...explore five common excuses people give for making unethical decisions and what a person can do to overcome the excuses so as not to breach their personal value system. Individual life experiences, culture, family, and friendships all help a person to form their personal values and standards. Practical reasoning can be used to determine what is right and what is wrong weather in an individuals personal life or in a business setting. The first excuse for making a decision that is deemed unethical is the ignorance is bliss excuse. Most people are raised to believe that it is wrong to tell a lie. Without having the foundation for good decision making it is easier to justify telling a lie. One may have the knowledge that it is wrong but may also believe that it is okay if the circumstance is appropriate. They use the excuse that they were not taught early on that it is inappropriate to lie no matter the circumstance. A second excuse that many use it that it really is not that big of a deal. According to Vora (2012), People can have the attitude of “the world has changed it’s values so I must change mine too.” Vora also states that most people do not want to be labeled as boring or traditional and so they go with the flow of what everyone else is doing. In doing the right thing and not falling short by giving in Vora (2012) states “Society will hold you in respect for your commitment to social good and ethical behavior. Over the longer term, you’ll win their trust, which will...
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...Michael A. Miller Janet Joslin ENC 1101 October 12, 2013 “ The Ways We Lie “ and “ Too Much Pressure” In Stephanie Ericsson’s essay “ The Ways We Lie “, her thesis states “ lying , she finds , may be unavoidable and even sometimes beneficial” (348 ). In Colleen Wenke’s essay “ Too Much Pressure “ her thesis ask the question “ Why do students cheat n school? ( 482 )”. Both of these essays give their strong reasons on why these two things take place. For Ericsson it is situations that we are put in, and for Wenke the excuse is the stresses of life. Both of these essays are thought provoking in the aspect of the general views of the reasons why we do things. These essays discuss in great detail each author’s point of view and tone. The tone in “ The Way We Lie “ is that of it is just the way of the world and for that we really should not be surprised. In this essay when Ericsson states “ We lie, We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people’s feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutions ( 348 )”. This tone has a what is the big deal feeling. In contrast the essay “ Too Much Pressure “ has a different tone. When the Wenke says “ A main difference between school today and school when my parents were enrolled is that we are now very goal-oriented and will compromise our values to achieve those goals” ( 484 ). Wenke also states “ Students who would not usually cheat get sucked into...
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...where such collaboration has been authorised by the lecturer concerned. ● I hold a copy of this assignment which I can produce if the original is lost or damaged. Signature: _________________________________ Date: ___________________ ● NB: A lecturer or tutor has, and may exercise, the right not to mark this assignment if the above declaration has not been signed. ● If the above declaration is found to be false, appropriate action will be taken. . Little White Lies – Honesty or Dishonesty? Or just an easy way to avoid the painful truth? Lukas Cavalcante Baier Zhejiang University of Science and Technology Abstract Everyone lies. But why do we lie? An often trivial, diplomatic or well-intended untruth, a minor or unimportant lie uttered in the interest to remain polite? Though it is frequently judged, lie-telling is a common and frequent activity in social relations, with ostensible social risks and benefits. Yet, insincerity can become a problem behavior with frequent or inappropriate use over time. The goal of this essay...
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...First of all, Kant would say that you should never tell a lie in any instance, ever. The reason for this is that he would say that everyone is responsible for their own actions. One of the ways to tell if you should do something or not, based on Kant’s ideas is to see if I as a person would like to live in a world where everyone was doing that action. So, in the case of lying, I would never be able to lie, because I would not want to live in a world where everyone lied always in every instance. Furthermore, Kant would say that, if I do lie, then I would be responsible for the consequences. However, one of my biggest problems, raised by the book, is that Kant never really seemed to explain whether someone would be responsible for the consequences of telling the truth....
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...Coming up with different types of lies, saying lies, and showing without speaking but still lying. Humans lie in many forms, verbal, on social media, over technology and other ways. ( Stephanie Ericcson “Ways we lie” ) How do we lie? Why would anybody lie? We lie by not telling the truth because we don’t want the truth coming out. People lie to cover up anything bad they did, so they can make themselves look good. Like Stephanie Ericcson said “ We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation we spare people’s feelings, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutions.” ( Page 472 2nd paragraph ) I’ve finally figured out the reason behind why people lie, so that they want get...
