Utilitarian vs. Kantian perspective on using human beings as mere means.

Imagine you are in a scenario where you could certainly save some number of lives by committing murder. The person you have to murder (suppose) will have no surviving friends or relatives and no one will miss them, and you cannot find someone to volunteer for the job (it has to be murder). The people you can save by murdering them, suppose, all will go on to lead happy, healthy, influential lives. You have strong evidence to support the belief that you will never get caught or suffer negative consequence. In other words, murdering would maximize utility, but would be to use someone as a mere means to an end. How many lives (if at all) would your murder need to save in order for you to deem it the morally appropriate choice?

 

 

This question has been answered.

Get Answer