WHAT MAKES SOMETHING RIGHT OR WRONG?
Jason was the government's chief engineer in charge of building the bridge across the river. Casting the bridge's footing required seven truckloads of cement. However, in calculating the quantity of cement needed to cast the bridge's footing, one of his junior engineers mistakenly ordered eight truckloads instead of seven. So, at the end of the casting there remained a full truckload of cement. What was Jason to do? Then he remembered that one of his friends was building a house just about a mile away and thought that this friend might be able to use the truckload at that time. Calling his friend, Jason confirmed that the house's foundation was ready for casting. Instead of dumping the cement as was normal procedure in cases like this, Jason ordered the truck to his friend's house.
Should Jason have dumped the cement?
As head of his department, is Jason responsible for his subordinates' actions?
Was Jason being kind to his friend? If so, does his kindness make his action good?
Is it unethical for Jason to have his friend profit from his subordinate's mistake?
Is it right for Jason's friend to accept the cement?
Why do you think that the official procedure in dealing with oversupplied cement is to dump it?
How prone to abuse would it be If persons in charge of a company’s assets are allowed to dispose in an unregulated way, assets which are valuable but unprofitable to the company?
The principal spent the afternoon periods collating the health insurance applications of the students. These, along with the premiums were to be sent to the insurance company the following day. That evening Cory, a poor third-form student, fell while playing football and sustained a broken leg. The principal was soon on the scene to assist his injured student. "Do you have insurance?" the principal asked. "No," Cory answered. "Well, you have now," replied the principal. After sending Cory to a private hospital, the principal filled out an insurance form for Cory. Knowing that the young student's family was unable to fund the small premium, the principal paid it out of his own pocket. Although Cory was not insured when he sustained the injury, the principal recorded the time of the student's premium payment as 10A.M. that morning. Thus, the insurance company was held liable for all medical costs.
Were the owners of the insurance company cheated?
What should the principal have done to help the student?
What do you think motivated the principal to act as he did?
If there ever seems to be a conflict between love and truth, which one should be chosen for the motivation of one's actions?
Daphne sat down at the table with the rest of the family. Her sister Anna had prepared lunch that day and everyone started to eat. The corn pie which was part of the meal was not very appetizing. Daphne, who was upset with her sister since early morning, took the opportunity to hurt her sister by declaring, "this is the worst corn pie I have ever tasted. She was being very truthful. It was.
What does it mean to say that something is right? What does "wrong" mean? If someone added 3+6+1 and got 11, anyone could tell that the answer was wrong. One can say that it is wrong because it is not true. What about things which are morally right and wrong? Can one say that anything which is true is morally right?
Even though what Daphne said was true, was it morally right for her to say it?
Did she use the truth spitefully? How immoral is that?
Still, if she lied and said that the pie tasted good, would that be morally right?
Is Truth then a factor in determining the morality of an action?
Was the context of having a family meal with other people around the best for Daphne to criticise her sister's cooking? Were Daphne's words immoral because they would be hurtful and not helpful in that context?
Is context a factor in determining morality?
Even though Daphne's statement was technically true, what was she actually communicating to her sister and the others around the table?
Looking past her actual words, was Daphne more concerned with communicating a truth or with showing spite? What did she actually communicate about herself and her relationship with her sister?
Was Daphne’s purpose for commenting on the pie noble?
Do the following factors influence the morality of an expression or an action?
(1) That it is intrinsically true.
(2) That it is done with a noble intent.
(3) The context in which it is done.
Are sisters supposed to hurt each other or love each other?
Would it have been good of Daphne to say nothing about the pie and resist the urge to hurt her sister?
Although Daphne's words were true, was she true to herself in saying it? In other words, was Daphne acting as a true sister by saying it in the context of the family meal? Did she act according to how a sister ought to act? In other words, did Daphne do wrong because her purpose is to help her sister not hurt her?
So, is there one thing which makes an action moral, that a person promotes his or her true purpose by the action? Indeed, both intent and context seem to be related to purpose, and purpose to truth. Apart from the question of what makes an act good, what makes a person good? If someone does what he or she is supposed to do, then that person is fulfilling his or her purpose. By doing the things which we were created to do, does it make us good? Can anyone (or anything) be good without serving the purpose for which he, she (or it) was made? For example, if the wood of a chair is so rotted that it cannot support the weight of anyone, is the chair 'good?
In all of this one thing seems certain. In order for us to be good, and to know how to act morally, we must first know what is "Truth" and what is our "Purpose" in life. The next two chapters are therefore devoted to these two topics, "Truth" and "Purpose."
Activity: There may be many things you have done or witnessed which are not clearly right or wrong to you. Write down one or more of these along with their merits and demerits. Make your moral judgments on these acts after considering their truth and the intentions of the acts.