Your answers to each of these questions should be at least one paragraph (6-7 sentences) long, and it should show some thoughtful consideration regarding the matters raised in the questions. Your total set of answers to these questions needs to be at least 200 words. Also, when you reply to these questions, be sure to insert the letter for each question next to your answer corresponding to that question.
You will also need to reply to at least two students. When you reply to another student, you do not need to reply to that student’s answers to every single question for this week. You can just pick their reply to one question and reply to their answer to that question. Your replies to other students should be at least 100 words long each.
A. The main ethical principle that we looked at this week is the Utilitarian’s principle of utility (or what’s also called the greatest happiness principle). Explain this principle in your own words. End by stating if you think that this is the one and only one ethical rule that we need to guide our thinking about matters of ethics. Why or why not?
B. We studied several objections to Utilitarianism this week. Which of these objections do you think is the most powerful? Also, do you think that there is any way for a Utilitarian to reply to it – why or why not?
C. One of the things that we will be doing each week is discussing some cases from our text Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues. Look at Case k on pages 108-109. After looking at this case, answer this question about it. Do you think that the action that the people involved in this case took maximized happiness in the world? Why or why not?
D. One of the things that we will be doing each week is discussing some cases from our text Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues. Look at Case i on page 108. After looking at this case, answer this question about it. Do you think that the action that the person involved in this case took maximized happiness in the world? Why or why not?
page 108
i. Jake runs a delicatessen in a high-crime section of a large city. After being robbed at gunpoint eight times in the past two years, Jake obtained a pistol permit and bought a pistol. Yesterday a man entered the store brandishing a knife and demanded all the money in the cash register. Jake moved to the cash register as if planning to open it. Then he quickly grabbed the gun hanging under it and, without warning, shot the man six times in the chest.
k. Todd and Edna have been married for three years. They have had serious personal problems: Edna is a heavy drinker, and Todd cannot keep a
job. Also, they have bickered and fought constantly since their marriage. Deciding that the way to overcome their problems is to have a child, they stop practicing birth control, and Edna becomes pregnant.