Utilitarian Principles Research Articles

Кант во времена COVID

During the coronavirus pandemic, communities have faced shortages of important healthcare resources such as COVID-19 vaccines, medical staff, ICU beds and ventilators. Public health officials in the U.S. have had to make decisions about two major issues: which infected patients should be treated first (triage), and which people who are at risk of infection should be inoculated first (vaccine distribution). Following Beauchamp and Childress’s principlism, adopted guidelines have tended to value both whole lives (survival to discharge) and life-years (survival for years past discharge). This process of collective moral reasoning has revealed our common commitment to both Kantian and utilitarian principles. For Kant, respecting people’s rights entails that we ought to value whole lives equally. Therefore we ought to allocate resources so as to maximise the number of patients who survive to discharge. By contrast, the principle of utility has us maximise life-years so that people can satisfy more of their considered preferences. Although people are treated impartially in the utilitarian calculus, it does not recognise their equal worth. Subjecting Kantian ethics and utilitarianism to the process of reflective equilibrium lends support to the idea that we need a pluralistic approach that would accommodate our moral intuitions regarding both the equal value of whole lives and the additive value of life-years.

“Common cause” as a principle of national science in Russia

The article raises the problem of the possibility of updating the foundations of scientific knowledge. The authors proceed from the generally accepted thesis about the “crisis of European sciences”. Analyzing some cultural and historical features of the formation of classical science, the authors note its connection with the specifics of Western religiosity, from which science eventually freed itself. Further, referring to the formulation of the problem by E.Husserl, the authors substantiate the position according to which Russian philosophy, criticizing the Western type of rationality, put forward principles of the organization of science that differ from European ones. The originality of the Russian interpretation of science and scholarship is expressed in the synetic unity of the principles of Truth, Goodness and Beauty. The authors pay special attention to the philosophical views of N.F.Fedorov, which, on the one hand, paradoxically combine the scientific and religious ideas of the thinker, and, on the other, most fully reveal the format of the unity of cognitive, moral and aesthetic ideas. The authors consistently reconstruct N.F.’s teaching. Fedorova, showing that the “philosophy of the common cause”, in addition to radical criticism of the methodological principles and targets of the bourgeois system of knowledge, contain conceptual innovations that expand cognitive and heuristic possibilities. The generally recognized principles of rational egocentrism, formal criticism and pragmatic utilitarianism can be reformatted into conciliar unity and transformative pragmatism, respectively. The conclusion of the article is devoted to the actual implementation of the Fedorov principles in the process of the formation of scientific knowledge and its practical application in Russia. The authors emphasize that during the Soviet period of Russian history, the principles of science put forward by N.F.Fedorov began to be embodied in real life. Soviet cosmonautics became the brightest personification of science as a common cause.

Physician-Assisted Suicide in Dementia: Paradoxes, Pitfalls and the Need for Prudence.

There has been an increasing drive towards the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in patients with dementia, particularly in patients with advanced disease and severe cognitive impairment. Advocacy for this position is often based on utilitarian philosophical principles, on appeals to the quality of life of the patient and their caregiver(s), or on economic constraints faced by caregivers as well as healthcare systems. In this paper, two lines of evidence against this position are presented. First, data on attitudes towards euthanasia for twenty-eight countries, obtained from the World Values Survey, is analyzed. An examination of this data shows that, paradoxically, positive attitudes towards this procedure are found in more economically advanced countries, and are strongly associated with specific cultural factors. Second, the literature on existing attitudes towards PAS in cases of dementia, along with ethical arguments for and against the practice, is reviewed and specific hazards for patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals are identified. On the basis of these findings, the author suggests that the practice of PAS in dementia is not one that can be widely or safely endorsed, on both cultural and ethical grounds. Instead, the medical field should work in collaboration with governmental, social welfare and patient advocacy services to ensure optimal physical, emotional and financial support to this group of patients and their caregivers.

Mathematical experiment as a tool for modeling the freight transportation process

The process of multimodal freight transportation on a railway loop is investigated, for which a multicriteria optimization model with time indicators is created, which is a nonlinear integer programming problem. The developed approach is based on egalitarian and utilitarian principles in the welfare theory and allows (along with Pareto optimal transportation plans) to find other plans that can be considered rational from the point of view of maintaining the balance of interests of the transportation process participants. A mathematical experiment is an effective heuristic tool in research. The algorithm for solving the optimization problem is implemented in the environment of a computer algebra system and brought to numerical results.

