Trolley problem and Utilitarianism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Trolley problem and Utilitarianism - Essay ExampleIf consequences are every that matter then the Trolley worry wont matter oftentimes to a functional, but, few would argue that it raises some serious difficulties with the said moral philosophy. 2) The Trolley Problem presents a utile with a predicament. A train is coming its current course is going to kill four hapless workers. You, the utilitarian, have the power to flick a duty period that entrust save the four men, but you will as a result kill some other worker as the train will be diverted to his track. Most utilitarian thinkers would not have a problem with doing this. One life is worth sacrificing for four the end justifies the means-consequences are all that matter, after all. But, if there wasnt a switch, and instead a very large man, large enough to stop the train, was standing over a span in front of the workers, would you be prepared to push him in front of the train to save the four of them? If consequences are a ll that matter, then this is exactly what the utilitarian would have to do commit murder. 3) John Stuart Mills utilitarianism posits that the right action is that action which generates or leads to the most utility or happiness (utilitarianism.com). He begins though by stating that whatever action that is proved to be near, must be proved to be good by its ability to achieve something that is good in itself (utilitarianism.com). ... He argues that human rights are protected through a judicial system that as a means of securing happiness (utilitarianism.com). triumph is the primary pursuit of man, and the principle of utility is, by definition, the most direct path to it. To Mills the utility principle is a natural social vox populi between humans and that human society would bond and benefit greatly from embedding utilitarianism into it foundations (utilitarianism.com). The responsibility of an individual in this kind of society is to make as much utility for as many people as p ossible even if that means sacrificing or endangering themselves for the good of others (utilitarianism.com). Any one person is not allowed to place his happiness over the happiness of others. 4) There are several difficulties with utilitarianism. Most importantly, it places too much emphasis on the consequences of actions. If we were to make all of our decisions based on our expected outcomes of events, how are we to feel about those decisions if we are so often wrong in our predictions? This point is intended to raise interrogation simple doubt in the primary means of divining decision-making for the utilitarian. Furthermore, the Trolley Problem would make even the most hard-nosed kind of utilitarian reconsider their position, because it takes their principle of utility to a point where it condones murder. Most people would have serious trouble pushing a large man to his death to stop a train from cleaning four other people. What this says is that humans have some other moral c odes or ideas about common decency that is disagreeable to strict utilitarianism. So thinking only in consequences might not be the answer for every occasion we have to temper the principle with other ethics. There is another weakness