Genetically Modifying Utilitarianism - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2730 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/08/07 Category Ethics Essay Level High school Topics: Utilitarianism Essay Did you like this example? Abstract This paper presents a refreshing look at Utilitarianism and furthermore ties the ideas of utilitarianism to the process of Eugenics. Using John Mills ideology, Utilitarianism and Eugenics are first evaluated as separate entities. Utilitarianism is focused around the ideas of right and wrong and their application to decision making. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Genetically Modifying Utilitarianism" essay for you Create order The ultimate goal of this view is the make the most amount of people happy. Eugenics and Genetic engineering is the study and process of creating a genetic profile of an unborn child and then taking a part of their DNA and replacing it with better DNA. After evaluated separately, Utilitarianism is applied to Eugenics, specifically looking at the decision-making process for genetically manipulating a child. The results of this comparison show that Eugenics is accepted in utilitarianism conditionally. This application of Utilitarianism will help establish an understanding of Mills philosophical views and will help other students better understand the utilitarianism decision process in the future. Background Utilitarianism was a theory first proposed by Jeremy Bentham and then was further adopted by John Stewart Mill. Mill was alive from May 20, 1806, through May 8, 1873. He was not only a philosopher but a political economist. He was born and flourished during a time of great scientific enlightenment and social expansion; There was a high demand for democracy as well as answers to lifes big questions. Utilitarianism, a form of consequentialism, is a theory formed around the ideas about right and wrong actions. According to John Mill, the morally best action is the one that creates the most amount of happiness for the most amount of people. This idea is known as the rule of utility. Mill also taught his audience that the only two absolutes in life are pleasure and pain. These two traits are what govern mans life. Utilitarianism has many types associated with it. The main types of utilitarianism are negative, act, rule and preference. Negative utilitarianism requires the promotion of the least amount of harm. Another way of looking at this is to prevent the greatest amount of harm for the most amount of people. The issue that this view of utilitarianism looks at is that there are many more ways to do good than harm. The greatest amount of harm has many more consequences than the greatest amount of good. Act utilitarianism is centered around the idea that an individual should pursue the act that leads to the most amount of happiness. Rule utilitarianism is similar to act utilitarianism in the fact that the best rule to follow is the one that would create the most amount of happiness. According to this idea, rules should be looked at as guidelines. These guidelines should only be followed in situations where the consequences are difficult, costly and time-consuming. The general rule of thumb is if the consequences of the rule without a doubt will overall reduce happiness, then the rule can be ignored. Lastly, preference utilitarianism is what defines the utility in terms of preference satisfaction. According to the terms of preference satisfaction, the right thing to do is the one that produces the best overall consequences. Utilitarianism can also be looked at in terms of biology. Utilitarianism and consequentialism look at individuals as egoistic. These individuals, that are egoistic, must compromise with each other. The result of this idea is a social contract. If society implements this social contract, then the individual that is egoistic ultimately has an increase in happiness. Individuals who follow utilitarianism will argue that other members of the society should follow the social contract unless it messes with their happiness. If it messes with their happiness, then they can break the contract, and no one can hold it against them. After looking at these facts, there are some issues that arise with the ideas of utilitarianism. First, it is challenging to prove these philosophical ideas through science. Happiness for one person may be defined as unhappiness for another person. Happiness would need to somehow be quantitatively measured in order for it to be compared person to person and in turn be scientifically measured. Another critique would be the definition of happiness. According to utilitarianism, happiness is defined as the biggest happiness which every human being looks for (Utilitarian philosophy). Happiness can differ among people which is not something that Mills addresses. These challenges with utilitarianism are only some of the reasons why utilitarianism wasnt universally accepted. Eugenics and Genetic Engineering Now that utilitarianism has been looked at, the idea of eugenics is nare evaluated. Eugenics is the practice or advocacy of controlled selective breeding of human populations to improve the populations genetic composition(websters). The actual action of genetically cloning some sort of DNA is called genetic engineering. This process alters the structure and nature of the genes in questions and can apply to humans, foods, and animals. Through genetic engineering, DNA is modified and transformed of a specific organism and then cloned and put back into the original organism. This process, specifically in humans, uses the manipulation of a fertilized egg. Once a family decides