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Imagine you are a soldier in a war. You have just come to a village and your captain has lined up 10 villagers. He gives you two options. Either you pick one villager who will spend time in a prison camp or he will take all 10 to the prison camp. (NOTE! Prisoners are not treated well in these camps and many die...). From an act utilitarianism point of view, what would be the most ethical thing to do in this bizarre case?
When you purchase plane tickets, some airline companies give you the possibility to offset your CO2 contribution by paying for carbon credits or the planting of trees. Many travellers feel a duty to pay for this offsetting. From a deontology point of of view, what would you call this perceived duty?
After a new car model was introduced to the market in 1973, it was discovered that the risk of a gasoline explosion from a rear collision was large compared to other car models. An inquiry revealed that the risk would be significantly reduced by a simple change, which would cost 11 USD per car. This would be a total cost of 137.5 million USD for all cars already sold. The change would prevent 180 deaths, 180 severe burns and 2100 vehicle fires. It was estimated that the cost of life was 200000 USD, the cost of severe burns was 67000 USD and the cost of vehicle fires was 700 USD (car manufacturer liability cost). A calculation showed that the total cost for the company if they did nothing would hence be only 49.5 million USD, i.e., much less than 137.5 million USD. The car manufacturer therefore decided not to recall any vehicles. What ethical theory fits best with the reasoning of the car manufacturer?
According to deontology, it is the intent and not the outcome that defines if an action is ethical.
Nilstun (1994) identified three ethical principles that can be used when making decisions in ethically difficult situations. Which are the principles mentioned by Nilstun?