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Humanitarian Ethics
“A system of ethics originated by the author that advocates five basic principles and a synthesized act-rules, consequentialism-nonconsequentialism approach to morality (sometimes referred to as mixed-deontology) that can include any moral system-religious or nonreligious-as long as the five basic moral principles are observed” (Krasemann, 2012).
Ethical Problem
A classmate, whom you have be an acquaintance with for over two years, stops you in the hallway and states “If you can help me, I will pay you $30 for every paper you write for me, plus an extra bit in the end”. Do I help the classmate and earn some extra cash, or do I say no as it is a form of plagiarism?
Value of Life Principle
In the words of Thiroux & Krasemann (Ethics: Theory and Practice, 2012, p.145, para 4), “human beings should revere life and preserve death”. Value of life is not a contributing principle in this ethical problem.
Principle of Goodness
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Beneficence says we should always do and be good. Nonmaleficence says we should always try to stop and/or avoid badness/harm. The following are items that humans should try doing:
• Promote goodness over badness and do good (beneficence)
• Cause no harm or badness (nonmaleficence)
• Prevent badness of harm (nonmaleficence) (Thiroux & Krasemann, p. 146, para. 3).
Concerning the above stated ethical problem, there are a few questions that come to mind. If I agree to help out this classmate, will I not be harming him/her? Will he/she not miss out on the learning activities from completing the assignments himself/herself? However, how can this request be avoided? On one hand, because the classmate asked, does he/she now expect me to help? Or, will my initial answer of, “I really do not think I should do that”, stand for a NO in the classmate’s eyes?
Principle of
When situations arise and people die or become ill a value has to be placed on their life to determine if they are going to be healed or if their family is going to be compensated for their loss. The value of life has a variety of interpretations based on the approach a person decides to take. Some people think of human life with an economic point of view which can led to certain deceased citizens receiving more money for accidents than others. The economic view also says that if a surgery is going to cost the government to much money then the person who needs the surgery should not get it. On the other hand, some people look at it emotionally and say that everyone should get an equal amount of money for incidents that occur. People who look
There are two basic types of ethical judgments: deontological judgements that focus on duty and obligation and eudaimonist judgements that focus on human excellence and the nature of the good life. I contend that we must carefully distinguish these two types of judgement and not try to understand one as a special case of the other. Ethical theories may be usefully divided into two main kinds, deontological or eudaimonist, on the basis of whether they take one of the other of these types of judgement as primary. A second important contention, which this paper supports but does not attempt to justify fully, is that neither type of theory trumps the other, nor should we subsume them under some more encompassing ethical synthesis.
What is ethics? Ethics are the philosophical principles of good verses bad moral behavior. It is a guideline to help people make decisions or make a judgment calls. There are two main types of ethical principles that will be discussed in this paper, and how they are applied to the decision making process. They are Deontological and Utilitarian. Deontological ethics are based on the righteousness or wrongness of the action-taking place. It does not base itself on the bad or good consequences that come from the action. Immanuel Kant introduced deontological ethics in the 18th century. Kant believed that every decision or action made by a person had to be evaluated by his or her moral duty. He stated that humanity shouldn’t side on its
In many real and fictionalized totalitarian societies, children live apart from their families. I believe that dictatorial leaders enforced this living arrangement because they don’t want parents to influence their children, to make sure people are loyal to the society, and to maintain everyone equal. They do this so that they have total control over their society.
There is great debate in this country and worldwide over whether or not terminally ill patients who are experiencing great suffering should have the right to choose death. A deep divide amongst the American public exists on the issue. It is extremely important to reach an ethical decision on whether or not terminally ill patients have this right to choose death, since many may be needlessly suffering, if an ethical solution exists.
The principle of beneficence is concerned with a moral obligation to act for the benefits of others (Kennedy, 2004). Additionally, beneficence is the principle consisting of deeds such as mercy, kindness, and charity (Rich, 2008). There are other forms of beneficence including altruism, love, and humanity (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009). We use beneficence in order to cover beneficent actions more broadly, so that it includes all forms of action to benefit other persons (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009). Overall, beneficence implies that an individual takes action to do good by benefiting others and facilitating their well-being. Beneficence also requires that benefits are balanced against risks and costs (Kennedy, 2004). In order for a person to “do good”, they must also consider the values of individual in question (Bjarnason & LaSala, 2011).
The most argued issue with assisted suicide is grounded in morals and religion. The sanctity of life is the philosophy that human life is sacred and should be protected from any form of v...