that this is the only way to achieve their goal, the geneticist will modify the DNA of the child to the parental specifications. This all sounds good, but Eugenics has a dark history. It was idealized in the Nazi era to create the perfect population. This method was used to control population growth. It started with only certain people could be put together and only certain people, those with the ideal traits, could reproduce. The goal was to increase the overall genetic and biological quality of the human race. During this time, the German government, as well as some people around the United States, were trying to eliminate mixed races. Many individuals believed that the only population that was supreme, was the one that was purely white. As science and thought advanced, geneticists started to find ways to genetically modify the DNA without having to be in control of who married who. During this time, society started moving away from white supremacy and slowly towards equality. In the late 90s and early 00s there became more ways to genetically map DNA for testing and possibly manipulation. Genetic testing and Eugenics was also shown in the media, which helped with the popularity of the idea. A good example of this is the movie franchise, Jurassic Park. In these movies, scientists used the same technology that was being developed for humans to clone and bring dinosaurs back to life. At the time, people thought that it was a far-fetched fictional story, but as the field of genetic engineering progressed, the amount of fiction in the movies decreased. As the science developed, genetic cloning became a popular basis for many movies. Examples of these are the Star Wars Franchise, Body Snatchers and more recently Oblivion. This shows how the popularity of genetic engineering grew and morphed into the designer baby ideas of today. Genetic therapy, testing, screening, and counseling is used to create a genetic profile of individuals. This process is what causes the shift from eugenics (ideas) to genetic engineering (the process). These tests can identify diseases, disease severity, medication doses and possible allergies to medication. The results from the genetic testing are compiled into a list of possible genetic complications and mutations that their child might inherit. From here, the fertilized egg is moved to the genetic lab where the DNA is removed from the cell where each gene is removed from the isolated DNA and multiplied for genetic testing. Once multiplied, the geneticist then mutates the genetic code until it is the correct sequence. As soon as the genes are manipulated, they are inserted back into the fertilized egg and then put back into the female for growing. This process must be done very quickly after the fertilization of the egg because the growth of the child needs to be a single cell. Fur thermore, it has to be inserted back into the female when it is still a single cell so that there can be as much healthy growth as possible. Because this is a very quick and sensitive procedure, the main way to test that the manipulation worked is if the baby starts growing and grows correctly throughout its life. There are many arguments for the use of eugenics and genetic engineering. First, using this method, there is the possibility of genetically transmitted diseases decreasing or even going away completely. This is because the gene that is causing the problem can be removed from the DNA of the egg and sperm and replaced with another gene that is much less harmful. Another benefit of eugenics is to help doctors prepare for the future medical needs of the child that is being created. All of the tests that create a genetic profile allow for doctors to foresee future diseases that the child may possibly have. This allows the medical professional to pre-emptively treat the disease, sometimes before the child is even born. This testing and genetic manipulation also have the possibility of eliminating infertility and defective genes, as long as those problems are specifically caused by the gene of the mother and father. Even if there are plenty of advantages, eugenics and genetic engineering have some large disadvantages. The testing, equipment, and processes involved are very expensive, time-sensitive and complex. Eugenics requires a lot of tests to map out all of the possible genetic combinations. Furthermore, the time and expertise required for the single manipulation of an egg can take weeks. You can only complete the tests once a month, based on the cycle of the female, and the success rate for the genetic cloning is less than 50%. As more genes are added that need to be manipulated is increased, the success rate of having a healthy mother and child significantly decreases. Because there is a lot of movement of the fertilized egg from the mom to the lab and back to the mom, it is a very risky procedure for both the mother and the child. Additionally, the mother can develop challenges caused by the manipulations throughout the pregnancy. Eugenics can also be bad because it can create more seriou s diseases that doctors havent seen, especially those that are genetically altered. Eugenics and Genetic Engineering Utilitarian Application When comparing utilitarianism and Eugenics, the idea of ultimate happiness must be looked at. If the idea of eugenics is applied to negative utilitarianism, eugenics would not be allowed. Because negative utilitarianism is centered around the idea that there needs to be the least amount of harm, some may argue that removing the fertilized egg and causing the death of the unborn child until there is the correct combination of genes would be causing a greater