Ethics Vs Morals Vs Turning The Other Cheek

[JeffG]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 3:12pm

How about it kids? Have you ever been in a situation where your morals or ethics were tested? Or how about when someone else's morals and ethics have affected yours? When do you draw the line and do something about it and when do you just turn the other cheek and be the bigger person?

If you've been wronged, do you stand up no matter what, or do you sometimes let it go?

If you've wronged someone, do you step up or often just hope it goes away quietly? Updated On: 2/16/05 at 03:12 PM

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 3:17pm

I think we're talking a little too general here, Jeff... Maybe if you were comfortable enough to give us some specifics we could help out more... I think these types of situations are usually handled on a case by case basis.

[JeffG]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 3:18pm

Mary_Ethel. Oh. It was just a general question on peoples motivations. You know. Like the "hot or not" posts. Just meant to create discussion.

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 3:21pm

Oh. Well, that's fine. A nice little philosophical discussion never hurt anybody.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 3:24pm

I'll just say I had a recent lapse in my ethics to do a favor for someone and it immediately came back and bit me in the *ss!

Never again (and my inner voice was screaming no the whole time).

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 3:27pm

Beav, I was definitely in a lot of angst and did not sleep well until I admitted my mistake.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 3:39pm

Yes. A sincere apology is a soul-cleansing experience. I invariably apologize if I find I have somehow done something unfair or unfortunate to someone else. And generally, a sincere (the operative word here) apology is enough to resolve an issue for me.

This is an interesting and a complicated topic.

A lot of my reactions are based on what I think the person's motivation was. Sometimes people "do you wrong" but it's not planned or intentional...it was just something that evolved or happened. Those things I tend to let go, unless the outcome matters in the big picture.

On the other hand, when someone intentionally does something to you or steals something from you, and takes no accountability... because they somehow can justify the action to themselves because they don't like you or for some other reason think that you deserve to be screwed over... well, then, *that* is something I would follow up on tenaciously.

I try not to sweat the little injustices in life. But I also try to maintain my self-respect...and that includes not letting someone play me for a fool. It's a balancing act.

[JeffG]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 3:42pm

Many years ago I had an equal (but related to the boss) at work that I found was cheating and stealing from the company. It was a black and white issue to me, but before I went and "snitched" I approached the individual and carefully worded that it was weird that some records had changes in them and if he knew how that could have happened. I figured, if he knew someone was on to him, he would stop.

Fortunately for me, I had documented the originals and the doctored ones, because a few days later this person started to TRY and soil my reputation. I approached them again, this time being more overt about my findings and he tried to turn it around and make it appear I was the one screwing with files.

I sat down with my boss and, in a very friendly way, told him what I was aware of and that I wasn't trying to get anyone fired, but that he should be aware of the situation. My boss said that if this person was doing that much to skim money for himself than clearly he needed it more that he (my boss) or I did, but thanked me for coming to him.

It was his company and he can justify stealing all he wants to himself, but for me it was a bit much to take. Things got more intense between the guy and myself, and since my boss wasn't inclined to fire his relative, I found myself a new job.

Here's where karma reared its head. A month after I left, they called and wanted me to come back. They told me this other person had "run off" with a bunch of materials and started his own company in another state. He also apparently had a drug problem.

I declined. But then heard through friends about a month later that the guy's business had failed (he didn't have an original thought, only those he stole from others and those had dried up). He was begging for his job back at the company or at least some financial assistance from the boss.

So I guess the "lesson" in that is that karma can sometimes come back at you in an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year or several years. But it does come back. (cue ominous music here)

[Jess1483]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 7:20pm

Ooh, this is my entire major wrapped up in one post. I'm a religious ethics major. This semester I have a religious ethics and healthcare class, a philosophy class called "Contemporary Moral Issues," and a Biblical lit class where we keep talking about the role of morality in the Bible. Never have I examined my morals more.

Here's a dilemma we talked about in my contemporary moral issues class (from an article by Bernard Williams.) What do you think?
Jim finds himself in the central square of a small South American town. A row of twenty Indians are tied up against teh wall, terrified and defiant. A captain appears in front of Jim and after discovering that Jim is a botanist and not a member of the community, explains that the Indians are a random group of inhabitants who are about to be killed to remind possible protestors of the captain of the advantages of not protesting. However, since Jim is a visitor from another land, the captain offers him the guest's privilege of killing one of the Indians himself. If Jim does it, the other Indians will be let off. If Jim refuses, then all the Indians will be killed as if Jim had never arrived. There is no other option, Joe must either kill one of the Indians and the other 19 will be free, or all 20 Indians will die.
What should Joe do and why? Is he morally justified if he chooses to kill the Indian? Is he morally obligated to?
I love these kinds of questions! But they're so frustrating too!