Ethics Discussion Board - Deadline Tonight at 8PM (PART TWO)

WRITE A 100 WORD REPLY FOR THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS POSTINGS: STUDENT 1) The branch of ethical theory that Thanos follows seems to stem from Utilitarianism; as we learned in the course, Bentham's form of Utilitarianism (Ethical Theories Slides, Slide 12) involves a calculus of utility in which the "greatest good for the greatest number" is prioritized, under the premise of "impartiality and agent-neutrality" (Driver, History of Utilitarianism). Essentially, Utilitarianism does not favor any class or person, including the preferences of the person making the choice. This is an important note, as we see Thanos sacrifice the only person he loves, his adopted daughter Gamora, in order to pursue The Snap. We also find that Thanos's theory is one of Ethical Absolutism as he believes that his theory applies to all living beings; though this is different than the kind of ethical absolutism discussed in the slides, in which "There is a universal moral code that is inherent to all humans" (Ethical Theories Slides, Slide 6), the concept is still based in universality and unwavering standards. This applies to Thanos's ethics as he clearly applies this to everyone, without regard for their individual cultural norms or values. Taken together, we see that Thanos's theory likely best fits that of Karl Popper, whose keystone philosophy is referred to as Negative Utilitarianism. Negative Utilitarianism generally asserts that "pain cannot be outweighed by pleasure" (Gorton, n.p.) - essentially, the goal of a utilitarian should be to remove all suffering rather than to enhance happiness. As Thonas's Snap is motivated by a desire to painlessly eliminate the suffering of half of the universe, this would prevent any of the suffering that they may have faced as a result of "poverty, unemployment, national oppression, war, and disease" (Gorton, n.p.) the day of The Snap and after, permanently, while allowing others access to the remaining resources. Now, the logic behind this argument is not one I support, but at least we can see that this stems from a respected and known theory such as Negative Utilitarianism, allowing a better understanding and refutation of the principles. Sources: Lecture Slides (Ethical Theories, Slides 12 & 6) Driver, J. (2014, September 22). The History of Utilitarianism. Plato.Stanford.Edu. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/ (Links to an external site.) Gorton, W. (n.d.). Karl Popper: Political Philosophy. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/popp-pol/ (Links to an external site.) Edited by Aubrie Gibbons on Jan 31 at 1:33pm STUDENT 2) When considering the events of the film, I would say that this situation in particular is pretty unique and offers another view into what one perceives as ethical and how their point of view is rooted into ethic theory. I would definitely consider Thanos' mindset as a utilitarian one based off of how selfless his actions are and how much he believes in the betterment of others. He genuinely believes that what he is trying to accomplish is what is best if not absolutely necessary for the survival of the universe. In his mind, he believes that it is actually his moral duty to carry out his plan for the betterment of others in the future. Although he was abiding by a utilitarian ethical theory, what he did and if it was ethic ultimately comes down to personal opinion. I personally do not think That what Thanos did in the film by erasing half of all life in the universe was ethical at the time, although he did select this who would perish at random, making the process more fair and just than if it were carried out differently. He mentions in the film that his plan was vital for the survival of the universe and that unchecked growth in populations will lead to catastrophic results. When watching the film, it appears that the only place where starvation and overpopulation was a major problem was Thanos' home world of Titan. I do not see the correlation between one planet and the fate of the universe. I also don't understand why he didn't use the stones to create more resources instead of murdering half of all life. Based on those points, I would say Thanos' actions are not deemed ethical by the very theory he is utilizing in the film.