amount of harm than happiness. If the eugenics process is being looked at through this lens, then it would go against utilitarianism values and would be considered unjust and evil. When applying Eugenics to act and rule utilitarianism, the differences between the two must be established. Act utilitarianism is the amount of utility calculated each time an action is performed and is judged on a case by case basis. Rule utilitarianism is all about the general rule and addresses the decision everyone should make every time they happen upon a similar act, regardless of the specific details. If looked at through act utilitarianism, one may come to the conclusion that Eugenics would be good and acceptable if the genetic manipulations of the child were because that child would have inherited a life-threatening illness that is relatively uncurable. If this was the case, removing that gene would yield the most happiness because the family would be less likely to see their child suffering from that genetic trait. On the other hand, if a family chose to genetically manipulate their unborn child because they wanted their child to have blonde hair, the amount of testing and the stress put on the child and mother would decrease overall happiness, thus not being allowed under the Act utilitarianism view. When Rule utilitarianism is applied the Eugenics, it must be looked at as whether or not the process of Eugenics as a whole is generally right or generally wrong. Through the combination of negatives and positives as well as the situational nature of the process, rule utilitarianism would deem Eugenics as an acceptable practice. Overall, genetically manipulating the unborn child would increase the happiness of the parents because they would get the exact child they want down to the gender. This would also lead to the increased happiness of the child because the parents are more likely to accept them for who they are if they know what they are walking into. When looking at Preference Utilitarianism and comparing it to Eugenics, one must ask if the consequences of Eugenics outweigh the positives of Eugenics. Purely looking at the pros and cons, the idea of Eugenics would be frowned upon. This is because it may be the right thing to do in certain situations but there are overwhelming odds that both the child and the mother must overcome. It is very dangerous for both parties; the tests are very sensitive and only work part of the time and it is very costly both in time and money. These negatives along with the emotional turmoil put on everyone involved including the laboratory technician and doctor automatically make Eugenics an unethical practice in a utilitarian society. Lastly, Eugenics and biology go hand in hand. There is no better way to describe the utilitarian principles of Eugenics than the biological explanation. According to Mills biological explanation, individuals are seen as egoistic and greedy. Eugenics is the poster child for this idea. Starting during WWII, Hitler wanted to use the science of Eugenics to create a supreme race, a race genetically high above the others. As science progressed, geneticists and doctors are receiving more requests for designer babies. These babies are genetically modified to the exact specifications and combinations of a couples genome. The couple gets to choose hair color, sex, genetically linked traits and so much more. The majority of these requests are not because the child may have a life-threatening genetic disease, but because the parents want the perfect child. This idea is described thought utilitarianism. It is not enough anymore to just have a child, now parents want the perfect child and they use science to do so. Results and Conclusions Taking into account all of the different views and aspects of utilitarianism, Mill would say the Eugenics is conditional. The action of Eugenics would be an acceptable action if it is used for removing the gene of a serious genetically inherited disease because it would ultimately increase the happiness of everyone involved and it would create the least amount of harm. Mill would also say that a couple who wanted to genetically mutate their child purely because they wanted the perfect child, the harm of the action would cause more unhappiness, thus making it not an acceptable action under the principles of utilitarianism. Looking at all of these factors that play a role in the eugenics decision making, specifically under the umbrella of utilitarianism, I would have to disagree with Mill. I would say that genetic testing is ok, but the act of genetical cloning is not acceptable because the costs, both monetarily and emotionally outweigh the benefits. Yes, a family would have the possibility of having a healthy child that is disease free, but they also could have a child that is sicker because of unsuspected genetic mutations. I think that this technology, as well as the personnel required to perform the tests, would be better-used researching and finding cures for diseases that can affect everyone, not just one child. Furthermore, I think that Mill would agree with me on that point, saying that the resources could be used for the good and happiness of all rather than the happiness of the few. Overall, Eugenics and genetic engineering have a long way to go before it can be a completely viable option. This science has the ability to be abused and has the ability to save a life. This view being applied to utilitarianism is able to punch some holes in Mills philosophy. In conclusion, Mills would agree with eugenics and genetic engineering on a case by case basis. I would disagree with Mills philosophical analysis of the process.

