Arts & Humanities - 26 July 2007

i am doing a painting for a house.. it's supposed to be simple - basically just a really good blend of certain clours. since it is very big i was considering using house paint but didn't know whether it would be any good for the blending.. any help would be appreciated

2007-07-26 23:55:43 · 6 answers · asked by tHeNiCkS 3 in Painting

Hi there i stayed up till 3:30 am doing this philosophy essay and my head is a bit scrambled from it. can you tell me what you think and if there are any improvements that i could make( apart from rewriting it as I`ve passed the point of no return) any info would be very much appreciated ,why thank you!!



When considering the two case studies that have been used as examples in the essay question it can be seen that the two schools of thought of Kantianism and Utilitarianism will always cause conflict. However each is applicable and should be contemplated when making moral judgements in differing scenarios.

The Utilitarian viewpoint is one of making decisions based on the consequences that will possibly occur and how these results can be best suited to bring about the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people. This quest for happiness could also be construed as the search for the least amount of suffering. In case study one, the Utilitarian stance would more than likely be to give all money to cancer research and render the wishes of the dying millionaire and his drug addict niece irrelevant. Utilitarianism would favour the amount of good that was possible by undoubtedly bettering cancer diagnosis, cancer care and cancer treatment and in the long term, the hope of an eventual cure.

Kantianism would differ in that absolute rules would have to be followed and that the executor of the dying mans millions would, out of his sense of duty, not be able to lie about who the benefactor was and thus the money would be attributed to his niece regardless of any consequences that follow. If this case study is viewed by the premise that it must be one decision or the other, and that there is no grey area - for example that the money could be split and that there could be a certain amount of happiness for all parties - then the common sense that is inherent in most observers is that the Utilitarian view is correct and should be followed religiously. Although it can be said that refusing a dying man his final wish is a bad thing, in many cases in life and society, a person must do some bad to bring about some good. It is the measure of each of these two variables that determine whether or not certain things are morally right or morally wrong.
Consider if you will, you have a drug addict friend who has been through all rehabilitation and has continually relapsed. Doing this friend a little bit of harm, for example locking him in a room and causing many weeks of brutal suffering and pain from withdrawal, could lead to a fuller longer happier life.

The previous example would seem easy for any sane person to come to a wholly good conclusion but when considering the mightier subject of taking a life which may include such hotly contested issues as euthanasia, abortion and capital punishment more questions are raised than are answered by the twin towers of Kantianism and utilitarianism. What is a life? When does a life become worthwhile? When is it no longer considered a worthy life? Who are the people who have control over a life? These are just a few of the questions that arise whenever debate is opened on one of the subjects mentioned in the previous paragraph. The investigation of these higher questions can be well served by looking closely at case study number two; this scenario requires a deeper amount of thought than the almost obvious answer to case study number one.

Kant`s argument would be that all human life is intrinsically valuable and thus a life should never be taken regardless of any subsequent good that would come from it. In this way Deontology is backward thinking in that it does not look forward to the possible positive consequences only backward to the absolute that life is valuable and should not be taken.

Utilitarians who believe that happiness is the only thing which has intrinsic value would likely view it that two people can be helped and thus seen to suffer less by the killing of one person. Common sense dictates that it is an injustice and a total wrong to kill an innocent person no matter what. This is merely where the debate begins with regards to these two principles as the deeper a person looks into it the more littered with ambiguity the two become until what we are left with is a sort of hybrid view of things.

In case study two, Kant`s views could be interpreted in such a way that you always ought to help others. By doing this, you then relinquish your right to stay alive and thus selflessly give up your own life to save two others. By the same token utilitarian thinkers could understand that by creating a lottery of this type would create widespread fear and panic throughout an entire nation creating a vast amount of unhappiness. Looking at one of the previous cases, lets take abortion for example problems surface at once when Kant`s attitude towards the subject is brought up - a mother does not have the right to unjustly take the life of her unborn child - this leads to all sorts of problems. Consider if the mothers life was known to be at risk if she did not abort. Kantianism would dictate that she simply accept her death as a natural progression and allow the child to be born into a life without a mother. Utilitarians would view the mother’s life as being more important as she is somewhat more sentient and therefore her happiness is paramount This could also be looked at in a different slant in that the potential contribution of the child to society could be extraordinary and that extinguishing that life could bring about a great deal of unhappiness.

In the case of Euthanasia, Kant`s standpoint of never taking a life could lead to a great deal of suffering for an individual who may be confined to a hospital bed in a permanent vegetative state and have no life at all and yet their family members must sit by idly while nothing can be done to end their loved ones suffering. Utilitarians would support the idea of euthanasia if it brings about the general happiness or reduces the overall amount of suffering, but who is to say that the person carrying out the actions of euthanasia on a patient, whether it is passive or non aggressive, doesn’t themselves undergo suffering at the hands of guilt. There are the also the constant advances in medical technologies, treatments and cures which could lead to the recovery of some of these patients.

As can be seen from the case studies and the examples given in this essay, both of these codes of philosophical conduct have their flaws and neither can be followed as dogma. The best a person can hope to do is apply each one to whatever scenario they are faced with and with the aid of the common sense and intuition that is instilled in humanity, choose the one that they feel is the most morally right. What society is left with is a hybrid of the two and it is an individual’s, states or country’s judgement as to which one to apply and where to apply it.













Philosophy Essay
Normative Ethics: Kantianism and Utilitarianism

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whoever they are interacting with.
FOr example. you act one way around a male peer
another way around female peer
another way around your parents
another way around your boss
another way around your sister
etc etc etc etc etc ... ad iinfinitum

So who are you then?

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if, anyone wanna read, here is the link for this short story

http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/wirving/bl-wirving-widow.htm

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