Utilitarianism
Utilitarians judge whether an action is right or wrong by looking at this.
Its consequences (the outcomes it produces)
The word “deontology” comes from the Greek word for this.
Duty
This ancient Greek philosopher is the founder of virtue ethics.
Aristotle
In the classic trolley problem, you can pull a lever to divert a trolley from five people onto one. What would a utilitarian do and why?
Pull the lever. Five lives saved outweighs one life lost, so it produces the greatest net happiness.
In an argument, the claim you are trying to prove is called this.
The thesis or conclusion
This English philosopher founded utilitarianism and wrote An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation.
Jeremy Bentham
This German philosopher is the most famous deontologist.
Immanuel Kant
Virtue ethics focuses on a person’s ___ rather than on actions or consequences.
Character
In the footbridge version, you can save the five only by pushing a large man onto the tracks. Why would a Kantian refuse?
It would use the man merely as a means to save others, violating the principle of treating people as ends in themselves.
The statements that support the conclusion are called this.
The premise
Bentham’s method of measuring pleasure and pain using factors like intensity, duration, and certainty is called this.
The Utilitarian Calculus
The test that asks “Could everyone act on this rule?” is the first formulation of this principle.
The categorical Imperitive
This Greek word, often translated as “flourishing” or “living well,” is the goal of human life for Aristotle.
Eudaimonia
A murderer asks where your friend is hiding. What did Kant say you must do, and what would a utilitarian say?
Kant said you must not lie, because truthfulness is a duty with no exceptions. A utilitarian would lie, since a life is saved and the harm of the lie is small.
This fallacy occurs when you misrepresent an opponent’s position to make it easier to attack.
The strawman fallacy
Mill disagreed with Bentham by arguing that pleasures differ in this, not just in amount.
Quality. Mill distinguished higher pleasures (intellectual, moral) from lower ones (bodily). “Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”
Kant says we must never treat people merely as a means. Using an example, explain the difference between using someone as a means and using them merely as a means.
We use people as a means all the time without wrongdoing, such as paying a taxi driver to take us home, because they freely agree and are still respected as rational agents. Using someone merely as a means is when you ignore or override their ability to consent, such as lying to a person to get their money. Kant’s point is that we may use people as long as we also treat them as ends in themselves.
Aristotle says virtue lies between two vices. Name the two vices that surround the virtue of courage.
Cowardice (deficiency) and recklessness or rashness (excess). This is the golden mean.
A company discovers a safety defect in its product but hides it to protect jobs. What would a utilitarian and a deontologist each say?
A utilitarian would weigh harm to future customers against lost jobs and company collapse, and would likely conclude the defect must be disclosed if the harm is greater. A deontologist would say hiding it is deception and uses customers merely as a means to profit, so it is wrong regardless of consequences.
A student argues: “If we let the school allow phones in class for music, soon they’ll allow them for games, then for videos, and eventually no one will learn anything.” Name the fallacy and explain what is wrong with the reasoning.
Slippery slope. The argument claims that one small step will inevitably lead to extreme consequences without evidence that each step must follow. A stronger argument would show why the first step actually makes the later ones likely, or would argue against the first step on its own merits.
A hospital has one ventilator and two patients who both need it. One is a 25-year-old nurse. The other is an 80-year-old retired war veteran. Using the utilitarian calculus, who should get the ventilator, and what is one objection to deciding this way?
A utilitarian would likely give it to the nurse. Her recovery means more years of life, and her work benefits many other patients, so the total happiness produced is greater. The objection is that this treats the man’s life as worth less, and many people feel each person’s life should count equally regardless of age or usefulness. It also relies on predictions about the future that may be wrong, and it makes a person’s worth depend on what they can do for others. A Kantian would add that it fails to respect each person as an end in themselves.
A shopkeeper gives correct change only because honesty is good for business. According to Kant, does his action have moral worth? Explain.
No. He acts in accordance with duty but not from duty. For Kant, moral worth comes from the motive of doing the right thing because it is right, not from self-interest or consequences.
When facing a moral dilemma, utilitarians ask “What produces the best outcome?” and Kantians ask “What is my duty?” What question does a virtue ethicist ask instead, and why is it so different?
A virtue ethicist asks “What would a virtuous person do?” or “What kind of person do I want to become?” The focus shifts from a single action to character. For Aristotle, we become virtuous through practice and habit, and a good person uses practical wisdom (phronesis) to judge what the situation calls for, rather than applying a fixed rule or a calculation.
Governments consider mandatory vaccination. Give one utilitarian argument in favour and one Kantian objection.
Utilitarian: it protects vulnerable people and produces greater overall health and happiness. Kantian: forcing people to be vaccinated can treat them as means to public health goals and overrides their autonomy, so it violates their rational agency. (A Kantian could also argue for it on grounds of duties to others, so strong answers acknowledge both sides.)
Read this argument: “Lying is obviously fine because everyone does it, and the philosopher who disagrees was once fined for tax evasion, so why listen to her?” Identify two fallacies and explain how you could rebuild the argument properly.
Appeal to popularity (bandwagon): just because everyone does something doesn’t make it morally right. Ad hominem: attacking the philosopher’s personal record does not address her argument. To rebuild it, the speaker would need to give a real reason lying is acceptable, for example a utilitarian argument that some lies produce more happiness, and then respond to the philosopher’s actual reasoning instead of her character.