Inmates Abuse in Prison Essay - 1136 Words

It is dreadful enough to get raped, but having to see your perpetrator every day and possibly raping you again is a constant fear that many inmates have to encounter. According to the Bureau of Justice (BJS), in 2008 correctional administrators reported 7,444 allegations of sexual abuse in prisons. About 46 % of the sexual abuse involved staff with inmates. But these statistics do not include the many cases that go unreported due to victim’s fear of being punished by their perpetrators and/ or to embarrassment and humiliation that comes with rape. Although prison rape is prevalent, many individuals find it normal and even find it a laughing matter. Prison rape is abnormal and has huge consequences if not dealt with. Some of the†¦show more content†¦After an inmate attempted to prosecute the system, the court ordered that rape â€Å"is not part of the penalty that criminal offenders pay for their offenses†. Unfortunately, this case built strong â€Å"barriers to establish the culpability of corrections staff† (Brook), thus discouraging prisoners from reporting sexual assault. Prison rape in jail can ultimately bring hierarchy between the weaker and the stronger. Although many would believe rape offenders in men’s prisons are mainly homosexuals, studies have shown that homosexuals are more likely to be sexually abused than perpetrators. In prison it is actually known that men become rapists to overpower their victims. Patriarchal systems of power, male incentive to overpower the weaker, exist both outside and inside of jail. In any community, women are seen as weak; therefore, men tend to overpower women. Most prisoners have this same mentality; therefore since there are no women to overpower they decide to suppress the weaker or smaller sized inmates. Victims are also effeminized and given tasks to perform such as cleaning dishes and cooking food. Physiologists believe that prison rape is not caused by the lack of women, but â€Å"mainly as a means by which people who have been stripped of control over the most basic aspects of their lives- when to eat a meal, take a shower, or watch TV- can reclaim some sense of power.†(Brook) According to Wilbert Rideau, a Louisiana prisoner wrote â€Å"theShow MoreRelatedCorrectional Rehabilitation Programs Of California Essay1292 Words   |  6 PagesRehabilitation Programs of California Rehabilitation programs that are available in prisons are a vital key to reforming at least eight out of ten inmates back to a productive, healthy citizen and leader. 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Realism Free Essays

Cognitive sentences are those that are dependent to facts and readily have or consist of truth values, such as true and false. Non-Cognitive Sentences constitutes statements which are independent of facts and are cannot be assumed to have a truth value. In this regards, statements such as â€Å"Girelle is stands about five feet and five inches tall† and â€Å"the vase is red† are statements which falls under the Cognitive division. We will write a custom essay sample on Realism or any similar topic only for you Order Now While statements like â€Å"keep quiet† and â€Å"you must not lie† corresponds to Non-cognitive statements.(Marturano 2006, 1) According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy, Non-cognitive holds that moral properties otherwise known as moral facts do not exist. This means that moral statements are statements that can neither be true or false or simply these statements do not contain any truth condition. Moral sentiments are merely â€Å"approval or disapproval† expressions more akin to wishes and aspirations that are seldom associated with emotions than to cognitive â€Å"state of mind† such as beliefs or ideas. Moral Realism on the other hand holds that moral statements were actually reports of factual actions or ideas that are always true or real or existing. ( Sayre-McCord 2005, 1) Non-cognitivist argues that moral statements have no truth conditions in such case that their predicate was merely moral utterances or sentiments that neither have truth or falsity. It does not tell anything about its subject that could prove its truthfulness. In a sense, moral sentiments are meaningless and remain to be mere expressions. They further argue that moral statements were emotive, prescriptive and motivational that cannot be classified as either true or false (Ayer 1936, 28-55) .Non-moral statements on the other hand can express beliefs and ideas that can be evaluated as either true or false (Blackburn 1984, 12-25). Thus the Non-Cognitivist holds that since moral claims are non-cognitive statements, they do not contain any descriptive sentence and are therefore not describing anything at all which means that they do not contain factual statements and are not asserting anything.