download it) 3. Rachels, J., & Rachels, S. (2010). The Elements of Moral Philosophy (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill. (We will only be using two chapters from this book. The two chapters are available at the library e-reserve). Readings: 1. Rich, L. L. (1996). How much of someone else’s work may I use without asking permission. Retrieved from http://library.findlaw.com/1996/Apr/1/127408.html 2. Carr, A. Z. 1968). Is business bluffing ethical? Harvard Business Review, 96, 143-153. 3. Friedman, M. (1970, September 13). The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits. The New York Times Magazine. 4. Mackinnon, B. (2012) Ch. 4 Utilitarianism. In Ethics theory and contemporary issues 7th ed. (pp. 52-61). United States: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 5. Nozick, R. (1974). Ch. 7. Distributive Justice. In Anarchy and Utopia. New York: Basic Books. 6. Mackinnon, B. (2012) Ch. 8 Virtue Ethics. In Ethics theory and contemporary issues 7th ed. (pp. 124-134). United States: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 7. Shaw, W. S. (2008). Ch. 4 The nature of capitalism. In Business Ethics 6th ed. (pp. 121-146). Cincinnati: Thomson Wadsworth. 8....
Words: 2234 - Pages: 9
...concerned with ‘’how an individual would live in order to achieve happiness’’. Socrates can be seem as saying; ‘’Think hard enough and you will always find that doing the right thing is best for you ‘’ ( quoted in Peter singers A companion to Ethics, Blackwell p. 125 ). Plato's view was much more in depth and most famously contradicts Socrates work. Plato believes ethics is ‘’ knowledge is the virtue of happiness ‘’ . Plato can be seen as saying ‘’ If you believe something is right than its right, but if you believe something is wrong but still go ahead , this is unethical’’ . ‘’An individual human being is the measure of all things’’ (quoted from The puzzle of ethics-pg 9 Peter Vardy). There is many different types of ‘ethics’ for example: utilitarianism ethics, where as a person believes the wrong or right thing to do will depend on the outcome for instance; if a man was to choose...
Words: 3690 - Pages: 15
...Essay: The Health Care, Universal Insurance and International Comparison of Health Care Syetem Introduction In recent years, the availability and affordability of health insurance in United States has becomes the subject of much debate. About one in seven American has no health insurance at all, and for many people who are insured, the cost of coverage is a financial hardship. This situation has led some people to call for the government to provide health insurance for all citizens like other developed countries e.g. Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany etc. Under this type of system, the state government or the federal government would provide insurance coverage, fixed by taxes for everyone. Those who support government-run health care believe that it has many benefits, including universal coverage, lower costs, and greater efficiency. Opponents contend that such a system would require budgets controls, forcing the government to decide whether and when person can receive certain health service. They believe universal health care would lead to lower quality care, long delay, greater government bureaucracy, and greater tax increase. However, whether universal insurance or not, the current health care system needed a reform and I believe Most American will prefer Universal health insurance to any other health care system because it guarantee coverage for everybody. Thesis: the rising cost of health care is a very critical issue in public debate nowadays. The situation...
Words: 3993 - Pages: 16
...1.0 INTRODUCTION Health care can be defined as the maintaining and restoration of health by the treatment and prevention of disease especially by trained and licensed professionals such as in medicine, dentistry, clinical psychology, and public health. Besides that, health care also the services are provided to people or communities by agents of the health services or professions for the purpose of promoting, maintaining, monitoring, or restoring health. According to the Institute of Medicine, they defines health care quality as the extent to which health services provided to individuals and patient populations improve desired health outcomes. The care should be based on the strongest clinical evidence and provided in a technically and culturally competent manner with good communication and shared decision making. While dementia or senile are often synonymous with the elderly. Senile is a condition in which the brain has decreased, causing a decline in memory of a patient with severe and cannot even take care of you. Dementia or senile is a disease and not alarmed foreign to the Malay community, since time immemorial have been recorded by type as Munshi Abdullah, in his famous book. It usually only pose problems to a family member when the disease came too early from the age norm. If the patient began suffering from dementia when he reached 80 years were normal and not a problem. But if the patient was only 60 years old, is suffering from dementia, so it is very stressful for...