On the uneasy alliance between moral bioenhancement and utilitarianism.

Moral bioenhancement (MBE) is often associated with a consequentialist, especially utilitarian, framework, owing to its capacity to prevent great harm and motivate acts in accordance with basic moral principles such us universal impartial altruism or benevolence. However, it remains unclear whether we could de facto justify MBE on utilitarian grounds. This article examines whether there is a plausible utilitarian case for MBE and what the obstacles for justifying MBE on utilitarian grounds could be. More specifically, it explores the relationship between MBE and basic utilitarian principles, as well as its effects on utilitarian moral judgment. It seems that MBE could modify moral agents in ways that would accord with the main utilitarian demands and facilitate the adoption and realization of utilitarian prescriptions. Although MBE would, in principle, create preconditions for achieving utilitarian ends, I argue that there are certain limits to this claim. I identify and elaborate several ways in which MBE could undermine utilitarian moral judgment.

Paying a premium for an accounting crime

PurposeThis study aims to look at how the intention of a person when facing a dilemma to choose a good outcome (utilitarian) or a good and ethical process regardless of the outcome (deontological) by raising the case of PT. Asuransi Jiwasraya (Jiwasraya).Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted using a literature study method where researchers will analyze through previous research and news related to ethics, psychology and Jiwasraya cases.FindingsIn the Jiwasraya case, it can be said that the deontology principle has been violated, but the utilitarian principle also cannot provide benefits to the parties who should benefit, namely, the premium payers and the owners of third parties funds. In terms of intentions, at first, Jiwasraya’s management may intend to save and provide benefits to customers and the public who deposit funds at Jiwasraya (utilitarian principle). However, over time, managers choose to “allow” conditions to occur and even begin to engage in activities to take advantage of certain parties and groups by taking policies that are not by the rules (violating deontological principles) for personal gain.Research limitations/implicationsThis study only discusses the Jiwasraya case through financial and accounting reports. Future studies can continue this research by looking at the Jiwasraya case through the law and legislation to obtain a complete picture.Practical implicationsWith this research, it is hoped that the authors can better understand that the dilemma the author faces is rooted in the limitations of the abilities as humans; the ethics will influence all intentions for the choices the authors make.Originality/valueThis research uses case studies that occurred in Indonesia, the discussion is carried out using a utilitarian and deontological approach that has never been discussed regarding the Jiwasraya case before.

Under-explored 'third dimension' of medical ethics.

In this paper, we nominally propose three dimensions of medical ethics, using the term medical ethics rather than clinical ethics to focus on the professional obligation of paediatricians in and beyond the ward and clinic. We argue there exists a duty to children along the continuum of all three dimensions. In this taxonomy, the first dimension is the obligation of paediatricians to serve the best interests of their individual patients. The second dimension involves public health aspects and communitarian concerns with a focus on utilitarian principles, such as cost-effectiveness and just resource allocation. The third dimension of medical ethics is the obligation we hold in trust to support and respect the well-being of future generations. As our ecological footprint, characterised by climate change and biodiversity collapse, will adversely affect the health of today's children and those yet unborn, paediatricians have a contemporaneous moral obligation to speak out and act as both advocates and activists.

COVID-19 pandemic in ICU. Limited resources for many patients: approaches and criteria for triaging.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shattered the illusion that healthcare resource shortages that require rationing are problems restricted to low- and middle-income countries. During the pandemic surges, many high-income countries have been confronted with unprecedented demands for healthcare systems that dramatically exceeded available resources. Hospitals capacities were overwhelmed, and physicians working in intensive care units (ICUs) were often forced to deny admissions to patients in desperate need of intensive care. To support these difficult decisions, many scientific societies and governmental bodies have developed guidelines on the triage of patients in need of mechanical ventilation and other life-support treatments. The ethical approaches underlying these guidelines were grounded on egalitarian or utilitarian principles. Thus far, however, consensus on the approaches used, and, above all, on the solutions adopted have been limited, giving rise to a clash of opinions that has further complicated health professionals' ability to respond optimally to their patients' needs. As the COVID-19 crisis moves toward a phase of what some have called "pandemic normalcy," the need to debate the merits and demerits of the individual decisions made in the allocation of ICU resources seems less pressing. Instead, the aims of the authors are: 1) to critically review the approaches and criteria used for triaging patients to be admitted in ICU; 2) to clarify how macro- and micro-allocation choices, in their interdependance, can condition decision-making processes regarding the care of individual patients; 3) to reflect on the need for decision-makers and professionals working in ICUs to maintain a proper degree of "honesty" towards citizens and patients regarding the causes of the resource shortages and the decision-making processes, which, in different ways routinely and in crisis times, involve the need to make "tragic choices" at both levels.