(Railton 1986, 4-6) The Non-cognitivist believes that normative claims are not valid of any logic since they cannot be true or false. According to Ayer, as quoted in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, â€Å"ethical claims are comprised of pseudo concepts which merely convey commands or feelings and do not contain any meaning (Marturano 2006, 1). Ethical statements remains important or significant because it is being use to persuade other people most specifically the receiver to perform or act in a certain way. In such case, ethical claims can be debated or can cause several disagreements and agreements but it can never comprise a logical understanding or reach any rational conclusion because normative claims cannot express the truth value of the statement. Thus, logical laws or basic rules of logic are inapplicable to moral statements (Hooker 1996, 3-5). By being a non-cognitivist, a person can deal with more relevant questions concerning reality. For instance, instead of dealing with the question of truthfulness of the statement â€Å"abortion should not be permissible†, people would be more focused on assessing the claim with respect to its effect or to its general utility. If abortion is done what would be its effect, thus basing the judgment on the factual outcome and not on mere assumption. To make this point clearer, consider the statement â€Å"genocide is wrong†, since it does not express any truth value, its assessment or its continuation would depend on its result. Non-cognitivism, by removing the truth value of normative statements has ended the dispute regarding the reality of an objective moral code or morality. This paved the way for moral relativism which favors the variation of moral codes in the different parts of the worlds at different times. This results to more respect to different cultures and traditions across national and ethnic boundaries. By denoting that moral statements are merely expression of approval/disapproval or sentiments, the non-cognitivist have also succeed in emphasizing the reason why there have been different reactions among different people regarding a certain moral issue. The varying reason as to why and how people view things differently. It also shows that moral statements cannot be true or false, thus they cannot be use to persuade other people in doing this or that. Moral realism on the other hand purports that moral statements is either true or false. The moral claim, â€Å"abortion is wrong† is either true or false. If this will be the case, there would be fixed moral codes that should apply to everyone else or at least every rational person in the planet. Yet, the relativity and subjectivity of moral statements seems to contradict the moral realist position because in different countries there were differing view regarding this matter and this is something that is prevalent in the reality in which we lived in. People does not agree on the same moral issue, most often they would argue differently depending on their position, biases, outlook, experiences and so on. The reason why I agree that â€Å"abortion is wrong† would be very different from your or his or her reason. In moral realism, people would continue to argue and debate over claims fruitlessly. In the end they would come up with a conclusion that is not far from being the decision of the â€Å"majority†. If moral realism are right in asserting that moral statements expresses truth value, then what people, specially influential and powerful ones would do is to persuade other people into believing that their statement is the right and whatever that contradicts their statement and purpose are wrong. Moral realism maintains that there can be â€Å"objective moral values† which contradicts the Non-cognitivist claims. However, moral realist failed to account what constitute the objective moral facts (Shafer-Landau 2005). They argued that â€Å"death penalty is wrong† can be accounted as either true or false simply because they believed that it is the same as any cognitive statement such as â€Å"it is dark†. Moral realist cannot prove that â€Å"death penalty is wrong is in fact true† for it differs from people’s opinion, perspectives and desire. There is no factual evidence that could actually prove that it is true (Stevenson1944, 15). The reality of the existence of moral facts is inaccessible to scientific inquiry and cannot be observed directly through our senses without appeal to our emotions, sentiments or feelings. References: Ayer, A. J. 1936. Language, Truth and Logic. London: Gollancz Blackburn, S. 1984.   Spreading the Word. Oxford: Clarendon Hare R. M. 1997. Sorting Out Ethics. Oxford: O.U.P. Hooker, Brad. 1996. Truth In Ethics. Oxford. Kim, Shin. 2006. Moral Realism. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Marturano, Anotonio. 2006. Non-Cognitivism in Ethics. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.   Railton, Peter. 1986. Moral Realism: The Philosophical Review. Vol. 95, No. 2 (Apr.,), pp. 163-207 Sayre-McCord, Geoff. 2005. Moral Realism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved on September 20, 2007. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-cognitivism/ Shafer-Landau, Russ. June 15, 2005. Moral Realism: A Defense.   USA: Oxford University Press Stevenson, C.L. 1944. Ethics and Language. New Haven: Yale U.P How to cite Realism, Essay examples