Utilitarianism
Define Utilitarianism
What is the optimization of good and minimization of harm?
Define Rights
What are legal and social freedoms that individuals are entitled to have?
Define Virtue
What is behavior that displays high moral standards?
Define fairness and justice
What is treating people equally and impartially without prejudice?
Define common good
What are actions that best serve the community as a whole?
The actions that aim to produce:
-the most good
-the least harm
-that maximizes happiness
-least financial damage
What are characteristics of Utilitarianism?
Respect the rights of all
The dignity of others
Does not treat others as simply a means to an end
What are characteristics of Rights
Actions that lead you to establish the person you want to be
Exhibits habits of the character that you want to develop
What are characteristics of virtue?
Actions that treat people equally/impartially
Give each individual their due
No prejudice or favoring of individuals
What are characteristics of Justice and Fairness
Actions that serve best the community as a whole
Actions that act equally to everyone's benefit
Gives everyone the opportunity to thrive
What are the characteristics of Common Good?
The paradigm that most engineers aim to satisfy and guide through their decisions
What is acting with utility?
Henrietta Lacks and Hela Cells
What is a situation where certain individual's rights were perceived as less than others?
Fraudulent data and withholding information to benefit a hypothesis in a research paper.
What is a lack of virtue in the scientific community?
Peer reviewing a paper that you have personal stakes in or selfish motives (investor for a engineering company)
What is an example of lack of justice and fairness?
Invention of DDT in WW2 as something beneficial to humans to banning of the use of DDT in Canada and U.S. at present day
What is shifting of societal perception of common good?
In the trolley problem, where the trolley is headed toward five people but you have the choice of switching the track and the trolley hitting one person, the most utilitarian course of action is
What is switching the lever and letting the trolley hit one person instead of 5?
In the trolley problem, where the trolley is headed toward five people but you have the choice of switching the track and the trolley hitting one person, the person with the most rights are
What is every individual has an equal amount of rights?
In the trolley problem, where the trolley is headed toward five people but you have the choice of switching the track and the trolley hitting one person, the most virtuous course of action is
What is doing the action that promotes high moral standard for the individual making the decision?
In the trolley problem, where the trolley is headed toward five people but you have the choice of switching the track and the trolley hitting one family member, the most fair and just course of action is
What is switching the track to your family member?
In the trolley problem, where the trolley is headed toward five people but you have the choice of switching the track and the trolley hitting one person, the action that promotes common good is
What is there is no action in the scenario that promotes the well being of every individual involved?
In the lifeboat situation where a boat carries 50 people with room for 10 more, with swimmers around, the action that is most utilitarian is
What is saving 10 people?
In the lifeboat situation where a boat carries 50 people with room for 10 more, with swimmers around, do older people have more or less rights than the younger generation
What is ideally everyone has equal rights?
In the lifeboat situation where a boat carries 50 people with room for 10 more, with swimmers around, the most virtuous course of action is
What is saving people?
In the lifeboat situation where a boat carries 50 people with room for 10 more, with swimmers around, the most unfair and unjust course of action
What is kicking everyone off the boat and taking the resources for you and your family/friends?
In the lifeboat situation where a boat carries 50 people with room for 10 more, with swimmers around, the action that promotes common good
What is saving medical professionals and the people with the best chance of survival?