In reference to Kant’s views on many related issues, such as murder, suicide, autonomy, rationality, Kantians believe “human life is valuable because humans are the bearers of rational life” (O’Neill 414). A probable Kantian attitude towards euthanasia, apart from the analogy with suicide, can be derived from Kant’s vie ws on deliberate murder and punishment, i.e. 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. I am preparing for an in-class debate to discuss the morals of the Euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia is a controversial topic that brings up many ethical issues and the rights of the patients the physicians serve. • Utilitarianism says that an act is justified if maximum numbers of people are deriving happiness out of it. To act out of a ‘good will’, one must act in accordance with a categorical imperative. 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. However, when that person gives his or her consent to do so, this seems to give rise to an exceptional case. 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. This can be illustrated in the most common case of euthanasia, where the person who is ailing to die suffers from an illness that causes great pain, and will result in his or her demise in the not-so-distant future. Utilitarianism states that what makes an action right is that it produces the greatest amount of happiness (not just your happiness, but others as well). Essay by epsilon, April 2004 . 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. Deliberately killing another person is presumed by most rational people as a fundamental evil act. 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 whether something is right or wrong. Aside from the cultural and religious aspects on dying, Utilitarianism and Kantian Ethics discuss how we, as humans, should pursue our lives. Let us look at the issue of euthanasia being admissible in a utilitarian framework. Thus, under the utilitarian system, keeping the person alive in this scenario would have been the morally justified act, whereas killing the person would not have been. A utilitarian argument against euthanasia. our expert writers, Copying content is not allowed on this website, Ask a professional writer to help you with your text, Give us your email and we'll send you the essay you need, Please indicate where to send you the sample, Hi, my name is Jenn This fundamental idea then forms the basis for Utilitarianism’s Greatest Happiness Principle which states, “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. Thus, in the context of the case mentioned in the introduction, the Utilitarian position on euthanasia would go something as follows: With respect to the individual who is willing to die, he/she would simply be happiest dead, and unhappiest alive. 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. 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. Euthanasia related to Kantianism and Utilitarianism. your own paper. Topics: Morality, Immanuel Kant, Ethics Pages: 5 (1611 words) Published: April 9, 2004. Aside from the cultural and religious aspects on dying, Utilitarianism and Kantian Ethics discuss how we, as humans, should pursue our lives. Essays: Euthanasia: Kantianism vs Utilitarianism. First let us define voluntary euthanasia. Bentham's theory states that when faced with an ethical dilemma, you should decide what is morally right or wrong depending on what has the best consequences for the maximum amount of people. 451). 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. Downloaded 202 times. A KANTIAN APPROACH TO EUTHANASIA ABSTRACT The paper addresses the issues of euthanasia and thoroughly analyses Kantian response to the practice in question. Sorry, but copying text is forbidden on this website. You can get your custom paper from Euthanasia is often considered a moral issue. Euthanasia: Kantianism vs Utilitarianism. 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. 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. 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. By continuing we’ll assume you’re on board with our cookie policy, The input space is limited by 250 symbols. 4 UTILITARIAN ETHICS Bedau (1983) tells us that Kantian ethics contrast the idea of utilitarianism, which proposes that all situations demand a certain degree of pragmatism with respect to behavior. Hedonistic Utilitarianism An action is god when it maximizes the amount of pleasure for most people, consequences in a minimum amount of pain. Philosophy Support Materials: Moral Philosophy – Student Activities (H and Int 2) 2. And if one were to make an exception in this case, what would then prevent us from making exceptions in other cases? Utilitarianism pdf and kantianism. 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 I will be looking at in particular, are the positions based on John Stuart Mill's 'Utilitarianism' ethical theory, and Immanuel Kant's 'Categorical Imperative' ethical theory. 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). 451). We have to prepare both sides. 451). • Attitude towards what is right or wrong is what constitutes the basic difference between utilitarianism and Kantianism. I'm in Canada and the debate has been started again by the government. For example, I can use utilitarianism to oppose euthanasia. 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 … I am preparing for an in-class debate to discuss the morals of the Euthanasia. download word file, 6 pages, 4.3. Here's a paper by Vellaman arguing against the permissibility of active euthanasia and PAS from the Kantian perspective. Euthanasia: Kantianism vs Utilitarianism. the death penalty. This practice with the terminally ill is known as euthanasia. 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. Essay, Ask Writer For According to Kant, we should look at our maxims, or intentions, of the particular action. This simply means that the end justifies means. Euthanasia is seen by some as killing, while others see it as removing a person from immense amounts of pain. Kantians believe “human life is valuable because humans are the bearers of rational life” (O’Neill 414). Voluntary euthanasia is justifiable when the action leads to the happiness of the individual and society. A KANTIAN APPROACH TO EUTHANASIA ABSTRACT The paper addresses the issues of euthanasia and thoroughly analyses Kantian response to the practice in question. therefore. 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 … 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. With respect to the people who care for the individual, they loud be happy that he/she is alive, but unhappy at the same time because he/she is in great pain; or if the individual underwent euthanasia, happy because he/she is no longer in pain, but unhappy because he/she is dead. the death penalty. According to Utilitarianism, euthanasia can be morally justified, whereas according to Kantian, euthanasia is not morally justifiable; but will argue that neither position provides an adage Tate resolution to the issue, due to the significant flaws that are inherent in the reasoning that led to their particular positions. According to Utilitarianism, euthanasia can be morally justified, whereas according to Kantian, euthanasia is not morally justifiable; but will argue that neither position provides an adage Tate resolution to the issue, due to the significant flaws that are inherent in … Kantianism and utilitarianism have different ways for determining whether an act we do is right or wrong. It is said that case should be read two times. 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. 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