Week 5 Assignment PHI 208 Simonee Davis

1 The Case Study: Homelessness Impacts on Society Simonee Davis The University of Arizona Global Campus PHI 208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Professor Wise February 12, 2024

2 Part 1 Introduction: Case Study and Ethical Question Homelessness has become a huge issue over the last few years, impacting many families like never before. Over the last few years, homeless encampments have been appearing in neighborhoods, industrial areas, and on the side of our highways. Many have gone to City Council meetings and to state government to ask for their solutions to fix this problem, but there are still unanswered questions. Homelessness seems to reflect a complete set of social factors, including a lack of affordable housing and the increase in poverty among many Americans. A study performed by the National Alliance to End Homelessness stated, “Back in January 2022, approximately 582,462 people were experiencing homelessness across America on any given night. 72% were adults, and 28% of that population were families with children.” Studies also show that between 2007 and 2022, California's total homeless population has gone up by 23%. Homelessness harms our society's health and well-being. Many are suffering from mental distress, physical illness, and a higher rate of substance abuse and chronic conditions. Studies have shown that the spread of diseases such as Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, and HIV is extremely high among the homeless population. Imagine the impact that it has on the children who are homeless with their families, not being able to attend school, or when they attend school, they do not have clean clothes or a balanced meal to start the day. Homelessness has so many negative impacts on children's future and their ability to contribute to society as adults. Has there been an increase in homelessness on your street corners? What are the government officials at the local

4 goes around lying, setting up promises, not intending to keep them just for the sake of getting out of a tight spot or reaching their goal faster than anticipated, the world would lack trust in politicians, authorities, coworkers, friends, and loved ones. For example, during election time, our local official promises to combat the homeless crisis we have in San Joaquin, citing how much funds are available for these plans. However, as soon as they obtain the win, they do not keep their promises to those who voted them into office. If every politician were to lie just to get a win, we would have no trust or will to want to vote; as we know, there would be no keeping of the promises made during election time. Our duty is to build trust and keep order, including not lying or being deceptive, to gain a quick win; there would be contradictions if lying were a universal law, making it immoral. As I read the text a few more times during this assignment, my understanding of Kant deepened, and I could see ideas I missed the first time I read the text. Reading the text multiple times is like seeing a flower start from the seed to when it fully blossomed; I was able to capture a new message each time I read the passage. This text regarding Deontology applies to my case study as it relates to our governmental officials, locally and state level, having a moral obligation, and it is their duty to address homelessness and help increase affordable living, well-being resources, and services to combat homelessness. Part 3: Explanation of First Ethical Theory Deontology Deontology was formed by Immanuel Kant, who argued that we all have a duty to act morally. Deontology is from the Greek word Deon, which means duty, and ology means to study something. Therefore, Deontology is the study of duty and obligation. Deontology is the person doing the act, what is being done, and what consequences will occur from the action the person is performing. It is said that we must think of the good and the bad consequences in order to make our decisions. As mentioned above, the core principles of Deontology are duty, rights, and

5 rules. Deontologists have a moral duty to certain actions regardless of the outcome. It is a universal law to treat others with respect and not the ends to a means but ends in themselves. Respect would be shown by not lying to anyone, no matter what the consequences. It is a right for an individual to be able to make sound decisions based on the truth. This cannot occur if people lie to each other to advance or gain short-term wins. The ethical question from section one asked, is it ethically right for the local and state governments to allow Americans to go homeless and unsheltered, contributing to a negative impact on physical and mental well-being? This quote from the text is, “The quote from Martin Luther King Jr.’s (1963) famous   “Letter   From   Birmingham   Jail”   expresses the   idea   that   some   actions   are   immoral   in   themselves   and   should   never   be   undertaken,   even   when   they   might   have   good   outcomes. In   other   words,   using “immoral means to attain moral ends” (King, 1963, p.19) would violate certain moral   duties   or   obligations   that   apply   to   us   unconditionally” (Thames, 2018, pg.4.1). Rember it is not the action that determines morality but the nature of the action itself. It is immoral to take an innocent person’s life. Reflecting on King’s letter, it was a moral obligation from those who jailed King, based on the times at hand, regardless of its consequences on human wellbeing. This action of one being jailed as part of protesting for freedom was immoral. Could we apply a Universal law to the action, and it be moral? No, jailing individuals for peacefully protesting for freedom of rights would be unjust. So, when thinking of deontology, we focus on the action being right or wrong based on the person and the consequences of the action.

