Question of the Day

Question of the Day • A trolley is running out of control down a track. In its path are 5 people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. Fortunately, you can flip a switch which will lead the trolley down a different track. Unfortunately, there is a single person tied to that track. Should you flip the switch? Why?

Philosophy Utilitarianism

Principle of Utility • Utilitarianism is an ethical theory used to judge decisions and actions • Individuals, businesses, governments should act in such a way to produce the greatest good (utility) for the greatest number of people • Direct reaction to the industrial policies of 19th century England • According to Mills, two types of pleasures • High pleasures are knowledge, beauty, equality, justice, faith • Low pleasures are physical only

Criticisms • Who decides which is what type of pleasure? • Too demanding on believers • Sometimes bad behaviors can be considered moral under this theory • Is-Out Fallacy

Is-Ought Fallacy • The idea that just because something is a certain way is justification enough to say it ought to be this way • What is wrong with this idea? • What are ways people use this type of reasoning to justify what they have done?

Let’s suppose you travel to a far away place where the men are in charge of all decisions and women have no rights beyond that of their husbands. The women hold no jobs and toil around the house all day to provide for a clean place for the men in the family to thrive and grow.

After observing this situation for some months, you determine that this is in fact what is happening all around the country. When you ask people in the area, men and women, why this is the arrangement, you get the same answer, “This is the natural order of things, this is how we ought to live.” • What is wrong with this statement?

Question??? • A small fishing boat crashes into an iceberg in the middle of the ocean. The seas are rough and all but one lifeboat has been destroyed. The radio is broken and there is no way to contact help. • The one lifeboat holds a maximum of 6 people. • Any more people will result in the boat sinking. No one can hang on to the side of the boat as it will cause the boat to sink. The 4 that do not board the lifeboat will certainly die.

The “Heinz” Dilemma • Mr. Heinz is ordinarily a law-abiding man. One day, his wife becomes gravely ill. Heinz takes her to the doctor, who prescribes a medication for her. She does quite well on this medication and begins to recover. However, Heinz has no insurance and runs out of money quickly paying for this expensive medication. After a few months, he can no longer purchase the medication and his wife’s health declines. One day, he is in the pharmacy and notices that no one is behind the counter. The medication is in plain view. What should he do?

Old Woman • You are in the airport, trying to catch a flight that is about to leave. As you run down the crowded corridor, an elderly woman suddenly slips in front of you and falls to the ground with a cry. Do you stop to help, even if you know you will miss your flight because of it?

Read p.297-298 (Jeremy Bentham and Utilitarian Ethics) • What does Bentham mean by “good”

Read “The Problem with Pleasure” p.298 • Do you think Bentham’s acceptance of pleasure (utility) as a standard of morality is justified? Why or why not? • Would it be wise to accept an “unnatural” morality, one that requires us to work against our natural urges and inclinations? What would Bentham say?

Murderers murder people; does this mean that they ought to murder people? • Read p.299 “Is-Ought Fallacy” • Is-Ought Fallacy • The idea that just because something is a certain way is justification enough to say it ought to be this way

Question of the Day