Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: utilitarianism

  • Jeremy Bentham: Dead but not gone

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “How little service soever it may have been in my power to render to mankind during my lifetime, I shall at least be not altogether useless after my death.”1– Jeremy Bentham The English polymath Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) was a philosopher, jurist, and social reformer. His collected works started to be assembled in…

  • Revisiting the “Trolley Problem” in the COVID-19 pandemic

    Margaret B. Mitchell Boston, Massachusetts, United States Graham M. Attipoe  Nashville, Tennessee, United States   Bridge situation. John Holbo. 2010. CC BY-NC 2.0. Via Flickr The “Trolley Problem” Originally described by Philipa Foot in 1967, the “Trolley Problem” is an ethical dilemma commonly taught in philosophy that challenges participants to explore how far they would…