A totalitarian government is place that no person should ever be forced to live in because this type of government controls almost every aspect of its citizens’ lives. The dictators controlling these kinds of government’s take away people’s basic human rights, brainwash kids into showing no loyalty towards their families, and imprison or execute all who might be a remote threat to their party. The government then controls the remaining population with the fear of being arrested by secret state police regardless if they have committed, or planned to commit, a crime. The leaders of these societies have no regard for the wellbeing of anybody but themselves, and once they come to power, it is usually too late to stop what happens next.
Utilitarianism says that the right action is the one that brings about the most overall happiness. No other moral rule has universal validity. According to Rachels, Utilitarianism is known as “we should always do whatever will produce the greatest possible balance of happiness over unhappiness for everyone who will be affected by our action” (Rachels). Utilitarianism has three main principles. Consequentialism says that the actions are to be judged right or wrong solely by virtue of their consequences. Hedonism states that in assessing consequences, the only thing that matters are the amount of happiness/unhappiness that is caused. The Equality Principle states that each person’s happiness counts the same. The two most important objections to utilitarianism are Consequentialism and the Equality Principle. The replies to Consequentialism and the Equality Principle, shows that Utilitarianism is not a plausible moral theory, therefore, Utilitarianism should be rejected.
Yes, your friend can receive consequences, which “may involve redoing the work, receiving a failing grade for the assignment, or detention” (Goldstein), but you are actually helping them building learnings, experience and eventually a good reputation for their futures. Whether it’s at their job or school, your friends actually have to learn the concepts and materials and comprehend them well, in order for them to perform a successful task. Some people might think you are a person who would “snitch” on everyone, but some students might actually be thankful. People who are dishonest will receive consequences for cheating, and hopefully they would refrain from that habit and realize life does not work along with their cheating methods.
The Consequences of a Totalitarian Society Americans today tend to believe that one of the world’s biggest fears is totalitarianism. The thought of a government that has complete and utter control continues to bring fear to people today. According to an article titled “Totalitarianism,” the author states, “Totalitarian governments use propaganda to spread ideas in order to control every aspect of life, including economic, social, political, and intellectual. This control was meant to serve a purpose; to unite the people in the achievement of common goals.” In other words, the author believes that individuals are not allowed any freedoms unless the leader of the state allowed it.
The ethical debate regarding euthanasia dates back to ancient Greece and Rome. It was the Hippocratic School (c. 400B.C.) that eliminated the practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide from medical practice. Euthanasia in itself raises many ethical dilemmas – such as, is it ethical for a doctor to assist a terminally ill patient in ending his life? Under what circumstances, if any, is euthanasia considered ethically appropriate for a doctor? More so, euthanasia raises the argument of the different ideas that people have about the value of the human experience.
Deontological moral theory is a Non-Consequentialist moral theory. While consequentialists believe the ends always justify the means, deontologists assert that the rightness of an action is not simply dependent on maximizing the good, if that action goes against what is considered moral. It is the inherent nature of the act alone that determines its ethical standing. For example, imagine a situation where there are four critical condition patients in a hospital who each need a different organ in order to survive. Then, a healthy man comes to the doctor’s office for a routine check-up. According to consequentialism, not deontology, the doctor should and must sacrifice that one man in order to save for others. Thus, maximizing the good. However, deontological thought contests this way of thinking by contending that it is immoral to kill the innocent despite the fact one would be maximizing the good. Deontologists create concrete distinctions between what is moral right and wrong and use their morals as a guide when making choices. Deontologists generate restrictions against maximizing the good when it interferes with moral standards. Also, since deontologists place a high value on the individual, in some instances it is permissible not to maximize the good when it is detrimental to yourself. For example, one does not need to impoverish oneself to the point of worthlessness simply to satisfy one’s moral obligations. Deontology can be looked at as a generally flexible moral theory that allows for self-interpretation but like all others theories studied thus far, there are arguments one can make against its reasoning.
As a function, ethics is a philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct, and of the rules and principles it should govern. As a system, ethics are a social, religious, or civil code of behavior considered correct by a particular group, profession, or individual. As an instrument, ethics provide perspective regarding the moral fitness of a decision, course of action, or potential outcomes. Ethical decision-making can include many types, including deontological (duty), consequentialism (including utilitarianism), and virtue ethics. Additionally, subsets of relativism, objectivism, and pluralism seek to understand the impact of moral diversity on a human level. Although distinct differences separate these ethical systems, organizations
In the following essay, I argue that euthanasia is not morally acceptable because it always involves killing, and undermines intrinsic value of human being. The moral basis on which euthanasia defends its position is contradictory and arbitrary in that its moral values represented in such terms as ‘mercy killing’, ‘dying with dignity’, ‘good death’ and ‘right for self-determination’ fail to justify taking one’s life.