Keywords Ethics, Euthanasia, demise, Uncertainty, ethical issues. Kantianism and Utilitarianism Euthanasia is one of the issues that different philosophers have discussed in length. Utilitarianism vs. Kantianism According to Thiroux and Krasemann (2012), utilitarianism is, “a normative ethical theory originally established by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill that advocates brining about good consequences or happiness to all concerned” (pp. With Kantian, the significant flaw in their position lies in the fact that they make an absolute, immutable statement – do not murder – without any consideration for the context in which murder takes place. 451). So, in applying the utilitarian principle to this case, the greatest happiness for the greatest amount of people occurs when the person is dead. Utilitarianism vs. Kantianism Ethics can be defined as "the conscious reflection on our moral beliefs with the aim of improving, extending or refining those beliefs in some way." However, as I stated in my thesis, I believe that Utilitarianism, and Kantian do not provide an adequate resolution to the issue of euthanasia, because of he significant flaws in their reasoning. Essays: Euthanasia: Kantianism vs Utilitarianism. 0 Like 0 Tweet. Thus, for these reasons, the positions of Utilitarianism and Kantian on euthanasia are inadequate in resolving the issue of euthanasia, and euthanasia still remains as a significant social-ethical problem in our contemporary society. Voluntary euthanasia is justifiable when the action leads to the happiness of the individual and society. Euthanasia: Kantianism vs Utilitarianism Essay Sample The deliberate act of ending another’s life, given his or her consent, is formally referred to as euthanasia. Utilitarianism is an ethical approach that attempts to maximise You can get your custom paper from There are a variety of positions, based on the numerous ethical theories that have been developed, that one can take in order to resolve the issue of euthanasia; but the positions will be looking at in particular, are the positions based on John Stuart Mill’s ‘Utilitarianism’ ethical theory, and Emmanuel Cant’s ‘Categorical Imperative’ ethical theory. the death penalty. I am preparing for an in-class debate to discuss the morals of the Euthanasia. In fact, killing the person would seem to be the most humane act one can perform, and in not killing the person, and keeping him/her alive in such a state of pain and agony, would be like an indirect form of torture; which in Kantian is not a moral act. Initially, fast reading without taking notes and underlines should be done. Euthanasia through utilitarianism ; Is Euthanasia right or wrong? Finally, the categorical imperative is an unconditional ought, which means that an action must be performed solely out of duty to the categorical imperative, without any ulterior motive, in order for it to be a moral action. To act out of a ‘good will’, one must act in accordance with a categorical imperative. A utilitarian argument against euthanasia. Therefore, since euthanasia meets the moral standards set by Utilitarianism, it would support the act of euthanasia as a morally sound action. Utilitarianism pdf and kantianism. Kantianism vs Utilitarianism • Attitude towards what is right or wrong is what constitutes the basic difference between utilitarianism and Kantianism. Philosophy Support Materials: Moral Philosophy – Student Activities (H and Int 2) 2. With Utilitarianism, the significant flaw in their position lies in the fact that it is built on the false assumption that the consequences of actions can be predicted, when in actuality they cannot. Kantians believe “human life is valuable because humans are the bearers of rational life” (O’Neill 414). I am preparing for an in-class debate to discuss the morals of the Euthanasia. Also contrary to Utilitarianism, Kantian asserts that the moral worth of an action should be judged on its motive and the action itself, and not on its consequences. We are going to have one group taking a Kantianism perspective and the other Utilitarianism. Hedonistic Utilitarianism An action is god when it maximizes the amount of pleasure for most people, consequences in a minimum amount of pain. This paper will first discuss the principles of utilitarianism through Bentham So, if a person acts out of good intentions, but does not produce beneficial results, then his action does not qualify as a moral action. Aside from the cultural and religious aspects on dying, Utilitarianism and Kantian Ethics discuss how we, as humans, should pursue our lives. A KANTIAN APPROACH TO EUTHANASIA ABSTRACT The paper addresses the issues of euthanasia and thoroughly analyses Kantian response to the practice in question. Utilitarianism vs. Kantianism According to Thiroux and Krasemann (2012), utilitarianism is, “a normative ethical theory originally established by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill that advocates brining about good consequences or happiness to all concerned” (pp. A utilitarian perspective is the foil to a Kantian viewpoint, as intent has no bearing on a decision, while the net outcome is the determining factor for … Utilitarianism vs. Kantianism According to Thiroux and Krasemann (2012), utilitarianism is, “a normative ethical theory originally established by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill that advocates brining about