ipl-logo

When Doing The Right Thing Is Impossible Chapter 2 Summary

654 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The case of utilitarianism

In Chapter 8 of When Doing the Right Thing is Impossible, Lisa Tessman introduces the concept of reflective equilibrium. In a nutshell, reflective equilibrium is the process of resolving conflicting beliefs. Whenever a judgement is made it must be compared to related judgements to see if they form a clear set. If the judgements do not form a set, they must systematically be modified or rejected until a clear set is formed. This set is then acknowledged to be the commanding set of judgements that determine morality. An example follows: say that someone holds the belief that stealing is wrong. After some time, they become homeless and end up living on the street. One day they make a judgement that they should steal some food because they …show more content…

In the case of Kantian ethics, imagine a murderer comes to the door asking for your friend, who is in the other room. Our moral intuition would likely tell us not to tell the murderer where our friend was. On the other hand, Kant believed we had a moral imperative to not lie to the murderer. In the case of Utilitarianism, Peter Singer has a famous example involving a drowning kid and malnourished kids in a third world country. Imagine that you are on a way to a job interview and you pass a lake where a kid is drowning. Saving the drowning kid would mean missing your interview, but many people intuitively agree that saving a drowning child is a heroic act and is worth missing an interview. Now imagine malnourished kids in a third world country. Donations to a well-known charity could be used to help feed those children. This is where things get interesting, many people intuitively believe that we are not obligated to help these children, even though these two situations are morally equivalent. In both the Kantian and Utilitarian cases, moral intuition is at odds with established moral philosophies. I see no reason why gut feelings should outweigh tried and tested

Show More
Related
1060 Words | 5 Pages

how do we differentiate what is right from wrong? A query to which people naturally seek a response. Since the conceptions of right and wrong have such a strong interpersonal influence, finding an absolute solution would be impossible.   Most people avoid exploring what is actually right and wrong, relying instead on religion or ideology to provide them with such solutions, which is why finding an answer to this question is so difficult. In the short story " Gentlemen, Your Verdict by Michael Bruce," Commander Oram, the captain of a sunken submarine with anoxic conditions, has to choose between sacrificing 15 of his crew to save five or letting them all perish.

Read More
381 Words | 2 Pages

In his article “Framing Moral Intuitions”, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong sets out to reject moral intuitionalism by questioning whether moral intuitions can be justified non-inferentially. He defines a moral intuition as a strong and immediate belief (Sinnott-Armstrong, 47) and for it to be justified non-inferentially is to be able to justify it independently of any other belief (Sinnott-Armstrong, 48). His primary aim is to demonstrate that many of our moral intuitions are unreliable and consequently, that no moral intuition can be justified without inference. He does this by citing several studies that demonstrate how moral intuitions can be subject to “framing effects”. Framing effects are the effects that wording and context can have on our

Read More
420 Words | 2 Pages

We may not have complete control over our lives, but let us not fail to pay attention to our intuitions and our experiences of it. Many aspects go into deciding whether one is morally good or bad and ultimately can be traced back to

Read More
196 Words | 1 Pages

In every day life, we face many situations that require a moral decision. We have to decide what is right and what is wrong? Not always is this an easy task thus, it seems important to analyze how we make our moral decisions. I will start with an analysis of how we make decisions in general

Read More
685 Words | 3 Pages

Leslie Marmon Silko’s identity comes out into her fictional main character: Tayo. In fact, the realness of Tayo comes out in every character, even Auntie. The palpable feeling no doubt comes from Silko. As a white, Mexican, Laguna Pueblo Indian, there is little doubt in my, or any one’s mind that in some way Tayo is based off herself. Strangely, Tayo is not only a real, flushed out character; he works as a symbol of the clashing of the increasing cross-sections of white and Indian society.

Read More
974 Words | 4 Pages

In the movie “Do the Right Thing” directed by Spike Lee and released in 1989, is a very debatable and contentious film, which reflected what life was like for people of that neighborhood and of that time period. The movie leaves viewers with the constant conflict of who is right and who is wrong; however every character feels that they are doing what is right, and that the other people are doing them wrong, which leaves the viewer with the tough decision of who is the one that is correct. The big unruly act that happened I the movie was the death of radio Raheem, who was murdered in cold blood by the police officers of New York. None the less a life was lose, and life cannot be replaced or brought back. The quote from Malcom X

Read More
765 Words | 4 Pages

Oppression District 9 and Do the Right Thing both deal with problems of society. Do the Right thing views racism from a realistic setting. District 9 uses an alien group called prawns. Instead of viewing racism, District 9 deals with oppression of an alien species that is able to think in a humane way. While the groups are being oppressed in different ways, the statuses and the area they are forced to live in are the same similar, and they are seen as animalistic.

Read More
507 Words | 3 Pages

In conclusion, Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative, in my opinion, is the most appropriate approach to ethics and morals. It is an example of a deontological ethic that is based on reason. On the other hand, utilitarian ethics is an example of teleological ethics that uses both reasons and feelings in order to

Read More
1207 Words | 5 Pages

For Kant, his ethics are grounded on reason and pure reason alone. It is a matter of a priori vs a posteriori. A priori is knowing the truth of the judgement, regardless of empirical view. An example of a priori would be that a single

Read More
503 Words | 3 Pages

In the time of Greek and Roman periods of art, religion played a large roll. Great power was given from God. Structures were built to praise the Gods and sculptures were made to depict the idea of how they looked. But, in the medieval period the ideas of the people began to change. Thoughts started to turn more into the idea of spirituality and paganism.

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

Utilitarianism is different from Kantianism because it says that you can perform any action even if it provides some harm to others, but at the end it should provide maximum utility. But on the other end, Kantianism says that you need to treat everyone equal, no one less than the other. They both hold different views but they both are right in certain situations. Utilitarianism and Kantianism conflict in many situations. For example, you have a friend who’s pregnant, but she’s scared to tell her parents.

Read More
1023 Words | 5 Pages

Hyejin Jang Professor Writing DED 8 April 2016. 4. 7. Kant’s ethics differs from utilitarian ethics both in its scope and in the precision with which it guides action. In The Categorical Imperative, Kant emphasizes that human autonomy is the essence of morality.

Read More
1228 Words | 5 Pages

As it has been shown, the utilitarian view has its strengths and is certainly logical in some cases, however, Kantian ethics offer a more stable set of moral

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

“Intuition is often automatic and effortless, leading to actions that occur without insight [to] them….. intuitive processes operate quickly.” People often act quickly without thinking, but with intuition, it is usually to help others and be selfless (article). “[participants from an experiment] gave significantly more money to the common good [while using their first instinct, their heart,] than did participants who relied on [their brain] to make their choices. This again suggests that our [nature] is to [be good at heart and] cooperate with others.”

Read More
991 Words | 4 Pages

Description Reflection is a necessary component in learning to regulate opinion, feelings, and actions. Reflection links experience and knowledge by providing an opportunity to explore areas of concern in a critical way and to make adjustments based on these reflections (Knowles Z., Tyler G., 2006). I will be using the Gibbs G (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods (Davies S., 2012).

Read More

More about When Doing The Right Thing Is Impossible Chapter 2 Summary

Related Topics

Open Document