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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page research paper that analyzes Bernard Williams' ethical dilemma of Jim the botanist. The writer examines the ethical question presented by Williams from the perspective of John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant, before offering personal observations. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khjim.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
stumbles into a village in South America just as a military officer is about to conduct a mass execution. Twenty inhabitants of the village are lined up against a
wall and are about to be killed in order to show the other villagers the advantages of not protesting against the military. However, since Jim is an honored visitor from
a foreign land, the captain offers him the guest privilege of killing one of the villagers (Williams). If Jim accepts, because it is a special occasion, the other villagers
will be released. On the other hand, if Jim refuses, there is no special occasion and they will all be killed. It is also quite evident that Jim cannot get
to a weapon and there is no other alternative to the situation except to either accept or refuse the captains offer. The villagers are cognizant of the situation and
are obviously begging Jim to accept. Williams asks, "What should he do?" The following examination of this scenario, first looks at the scenario from the utilitarian perspective of John Stuart
Mill, and then from the viewpoint of Immanuel Kant, before finally offering a personal perspective. John Stuart Mill was one of the main proponents of the system of
morality that originated in its modern form with Jeremy Bentham -- utilitarianism. Mill believed that an action should be judged based on its effects. According to this utilitarian stance, actions
are morally good and justifiable only if they increase happiness. Mill writes that actions are "right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness" (Mill). Mill also writes that
"happiness which forms the utilitarian standard of what is right in conduct, is not the agents own happiness, but that of all concerned" (Mill). In other words, utilitarianism supports the
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