PHIL 329 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Virtue Ethics, Noble Eightfold Path, Divine Command Theory
28 Jan 2016
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You unhooking yourself is not wrong - it is permissible. Jones letting the child die - appears to be morally wrong, he could easily save the child without causing himself any harm. Right action is the one with the highest net happiness value relative to the alternative. Utilitarianism will not provide you with the moral difference between the 2 cases where 1 is permissible and the other is wrong. Given that you have these (negative/non-interference) rights, they would make it wrong for other individuals to interfere with you in certain ways. The right to autonomy makes it permissible for you to take certain actions to pursue your happiness, as long as taking those actions do not violate other people"s life. It makes it wrong for others to interfere in how you choose to live your life/pursue your happiness. This explains the violinist case, why unhooking yourself is morally permissible.
