3 . In calculating happiness and unhappiness caused , nobody ’ s happiness counts any more than anybody else ’ s ; that is , everybody ’ s welfare is equally important and the majority rules .
In specific cases where justice and utility are in conflict , it may seem expedient to serve the greater happiness through quick action that overrules consideration for justice . There is a side to happiness that can call for rushed decisions and actions that put decision-makers under the pressure of expediency .
Here is a dilemma for our class : You are the elected district attorney . You receive a phone call from a nursing home administrator who was a good friend of yours in college . She has a waiting list of 3,000 people who will die if they don ' t get into her nursing home facility within the next 3 weeks , and she currently has 400 patients who have asked ( or their families have asked on their behalf ) for the famous Dr . Jack Kevorkian ' s ( fictitious ) sister , Dr . Jill Kevorkian , for assistance in helping them die . The 3,000 people on the waiting list want to live . She ( the nursing home administrator ) wants to know if you would agree to " look the other way " if she let in Dr . Jill to assist in the suicide of the 400 patients who have requested it , thus allowing at least 400 of the 3,000 on the waiting list in .
1 . How would we use Utilitarianism to " solve " this dilemma ?
2 . What ethics did your friend , the nursing home administrator , use in deciding to call you ?
3 . What ethics are you using if you just " look the other way " and let it happen ?