How Does Dr Myrick Fit The Tenets Of Utilitarianism

In the film Extreme Measures, Dr. Myrick does not fit the description Mill’s idea of Utilitarianism; however, he is able to demonstrate some tenets of Utilitarianism. To begin with, Dr. Myrick is able to ignore societal ethics in order to accomplish his goal of curing paralysis, drastically improving the quality of life for many. In doing so, Dr. Myrick fits the Principle of Utility; the Principle of Utility is the theory that the right choice is the one that gives the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people. Dr. Myrick believes that by sacrificing a few people, who’s quality of life is lower than the rest, he can do lots of good which will outweigh the immorality of his actions. Although he never accomplished his goal

Myrick does fit the description of a hendoist, which is another important part of utilitarianism. To begin with, a hedonist can be defined as someone who seeks out the most amount of pleasure while simultaneously desiring the least amount of pain. While at first glance Dr. Myrick may not seem like a hendoist, he displays many qualities that a hendoist would have. Firstly, Dr. Myrick’s ultimate goal is to cure paralysis which will bring great happiness to many people around the world. Although he has to do what some might consider immoral and vile, he is doing it to achieve something greater than his own emotions. This demonstrates that Dr. Myrick is willing to sacrifice his own greater good and mental state in order to improve other peoples lives, and in doing so he will ultimately bring himself a great amount of pleasure that overpowers the displeasure he went through. Secondly, Dr. Myrick does not seek out the lower forms of pleasure such as sex, money, or fame. He only desires the pleasure of him purifying the lives of many, which is one of the greatest and highest forms of

Myrick’s actions are in fact immoral. Firstly, the action being performed must be morally good or neutral, and in the case of Dr. Myrick kidnapping and forcefully performing surgery on them is neither morally good or neautral. Second, good cannot be the result of the evil effect, and since Dr. Myrick’s ultimate goal was to achieve good by performing evil actions, he again fails to fit this. Third, one cannot intend the evil action even though it is foreseen. Since Dr. Myrick knew of the evil actions he would be commiting he will once again, not fit the criteria of the Principle of Double Effect. Lastly, there must be a proportionate reason for allowing evil to occur. Once again, Dr. Myrick does not fit this criteria because he is unintentioally killing someone in order to cure a condition that is not life threatening. This shows that there was not a proportionate reason for allowing the evil of murder to occur since a human life cannot be traded for the improved confort of