When examining deontology and utilitarianism, we have used the "surgeon problem" as a test case: a surgeon has five patients who need organ transplants or they will die; the deontologist would likely say it's wrong to kill a healthy person to save the five patients, whereas a utilitarian would likely say it is necessary to prioritize the good of the many (the five patients) over the good of the one (the person whose organs are being harvested). What would a virtue ethicist say about this case? Why?
In one form or another the "Golden Rule" can be found in almost all human cultures and societies throughout the world. Do you see this more as an actual rule, or a way of expressing the possibility of consequences? Could all the ethical schools we have studied embrace the golden rule? Why or why not?