Watch the video and answer the following questions. Make sure to grammar check,
ID: 3458605 • Letter: W
Question
Watch the video and answer the following questions. Make sure to grammar check, spell check and number your answers (1-3 pages for all answers together).
https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_sandel_what_s_the_right_thing_to_do
1. If you had to choose between (1) killing one person to save the lives of five others and (2) doing nothing, even though you knew that five people would die right before your eyes if you did nothing—what would you do? What would be the right thing to do? (Trolleycar example).
2. Sandel introduces the principles of utilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, with a famous nineteenth century law (The Queen vs. Dudley & Stephens (1884) case involving a shipwrecked crew of four. After nineteen days lost at sea, the captain decides to kill the cabin boy, the weakest amongst them, so they can feed on his blood and body to survive. What would you do if placed in this situation? Why?
3. Suppose ten thousand innocent civilians live next to a munitions factory in a country at war. If you bomb the factory, all of them will die. If you don’t bomb the factory, it will be used to produce bombs that will be dropped on fifty thousand innocent civilians in another country. What’s the right thing to do? Does utilitarianism get the right answer?
4. Suppose a man has planted a bomb in New York City, and it will explode in twenty-four hours unless the police are able to find it. Should it be legal for the police to use torture to extract information from the suspected bomber? Does utilitarianism get the right answer? What would you do and why?
5. Tell me about Jeremy Betham's Principles of Morals and Legislation (1780). What is utilitarianism? What is utility? Explain this in an example. Do you agree with utilitarianism? What problems/issues could arise from utilitarianism or use of utility?
6. In general, is it permissible to harm a smaller number of innocent people to prevent greater harm to a larger number of people?
Explanation / Answer
1. I would save the five people even if I have to sacrifice one person. The person who is going to be killed because of this act would think almost the same. Saving more life is worth doing even if we have to sacrifice the same.
2. I think Bentham is wrong in proposing to kill the cabin boy on the basis that he was the only weak boy. There is no chance in that scenario that who will survive, so deciding to kill someone to kill in an indefinite situation is not right.
3. I would destroy the bomb factory because the bomb factory will not only destroy the fifty thousand but also they will continue to kill more people. So destroying the bomb factory is a better choice if the choice is between the two.
4. I would say that the police should torture the accused in order to find where the bomb is hidden. Utilitarian principle says that the action is more important if the action increases utility or benefit.
5. Utilitarianism is an ethical principle that suggest that if an action increases utility or benefit for maximum people, it would be considered as an ethical action. It also proposes that the action should decrease any harm to people or less harm at least. Although I agree with utilitarian principle, one problem it poses is that it suggests that the minority or less number of people could be sacrificed in order to save more people.
6. Every life matters and sacrificing any life is not accepted but if there is only one option this or that, then one will definitely choose majority over minority in order to maximize the benefit.
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