Sample

Answer
Phil in the Blank
Module 2 The Good and The Right

Paragraph 1

John Stuart Mill would probably want me to pull the lever and head to the right.

The reason I assume this is because one of the values of Utilitarianism states that a
decision or action is moral when it provides the best result for the greatest
number of people. One person being killed produces a smaller amount of
suffering than five people being killed.

As he says, the Greatest Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in
proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce
the reverse of happiness.

His reasoning here plants him firmly within the Moral Framework called The
Good, where morality is judged by looking at the consequences of our actions
and how they impact the greatest number of people.



Altogether, this first paragraph flows very nicely:

John Stuart Mill would probably want me to pull the lever and head to the
right. The reason I assume this is because one of the values of Utilitarianism
states that a decision or action is moral when it provides the best result for
the greatest number of people. One person being killed produces a smaller
amount of suffering than five people being killed. As he says, the Greatest
Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend
to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of
happiness. His reasoning here plants him firmly within the Moral
Framework called The Good, where morality is judged by looking at the
consequences of our actions and how they impact the greatest number of
people.




Scroll down for paragraph 2.

Jane Drexler 9/5/2015 10:39 AM

Comment [1]: This is a really good quote
choice. What makes it good is that the
meaning of the quote illustrates the exact
point being madehere, that Mill thinks the
right thing to do is that which makes the
most people happy. This students chose a
quote that proves the point being made.
And thats what I always want you to do
with philosophy quotingthat is, always
find the quote the illustrates or proves
the point you are making. Avoid picking a
quote that is making a related point, but that
kind of takes you off on a tangent, or
stretches into another point. Those arent
effective for making your case.

Another good quote from Mill that I saw
students using:
The happiness that forms the utilitarian
standard of what it right in conduct is not
the agents own happiness, but that of all
concerned. (p. 155)

Or

The utilitarian morality does recognize in
human beings the power of sacrificing their
own greatest good for the good of
others.[but] a sacrifice which does not
increase or tend to increase the sum total of
happiness, it considers wasted (p. 155)

Notice here that these quotes illustrate
Mills primary point: that the moral
decision is the one that will help the most
people, (even if that means a sacrifice may
be needed.)

Quote-choice is an important part of
philosophical writing, so always ask
yourself if thats the clearest and most
efficient quote you could use to prove the
your philosopher thinks what you are
saying s/he thinks.
Jane Drexler 9/5/2015 9:55 AM
Comment [2]: This is the moral
framework I was wanting students to
identify. I introduced it in the Welcome
Lecture from Module 1.

Paragraph 2

On the other hand, Kant reasons from framework called The Right, where
morality is measured by taking into consideration the dignity of a human being,
treating them with respect and avoiding violating rights.

Thus, he would most likely tell m e to stay on the original path and go to the left.

For one thing, Kants moral theory requires us to follow the Categorical
Imperative: Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your
own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always
at the same time as an end..

What Kant means here is that we should never use a person as a means to an end.

So, you can see that he is primarily concerned about our duty as people and respect
for others within humanity, and he would probably conclude that I should stay on
my original path, because going to the right would be using that one person as a
means to save the lives of the five on the left.



Again, now altogether, this paragraph flows quite well:

On the other hand, Kant reasons from framework called The Right,
where morality is measured by taking into consideration the dignity of a
human being, treating them with respect and avoiding violating rights.
Thus, he would most likely tell m e to stay on the original path and go to the
left. For one thing, Kants moral theory requires us to follow the
Categorical Imperative: Act in such a way that you always treat humanity,
whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a
means, but always at the same time as an end. What Kant means here is
that we should never use a person as a means to an end. So, you can see
that he is primarily concerned about our duty as people and respect for
others within humanity, and he would probably conclude that I should stay
on my original path, because going to the right would be using that one
person as a means to save the lives of the five on the left.

Jane Drexler 9/5/2015 10:28 AM

Comment [3]: And this is the other Moral
Framework. The Right Again, revisit the
Welcome Lecture for a review of the two
moral frameworks.
Jane Drexler 9/5/2015 10:29 AM
Comment [4]: Here, I was less concerned
with what you thought he would advise you
to do than your explanation for why he
would decide that. Here, this student thinks
that Kant would not want the one person
killed to save the other five, and she
explains Kants second formulation of the CI
to support her reasoning here. Thats just
great.

But this is a particularly catch-22 situation,
so its possible that you might have
concluded that Kant would tell you---like
Millto sacrifice the one.but not for
reasons that Mill would give. Kant wouldnt
care too much about the happiness or
benefits to the most people possible. But
one could argue that Kant would
nevertheless demand that we act to save
those five because one could never
universalize a maxim that said that you can
stand by without action and watch 5 people
die, if you can do something about it.
(Thats just one example of how one could
use Kants theory to draw a different
conclusion that this student does. But,
notice in both cases, the students are
grounding their answers from the principles
of Kants theory.

In this essays case, the student is focusing
on the second formulation, about not
reducing peoples value to a mere tool for
someone elses benefit. In my alternate
example above, the student is focusing on
the first formulation of the CI. about
whether we can wish that everyone always
acted in that way that we are considering
acting.

In short, My concerns when I grade these is
less your conclusion than how you get there.
Jane Drexler 9/5/2015 10:25 AM
Comment [5]: Fantastic quote choice.
Thats one of the most important quotes
from Kant. Again, do you see how it
specifically illustrates the precise thought
that this student is focusing on.

Jane Drexler 9/5/2015 10:25 AM
Comment [6]: Here is a very nice overall
summary of how Kants theory here applies
to the train track case.

Final Paragraph


Personally, I think I should pull the lever and head to the right.

Even though I might share some of the values underlying Kants position, like
respecting the autonomy of others and not using a person as simply a means to
our own end,

I nevertheless would decide to save the lives of the five by pulling the lever and going
to the right because, in my mind, the social and emotional impact of losing five
lives is likely to be greater than the loss of one life. (However, this could also be
debated, depending on the individuals involved! If the one on the right has a
large family and social network and the five on the left have fewer personal
connections, my previous assumption would be incorrect. This is where this
decision becomes a little more complex for me.)

My reasoning here seems to fall under the framework called The Good because I
am primarily focused on The Greatest Happiness Principle.













End of Assignment

Jane Drexler 9/5/2015 10:37 AM

Comment [7]: This is a really good
example of how you can call into question a
conclusion that you yourself are drawing.
Here, the students acknowledges that there
are other ways to evaluate this situation,
even from within the Utilitarian perspective
itself. And it actually taps into one of the
biggest critiques of Utilitarianism: How
hard it is to measure benefits and
Consequences beyond the most basic and
immediate ones. Long-terms effects are
hard to foresee and measure, and thus
moral rightness and wrongness can get
quite muddy in utilitarianism.

Jane Drexler 9/5/2015 10:40 AM

Comment [8]: In all this was a great
example of a Phil in the Blank.

The theories were well-summarized and
applied, showing a clear understanding of
the theories. This essay used very effective
textual support (which is a key part of this
assignment). And it showed an
understanding of how these moral theories
(and their underlying frameworks) can be
put into conversation with each other to
approach a moral dilemma.