Words: 4442 - Pages: 18
...JUSTICE AND DIVERSITY WORD COUNT 3846 Introduction The aim of this assignment is to consider whether mental health patients have autonomy or do staff and the healthcare environment merely allow them a measurable quantity of autonomy based on legal, ethical and moral restrictions, if this is the case, is this autonomy at all? Placement experiences will be given in relation to patient autonomy and related ethical, legal and professional issues will be supported and/ or contrasted by relevant literature. Patient autonomy and capacity, consent, compliance, coercion and paternalism with be considered. In an attempt to show a deeper understanding and ability to apply theory to practice, the moral theories of liberal individualism, utilitarianism, Kantianism and communitarianism will be discussed in relation to patient autonomy. Attitudes, values, assumptions related to patient autonomy, implications for practice and care provision will also be reviewed. This topic has been chosen, due to personal interest following practice experiences on an adult acute mental health unit. All identifying factors relating to the patients have been changed to maintain client confidentiality (Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) Code of Professional Conduct 2002). A conclusion will be offered to evaluate findings, finalising with a reflective summary focusing on the process of enquiry. Autonomy Autonomy means self rule (Dworkin 1988). It as the ability to think, choose and act freely and...
Words: 4615 - Pages: 19
...(concept that ethics is relative to a particular point of view) * Ethical objectivism (notion that ethics is objective in nature). Meta-Ethical Positions Ethical Non-cognitivism The basis of ethical non-cognitivism is that ethical disagreement can be a highly emotional affair where no amount of reasoning is likely to convince the other party. * Example: “Let’s just agree to disagree” Ethical Relativism * Ethical relativism says that while ethical statements are cognitively meaningful, they do not hold in any objective sense because they depend on our point of view. * If we accept ethical relativism, then ethical disagreement among people who do not share the same perspective becomes impossible. * It assumes that if people agree on something, then it must be true. * Ethical relativism is suspect for a pragmatic reason: it is fundamentally at variance with our social practice. * Example: “To each his own”, or the belief that what’s right for one group isn’t necessarily right for another Ethical Objectivism * Ethical objectivism holds that right and wrong are objective phenomena. * Example: “I’m right and you’re wrong” What is Ethics? * As a discipline, ethics is a branch of philosophy. * It deals with questions of right and wrong conduct, and with what we ought to do and what we ought to refrain from doing. * It considers issues of rights and obligations and how these are related to the social setting. * Ethics is normative...
Words: 23725 - Pages: 95
...ADMS 3660 MIDTERM NOTES Chapter 1 and Parable of the Sandhu Case * Watched video on Disney and how they treat employees, work is a performance etc. * Ethics is the study of morality * Morality refers to the standards that an individual or group has about what is right/wrong, good/evil. * Business Ethics concentrates on moral standards as they apply to business policies, institutions, and behaviour * Corporate Social Responsibility refers specifically to a description and moral evaluation of the impact than an organization has on society * Ethics can be a business constraint “ethics costs” but also an advantage “ethics pays” 1970 – 1985: Rise of business ethics (academia) 1985 – 1995: Ethics into firms 1995 – 2000: Internationalization 2000 – 2012: Corporate Scandals and government regulation * Ethics Scandal Costs: Fines, lawsuits, prison, investor losses, bankruptcies, unemployment, and increased regulation * Market Morality: Will everyone invest their money as agreed or will greed effect them? * Parable of the Sandhu Ethics vs. the law Unclear over moral responsibility Easier to say what is morally right than to do it * Employees value health and safety ethics Consumers value product safety Shareholders want return on investment Need to look at environment * Macroenvironment: social, economic, political, technological factors * Our society is pluralistic in nature * Pluralism: there is diffusion of...
Words: 8968 - Pages: 36
...* Terminology Unit 1 * Mental Health- A state of well-being in which each individual is able to recognize his or her own potential, cope with normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and make a contribution to the community. * Mental Illness- maladaptive responses to stressors from the internal or external environment, evidenced by thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are incongruent with the local and cultural norms, and interfere with the individuals social, occupational and or physical functioning. * Anticipatory grief-when a loss is anticipated, individuals often begin the work of grieving before the actual loss occurs. * Bereavement overload- this is particularly true for elderly individuals who may be experiencing numerous losses- such as spouse, friends, other relatives, independent functioning, home, personal possessions, and pets in a relatively short time as grief accumulates a type of bereavement overload occurs which for some individuals presents an impossible task of grief work. * Ego defense mechanisms-defense mechanisms employed by the ego in the face of threat to biological or psychological integrity identified by Anna Freud 1953. Some of these are more adaptive than others, but all are used either consciously or unconsciously as protective devices for the ego in an effort to relieve mild to moderate anxiety. * Projection: Attributing feelings or impulses unacceptable to one’s self to another person. * Undoing:...
Words: 11566 - Pages: 47