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Week 8 Discussion used to help with the first part of the assignment

My personal philosophy is that you should treat others the way that you would like to be treated. I created this philosophy from the Kantian perspective which asserts that we should do things that are an end and not just a means. In his first categorical imperative, Kant talks of one acting in a way that you would like others to act towards you (Mizzoni, 2017). Rachels & Rachels (2019) asserts that the main point by Kant is that what you feel is right for you to do must be right for everyone else. This is important for me because I feel we should not just do things because they benefit us, instead we should consider others and how it affects them.

John Doe used the app to access the book even when he knew it was against his religion, and there was no honesty because the publisher and other people involved in the book were not aware. Therefore, following my philosophy Doe should have not downloaded nor used the app because if everyone acted the way he did, the world will not be a better place. Doe could have found other means to get the book like borrowing it or borrowing money to purchase the book.

The utilitarian theory will best solve Doe’s case. The utilitarian perspective believes that an action is morally right when it brings happiness to the greatest number. Therefore, Doe using the book benefits him as an individual by negatively affects the publisher, his religion, and other stakeholders. His action deprives happiness to the greatest number therefore it is morally wrong.

References

Mizzoni, J. (2017). Ethics: the basics. John Wiley & Sons.

Rachels, S., & Rachels, J. (2019). The elements of moral philosophy (9th ed.). Mcgraw-Hill Education.