Moral Dilemmas and Ethical Theories Lecture Notes

Jul 17, 2024

Lecture Notes: Moral Dilemmas and Ethical Theories

Introduction

  • Topic: Justice and morality
  • Scenario introduction: Trolley car dilemma

Trolley Car Dilemma

Scenario 1

  • Situation: Driver of a runaway trolley
    • 5 workers on main track
    • 1 worker on side track
    • Decision: Turn trolley to side track to kill 1 and save 5.
  • Audience Poll: Majority would turn to side track
  • Reasoning: Better to kill 1 than 5
    • Example: 9/11 plane crash into field

Scenario 2

  • Situation: Onlooker on a bridge
    • 5 workers on track
    • Fat man beside you could be pushed to stop trolley
    • Decision: Push man to save 5?
  • Audience Poll: Majority would not push the man
  • Discussion: Why the difference in responses?
    • Active choice: Pushing someone feels more like murder
    • Moral difference: Whether involvement changes moral weight

Other Moral Dilemmas

Emergency Room Case

  • Situation: Doctor with 6 patients
    • 5 with moderate injuries
    • 1 severely injured
    • Decision: Treat 1 to let 5 die, or treat 5 and 1 dies?
  • Audience Poll: Majority would save the 5

Transplant Case

  • Situation: Doctor with 5 patients needing organ transplants
    • Healthy patient in another room
    • Decision: Sacrifice healthy patient to save 5?
  • Audience Poll: Almost unanimous against
  • Reasoning: Intrinsic wrongness of murder

Core Ethical Theories Introduced

  • Consequentialism (Utilitarianism): Morality based on outcomes
    • Greatest good for greatest number
  • Categorical Moral Reasoning: Morality based on intrinsic nature of an act
    • Some acts are categorically wrong despite good outcomes

Real-Life Case: Queen vs. Dudley and Stephens

  • Background: Shipwreck and survival dilemma
    • 4 crew members, including young cabin boy
    • After days without food, cabin boy killed and eaten to save others
  • Court Case: Defense of necessity vs. prosecution of murder
  • Audience Poll: Majority voted guilty

Discussion Themes

Defense Arguments

  • Necessity: Desperation justified the act
  • Survival Situation: Moral leniency in extreme conditions

Prosecution Arguments

  • Killing is always wrong: Regardless of circumstances
  • Lack of Consent: Cabin boy had no choice
  • Question of Consent: Would consent make a difference?

Philosophical Exploration

  • Consequentialist reasoning challenges: Importance of outcomes
  • Categorical reasoning challenges: Intrinsic moral duties and rights
  • Role of consent: How and why it changes moral judgments

Upcoming Topics

  • Utilitarian Philosophy: Works of Bentham and Mill
  • Categorical Philosophy: Works of Kant and others

Conclusion

  • Course Focus: Moral and political philosophy
  • Risks of Philosophy: Personal and political implications
  • Encouragement to Engage: To challenge assumptions and explore moral reasoning deeply.

Additional Resources

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