Applying Basic Moral Principles

Moral dilemmas are posed often by conflicts of moral values which can be represented as either conflicts between different moral principles, or issues that are raised by the application of one moral principle (conflicting applications of a given moral principle, or questions concerning whether a principle applies at all). In each of the following, consider which of the principles that we have considered in class (honesty, promise-keeping, nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and equality) apply in these cases, and how they help to define the moral issues at stake. (Note: the task here is not to solve the moral dilemma, but to define the dilemma in terms of relevant moral principles). I would suggest that you write down your answers. Then click on the button labeled "Analysis" to check your answers against the instructor's analysis of the case.  If you'd like to print out an answer sheet for this exercise, click here.
 
 
1. Melinda's father is suffering from a gradually worsening dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. She has a deep respect for her father, a man who has always felt a deep sense of personal responsibility and has valued his independence and sense of self- reliance. He still insists on making his own decisions, but lately he has suffered from significant memory loss, and this has caused Melinda to be concerned about his welfare. She is considering whether she should take greater responsibility for making important decisions about his treatment and his living situation, despite his father's protests that he can take care of himself.
2. Jason is a lawyer who is currently representing Company Y in contract negotiations with Company X. The crucial meeting is today: if final agreements are not reached, Company X has said that they will end negotiations. Another client calls--a customer is suing her company for marketing a harmful product. She needs to talk with Jason over legal strategies in the case. Jason cannot help both client's today, although both client's clearly need his help. Jason weighs his obligations to both clients.
3. Milly Thompson works for a charity organization that provides funds for inner city projects that help the poor. She has been talking with a potential donor who is willing to give a very large sum of money to the charity, but this donor is deeply prejudiced against Hispanics, and is not willing to give any money to projects in Hispanic neighborhoods. The potential donor asks Milly directly whether any of the money that he would donate would go to such projects. Currently the only projects that the charity is funding are projects in Hispanic neighborhoods, and Board of Directors of the charity has stipulated that all current donations must go to these projects. Times are hard, and very few donations are currently coming in. In fact, without this donation, many of the current projects will have to be canceled. Milly considers what she should do: lie to the donor or tell the truth.
4. Mary James, a state representative, has just received confidential information that a Company X, that has a chemical processing plant in James' district, has not taken proper safety precautions to assure that the region around the plant is protected from dangerous contamination. There are some 300 residents in the area, and there is a significant danger that their health may be jeopardized if the situation continues. On the other hand, Company X has been threatening to close the plant in James' constituency, which would put some 6,000 people out of work. If James releases the information, this would surely lead Company X to close the plant. James is considering whether she has the moral responsibility to release the information or not.
5. In the summer of 1945 Harry S. Truman, President of the United States, had a difficult decision to make. While it was quite clear that Japan would eventually be defeated, the Japanese were showing no sign of surrender. It appeared likely that to defeat Japan, an invasion Japan would be necessary. However such an invasion would take a devastating toll on both sides: estimates of losses on both sides ranged into the millions, and an invasion would surely mean a long protraction of the war. Due to the success of the "Manhattan Project" there was an alternative: dropping an atomic bomb on Japanese territory might convince the Japanese generals of the futility of their position. A drop on an unpopulated area might be tried, but because the Japanese military had shown an obstinate willingness to fight to the last, it was believed that such an act would not be likely to lead to a surrender. If dropping the bomb was to be successful, it was thought, it would have to be dropped on a populated area of some strategic importance to the Japanese. But this, of course, meant certain death for tens of thousands of Japanese.
6. David, a single father, has promised his seven-year-old son that he would attend his son's baseball game on Saturday. On Saturday morning, however, a close friend, John, calls. John, who has been unemployed for six months, has just been asked to interview for a new job, and if he doesn't show up today he loses his one firm prospect for employment. John's wife is away on a trip, and he needs someone to look after his infant daughter. He tells David he's tried everyone he can think of, and David is his last hope. David does not want to disappoint his son, but he knows he couldn't attend the baseball game if he takes care of John's daughter for the day.
7. Tom and Steve are fellow foot soldiers fighting a war. They are part of a major offensive against the enemy in a conflict, an offensive that is failing--their division is being forced by the enemies counteroffensive to retreat. Tom and Steve become separated from the rest of their division when Steve is hit by shrapnel from an exploding mortar round. Steve is apparently gravely wounded, but is conscious and appears lucid. Believing that he is about to die in any case, Steve urges Tom to leave him and retreat to safety. Tom believes that he might have a chance to save Steve if he can carry him to safety in time, but knows that this will involve a grave risk to himself, and might very well be futile. He wonders whether he should respect the wishes of Steve, or take the risk to himself and attempt to save Steve's life.
8. Mark Thompson, a single man of 25, is employed as a clerk in a bank. His boss approaches him with a problem: there has been a confusion in the records of several of the depositors, which had the effect of crediting too much interest to some accounts and not enough to others. Mark immediately realizes that he was the cause of the error: he wasn't terribly careful the other day, thinking about the vacation he would take. He fears for his job if his boss discovers the truth. His boss asks Mark if he caused the confusion, and Mark considers whether he should lie about the whole thing
9. Cheryl is a public health official for a local government. She has just been informed that a number of people at a local office building have become suddenly ill. Upon investigation, she finds that their is a highly contagious virus that is being that is making people in the building ill, and she wants to keep the virus contained so that others outside the building are not contaminated. She considers the option of quarantining everyone in the building, but wonders whether a quarantine, which would confine the occupants of the building for days or weeks, is justified by the threat that the virus poses to public health.
10. David is a state trooper on highway duty. He observes a car racing down the highway at 20 miles per hour above the legal speed limit. He gives chase, and pulls the car over. When he comes over to the driver's side to give the driver a ticket, the driver explains that her husband is having a heart attack, and needs to get to a hospital. David's has the responsibility to give the driver a ticket. On the other hand, he determines that the medical emergency is real, requiring immediate attention, which would preclude taking the time to fill out a ticket.