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...which holds the truth in the story. People are naturally born, to do everything in their power to make sure they can safeguard their existence. Despite, anyone found culpable with committing a criminal act or also not found guilty, of doing criminal acts likelihood of them meeting consequences for their conduct will likely be all the time. People will refute actions as such, to avoid consequences from being done to them. Police officers employees walk on eggshells with considering the use, with deception to discover the truth in the matter. This paper will discuss, Is it moral to lie to acquire the truth and do the ends justify the means of it, there a contention between the codes of ethics how police officer indeed led, the parts do physical conduct and nonverbal communication play in identifying deception also the conclusion. Is it moral to lie to acquire the truth and do the ends justify the means of it The ethical also moral behavior is personalities, which people contain even if many people cannot contain the similar level of the moral ground. Each person does have the free will to pick what he or she want to also the free will to think, which these are the basis for an individual to reach pursuit of happiness for an individual right and their life. Individuals only tell the truth when there is a benefit within it for them. However, it there is no benefit in it for them they will use the tactic of lying within a situation. Within the human being nature, people...
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...inseparable from each other. That is why, for example, Gandhi struggled whole life against British and never adopted the wrong means. I. Do ends ethically justify their means? Most people use the expression "the ends justify the means" as an excuse...
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...and foolhardy. (M. Boylan, 2010.) Utilitarianism Is an ethical theory of acting that basically states that the most moral of actions is to choose whichever one will produce the most good for the largest group. In short Utilitarianism supports the notion that the needs of many outweigh the needs of few or of one. Deontology Deontology is a moral theory that deals with doing a thing simply because it is the right thing do. Deontology doesn’t take into account any other factors such as the consequences of committing an action. If the action itself is good and just then the Deontologist must choose that action as morally correct. I interpret this to mean that Deontology is about moral absolutes – lying is wrong – therefore one must never lie. Differences of Morality and Ethics Of the three previously described moral theories, Virtue Ethics seems to provide the most common sense solutions to ethical problems and the most latitude of action to its practitioners. In virtue ethics one strives for excellence or virtue in everything one does. Values or virtues such as...
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...which holds the truth in the story. People are naturally born, to do everything in their power to make sure they can safeguard their existence. Despite, anyone found culpable with committing a criminal act or also not found guilty, of doing criminal acts likelihood of them meeting consequences for their conduct will likely be all the time. People will refute actions as such, to avoid consequences from being done to them. Police officers employees walk on eggshells with considering the use, with deception to discover the truth in the matter. This paper will discuss, Is it moral to lie to acquire the truth and do the ends justify the means of it, there a contention between the codes of ethics how police officer indeed led, the parts do physical conduct and nonverbal communication play in identifying deception also the conclusion. Is it moral to lie to acquire the truth and do the ends justify the means of it The ethical also moral behavior is personalities, which people contain even if many people cannot contain the similar level of the moral ground. Each person does have the free will to pick what he or she want to also the free will to think, which these are the basis for an individual to reach pursuit of happiness for an individual right and their life. Individuals only tell the truth when there is a benefit within it for them. However, it there is no benefit in it for them they will use the tactic of lying within a situation. Within the human being nature, people...
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...Deception by the Investigating Officer in the Investigative, Interrogative, and Testimonial Processes Anita L. Levy AJS/532 Ethics in Justice and Security June 8, 2015 Professor Melba Pearson Deception by the Investigating Officer in the Investigative, Interrogative, and Testimonial Processes Deception involves “acting in such a way which leads another person to believe something that you, yourself, do not believe to be true” (Alonso-Quecuty, 1992). Deception can occur in any or all of the three stages of the detecting process which include, investigation, interrogation and court testimony. Each stage is subject to increasingly tough normative constraints (Skolnick, 1999). In the investigation phase of a case police are permitted by the courts to engage in deception and they are trained to do just that. The method that they use may include wiretaps, informants, undercover agents, and the possession and sale of illegal materials or substances (Skolnick, 1999). The line between what is acceptable and what is not is that of entrapment. The deception may be employed up to the point that an “agent of the government initiates a court of action that induces an otherwise innocent person to commit a crime in order that the government may then prosecute” (Skolnick, 1999). It is being recognized that these deceptive practices will be used against those who are reasonably suspected of engaging in criminal behavior or otherwise acting in an unjust manner, to include people...
