Who Does What

*What do you think is the role of government? What is the ideal kind of freedom? What is the correct relationship between government control and personal freedom? What do you think Mill's attitude would be toward the idea of allow two people of the same sex to marry? Would you agree with him or not? Defend your answer.

-Mill believe in the "harm principle" (people should be free to engage in whatever behavior they wish as long as it does not harm others.)

-Thus Mill argued that it is Government's role only to remove the barriers, such as laws, to behaviors that do not harm others.

*What is the Kantian prescription for deciding which actions are moral? How is the Kantian ethics related to The Categorical Imperative? [What is the first formulation of the Categorical Imperative? (That's either of the two italicized statements in column five on the front page of the handout.) What is the second formulation of the Categorical Imperative? (In the last column on the back side.)]

-First formulation- "act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that it should become a universal law.

- second formulation of the categorical imperative? So act as to treat humanity, whether in thine own person or in that of any other, in every case as an end withal, never as means only

Kant describes morality as concerning "a good will" rather than the consequences of an action or any other matters of good fortune which are not matte of intention. The principle of practical reason is called "the categorical imperative."

*Be able to deliberate about a moral issue from both a utilitarian and a Kantian point of view. I think in some situations these two points of view would reach different conclusions and in some cases they would reach the same conclusion. Here is a sample case:

Janelle is pretty sure she will fail her final exam. The possibly of cheating occurs to her. Assume she is a utilitarian. Explain in detail how she would go about deciding whether or not to cheat on the exam if she knew she needed to cheat in order to pass the exam in order to pass the course in order to graduate in order to get an awaiting job working to salvage the lives of young "runaways."

Assume that Janelle