Week 5 Assignment PHI 208 Simonee Davis

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University Of Arizona *

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208

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Philosophy

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Apr 3, 2024

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1 The Case Study: Homelessness Impacts on Society Simonee Davis The University of Arizona Global Campus PHI 208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Professor Wise February 12, 2024

2 Part 1 Introduction: Case Study and Ethical Question Homelessness has become a huge issue over the last few years, impacting many families like never before. Over the last few years, homeless encampments have been appearing in neighborhoods, industrial areas, and on the side of our highways. Many have gone to City Council meetings and to state government to ask for their solutions to fix this problem, but there are still unanswered questions. Homelessness seems to reflect a complete set of social factors, including a lack of affordable housing and the increase in poverty among many Americans. A study performed by the National Alliance to End Homelessness stated, “Back in January 2022, approximately 582,462 people were experiencing homelessness across America on any given night. 72% were adults, and 28% of that population were families with children.” Studies also show that between 2007 and 2022, California's total homeless population has gone up by 23%. Homelessness harms our society's health and well-being. Many are suffering from mental distress, physical illness, and a higher rate of substance abuse and chronic conditions. Studies have shown that the spread of diseases such as Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, and HIV is extremely high among the homeless population. Imagine the impact that it has on the children who are homeless with their families, not being able to attend school, or when they attend school, they do not have clean clothes or a balanced meal to start the day. Homelessness has so many negative impacts on children's future and their ability to contribute to society as adults. Has there been an increase in homelessness on your street corners? What are the government officials at the local

3 and state levels doing to help with homelessness? Is it ethically right for the local and state governments to allow Americans to go homeless and unsheltered, contributing to a negative impact on physical and mental well-being? Part 2: Philosophy Reading Reflection I will be reusing week three’s philosophical text from Immanuel Kant on Deontology, “ Being truthful from duty is an entirely different thing from being truthful out of fear of bad consequences; for in the former case a law is included in the concept of the action itself (so that the right answer to "What are you doing?" will include a mention of that law); whereas in the latter I must first look outward to see what results my action may have .... How can I know whether a deceitful promise is consistent with duty? The shortest way to go about finding out is also the surest. It is to ask myself: Would I be content for my maxim (of getting out of a difficulty through a false promise) to hold as a universal law, for myself as well as for others? That is tantamount to asking: Could I say to myself that anyone may make a false promise when he is in a difficulty that he can’t get out of in any other way? Immediately I realize that I could will the lie but not a universal law to lie; for a law would result in there being no promises at all, because it would be futile to offer stories about my future conduct to people who wouldn’t believe me; or if they carelessly did believe me and were taken in by my promise, would pay me back in my own coin. Thus, my maxim would necessarily destroy itself as soon as it was made a universal law. Kant, I. (1785)”. The idea Kant addresses in the passage, when first reading it, makes one think about what it means to be truthful no matter the outcome. Should one lie to receive a quick outcome, or should one tell the truth even if it may take longer to reach the outcome they are trying to reach? Being truthful is our human duty. If we applied a universal law where everyone

4 goes around lying, setting up promises, not intending to keep them just for the sake of getting out of a tight spot or reaching their goal faster than anticipated, the world would lack trust in politicians, authorities, coworkers, friends, and loved ones. For example, during election time, our local official promises to combat the homeless crisis we have in San Joaquin, citing how much funds are available for these plans. However, as soon as they obtain the win, they do not keep their promises to those who voted them into office. If every politician were to lie just to get a win, we would have no trust or will to want to vote; as we know, there would be no keeping of the promises made during election time. Our duty is to build trust and keep order, including not lying or being deceptive, to gain a quick win; there would be contradictions if lying were a universal law, making it immoral. As I read the text a few more times during this assignment, my understanding of Kant deepened, and I could see ideas I missed the first time I read the text. Reading the text multiple times is like seeing a flower start from the seed to when it fully blossomed; I was able to capture a new message each time I read the passage. This text regarding Deontology applies to my case study as it relates to our governmental officials, locally and state level, having a moral obligation, and it is their duty to address homelessness and help increase affordable living, well-being resources, and services to combat homelessness. Part 3: Explanation of First Ethical Theory Deontology Deontology was formed by Immanuel Kant, who argued that we all have a duty to act morally. Deontology is from the Greek word Deon, which means duty, and ology means to study something. Therefore, Deontology is the study of duty and obligation. Deontology is the person doing the act, what is being done, and what consequences will occur from the action the person is performing. It is said that we must think of the good and the bad consequences in order to make our decisions. As mentioned above, the core principles of Deontology are duty, rights, and

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