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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This is a 3 page paper that provides an overview of life and death ethical decisions. Deontological and utilitarian value systems are explored. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KW60_KFpdeth2.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
true whenever the lives of innocent people are involved, and an ethical miscalculation can result in the catastrophic loss of life. Nevertheless, it is useful to consider the applicability of
ethical systems to such perplexing "real life" scenarios in order to expose the benefits and drawbacks of each system, in each context. This paper will explore deontological and utilitarian ethical
systems in the light of a life-or-death scenario. This paragraph helps the student set up the scenario. For the purposes of this ethical exercise, one might imagine that one were
a police officer patrolling a remote area under threat of severe storm, when one receives a call that a woman and five children are trapped near the coast and in
danger. If not rescued in ten minutes, they will certainly die. In responding to the call, one has to drive ones vehicle through a narrow mountain pass, as there is
no other way to reach them in time. Unfortunately, en route to the women and children, one encounters a man with his leg stuck in a crack in the middle
of the road. This presents a serious problem as one cannot drive around the man, and one cannot extract the man without getting help from the fire department or EMS.
One is faced with an ethical challenge that requires weighing two sets of innocent lives. On the one hand, one might make a decision on the basis of deontological ethics.
Under a deontological ethical system, the ethical value of an action is determined by the nature of the action itself, with no appeal to the consequences of the action (Johnson,
2010). So, an unjust action taken in pursuit of an ultimate good is still unjust and not ethically defensible. Operating from such a premise, one would have little choice except
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