The Lifeboat Case And Utilitarianism Essay

August 2, 2017 History

Imagine that four work forces are placed in a life or decease state of affairs. They are stranded in a boat in the center of the ocean with nil to eat for nutriment. In a badly diminished province. the work forces decide that for the benefit of the bulk they will pull tonss and eat whoever draws the shortest ; one of the work forces refuses to pull. The following twenty-four hours. in malice of the lottery. the youngest male child is killed and fed on by the other work forces. The statement proposed to warrant their actions is that the immature male child. sick from undernourishment and from imbibing saltwater. would hold died anyhow.

Besides. were it non for the cabin boy’s organic structure. the other three work forces would non hold survived. The rule of public-service corporation is called into inquiry with this peculiar instance because it is used to warrant the violent death of the immature male child. Harmonizing to useful logical thinking. the benefit of salvaging three peoples lives outweighs the value of the loss of one life. Utilitarianism is a theory of justness whose highest rule is to maximise felicity and public-service corporation: “The basic thought of utilitarianism is simple: the right thing to make is what produces the most good” ( Mill. 15 ) .

The “most good” can be understood in footings of felicity. or the greater sum of pleasance than of hurting. Therefore. utilitarians measure the effects of actions by how much the consequences bring felicity to the greatest sum of people. The best alternate to any state of affairs is the 1 that produces the greatest net public-service corporation. Harmonizing to John Stuart Mill. “”Utility” or the “greatest felicity principle” holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to advance felicity ; wrong as they tend to bring forth the contrary of happiness” ( 16 ) . Therefore. whatever produces the most good is considered to be merely.

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The useful position supports` the violent death of the immature male child by the three work forces because the “good” that comes from the endurance of the three work forces is greater than holding all of the work forces die from famishment. Particularly when taking into consideration the fact that the decease of the three work forces opposed to one immature male child could potentially impact more people. Justice. therefore. depends on public-service corporation and the greater good: “The indispensable characteristics of justness on the useful strategy are these:

It acknowledges the being of single rights which are to be supported by society” ( 21 ) . Mills notes the protection of rights. but besides suggests how justness in footings of these single rights can be overridden with inequality when it promotes a greater good. The job with this useful justification is that the worth and value of this immature boy’s life is being determined. Bing rescued merely a few yearss after the incident. there is no definite manner of cognizing that the immature male child couldn’t have survived. Besides. the inquiry of justness is addressed with this state of affairs because the male child was killed without his anterior permission and consent.

His single rights were dismissed and overshadowed. while the felicity of the bulk of the work forces was taken into history. In this case. the recognized criterion of justness refering single rights and autonomies are violated: “This utilitarianism appears to necessitate that I break a promise or even harm person any clip more “good” could be accomplished by making so” ( 22 ) . This thought of loss for some for the direct benefit or net income of others possesses the power to belie accepted and common moral criterions and intuitions held within society.

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