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¶ … Conjoined Twins: A Utilitarian Analysis
From the Utilitarian ethical perspective, the troubling case of separating conjoined twins (either against the parents' wishes or as a result of the parents' wishes) presents the following problems: 1) the high cost to perform the surgery ($1.5 million), 2) the fact that it is impossible to quantify the common good in such a personal, emotional, psychological, economical, life-and-death type of situation, and 3) the highly subjective nature of "the greatest good" in such a case. This paper will examine each of these three points to show how, from the Utilitarian perspective, the decision to operate in both cases, is immoral.
The first issue of cost is one that goes against the Utilitarian ethical system purely on the basis of a cost-benefit ratio. $1.5 million to perform a surgery that will kill one of the babies, leave the other impaired for life, and perhaps scar the parents (particularly those who are against the operation) is far too great a cost when considered in light...
When the economical toll is added (which can be quantified), the moral imperative in this case swings towards no surgery, as this would cut out the high economical cost of operation and alter the personal, emotional and psychological costs associated with the situation.
Of course, one could argue that the latter costs are worsened by not operating -- which is the point of the third argument -- that the greatest good in this case is too highly subjective for a Utilitarian solution to be possible. How can the life of the baby who is sacrificed be said to be worth less than the lives of the other stakeholders? The Utilitarian must consider that all stakeholders involved have their own opinion on the matter and that there is not likely to be any uniform or common consensus on which approach is the best. This makes addressing the problem that much more difficult as there is no clear way for the Utilitarian solution to be applied when the issue of subjective good is introduced. Discerning the objective good in this case is no less difficult, since the issue is one that is highly personal, with a variety…
John and Utility Ethics The utility ethics raised in John's situation focus on his doing what he believes to be in the best interest of his family: "You know that we can barely pay our bills," he tells his wife as a way to justify his theft. He further attempts to justify stealing from the company that employs him by making a number of points: 1) the company can afford it,
Politics of the Common Good In Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? (2009), Michael J. Sandal argues that politics and society require a common moral purpose beyond the assertion of natural rights like life liberty and property or the utilitarian calculus of increasing pleasure and minimizing pain for the greatest number of people. He would move beyond both John Locke and Jeremy Bentham in asserting that "a just society can't
Utilitarian Ethics Business Ethics 3825 Case of the Sole Remaining Supplier Relevant stakeholders Internal stakeholders External stakeholders Utilitarian ethics: Action plan Desired aims Specific Actions Raising the quality control standards Develop elaborate Standard installation and operation procedures (SIOP) Right of revoking supply contract unilaterally in case of non-compliance to SIOP Optimal good achieved Case of the Sole Remaining Supplier The case of 'sole remaining supplier' is regarding a firm that manufactures heart pacemakers. The pacemaker is a modern device that is used by the
The virtue ethics supporter would know that harming innocent animals and people is wrong and that that kind of behavior does not make a good world. Aristotle believed that the one of the biggest and most important aspects of virtue ethics was reasoning. If one is to take time to reason about the situation with the make-up company, she is to know that one cannot allow animals and people to
Powell points to the fact that "in Georgia, for example, the time between the date of the murder and the murderer's execution (if it occurs) averages close to I0 years 25 Although the average lapsed time in Georgia may be the highest, the same situation generally prevails in a number of other states. No one would suggest that this is satisfactory." (Powell, 1038) Indeed, according to Calvert (1993) it demonstrates
Peer Reply 1: Rebecca Haynes I have the same concerns regarding health care costs and who will pay for it. On the one hand, I can understand the predicament: someone has to foot the bill later on down the road, but at the moment people need care and that should not be ignored. Figuring out the best approach so that the greatest common good can be achieved is especially difficult in this