Raskolnikov And Utilitarianism
Beginning of paper
“One death, and a thousand lives in exchange--it’s simple arithmetic.” -Raskolnikov Raskolnikov’s mathematical evaluation of the moral dilemma presented to him in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment exemplifies the empirical view of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism attempt ....
Middle of paper
.... accurately solved the problem. On the other hand, a non-utilitarian would reject even the notion of deliberating about the act of murder in such a mathematical manner. He might contend that Raskolnikov’s reasoning, and the entire theory of utilitarianism, cannot be used to judge morality because it rejects individual rights and contains no moral absolutes. A utilitarian bases his belief upon two principles: the theory of right actions and the theory of value. These two principles work tog ....
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Word count: 1693
Page count: 7 (approximately 250 words per page)