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Kuhns 1 Moral Dilemmas Delaney Kuhns Philosophy 102 Dr. Seidler March 24, 2023

Kuhns 2 Moral understanding is the ability to know right from wrong. There are many ways in which we can achieve moral understanding. An article says, “The right action is one which is legitimate, appropriate, and suitable while the wrong action is one which is not legitimate or appropriate” (Sintelly, 2020). Some believe that moral principles and the ability of thoughtful decision-making are not shared by all people. That we all, for the most part, have differing moral values. The saying “Treat others how you want to be treated” is widely known. Meaning that if you want to be treated with respect, that you should treat others with respect. This is known as the golden rule . The golden rule has three main forms, these being, a positive/directive form, a negative/prohibitive form, and an empathetic/responsive form. According to the positive formulation, you should treat people as one would like to be treated. The negative formulation, also known as the silver rule, states that you should not treat others how you would not like to be treated. Saying that if you do not want to be treated badly, do not treat others badly. The empathetic formulation states that if you are going to wish something on someone, it should be something you would wish upon yourself. For example, if you wish pain on someone else, you would also be wishing for pain on yourself. All forms of the golden rule aim to help you treat others better (Shatz, 2020). Respect is part of one’s everyday life. Therefore, philosopher, Immanuel Kant, put it at the very center of moral theory. As the golden rule logically followed a moral obligation to respect people, Kant argued that it need not be accepted on the authority of scripture (A3, B:23). Kant believed that it should become a universal law that should apply to all people. The golden rule may be the most basic rule, but one of the most timeless rules. Why should you expect someone to treat you kindly if you treat them badly? You should not expect that. And I think this goes even for people who are considered “higher” than you. Consequentialism is the thinking that says something is good or bad based off its outcomes. Meaning that an action that brings out more benefit than harm is good, and an action that causes more harm than benefit is not good (Centre, 2021). The best- known form of consequentialism is utilitarianism. Classical utilitarianism are consequentialists with a particular theory of the good (Cummiskey, 2020). Hedonism, which identifies happiness with pleasure, is the theory of good that classical utilitarian’s

Kuhns 3 follow. The goal of life for unitarists’ is maximizing the happiness of all. Some consequentialists do not follow hedonism and instead favor an objective. They are not committed to any substantive theory of the good (Cummiskey, 2020). There are some objections that arise from consequentialism. One problem of consequentialism is that it makes it seem like there are no constraints on the means used to create good (Cummiskey, 2020). So, does this mean that the end justifies the means? Another issue is that consequentialism is a very demanding moral theory. We are required to maximize the good, which leaves little room for personal relationships, projects, and amusements (Cummiskey, 2020). If we are too busy trying to bring about the best outcome, we may lose focus on what’s truly important. So, what exactly is ethics? Ethics are moral principles that affect a person’s behavior. Ethic is divided into three groups: normative ethics, metaethics, and applied ethics. Normative ethics are discussions of which acts are right or wrong. Metaethics are theoretical questions about the meaning of moral terms and the nature of moral judgement (CITE). Applied ethics tells how you should act in real-world situations. You apply ethics to all decisions you make. And within those decisions lie the outline of your morals. Morals may differ from person to person, but ethics have a huge effect on morals. (B3, L, c.3). But whatever your morals may be, they are there to help you distinguish between good and bad actions. My morals help me decide what to do when asked these ethical questions: Should you speak up if a racist comment is made? Confronting racism may be a difficult task. You don’t know when or how you are supposed to say something. But you should always say something. If we remain silent, we become complicit. Passively standing by creates impunity. Impunity is when someone gets away with making a racist comment, and then they believe their opinions and language are acceptable. This is not what we want. We want to shut down those people by speaking up. When confronting someone, the goal is not to start a fight/argument, the goal is to stop racism (B2, L, c.2). Rather than pointing fingers and blaming, express your perspective. It can also go hand in hand with the golden rule. You would want someone to speak up on your behalf, so do it for them.

