Reference no: EM133333097

Consequentialist moral reasoning is an ethical theory that looks at the consequences of actions to determine whether or not not they are right. For instance, the majority of people would concur that it is wrong to lie. However, consequentialism holds that lying to save someone's life is the right thing to do. A good action is one that does more good than harm, while a bad action does more harm than good.

Professor Sandel asserts that Professor Jeremy Bentham's moral theory of ethics is,the highest moral principle, whether personal or political, is to maximize "utility," or the balance of pleasure and pain in order to maximize the general welfare or happiness.

On the 24th day, the crew ate a sick cabin boy for breakfast. Personally, I don't think their actions were right simply because I try to pride my life off of the quote "Treat people the way you would want to be treated". Imagine if you were the individual they decided to kill and eat. I simply would have waited until the boy passed away naturally on his own; regardless of the circumstances, murdering the boy is not justified because you took away the boy's right to make the choice himself.

I think it would have been more morally right to do it if the cabin boy had given his permission because he is willing to risk his life for the other passengers on the boat. This, in my opinion, justifies it more morally and ethically than simply making those decisions for him.

I learned from this video that utilitarianism, or the pursuit of maximizing everyone's happiness through decision-making, is the foundation of ethics.I learned that ethics is based on how one's actions affect the majority and how they are judged to be good or bad.