On Wednesday our A Level PaT class went to Thorpe Park to better help us understand our ethics course.

We did this by turning what is usually a theoretical situation discussed in the classroom to a real life situation. The trip was used to introduce us to utilitarianism as well as recap our business ethics topic. We began our trip by using the ‘hedonic calculus’ criteria to decide if going on a specific ride was the correct choice. The principle of utility holds that the ‘greatest’ pleasure is the goal of the ethical action. The ‘Hedonic calculus’ supports this by providing seven questions to measure different aspects of the pleasure Vs pain as consequences of an action. 

We first went to the ride Saw and used hedonic calculus to measure if going on the ride would result in a higher amount of pleasure than not. We questioned how strong the pleasure was, how long it would last, how likely it was that the pleasure would occur, the likelihood that the pleasure would lead to further pleasure, the likelihood that the pleasure would lead to pain and how many people were affected. After discussing this as a class we found that going on the ride would result in the highest amount of pleasure, We continued to do this for the rest of the trip.

At Thorpe Park we also recapped our business ethics topic. As we explored the park we noted down the different brands promoted and sponsoring different aspects of it. We discussed how this benefited the park’s income and the attention that it attracted and how it would affect stakeholders. 

The trip was extremely beneficial for helping us understand how what we learn in ethics is portrayed in real life, making the topic clearer and more fun. 

 Maddie and Isabelle, Lower VI