Fact
The ABC company is planning to open a new adult entertainment retail store. Luke is a worker at this enterprise and has been asked to contribute to the project. The worker notices that the construction is supposed to take place near his brother’s house. Nevertheless, Luke is restrained from speaking about his projects with the company through a confidentiality agreement.
Owen, Luke’s brother, has been seriously thinking about selling his house. He has a good offer at the moment, yet he is holding out to see if he can receive a better price for the house in the future. Luke reasons that if this new business will significantly decrease the price of his brother’s house. Luke is considering whether to notify his brother of this change or not, due to his confidentially agreement with the ABC company.
Issue
The issue in this case is whether Luke should tell his brother about the new construction or not; in other words, if he should influence Owen’s decision to sell his house soon. The reason this is an ethical issue is because Luke wants the best for his brother yet is loyal to his employers, whom he has pledged that he will not discuss confidential information about their constructions. Therefore, he is divided between saving his brother, whom he seems to have a very good relationship with, and respecting an agreement with his company, which may imply not being laid off.
Analysis
People have developed many different theories as to the manner in which one should lead one’s life. Two of the most important of these are the golden rule and virtue ethics. They are also some of the oldest known written ethical guidelines, predating Kant’s categorical imperative and utilitarianism by centuries. Even though they both present interesting ethical parameters, they both have significant criticisms and do not always help to easily take a decision as to how to act correctly.
The Golden Rule
The golden rule is one of the most widely known and accepted ethical laws. It states that one should only do unto others what one would like for others do to unto one’s self. This was famously stated by Jesus Christ, yet people see it as the fundamental rule for all moral systems, especially religious ones.
In this case, one cannot say with a certainty what this would lead Luke to do. Due to it being so subjective, one would have to actually ask Luke if he would mind for a worker of his to disclose this type of information, him being the employer. However, it would seem that he would not have a significant problem with this, as he believes that it is something that should be done. What seems to be inhibiting him is a sense of duty and loyalty to the company, more than believing that the action is morally wrong in and of itself, or that he would be against it as the company representative.
On the other hand, one could consider the point of view of Owen, Luke’s brother. Obviously, this disclosure of information would benefit him, and he would probably agree that he would tell other people as well. Nevertheless, once again, one cannot be sure, because the information given does not contemplate the different reactions the individuals would have with respect to these actions.
As one can see, this does not easily define the path of action that Luke should take with respect to this problem. First, there are different viewpoints with regards to the situation, often with contradictory ethical value judgments. Furthermore, there is not enough information about the reactions of these individuals with respect to possible actions, so one cannot really determine how they should act.
Virtue Ethics
Another important ethical theory is virtue ethics. Even though this is a broad category that groups many ethical systems, the first and most famous of these is Aristotle’s. Ethical theories that focus on virtues believe that what’s important when considering the moral validity of an action is the human characteristics behind a behavior. Thus, the action is not good or bad in and of itself, but according to the motivation underlying the situation.
At first, one could conclude that this would mean that Luke should go through with warning his brother about the decrease in the price of his house. This would obviously be motivated by friendship and kindness, very important virtues. Nevertheless, one could also believe this action to be wrong, because it would be disloyal and a breach of trust with respect to the company.
Therefore, this theory does not conclusively give a black and white answer either. One would have to oppose friendship and kindness to loyalty and commitment, and different people could have different conclusions with respect to this.
Conclusion
Based on my analysis above, Luke should indirectly tell his brother that he should sell the house without disclosing further information as to why. They seem to hold a considerably good relationship based on trust, so Owen not telling anybody should not be a problem. Nevertheless, it is important to note that, while both of these theories seem to suggest that he should talk to his brother in order to change his mind in one way or another, they do not give conclusive reasoning due to their subjectivity and plethora of possible interpretations.
