Imagine a scenario: A train is at an intersection, where one leads to a track where a person is drunk and sleeping soundly, and another track leads to 5 men tied to a track and are conscious of their predicament.
What will you do? Save the sleeping drunken man, or save the 5 tied-up individuals?
This is an ethics example. So how do you solve this? You start by understanding the 3 ethical theories, explained in a concise manner below:
- Deontology: This ethical theory, also known as Duty Ethics, focuses on actions and holds that actions are moral if they abide by rules laid down by an external source, regardless of the outcomes. The rightness or wrongness of an act is, at least in part, a matter of the intrinsic moral features of that kind of act. For example, acts of lying, promise breaking, or murder are intrinsically wrong, and we have a duty not to do these things. In this case, the 5 tied-up guys do not stand a chance.
- Utilitarianism: Also known as consequentialism, this theory measures the ethical value of actions by examining their results, especially in terms of the happiness or suffering they bring about. It holds that actions are moral if they maximize the greatest good for the greatest number of people. However, one main problem is that utilitarianism, if adopted, justifies as morally appropriate things that are clearly immoral. In this case, the sole drunken sleeping guy does not stand a chance.
- Virtue Ethics: This theory emphasizes character traits rather than the rules or consequences. It holds that actions are moral if they abide by virtues that help to maximize the wellbeing and fulfillment of the individual. This is good in that it’s holistic, focusing not on one action but on the actor’s life as a whole. So, if the sole drunken guy seems to be of utmost importance, the other 5 guys will not be able to get away.
Each of these theories offers a different perspective on what constitutes ethical behavior, and they each have their strengths and weaknesses.
It’s important to consider all three when making ethical decisions.
So, either the drunken sleeping man gets to be saved, or the 5 tied-up individuals.
However, given the train is at the intersection, and is never stated that it is moving (train is at rest), looks like you can save the drunken guy and the 5 tied-up guys after all.
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Source:
(1) Normative Ethics: Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Ethics. https://medium.com/workmatters/normative-ethics-deontology-utilitarianism-and-virtue-ethics-4824bfebda08.
(2) Ethics Theories: Utilitarianism Vs. Deontological Ethics. https://www.equip.org/articles/ethics-theories-utilitarianism-vs-deontological-ethics/.
(3) Deontology vs. Utilitarianism — What’s the Difference?. https://www.askdifference.com/deontology-vs-utilitarianism/.
(4) Utilitarianism, deontological, and virtue theory ethics — EduCheer!. https://educheer.com/essays/utilitarianism-deontological-and-virtue-theory-ethics/.
