Theo 204 Study Guide Assignment

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Philosophy

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Jan 9, 2024

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1 Laura Colombo Fiore 40178021 November 22, 2023 Study Guide Questions Chapter 1 Imagine that you are returning merchandise to a large department store. The value of the merchandise is $500. As you are returning the goods, you notice what you think is an error on the part of the clerk. Instead of crediting your account the proper $500 amount, the clerk credits your account with $1,000. In order to come to a correct understanding of what has happened in this example which will allow you to decide what it is you should do, identify how the five operations of moral questioning found in Chapter one play out in this example: What is it? Is it so? What am I going to do? Is that action the right thing to do? Are you going to do it? The first step in moral questioning is establishing and implementing situational awareness of what is happening in that situation. Before one must properly decode what, the correct answer is the “what” inquiry is essential. Thus, the “what” inquiry can take on numerous forms involving the selection and evaluation process. Therefore, within the circumstance of the study question, when the individual is returning items to be refunded, and the cashier charges your account with double the amount you are supposed to pay, the action of moral questioning would come into play. Therefore, in this case, the “what” inquiry would verify if the clerk were entering the correct amount to be repaid on the cash screen. Therefore, we ask ourselves, “Is the clerk doing his job properly?” “What is the right amount I am supposed to be returned?” or “Has he entered the right amount?”.

2 We may also utilize the sounds we hear as the clerk enters the digits into the credit card machine as a clue to the “what” question. Secondly, the following operation in moral questioning follows the “what” question by determining which questions fit our situation. This operation thus translates to the “is it so” question. Hence, when the clerk enters the wrong amount to be reimbursed, we can see it either on the cash screen or the display screen of the credit card. Therefore, this would underline and match the evidence and disprove the other answers as they do not match. Thus, the “what” and the “is it so” questions become cohesive and intertwine into the situation. Furthermore, the “what” and “is it so” questions are involved in determining the facts of the situation. Therefore, they operate simultaneously and separate from the moral questions which lead us to what we should and will eventually do. Moreover, the next set of operations is involved in the “act” area, which involves the moral aspects of choosing what to do in a situation and if this choice is indeed the right choice. It is important to note that the “act” questions carry us to judge the problem at hand based on our already known values. Therefore, in this situation, after having gathered the facts that the clerk has doubled the reimbursement sum, we will then think to ourselves the best way to navigate the situation at hand. Therefore, we will weigh the options if it is best to say something to the clerk or not mention the error and gain more money. Thus, this situation can affect me positively if I do not mention the error. Moreover, I am 500$ richer than I had been at the start, and the large department store and clerks will be affected negatively. The large department store thus loses 500$, and the clerk may be fired for what can be perceived as a careless action.

3 Although, based on my moral values, that have been passed down through the generations and help us act in ways that fit the general requirements of communal living. 1 Therefore, functioning from my moral compass, I know that the right choice would be to speak up and mention the error. However, this internal judgment does not transform into moral action until we can make the right choice that we are morally inclined to make. Thus, the final step in this situation would be to vocally tell the clerk that he has made an error to correct the reimbursement to the right sum. At this point, the firm decision to act appropriately has been made. Therefore, having acted in a manner that aligns with my moral values, I will mention the $500 error to the clerk. Chapter 3 Describe a situation, either from your own experience or someone you know, where a moral act led to freedom. Explain why you think the moral act led to freedom. In your explanation, refer to the four ‘types’ of freedom that Melchin explains in Chapter three. A situation concerning moral action leading to freedom would be the involvement of a family member in a bike versus automobile accident. A few years back, my cousin had been biking to work, while on his bicycle, he had been struck by a car. The impact of the vehicle led him to be propelled into the air. The velocity of the projection and how he landed caused him to suffer double leg fractures, which resulted in him needing to have surgery to realign his bones. Through a very lengthy recovery, he was able to walk again. Due to the accident, my cousin had been prescribed heavy pain medications. Opioids can be very beneficial for someone when used correctly, but the misuse holds the ability to lead to addiction and dependence. Therefore, within this regard, my cousin had unwillingly made the choice to follow the path of addiction. This individual thus had hidden his addiction problem by masking it with pain 1 Melchin, Kenneth R. 1998. Living with Other People : An Introduction to Christian Ethics Based on Bernard Lonergan . Toronto Ontario: Novalis ; The Liturgical Press. 25.

4 medication throughout the length of his treatment from his parents and extended family. It should be noted that once he had fully healed from his accident, his parents became very protective and aware of their son's actions. Through this awareness, his parents noticed strange patterns within his actions. My cousin began staying out late and coming home at strange hours. His mother confronted and brought these actions up to him, but he was always quick to shut them down. It was not until his mother made the choice to search through his belongings and found oxycodone, an opioid which he had taken during his treatment plan. His parents brought up what they had found, and this is when he decided to admit and come clean about his addiction and his apparent struggles. It was through the decision to speak up and share the struggles he had been facing that he made his own decision to be free of the control imposed by addiction. Thus, through the events mentioned earlier, we have the ability to see the first way of viewing freedom in moral deliberations, which is freedom from domination. Negative attributes mainly overshadow the first view, but it implies an assertion in your choices and how those issues may dominate you. In the following weeks, my cousin entered a facility to help his addiction, all actions that had been done voluntarily and willingly. He recognized that he needed help, and he knew he did not want to hurt his parents any longer. Through a fundamentalist perspective, he knew that his actions that led to his addiction were not a moral act, and he was determined to perform the operations of moral knowing and doing. 2 Therefore, within this second notion of self- determination freedom, there are two further subtypes: essential freedom and practical freedom. Essential freedom is one's self-efficacy to perform moral actions, whereas effective freedom is the specific factors that may restrict one's execution of these virtuous actions. These restrictions 2 Melchin, Kenneth R. 1998. Living with Other People : An Introduction to Christian Ethics Based on Bernard Lonergan . 74.

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