Movie Flatliners Moral Development Essay

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Flatliners

Choose one of the five medical students and answer the following:

The medical student chosen is Nelson, the main protagonist.

Identify the level of moral development the character is at and defend the answer.

Each of the characters in the film, but none so more than Nelson, is trapped in the childhood or adolescent stage of moral development. Nelson had committed an accidental murder when he was a small boy. Consequently, he has not moved beyond this point mentally. He has moved slightly into the adolescent mindset, wherein his actions are defined by his peers. Nelson has hidden the dark secret of his past for years because it destroyed his childhood and he doesn't want further repercussions for that behavior.

Is this character an Objectivist, a relativist, or a Utilitarian; back this up with a scene from the movie.

Nelson is a Utilitarian. Despite the potential dangers to the others, Nelson does not admit the repercussions he has experienced after he has been flat lined and revived. Although he knows that the entire experiment of dying and then coming back to life has potential moral and ethical consequences, he goes ahead with his plan and convinces his friends to do the same. Withholding information so that he can witness other people's reactions to the other side shows that he only considers moral implications when it benefits him.

c.

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Is the same character a Consequentialist or a Non-Consequentialist? Why?

Nelson's character is the definition of a Consequentialist. He determines his behavior not by the potential ramifications but by his own desires and curiosity. For him the question of whether or not to perform an action will always look forward to the end of the experiment. If he desires to know certain information, then any means by which he goes about getting that information is acceptable.

2. What does this film say about being willing to live with the consequences of all of our actions? Give an example of at least two scenes involving two different characters.

What first comes to mind are how the characters are confronted by their past mistakes after they are revived. David was a bully as a child. His consequent punishment is to be harassed by a specter of that young girl. He literally comes face-to-face with the actions of his life. David's regrets take physical form. He resolves the haunting of his past by seeking out the….....

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