Does the Discourse on the Increase of Value Added Tax Have any legitimacy? Utilitarian Point of View

Recently, Indonesia has introduced and planned a tax imposition program, which was announced through the planned imposition of Value Added Tax (PPN) on Nine Basic Ingredients (sembako). Not only that, it turns out that the Government of Indonesia will also impose taxes on other services, such as; Education and Orphanages and Orphanages. As a result, there is a potential for rebellion resulting from some of these plans. This study aims to examine and examine the fifth KUP Bill, which increases tariffs and the imposition of VAT on goods and services that should be excluded. This type of research is normative legal research. This study uses a law application approach and a conceptual approach. The primary sources used are secondary data sources (library materials). The analytical technique used is a descriptive, prescriptive analysis technique, which is specifically given to provide arguments for the results of research that has been carried out. This study found that the VAT rate will reach 12% with a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 15%. Moreover, in general, this policy can violate the principle of utilitarianism because it will harm social welfare. However, if VAT is only imposed on certain goods and services that are more exclusive to subsidize goods and services consumed by the poor, it will gain legitimacy in utilitarianism.

Using conflict negativity to index psychological tension between impartiality and status-upholding principles

ABSTRACT People often endorse the moral principle that all human lives are equally valuable. At the same time, people often privilege high-status individuals over low-status individuals. These two inclinations come into conflict in a scenario involving the potential killing of a high-status person to save the lives of multiple low-status people. In the present study, participants viewed a series of sacrificial dilemmas in which the social status of the victims and beneficiaries was varied. We measured participants’ choice (sacrifice vs. don’t sacrifice), response time, and electroencephalographic activity, with an emphasis on conflict negativity (CN). Overall, we found no effects of victim/beneficiaries status on choice and response time. However, participants displayed a more pronounced CN effect when contemplating a high-status victim/low-status beneficiaries tradeoff than a low-status-victim/high-status beneficiaries tradeoff. Further analyses revealed that this effect was primarily driven by participants who endorsed deontological principles (e.g., “Some rules must never be broken, no matter the consequences”). In contrast, those who endorsed utilitarian principles displayed equivalent levels of conflict negativity, regardless of the social status of victims and beneficiaries. These findings shed light on the role of conflict in the phenomenology of moral decision making.

PHILOSOPHY IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY AS A BUSINESS

The paper discusses the status of philosophy in the context of the increasing commercialization of higher education, which turns the university into a business. It shows that the neoliberal policy of the commercialization of higher education changes the structure of the educational process dramatically and brings humanism as an educational model inextricably linked with the development of humanitarian disciplines to the limit. In the era of capitalization of knowledge, the principle of utilitarianism becomes dominant. The paper gives reasons for the need to overcome the neoliberal tendency of the educational process dehumanization and return to humanitarian disciplines, which preserve the culture of human thinking in today’s world. The paper finds that the construction of the process of university education according to the being-in-place model actualizes thinking, which brings an individual back from the inertia of non-thinking existence. The paper describes specificity of philosophy as a practice of thinking and language which preserves the foundations of human existence and develops the hermeneutic type of thinking of an individual as “persona”. The hermeneutic type of thinking is focused on a person’s self-understanding of oneself as a personality. At the same time, it contributes to understanding the Other, a dialogue with whom opens up the opportunity not only to look at oneself in a different way, but also to understand the “point of view” of the Other, thereby opening up a different horizon of seeing the world in general.

Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis.

Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non-utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that utilitarian responses to dilemmas can both erode and enhance trust in leaders: sacrificing some people to save many others ('instrumental harm') reduces trust, while maximizing the welfare of everyone equally ('impartial beneficence') may increase trust. In a multi-site experiment spanning 22 countries on six continents, participants (N = 23,929) completed self-report (N = 17,591) and behavioural (N = 12,638) measures of trust in leaders who endorsed utilitarian or non-utilitarian principles in dilemmas concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Across both the self-report and behavioural measures, endorsement of instrumental harm decreased trust, while endorsement of impartial beneficence increased trust. These results show how support for different ethical principles can impact trust in leaders, and inform effective public communication during times of global crisis. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION STATEMENT: The Stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 13 November 2020. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13247315.v1 .

Equity Principles Highlight Variations in Road Network Criticality

To prioritise transport interventions, network criticality analysis is often conducted using a utilitarian principle that seeks to maximise benefits for all. This moral perspective does not account for inequalities that exist among different population groups. Using open-source data, we measure and compare the impact of four different equity principles on road network criticality in 22 middle- and lower-income countries. Among these countries, we found significant variations in criticality rankings and spatial distribution of critical links when different equity principles are used. Our findings emphasize the need to deliberately reflect on the equity principle when performing criticality analysis.

Distributive Justice as a Means of Combating Systemic Racism in Healthcare

Distributive Justice as a Means of Combating Systemic Racism in Healthcare

Modeling household relocation choice: An egalitarian bargaining approach and a comparative study

Accompanying the rapid urban expansion and fast population growth is a progressive trend of residential relocation in developing countries, which necessitates a thorough understanding of households’ relocation decisions. Previous studies generally treated home relocation as an individual or unitary household decision, ignoring the interactive and collaborative decision-making mechanisms that household members may adopt when making group decisions. In view of this research gap, this study examines the feasibility of applying the egalitarian bargaining approach to simulating households’ group decisions concerning residential relocation and further compares its performance with the Nash bargaining and the conventional utilitarian approach. Moreover, the study experiments with the possibility of accommodating three possible group decision-making mechanisms using the latent class modeling framework. The proposed modeling approaches are applied to an empirical case study in Beijing. Results show that models based on the egalitarian and Nash bargaining principles have better model fits than the utilitarian principle, suggesting the importance of considering egalitarianism when modeling household members’ collaborative choice on residential relocation. Moreover, the model based on Nash bargaining has the best model fit, indicating that instead of merely seeking egalitarianism or utilitarianism, household members are more likely to strike a balance between fairness and efficiency.

New Online Resource on the 3Rs Principles of Animal Research for Wildlife Biologists, Ecologists, and Conservation Managers

The Earth’s biodiversity is in crisis. Without radical action to conserve habitats, the current rate of species extinction is predicted to accelerate even further. Efficient species conservation requires planning, management, and continuous biodiversity monitoring through wildlife research. Conservation biology was built on the utilitarian principle, where the well-being of species, populations, and ecosystems is given priority over the well-being of individual animals. However, this tenet has been increasingly under discussion and it has been argued that wildlife researchers need to safeguard the welfare of the individual animals traditionally subjected to invasive or lethal research procedures. The 3Rs principles of animal use (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) have become the cornerstone of ethical scientific conduct that could minimize the potential negative impact of research practices. One of the obvious strategies to implement the 3Rs in wildlife studies is to use non-invasive or non-lethal research methods. However, in contrast to toxicological or pharmacological research on laboratory animal models, up to now no 3Rs databases or online resources designed specifically for wildlife biologists, ecologists, and conservation managers have been available. To aid the implementation of the 3Rs principles into research on wildlife, I developed an online resource whose structure is outlined in this paper. The website contains a curated database of peer-reviewed articles that have implemented non-invasive or non-lethal research methods that could be used as a guideline for future studies.

Diminished autonomy and justice in liver transplantation – The price of scarcity?

Patient autonomy and distributive justice are fundamental ethical principles that may be at risk in liver transplant units where decisions are dictated by the need to maximise the utility of scarce donor organs. The processes of patient selection, organ allocation and prioritisation on the wait list have evolved in a constrained environment, leading to high levels of complexity and low transparency. Regarding paternalism, opaque listing and allocation criteria, patient factors such as passivity, guilt, chronic illness and sub-clinical encephalopathy are cited as factors that may inhibit patient engagement. Regarding justice, established regional, gender and race based inequities are described. The paradox whereby hepatologists both advocate for individual patients and discharge their duty of stewardship to apportion organs according to larger utilitarian principles is explored. Competing subjective factors such as physicians’ perception of moral responsibility, the qualitative nature of expert medical assessment and institutional or personal loyalty to re-transplantation candidates are described. Realistic limits of self-determination and justice are discussed, and possible future directions in terms of patient involvement proposed.

