the main principle: the right action is the action that creates the greatest amount of happiness for all people concerned compared to all other alternative actions.
impartial: the theory treats everybody's pleasure equally.
People concerned: the theory requires us to consider all people affected by our actions.
consequences: the theory is interested in consequences of an action or its alternatives in different contexts.
the first drawback of the theory: it is difficult to calculate the long-term consequence and the immediate consequence.
the second drawback of the theory: too often, the theory requires people to accept harm for the pleasure gained.
the main principle: we should figure out whether the policy can create the maximum amount of happiness for all people concerned if the company chooses to reduce the benefits and salaries of those employees who come back from maternity leave?
impartial: everybody's happiness is the same, employees, shareholders, managers, customers, suppliers, and the public.
People concerned: female employees who earn less than before are apparently people affected by the policy. these employees' family, including their husbands and babies, are also affected. the company's shareholders are also affected because the organisation has less spending on wages and salaries. Meanwhile, we can also assume that if the company is successful in cost control, it might be able to provide service at a lower cost, so customers can be benefited.
consequences: in the short term, female employees and their family suffer, but in the long term, there might be more negative consequences. for example, women who have competencies would not choose to work for this company because they have heard that the company does not treat female employees well.
the first drawback of the theory: as discussed above.
the second drawback of the theory: so even though more people will benefit from the policy than those who suffer from the policy, does it mean that female employees' suffering and their family's suffering are acceptable if other people are happy?
Kantism, 讨论这个理论的时候, 大家要踩准下面一些点:
Kantism defines an action as right or wrong and disregards consequences of the action
Kantism argues that one should act from duty and act from principle, so the action will have moral worth.
Kantism believes that people have inclination to do something but duty can give them a good guideline.
the first categorical imperative is "act only acording to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law". (己所不欲, 勿施于人)
the second categorical imperative is "act in such a way that you always treat humanity, where in your own person, or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end." (不能够牺牲别人来满足自己的目的)
One major criticism of kantism is that it totally ignores persons' emotions. (譬如说地下党员说谎的时候, 我们不是赞扬, 而是批评, 这样我们会快乐吗? 我们难道不同情那些为了革命而牺牲自己生命的人? )
another criticism is that it is not easy to find a universal law. (譬如说体罚, 在中国人们觉得很正常, 甚至是好的, 而在新西兰, 则是被谴责的. 我们很难说体罚违反了世界的一个法则.)