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Kuhns 4 Are there ethical reasons that you should become vegan? I do not think so. I am vegetarian, but I am not some crazy pro-vegan person. I still eat chicken, but only chicken, and I do not hate on those who choose to eat meat. I just do not eat it because it does not taste good to me. But I do see and understand the positive effects that vegans have on the planet. Vegan food is more sustainable for the environment, a healthier food option, reduces our carbon footprint and more (B2, L, c.5). While you may not want to change your diet entirely to veganism, even just eating it a couple times a week will make a difference. I do think that after reading into veganism I will try eating that way more often. What should you do if someone takes credit for your work? Liautaud says, “Taking credit when you do not deserve it tramples on ethical principles many of us share…” (B2, L, c. 3). Some of these principles being honesty, accountability, and truth. Depending on if this is the first offense, if it is a serious offense, and who the person is will affect how you tackle the problem. If it is the first offense, you should confront them privately and give them the chance to apologize. If it is a more serious issue, you should speak directly with your boss. By not earning back your credit, you are risking lower performance evaluations and recommendations for promotions. What are the ethical considerations to blind hiring? Blind hiring is where the interviewee personal and demographic information is hidden from the interviewer. This means the candidate will be judged on their skills rather than where they come from or what they look like. Blind recruiting processes work best where technical skills are a priority (B3, L, c.3). If people skills are important, businesses should be more flexible to fit the work with the skills required. I think there are many great benefits to blind hiring, especially since biased hiring is a well-known problem. For example, the New York Philharmonic was accused of racial discrimination (B3, L, c.3). This was shown by their primarily white orchestra. In efforts to change this problem, many orchestras now do blind hiring. They do this by having a musician play behind a curtain and they base their decision solely by their musical skill. I think more companies should consider trying this new hiring process. Would you apply for a job that your friend is also applying for? I think this is a difficult question, because there are so many different situations that this brings. If there

Kuhns 5 are multiple positions open for the job, then no, I do not see any problems with it. But if there was only one position open, I do think it would be rude. You should always ask first before applying, so you do not blind side them. We also do not have an ethical responsibility to giving up job opportunities (B3, L, c.3). The employer is who decides who gets the job. There is a chance that you nor your friend get hired, and you applying or not would not have changed that. A lot of people question when it is acceptable to lie and if it ever is. This is where we look at the differences being a white lie and an ethical transgression. A white lie is a lie that won’t harm anyone or cause any problems. We use white lies to avoid hurting when telling the truth would be uncomfortable, tedious, or too complicated at the time. Or we use them to censor the truth in order to avoid hurting one’s feelings. No matter the case, the truth will come out and you should be prepared to speak about it when it does. An ethical transgression is a lie that may get someone to make a choice that they would not normally make if they knew the truth (B5, L, c.1). These lies are more hurtful and can ruin relationships. Lying never really is the right choice, but sometimes a small white lie may be helpful. The idea of consequentialism can help you decide if it is okay to lie. This meaning that if the lie leads to a beneficial outcome, it is okay. But, if the lie will lead to more harm than benefit, don’t tell it. Are you obligated to tell your child if you have an inheritable disease? I do think the child has a right to know even if it is a hard thing to hear. I believe the parent should tell them when they are emotionally ready. If a parent does not tell their child, the child loses his or her power to make life critical choices (B5, L, c.6). I know I would want to be told so I could make life altering decisions. These being things like if I am going to have kids now, or if I want to seek medical help. Another similar ethical question is if you should donate an organ to a relative. I do not believe anyone is ethically obligated to donate one of their organs because there are many valid reasons to not donate. Personally, after asking all the right questions, I would for sure donate an organ. This is medical, not ethical (B5, L, c.6). I would also hope that my family or friends would feel the same towards me. Being on the right side of ethics is great, but as humans we make mistakes. So, how do we recover after making an ethical mistake? Ethical recovery requires three

Kuhns 6 steps: telling the truth, owning our part of the responsibility, and putting into motion of plan or prevention of it happening again (B3, L, c.5). We all need to aim to know and do better as a society. Ethics are a part of everyday life, no matter the moral principle you follow. Ethics are powerful

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Kuhns 7 References Centre, T. E. (2021, December 14). Ethics explainer: What is consequentialism? THE ETHICS CENTRE. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://ethics.org.au/ethics- explainer-consequentialism/#:~:text=Consequentialism%20is%20a%20theory %20that,of%20this%20theory%20is%20utilitarianism. C Cummiskey, D. (2020). Consequentialism - Bates College . Consequentialism . Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.bates.edu/philosophy/files/2020/04/Consequentialism-IEE-2020.pdf Dillon, R. S. (2022, July 2). Respect . Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/respect/#KantAccoRespForPers Jarrett, C. (2018, October 12). What are we like? 10 psychology findings that reveal the worst of human nature . BPS. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/what-are-we-10-psychology-findings- reveal-worst-human-nature Liautaud, S. (2022). The little book of big ethical questions . Simon & Schuster. Shatz, I. (2020). Effectiviology. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://effectiviology.com/golden-rule/ Sintelly, A. (2020). Learning has never been so fun and easy! Sintelly. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://sintelly.com/articles/how-do-we-distinguish-right-from-wrong Warren, M. (2019, December 10). Good at heart? BPS. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/good-heart

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