Good Example Of PRE-Class Assignment Essay

Recently, I was walking with my friends down the street and saw a middle-aged man sitting immovably on the ground covering his face with his hands. His appearance suggested that he was a homeless person, and our first judgement was that he was drunk. However, intuitively feeling that this was not the case, I suggested that we checked on him, although my friends were skeptical, being sure that the man was just sleeping. I still approached him only to find out that the man, who was indeed homeless, had heartache and needed medical help.
According to Rawls’s Justice as Fairness, this situation represents inequality in our society, where people with lower social status are stereotyped and discriminated. My friends’ response in this situation ignored this man’s right to equal opportunity, and they did not satisfy the rule that in this social and economic inequality the man should benefit to the greatest extent. According to this approach, given that all people have same basic rights and liberties, this man equally deserved attention and help as any other person. Given that he was the least advantaged among all of us, his interests should have been prioritized, and he should have been given our attention to equalize our opportunities to get medical help. To make this decision, we should have looked at this situation from an unbiased point of view, ignoring the man’s social status.
Finally, altruism would support my decision to approach the man, since he could have needed help, and my interests and desires were not in priority that time. I did not expect to get any personal profit, and instead acted against the interests of our group. My ethical decision should have been an act of love to another human, who deserved such attention and care. At the same time, while it is uncommon in the individualistic society to inquire about strangers’ well-being, altruism would order to break such barrier between the public and private spheres and to show care to a stranger.
I chose a mix of Confucianism and Altruism when making this ethical decision. I approached the situation from the point of view that every person should be treated with care, and if any stereotypes were holding me back, I would rather give them up than mistakenly abandon a person in need. I also thought that I would not want either me, or my friends, or my family members to be left without needed attention and care in a similar situation because of stereotypes.
My choice met the requirements of all five theories, although I ignored the wishes of the majority, which can be somewhat against the postulates of utilitarianism. I am content with the choice I have made, although I was at first hesitant about it because of personal stereotypes and reluctance to come into contact with a possibly drunk person. I have weighed pros and cons of my decision, which was luckily a very easy task, and acted despite the peer pressure, out of love and care. Although I have been in similar situations before, this is one of the rare occasions that I checked on a homeless person’s well-being, and exercising ethical decision making in praxis made me understand that acting ethically is in fact very beneficial to the society, other people’s and my own well-being. I also believe that while my choice was morally good, I believe that similar choices will be much easier to make in future if I practice challenging stereotypes I have.