Ethical Dilemma -- Super Bowl XLV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical Dilemma -- Super Bowl XLV - Essay Example utility is the first moral philosophy principle in that it states that each human being is morally obligated to seek to promote the inherent happiness of the greatest group of people. The utility principle also holds that all human beings are influenced by an interest in avoiding pain and securing pleasure. In Roger Rosenblatt’s essay â€Å"The Man in the Water†, the focus is not on the disaster itself, but on a single individual’s actions in choosing to come to the rescue of fellow crash survivors in the midst of frozen chunks crash debris and ice in the Potomac. The last statements of the essay state, â€Å"He could not freeze water or create ice storms†¦but, he could hand his life over to a complete stranger; and this too is a power of nature. The man in the water battled against an impersonal and implacable enemy and was successful in holding it to a standoff. He is the best that humanity can do† (Rosenblatt). In sacrificing his life for the benef it of others, the man in the water was the personalization of the views held by the utility theory. 3. First, what does it mean to say that the principle of utility is an absolute moral principle? Second, are there any absolute truths? Third, how do the Old Man Snodgrass and Maiden Aunt cases make it difficult to defend those claims about the principle? Fourth, how does Rawls defend utilitarianism from these difficulties in Two Concepts of Rules? The utility principle holds that human behaviors or even actions can be viewed as being right as long as they seek to promote pleasure for others or general happiness. Moral absolutism perceives all actions as being either immoral or moral. This rigid definition is somewhat similar to that of the utility principle. There are no absolute truths. The ‘Old Man Snodgrass’ and ‘Maiden Aunt’ cases make it hard to accept the claims of the principle of utility. In regards to ‘Old Man Snodgrass’, the power of the village collective is aimed against the weakest and