Annotated Bibliography

Driver, Julia. "The History of Utilitarianism." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford

University, 27 Mar. 2009. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.
Using this for research purposes, the page introduced the history of utilitarianism and the
classic utilitarians John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham. This also covers the responses
of Henry Sidgwick to Mill and Bentham philosophy of utilitarianism. G.E. Moore was a
philosopher who differed from the classical utilitarians hedonistic view.
Kay, Charles D. "Notes on Utilitarianism." Wofford Department of Philosophy. Wofford College,
n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.
Charles D. Kay provides a concise explanation on utilitarianism. It touches on the
viewpoints of John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Benthamwhat they consider the greatest
good and that the ultimate goal of the theory is choose the option that has the most
utility. Kay also provides conflicting issues within utilitarianism such as the utility
calculations and the inability to know for certain what an outcome may be.
Nathanson, Stephen. "Act and Rule Utilitarianism." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Its Authors, n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.
This Encyclopedia page provides tons of information on what utilitarianism is, pros and
cons of act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism, and in-depth explanations on the critics
of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism states that an action is morally right if it promotes
happiness, not only for the individual but for the greater good of all people. It is
concerned with the course of action being right or wrong depending on the outcome. The
objective is bringing about more good and reduce the amount of pain.
Osnowitz, Matthew. "The Ethics of the Syrian Refugee Crisis." Penn Wharton. University of
Pennsylvania, 7 Dec. 2015. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.
Matthew Osnowitz, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the
ethics of the Syrian refugee crisis in this postwhether the United States are morally
required to accept Syrian refugees. Osnowitz uses three scenario of a homeless man: (1)
asking to stay at your home for food and shelter instead of for money (2) a man is looking
to kill the homeless man down the block (3) there are other houses on the block the
homeless man could go to seek shelter and safety from the killer. The different scenarios
bring about new moral obligation where in scenario (1) it is not morally required and in
scenario (2) and (3) it could be morally required because there is a present choice of
whether it is morally right or wrong to condemn the homeless man to his death. However,
simply because the United States is not morally required to provide shelter does not mean
they should not allow it.

Parekh, Serena. "Moral Obligations to Refugees: Theory, Practice & Aspiration." The Critique.
The Critique, 09 Jan. 2016. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.
This article discusses the moral obligation we have to non-citizen Syrian refugees,
these refugees are in an unfortunate situation where they are constantly displaced because
countries who can help refuse to taken them in over the concern for their own citizens.
Serena Parekh examines refugee policies and the moral responsibility we have to Syrian
refugees.
Shafer-Landau, Russ. The Fundamentals of Ethics. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2014. Print.
Russ Shafer-Landau addresses a wide range of ethical theories in this book from
hedonism to ethical egoism, consequentialism, utilitarianism, Kantian, virtue ethics, and
feminist ethics to list several. It focuses on what the ethical theory is, how is it applied,
and the positive and negative aspects of the theory.
"Syria's Refugee Crisis in Numbers." Amnesty International. Amnesty International, 3 Feb. 2016.
Web. 14 Oct. 2016.
Amnesty International provides statistics on the Syrian refugee crisis. Neighboring
countries Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt have taken in 4.5 million refugees.
Over 200,000 have been killed and approximately 13.5 million are still in need of
assistance. Only several countries in the EU have offered assistance. Countries such as
Russia, Japan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, and South Korea have not offered
any assistance.
Thrall, Trevor. "Let Syrian Refugees InAll of Them." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company,
21 Oct. 2015. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.
As the war continues in Syria and ISIS remains a prominent issue, Syrian refugees are
desperately seeking to leave the country in search for safety. Russia and the United States
involvement in this war further complicates the issue and the solutions of removing
Assad or taking out ISIS have no real progress. Instead, America and countries in Europe
should take in Syrian refugees. The main argument in this article is that it is smarter to
remove the Syrian refugees from danger even if it is costly but not as costly as military
intervention.
"Quick Facts: What You Need to Know About the Syria Crisis." Mercy Corps. Mercy Corps, 14
Nov. 2016. Web. 22 Oct. 2016.
Mercy Corps provides background information and statistics to better understand the
Syrian crisis. The Syrian crisis started in March 2011 with peaceful protests until the
government responded violently. Disunity between religious and ethnic groups further
complicates the issue. Many Syrian refugees are fleeing to European and neighboring
countries. Millions of people are left homeless with no medical aid and food.