good consequences or happiness to all concerned” (pp. Hence, based on an understanding of human experience Utilitarianism proposes that the ultimate end of every human action is simply pleasure, and the absence of pain. It is said that case should be read two times. It is unreasonable, and bordering on foolish, to claim to adequately resolve special cases of murder such as euthanasia through a simple, general statement without taking into consideration its context. Kantianism and utilitarianism have different ways for determining whether an act we do is right or wrong. Act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the whole world.”As somebody who believes in god and with Kant’s ideas, I agree with this quote because Kantian ethics are usually spoken of in terms of duty and doing the right thing, Kant himself thought that … A KANTIAN APPROACH TO EUTHANASIA ABSTRACT The paper addresses the issues of euthanasia and thoroughly analyses Kantian response to the practice in question. Aside from the cultural and religious aspects on dying, Utilitarianism and Kantian Ethics discuss how we, as humans, should pursue our lives. Help, Use multiple resourses when assembling your essay, Get help form professional writers when not sure you can do it yourself, Use Plagiarism Checker to double check your essay, Do not copy and paste free to download essays. Euthanasia is seen as a controversial and moral issue because of the different viewpoints. To illustrate, if I were to make a promise with no intentions of keeping it, and I imagine all other people doing the same, then very idea of a promise would cease to have meaning, and thus, my action would give rise to a practical contradiction, and consequently, be immoral. Immanuel Kant focuses on actions and labels an action morally right if … According to Utilitarianism, euthanasia can be morally justified, whereas according to Kantianism, euthanasia is not morally justifiable; but I will argue that neither position provides an adequate resolution to the issue, due to the significant flaws that are inherent in … However, when that person gives his or her consent to do so, this seems to give rise to an exceptional case. We can argue for or against, but it has to relate to our moral philosophy. Therefore, an action that slightly increases your own pleasure, but in turn, dramatically decreases the pleasure of other, according to Utilitarianism is not moral action. Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia is a controversial topic that brings up many ethical issues and the rights of the patients the physicians serve. Philosophy Support Materials: Moral Philosophy – Student Activities (H and Int 2) 3 NOTE TO TUTORS These support materials have been designed to support the teaching of the classical utilitarians vs. Utilitarianism, Kantian Ethics, Natural Rights Theories, and Religious Ethics A “utilitarian” argument, in the strict sense, is one what alleges that we ought to do something because it will produce more total happiness than doing anything else would. Two most famous ethicists are John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). The deliberate act of ending another 's life, given his or her consent, is formally referred to as euthanasia. This can be illustrated in the most common case of euthanasia, where the person who is willing to die suffers from an illness that causes great pain, and will result in his or her demise in the not-so-distant future. Tannsjo is correct to observe that the same philosophical starting points can be used to arrive at very different outlooks. Based on these ideas, Kantian propose that an action is good only if it performed out a ‘good will’; which is the only thing that is good, in and of itself. In additions I would be discussing arguments for and against voluntary active euthanasia. Euthanasia: Kantianism vs Utilitarianism. How is racism depicted in 'Life for a Life' by Alan Paton. Thus, with regard to euthanasia, Kantian would reject the act of euthanasia s a morally good action based on their reasoning that an action is good only if it acts in accordance with a categorical imperative. The reason being that the people who care for the person are both happy and unhappy regardless of whether the person is dead or alive, but the person will only be happy if he/she is dead. First let us define voluntary euthanasia. Euthanasia and Utilitarianism The principle of Utilitarianism was invented by Jeremy Bentham. Kant’s theory contains several ethical principles Euthanasia: Kantianism vs Utilitarianism Essay Sample The deliberate act of ending another’s life, given his or her consent, is formally referred to as euthanasia. To effectively make these Though it is indeed reasonable that deliberately killing another for the sake of harming them is an immoral act, in euthanasia, a person is killed by another only by their own consent, and for the most part, with a good motive. According to Kant there is only one categorical imperative, which is to “act only on that maxim in which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal (Kant, 528); and can also be formulated as “act in such a way tattoo always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as means, but always at the same time as an end” (Kant, 532). Deliberately killing another person is presumed by most rational people as a fundamental evil act. 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