Who should be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination in China? A descriptive study

BackgroundAll countries are facing decisions about which population groups to prioritize for access to COVID-19 vaccination after the first vaccine products have been licensed, at which time supply shortages are inevitable. Our objective is to define the key target populations, their size, and priority for a COVID-19 vaccination program in the context of China.MethodsOn the basis of utilitarian and egalitarian principles, we define and estimate the size of tiered target population groups for a phased introduction of COVID-19 vaccination, considering evolving goals as vaccine supplies increase, detailed information on the risk of illness and transmission, and past experience with vaccination during the 2009 influenza pandemic. Using publicly available data, we estimated the size of target population groups, and the number of days needed to vaccinate 70% of the target population. Sensitivity analyses considered higher vaccine coverages and scaled up vaccine delivery relative to the 2009 pandemic.ResultsEssential workers, including staff in the healthcare, law enforcement, security, nursing homes, social welfare institutes, community services, energy, food and transportation sectors, and overseas workers/students (49.7 million) could be prioritized for vaccination to maintain essential services in the early phase of a vaccination program. Subsequently, older adults, individuals with underlying health conditions and pregnant women (563.6 million) could be targeted for vaccination to reduce the number of individuals with severe COVID-19 outcomes, including hospitalizations, critical care admissions, and deaths. In later stages, the vaccination program could be further extended to target adults without underlying health conditions and children (784.8 million), in order to reduce symptomatic infections and/or to stop virus transmission. Given 10 million doses administered per day, and a two-dose vaccination schedule, it would take 1 week to vaccinate essential workers but likely up to 7 months to vaccinate 70% of the overall population.ConclusionsThe proposed framework is general but could assist Chinese policy-makers in the design of a vaccination program. Additionally, this exercise could be generalized to inform other national and regional strategies for use of COVID-19 vaccines, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

An equity-based transport network criticality analysis

Transport network criticality analyses aim at identifying important segments in a transport network. Such studies are often based on the utilitarian principle, where the criticality of a segment is assessed based on its contribution to the aggregate performance of the transport system. To allow for the use of alternative moral principles, I systematically operationalize concepts from the transport equity literature into an equity-based criticality analysis framework. There are two main ideas in this framework: calculation of equity-weighted transport demand based on distributive moral principles and adaptation of an equity-weighted user equilibrium assignment algorithm. Using the Bangladesh freight transport network as a case study, I show that different sets of transport segments emerge as being critical when different moral principles are used. The use of some pairs of moral principles, for example global equalization and proportionality, even produces a negative ranking correlation. This implies that links which are considered to be critical based on one principle are not at all critical based on the other one. Selection of a moral principle, either explicitly or implicitly, is an inevitable step in transport network criticality analysis. Hence, it is advised to use multiple moral principles or to make a deliberative selection of a moral principle, as considering alternative moral principles in a criticality analysis could expose previously overlooked transport segments.

Does foreign language alter moral judgments? Inconsistent results from two pre-registered studies with the CNI model

AbstractRecent studies suggest that processing moral dilemmas in a foreign language instead of the native language increases the likelihood of moral judgments in line with the utilitarian principle. The goal of our research was to investigate the replicability and robustness of this moral foreign-language effect and to explore its underlying mechanisms by means of the CNI model—a multinomial model that allows to estimate the extent to which moral judgments are driven by people’s sensitivity to consequences (C-parameter), their sensitivity to norms (N-parameter), and their general preference for action or inaction (I-parameter). In two pre-registered studies, German participants provided moral judgments to dilemmas that were either presented in German or English. In Experiment 1, participants judged eight different dilemmas in four versions each (i.e., 32 dilemmas in total). In Experiment 2, participants judged four different dilemmas in one of the four versions (i.e., 4 dilemmas in total). Neither of the two studies replicated the moral foreign-language effect. Moreover, we also did not find reliable language effects on the three parameters of the CNI model. We conclude that if there is a moral foreign-language effect, it must be quite small and/or very fragile and context specific.