Assignment Papers- Utilitarian position
Read the material in the files section on Kantian Ethics, Utilitarianism and Kant’s ethics, and look at the selection from J.S. Mill’s Utilitarianism. Then read the material about Holmes and the Lifeboat.
Holmes is a seaman who has been ordered to throw people out of an overcrowded lifeboat (which will result in their deaths) to keep the boat from sinking. If you approach the situation from a Kantian view, what do you think Holmes should do?
If you approach the situation from a Utilitarian position, what do you think Holmes should do? If you were Holmes what do you think you should do? Why? Be sure to comment on what you think the Kantian and Utilitarian views would say.