7 and state funding in alignment with the existing homeless plan (Visotzky, 2023). The officials are responsible for ensuring the community is being served and that people are treated dignifiedly and respectfully -the formula of humanity. Ensuring housing is available for the homeless is how they would apply deontology principles (Thames, 2018). Now, thinking about it, here in San Joaquin, a deontologist would take a number of abandoned buildings and warehouses and turn them into free and affordable housing locations for the homeless. This would break barriers to fast and affordable housing development since we utilize our local resources. Volunteers in these facilities would provide free medical care and other services to help people get well. The person providing the volunteer services would be restoring dignity to others, not being used to an end of means but having a purpose of giving back and building the homeless population's well-being. Part 5: Explanation and Application of Second Ethical Theory Virtue Ethics In our text, the philosopher Aristotle (384 BCE- 322 BCE) provided the sources for the idea behind virtues. The core principles of Virtue ethics focus on the nature and character of the person’s actions. A quote from the reading, “Every virtue or excellence both brings into good condition the thing of which it is the excellence and makes the work of that thing be done well… Therefore, if this is true in every case, the virtue of man also will be the state of character which makes a man good and which makes him do his own work well. (1106a)” (Aristotle, 1931). Virtue is focused on the person’s habitual choices in their living, interacting with people, and

8 when making on-the-spot choices for certain situations. If a person is living virtuously, they are considered to be living well. In this case study, a person applying Virtue ethics theory would say it is not ethical for the local and state governments to allow Americans to go homeless and unsheltered, contributing to a negative impact on physical and mental well-being. Applying the telos of a government official, such as compassion, perseverance, honesty, and humility, would help combat the ethical question in section one. A person with virtues would speak openly and honestly to the homeless about the course of action while showing compassion for their situation. A government official with humility and compassion would not be taking these actions to improve homelessness as a course of winning a new election but because it is the right thing to do, and they truly care about the community they serve, having healthy individuals that will be able to contribute to society as well. Many homeless individuals are not treated as members of communities, leaving them feeling invisible and not of human society. A virtuous person would be showing one how to live by demonstrating the characteristics in hopes that one day, the homeless individual would practice what they see and, in turn, live virtuously. The application of doing to others as you would like done to you, meaning if you do not want to be homeless if you want others to treat you with dignity and be allowed to be a positive member of the community, why would you think the homeless would want anything different? So, as an official, you must complete the work to ensure housing for all, adding to a flourishing life. Part 6: Evaluation of First Ethical Theory Application As we evaluate the deontology theory applied to the ethical question, is it ethically right for the local and state governments to allow Americans to go homeless and unsheltered, contributing to a negative impact on physical and mental well-being? They would answer that it is not morally right because Deontologists understand the importance of ensuring humans have

10 believe that this theory is an adequate solution? No, but it is a start; the individual who is in the office must understand their duty and responsibility and act accordingly. The issue of the homeless crisis did not happen overnight, and it will not be solved overnight. Homelessness will not be resolved if the individual elected by the people in office does not apply the principles and utilize all the ethical theories of deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics combined, allowing them to work together to resolve the issue. We still have a long way to go to come up with a solution to this homeless crisis, but it can be done.

11 References Aristotle. (1931). Nicomachean ethics. (W. D. Ross, Trans.). Retrieved from http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.htmlLinks to an external site. Burkum, K. (2020). "Chapter 9 Homelessness Pages: 127–138, Virtue Theory, and the Creation of Community". In The Ethics of Homelessness. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004420366_011 National Alliance to End Homelessness. ( 2023, January). Endhomelessness.org. https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of- homelessness/ Thames, B. (2018).   How should one live? An introduction to ethics and moral reasoning . Bridgepoint Education.