Choose one of the following options and write a 3-5 page
(typed, double-spaced) essay.
Consider the following hypothetical scenario:
You are
driving to a late afternoon interview for a job that you would very much like
to get. You are in danger of being late
for the appointment, because you have your neighbors' 14 year old son with you
in the car, and you've promised his parents that you will drop him at his Boy
Scout troop meeting before going to your appointment. (At the time you made the promise it seemed
like it would be no trouble, but you miscalculated the driving times
involved.) It would be far more
convenient for you to drop him instead at a movie theater which is right on
your way to the interview and which is showing a silly but harmless film. The boy says he'd be happy to see the movie
and skip the scout meeting. You know his
parents would strongly prefer that he go to the scout meeting as planned,
because they have been struggling to get their son to be more sociable and to
stop spending so much time on passive, solitary activities. But you're pretty sure that the boy would be
willing to join you in deceiving them, so that they would never find out, and
you don't really value your relationship with those neighbors anyway. You believe that you have a very good chance
of getting the job, if you show up on time and do well in the interview. You also know that the interviewer is a
stickler for punctuality and is unlikely to forgive a late arrival. You’ve been unemployed for quite a while and
will soon be out of money, and, as far as you know, this is your best
opportunity to secure an income for yourself and your family.
Now, answer
all of the following questions (write a page or so on each question):
1. How would a Kantian
try to decide what to do in this situation?
Which aspects of the scenario would be relevant, and how would a Kantian
use them to work out an answer?
(Explain.)
2. How would a utilitarian
try to decide what to do in this situation?
Which aspects of the scenario would be relevant, and how would a
utilitarian use them to work out an answer?
(Explain.)
3. Discuss the extent
to which you think either of these theories offers a satisfactory approach to
this kind of everyday ethical decision.
Is one of the theories correct, or nearly so? Or are they both seriously flawed? (Explain and argue for your view.)
Discuss one
of the moral issues we have (or will have) studied in the first part of this
course (euthanasia, capital punishment, feeding the hungry, economic justice). Include some discussion of how utilitarians
and Kantians might approach this issue.
Also include some discussion of the extent to which you think either
utilitarianism or Kantianism offer us a good way to think about an issue like
this. (Support your views with reasons
and arguments. Be sure to focus on a
clear and specific question.)
Discuss whether and how you think either utilitarianism or Kantianism provide us with an adequate moral theory or with useful tools for thinking about ethical problems. Use whatever examples and considerations seem important to you. Try to be as clear as you can about exactly what your thesis is and about what reasons you are offering to support it.