Mill Discussion

The Kant discussion is below. Your assignment is as follows: “Consider the example you provided in the Kant Discussion Board. How would Mill evaluate it? Be sure to use the text to support your claims.” KANT Discussion: Think about some action that you think has moral significance. Consequences should not direct actions, but they should be directed for a reason. Therefore, best practice is we behave based on doing the right thing, not due to the consequences (Fieser & Lillegard, 2005). One action that will have a moral significance, for example, is when an individual finds a child stealing food and decides not to report the matter because he knows the child might be doing this because of a starving family they are trying to support or being hungry themselves. Failure to report crime is wrong because it violates regulations that define what is socially acceptable. However, these actions might be done with goodwill, for example, to fend for a starving ill mother. The actions satisfy the natural desires of happiness and wellbeing, and it is an ideal morality that originates from the individual's heart. This, therefore, will provide an opportunity for an individual to be subjective and encourage original thought into the matter. What constitutes good is usually based on individual choices of what represents what is good. Morality is not confined to an individual’s feelings of what should be done but instead, it involves the concerns for other people as well. Being good is concerned wallows for knowledge and truth to take its course, and the form of good does not explain events in the physical world but rather the heart (Fine, 2003). Therefore, although one can protect themselves, there is no concern for the sake of other people. Morality is guided by three principles which are usually natural, the aim is to ensure harmony and fair play between individuals, to ensure that we are good people to have a good society. In this case, reporting the child might be the right thing to do but it might not be socially accepted. However, reporting the child might not be a good thing because examining the actions one will find that it is done for the general wellbeing of the boy’s family. Furthermore, although the actions are wrong, the intentions were not intended to hurt anyone, rather for the wellbeing of another person. Describe some scenario involving a choice or action that you think sets up a moral quandary (it could be someone stealing bread to save their family, for example). For example, let’s imagine an obese woman pregnant woman is leading a group of individuals out of a cave. Due to her size, she becomes stuck at the mouth of the cave. High tide is coming in, which will trap everyone in the cave unless the woman is unstuck from the opening of the cave. Let’s assume her head is not stuck and she will survive the high tides. Let’s also assume, has a stick of dynamite. The only option is to use the dynamite to unstick the woman so that they are all saved from the tide. However, blowing the dynamite will kill the pregnant woman. This scenario presents a moral dilemma. Save the life of many at the cost of one? Killing the woman may not be an option, especially with regards to her biological conditions. Action, in this case, calls for a sacrifice. Some may say it’s better to save the many and lose a few. Others might say to sacrifice the woman and her unborn child is murder and is not acceptable under any circumstances. References Fieser, J., & Lillegard, N. (2005). Philosophical questions readings and interactive guides. New York: Oxford University Press. Fine, G. (2003). Plato on knowledge and forms. Oxford, UK: Oxford.