This lesson in based on an episode of the American version of The Office. Michael is convinced he has had another great idea. But has he…
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Questions
Michael thinks he has a great idea? is it?
What does Jim mean when he says ‘free paper’?
Why does Michael try to hide his costume?
Why does everyone stick up for Dwight?
What is ‘moral luck’?
How does it influence our comparisons/evaluations of Kant & Utilitarianism?
1. Michael’s intent with his idea was good but the consequences were initially bad. The final consequence of his idea were good but this was due to luck rather than anything else.
2.
3. Michael tries to hide his costume to deny the fact that the golden tickets were his idea.
4. Everyone in the office sticks up for Dwight because they dislike Michael.
5. Moral luck is when something goes well or badly for a person due to circumstances which are beyond their control.
6.
Michael thinks he has a great idea? is it?
it is not a good idea as he gave all the tickets to one
What does Jim mean when he says ‘free paper’?
he is basically saying that the golden ticket idea is stupid and pointless as it was giving away money.
Why does Michael try to hide his costume?
he hides his costume to avoid the blame coming his way .
Why does everyone stick up for Dwight?
they knew Micheal would not do the same for him if he had the chance and was just using dwight
What is ‘moral luck’?
How does it influence our comparisons/evaluations of Kant & Utilitarianism
Michael thinks he has a great idea? is it?
**No as he is giving away free paper, and they are a paper company
What does Jim mean when he says ‘free paper’?
**He is suggesting it is a stupid idea, as they are giving away possible revenue.
Why does Michael try to hide his costume?
**He does not want to be blamed for the idea, the consequences are bad.
Why does everyone stick up for Dwight?
**Because it wasn’t his idea.
What is ‘moral luck’?
**Moral Luck is when something by chance happens outwith your control and by chance
How does it influence our comparisons/evaluations of Kant & Utilitarianism?
**It pretty much cancels the idea of Utilitarianism as it can essentially cancel out consequence.
Everyone sticks up for Dwight because it is arguably the right thing to do, because Dwight was going to take the wrath for Michael’s idea when they thought it was a bad idea that was going to result in Michael being sacked, so when it turned out to be a good idea, the right thing to do was to stick up for Dwight and insist that it was actually his idea, just as they would’ve had to do if it was a bad idea and if he was going to be fired. In addition, they stick up for Dwight as it teaches Michael not to blame others for his actions, and demonstrates the effects moral luck can have.
1: Michael’s idea is good but it has not been properly thought through, and it is just luck that it worked out in the end.
2: Jim is saying that it is a stupid idea, like giving away money.
3: Because he doesn’t want to get caught as the main person behind the idea that has landed the company in trouble momentarily.
4: Everyone sticks up for Dwight because they know that Michael had just used a utilitarin argument to try and convince him to take the blame and get fired instead of him. So the workers want Dwight to get some credit instead of Michael.
5:Moral luck is something that you have no control over and it is by chance and not through ones actions.
1. He has good intentions for the idea but it’s not a good idea because it causes the company to lose money
2. Jim thinks that the idea is just giving things away and so losing the company money
3. He thinks that the heads of the company are angry about the idea because all five of the tickets have ended up at their biggest client. He tries to hide his costume as he doesn’t want to take the blame and end up losing his job.
4. Because Dwight was willing to take responsibility and lose his job for Michael although he had done nothing wrong. They stick up for him as he had good intentions whereas Michael only thought of himself and deserves his bad luck.
His great idea is in reality not that amazing, because he is essentially just giving away the company’s money.
When Jim says ‘free paper’ he is highlighting the fact that Jim’s idea to give 10% off the winner’s order is not of any benefit to the company and is just handing over some of their profits.
Michael tries to hide his costume because he believes he is in trouble and wants to be immune from the blame. By hiding it he is making it appear as if he had nothing to do with it.
Everyone sticks up for Dwight because he was going to involuntarily take the blame for Michael, despite the consequences it would have for him: losing his job etc.
‘Moral luck’ is something that happens by chance, with the the morality of the intentions playing no part in the outcome.
1.To put a golden ticket in random packs of paper offering 10% discount.
2.That the idea is too generous and they are basically giving out paper for free.
3.So that he does not get the blame for his idea which ends up being a disaster.
4.Because Dwight was not in the wrong and was being persuaded to take the blame for the idea.
5.When something happens totally out of random without being in control of the action and not intending the outcome.
How does it influence our comparisons/evaluations of Kant & Utilitarianism?
Michael puts in 10% discounts into seemingly random shipments of paper, just to liven up the business.
Jim, who is strongly opposed to the idea, thinks that there is no business gain from Michael’s idea and that it is only losing them paper-therefore ‘free paper’.
As soon as his plan loses the company a 50% discount on a main customer, Michael tries to hide himself from the bad consequences by forcing the blame on someone else.
Everyone sticks up for Dwight just to annoy Michael, since he upset everyone with his arrogance and then trying to force the blame on Dwight.
Moral luck is when something happens completely by chance that is either good for someone or bad for someone which is a completely unforeseen event caused by an action.
It does essentially defeat utilitarianism because it says you can never calculate the best outcome for the greatest number due to the fact there is always a chance that every act will become good or bad for someone without the person acting being able to manipulate that.