Tiger Woods: Infidelity, Celebrity and Case Study

Kant would view Woods as unethical not just as a husband, but as a public figure and professional golfer.

Utilitarian Ethics Analysis:

Guided by the central utilitarian principle that morality may defined as the creation, extension or preservation of happiness for the largest number of people at all times, Mill's ideas are conceptually antithetical to Kant's devotion to absolute morality. Where Kant presents the argument that moral order is impossible to define without permanent standards that are shaped by man's dignity, Mill works within a system that must inherently be pragmatic. The flexibility of Mill's 'Greatest Happiness' approach asserts that one must consider this balance before making an ethically informed decision in any regard. Therefore, if we can deduce as some have claimed that Nordegren was somehow complicit in a marital arrangement facilitating Woods' infidelities, than it becomes less clear that his behaviors violated this utilitarian mode of ethics.It may perhaps be said that an agreement between parties created a circumstance separate and distinct from the general public's ethical parameters concerning marriage.

Works Cited:

Bhatt, A. (2009). Tiger Woods infidelity on the rise, Mistress count is now 14. Thaindian News.

Dillon, N. & Siemaszko, C. (2009). After Tiger Woods infidelity, Elin Nordegren buys Faglaro Island Swedish mansion. New York Daily News. Online at http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/12/08/2009-12-08_elin_nordegren_purchases_swedish_mansion_after_tiger_woods_is_linked_to_exporn_s.html

Hobbes, Thomas. (1651). Leviathan. Project Gutenberg. Online at http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext02/lvthn10.txt>

Kant, I. 1785. Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. Jonathan Bennett.

Mill, J.S. (1863). Utilitarianism. Parker & Sons, and Bourn. Internet Archives. Online at http://www.archive.org/details/a592840000milluoft

Roberts, S. (2009). Tiger Woods' wife Elin Nordegren may stay with him for the kids: report. New York Daily News......