Day 8: My Perspective on “Consequentialism”

Back in my first year of university, I took a Philosophy class on Morality, Virtue, and Society. It was one of the most interesting classes that I’ve taken, and there were so many debates, questions, and ambiguities to consider.

For my first paper, I wrote about Consequentialism, a moral theory that claims that the “ends justifies the means”. I had a lot of fun writing this 1,478 word paper and thought I would share it below.

A few topics that I explore in this paper:

  • How consequentialism condones unethical behaviour
  • Sacrificing a perfectly healthy individual’s organs to save 5 other ill patients?
  • Committing genocide or ethnic cleansing for “the good of the nation”
  • Choosing between letting 20 people die or personally killing 1 person yourself (to save the 19 others)
  • Saving someone you know personally vs. a group of complete strangers