Critiquing Philosophical Approaches To Ethical Decision Making

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Critiquing Philosophical Approaches to Ethical Decision Making The purpose of this paper is to examine the conclusions that I reached for each of the three scenarios listed in Appendix B. I will explain how I reached each conclusion and why I believe each conclusion to be ethical. In Scenario 1 the mayor of a small town needs to decide in favor of economic prosperity or in defense of his elderly citizens. For this scenario I chose the same conclusion for each of the three philosophical approaches – the mayor could allow the developer to build on the proposed location as long as provisions are made for the relocation of the nursing home and the senior recreation center. In regard to the philosophical approach of …show more content…
It would be wrong for her to put aside her virtues to help her coworkers take advantage of benefits that were not earned. In Scenario 3 Malcolm must decide whether or not to report his roommate to the police after witnessing a drug deal in their apartment. Based on all three of the philosophical approaches, Malcolm has no other choice than to turn his roommate in to the police. Consequentialism requires Malcolm to consider the consequences of his decision. Should he choose to remain silent, he is putting himself and his other roommates in jeopardy. By allowing the one roommate to have drugs in the apartment, they would all be responsible if the roommate were to get busted. That would do harm to Malcolm’s and the other roommates’ reputation when none of them were responsible. Therefore, Malcolm needs to report the roommate to the police and let him face his own consequences without involving the others. Deontology requires Malcolm to report his roommate to the police out of obligation and duty to do so. The roommate is involved in criminal activity which is against the law. Malcolm and his roommates have the right to live in an environment where their own liberties are not being jeopardized by another person. Malcolm, being an honest, law abiding citizen, has the responsibility of sticking to his own values under the philosophy of