Making the Virtuous Decision

A detailed Summary of Making the Virtuous Decision

In order to explore the validity of utilitarianism, Bernard Williams created the example of

Jim and the Indians. In this example, Jim becomes lost while on a botanical expedition.

He happens upon a small South American town, where he sees twenty Indians tied up

against a wall. A man informs him that the Indians engaged in several acts of protest

against the government, and are going to be killed to serve as an example to the rest of the

villagers. The man tells Jim that since he is a guest, he can have the privilege of killing one

of the Indians if he wishes. If Jim does choose to kill one of the Indians, the remaining

nineteen will go free. The Indians and some observers are begging Jim to kill one of the

Indians. At this point, Jim has three options:

1) Kill one of the Indians, allowing for the lives of the other nineteen. However,

Jim will have to live forever with the guilt of killing someone.

2) Kill no one, resulting in the deaths of all twenty Indians. However, Jim will not

be directly responsible for murdering anyone.

3) Act as though he is going to kill one Indian, and then steal the man's gun,

fighting valiantly to save all of the Indians. However, Jim knows for certain

born a virtuous person, but rather they become one through experience. Being virtuous

determine whether the guilt of killing one Indian is worth the partial responsibility for the

viewpoint. By fighting for the Indians, Jim feels as though he is doing his part for the

saved him much time and painful deliberation, is to go with his instinct. I know, this

virtuous act, making him a virtuous person. (Williams, 1995) Of course, it takes much

making. If such a theory was developed, it would probably be so broad that it could be

meanings, and is often very speaker-relative. For example, a person who has just been

Ed. R. Heinaman. San Francisco: Westview Press, 1995.

tie-breaker, using it in such a fashion would obviously not be virtuous, considering it's

reasoning could be applied to Jim if he chose the third option. Jim would have the

more than giving to charity to become a virtuous person, but this really doesn't matter

Foot, Philippa. "Utilitarianism and the Virtues." Mind. Ed. P. Foot. 1985.

Approximate Word count = 2460
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics

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