phi fpx 3200 assessment 1 Ethical Theory Matrix Theory

Ethical Theory Matrix Theory Decision Criteria Your Own Example Strengths Weaknesses Prominent Philosophers Who Accepted Theory Two Objections to Theory Responses to the Objections Utilitarianism Is the decision going to produce happiness, while providing utility? Or, is it going to produce unhappiness? The happiness or unhappiness is not based solely on the decision maker, but on those affected by the decision. Motive is not necessarily a guiding factor as bad decisions can produce happiness and a decision based on a proper and A drug company produces a new product that helps relieve pain and increases a patient’s ability to deal with a debilitating disease. The drug has side effects. The positive (the “happiness”) outweighs the potential unhappiness. The decision making process based on utilitarianism will produce happiness, positive results, and utility. The unpredictable nature of the future. Making decisions based solely on utilitarianism does not give enough weight to the fact that we do not know all of the future consequences of our decisions and what the production of short term happiness may result in. Happiness is Jeremy Bentham: “Greatest Happiness Principle” “Nature” has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. John Stuart Mill: Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness. Utilitarianism can trample on individual rights. If followed to the letter of the theory an individual may be made to suffer for the happiness of many. How can we decide the levels of pleasure? How can we measure? Mills argued that utilitarianism can still respect the rights of individuals seeking long term happiness from their decisions. In other words, rights are considered in making long