ETHC 232 Week 2 Discussion | Devry University
- Devry University / ETHC 232
- 12 Sep 2022
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- Humanities Assignment Help / moral and ethics
ETHC 232 Week 2 Discussion | Devry University
Week 2: Utilitarianism
Last week we considered deontological ethics, and this week we
will consider the alternative approach of utilitarianism. Unlike deontology,
which is based on adherence to universal rules, utilitarianism holds that only
the consequences of an action determine whether it is right or wrong.
Specifically, utilitarians believe that any action that results in greater
total happiness is right, while any action that leads to greater unhappiness is
wrong. Sometimes this belief is summed up as "the greatest good for the
greatest number."
Prisoners from minority populations in Chinese
detainment camps are being used as sources for organ harvesting, sometimes when
detainees are still alive. NBC News reported that detainees of
marginalized groups, such as the Falun Gong and possibly Uighur Muslims, are
targeted; their organs are fueling an estimated $1-billion transplant industry
in China.
Allegations of forced organ harvesting first surfaced in 2001.
An international tribunal determined these operations are still occurring, if
only because of the "impossibility of there being anything like sufficient
'eligible donors' under the recently formed PRC [People's Republic of China]
voluntary donor scheme" (Rogers, 2019) for the number of transplants known
to be performed. Survivors of detention camps say they were examined to make
sure their organs were healthy. One doctor who performed an organ removal
recalled how he once extracted an organ from a living person.
Consider that a single organ donor can save up to eight people,
and a single tissue donor can enhance the lives of up to 50 people who are in
need of a transplant to improve their quality of life. How would utilitarian
ethics respond to the act of forced organ harvesting? In contrast, what might a
deontologist think?
Here's an additional question to think about. What if the people
imprisoned were not members of marginalized groups, but instead hardened
criminals guilty of heinous crimes like murder? In other words, does it matter
if the person whose organs are being harvested is guilty or innocent?
Reference
Rogers, B. (2019,
February 5). The nightmare of human organ harvesting in China. The Wall
Street Journal. Retrieved from
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-nightmare-of-human-organ-harvesting-in-china-11549411056
This topic was locked Sep 11 at 11:59pm.
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