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...situation and to identify the matter and determine the best outcome from it. The two components of a theory are assessing solutions to the disagreement and specifying the reason for this issue and supporting it with a conclusion. One of the theories I have chosen to use is Deontology and the situation of a mother telling her daughter whether Santa Clause really exists. The components of in this matter in Deontology in this case would be whether the mother should tell the truth or should she lie? Using the Universal Rule Test will portray the actions needed to justify the clarity of its rule of “Never lie” for deciding on telling her daughter the truth or not. As mentioned in the book (Ethics and social responsibility (2nd ed.) “People are taught throughout life at an early age to tell the truth.” In this case some may say the child is at the “age of reason” and it would be okay to lie, with this view in place the principle “Never lie” is not violated. Again as the book states, “It is okay to lie in some situations, but not others.” The relationships between these components are trying to figure out what situations do allow lying and what do not. In order to determine if a theory is valid or not you must distinguish if the premises are taken as the truth, and then the conclusion must be taken as true. Evidence or data is a collection of statistics that are documented incidences of an event. Evidence and data can come from observations and analysis of common knowledge experiences...
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...making it bad. Actions are not intrinsically good or evil depending upon whether they produce the most loving result. They are extrinsically good depending on their circumstances and consequences. Joseph Fletcher said that actions are extrinsically good depending upon the circumstances. According to Joseph Fletchers first principle actions such as lying can be justified if the action itself is extrinsically good. Natural law states that actions such as lying are always wrong regardless of the circumstances. Joseph Fletcher said “circumstances alter cases', situationism holds that in practice what in some times and places we call right is in other times and places wrong”. A lie is not intrinsically wrong it is only wrong if it harms people however it may sometimes be right. For a Situationist what makes a lie right is its loving purpose. The second fundamental principle is...
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...In War, a third-person narrative is used, while in Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen uses the first and second person narratives. Both texts lead the reader to think about the limitations of using patriotism to justify loss and suffering. In Pirandello's story, the passengers on the train discuss "which of [their] positions [are] worse” (Pirandello 1370) because they all have children who have been called up to fight in the war. By using the third-person, the reader becomes empathetic towards the stories of the characters, creating a more pitiful tone. In Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen addresses the reader, writing "you too could pace behind the wagon that we flung him in, and watch the white eyes writhing in his face” (Owen l.17-19). Other lines are written in the first person, such as when he describes the poison gas attack he witnessed, saying "under a green sea, I saw him drown” (Owen l.14). This perspective creates a traumatic tone because it places...
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...Utilitarians believe that every decision they make should be made objectively to benefit the most people in the most positive way. Utilitarians also believe that there are some objective moral truths, for example, it is always immoral to kill people. This philosophical belief system can best be summed up by a quote from Rachels and Rachels’ The Right Thing to Do; “Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure” (29). There are two main camps of utilitarians: act and rule utilitarians. Act utilitarians believe that an act is right if and only if it results in more good than any alternative, while rule utilitarians believe that an act is right if and only if it is required by a rule that generally leads to the greatest good. Either way, utilitarianism provides a single, objective, common-sense way to understand which actions are right and which are wrong. It also promotes flourishing and reduces suffering. The primary argument for utilitarianism is this: An action is right if and only if it maximizes the consequences of whatever is considered good over whatever is considered bad. The only good is happiness. So, an action is right if and only if it maximizes happiness. Premise one is the basic theory; a decision or action is deemed “right”...
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...For this case there is definitely an ethical issue that points fault at Mr. Ellison, even though Mr. Ellison intentions were to tell the public that Microsoft funds ACT. When considering Mr. Ellison’s viewpoint, he is right on trying to get the truth about ACT to the general public. He hired a private investigation firm to find document and other piece of evidence to give the general public and prove that Microsoft funds ACT. This method he had chosen was completely wrong morally and legally. The first mistake he made was to hire a private investigator to elicit information about Microsoft and ACT by paying workers in ACT and lie about it, calling it a “civic duty.” There are other ways to find out the truth. The fault does not lie just upon Mr. Ellison alone, but also Group International. Ms. Lopez a worker at GI is also equally to blame for this. Her way of investigating ACT was unethical. She was using bribery to get information out of janitors at ACT, which also brings up many legal issues as well. Instead she should have gotten legal papers and went directly to the CEO of ACT to investigate than bribering the janitors. There isn’t evidence proving Mr. Ellison allowed these actions to take place but if he did this is unethical. Ethical Dilemmas—ACT and Microsoft Background: One ethically wrong action ACT did was giving a false impression. The public didn’t know that Microsoft largely funds ACT so this gives them the impression that ACT acts independently....
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