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Facts

Luke is an employee of ABC Company. ABC wants to build an adult entertainment store near where Owen, Luke's brother, has his piece of property. Luke knows that if ABC makes the store, land prices will decrease. Own wanted to sell his house and had gotten a fair price from a dealer. Luke is in a dilemma about whether to tell Owen Company's plan, save him from potential loss, and risk breaking the company's confidentiality policy.

Issues

The key ethical issue is whether you should inform Owen that ABC plans to build an adult entertainment store near his property. He should sell his property before the prices go down and risk violating the company policy. Or be discreet about the company plans and betray Owen by failing to tell him the prospects of land prices going down.

Analysis

Introduction of theories

Golden Rule

Golden rule theory, also known as the ethic of reciprocity, In its simplest sense this theory posits that one is obliged to do to other people what they would also want to be done to them. The second tenet of the Golden rule is empathy, which in its simplest terms, refers to 'putting yourself in another person's shoes.' (Putnam) The Golden rule has been the subject of many criticisms. The first criticism is that it is ideal for it to be practicable. Another complaint is that one cannot fully know and understand the other person's desires and wishes; therefore, Luke cannot assume that how one prefers to be treated is the same as how the other person likes to be treated.

Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics supposes that a virtuous person is morally upright and, therefore, what they do is moral. (Greene,2016) For example, honesty is expected to be honest in all situations. The actions of that honest person are, therefore, moral. However, living up to the ideals of virtue is challenging because doing so would mean going against the very virtue. For example, a compassionate person may decide to lie to protect the person's feelings. So in some situations, virtues can be faults if one does not apply practical wisdom. Virtue ethics have different branches. Some virtue ethicists believe being virtuous is sufficient to bring eudaimonia(happiness). Others, like Aristotle, believed that material goods were also necessary. (Greene,2016)

Application of theories

Beginning with the golden rule, one is not to harm, do to other people what they expect to be done to them, and empathize with others. This rule would mean that Luke has to ask himself what he would want if he were in Owen's shoes. Luke should ensure that Owen gets a reasonable price for his property as soon as possible. Going by the empathy rule, Luke, against all odds, ensures that he sells his house reasonably. Secondly, if one is supposed to treat others as they would want others to, Luke must ask himself several questions. If Owen was working at ABC and knew about the land prices going down, and he also knew Luke wanted to sell land within the exact location, and yet he did not tell Luke, how would Luke react? Would he be happy that Owen was very confidential about the company plans, or would he feel that Owen had betrayed him yet knew of your plans? If you think he would feel betrayed by Owen, he needs to tell Owen about the likelihood of the land prices going down and why they need to sell Owen's house within that month. Luke can be discreet if he supposes that Owen would support him in obeying company laws.

The disadvantage of this theory is that one may need to understand another person's desires and wishes fully. This is unless they ask them. This theory is based on the assumption that one person's desired treatment is the same as another person's desired treatment which may only be the case sometimes.

Therefore, using this theory, one needs to apply empathy and ask about the other person's wishes before applying the theory.

Virtue Ethics application

Virtue ethics, as stated earlier, argues a virtuous person is moral. The application of virtues is more likely to bring happiness. In this scenario, the question is what virtues Luke upholds. The fact that Luke is concerned about his obligation to be confidential about the company's decisions reveals that you are discreet. On the other hand, Luke also wants to help Owen find reasonable prices for his house. Virtue ethics demands that to effectively apply their virtues without risking them becoming vices, one has to exercise practical wisdom. Using practical wisdom, Luke should convince Owen to sell his house without telling him the company plans to build an adult entertainment store. One way of doing it is promising to tell Owen his reasons later if you want to avoid lying to him about why h needs to sell his land. By doing this, Luke will be both honest and discreet. This will help in finding a solution for Owen while at the same time upholding Luke's virtues.

The demerit of virtue ethics is based on its central assumption that a virtuous person performs a moral action. Critics have pointed out that a virtuous person can commit an immoral action by connecting it with their virtue. A person can also do a virtuous action without being virtuous. This means that virtue is loosely associated with morality. Another problem is the conflicting virtues. Like in this scenario, Luke is conflicted on whether to be discreet with company information or be honest and risk being indiscreet with company information.

In applying virtue ethics, one should consider their virtues. Using practical wisdom ensures that applying their virtues does not lead to other problems.

Conclusion

Given the two theories, Luke should fulfill his obligations to the company and his brother. To do this, he needs to enquire further about his needs and desires of Owen. Luke will use the information to advise him to sell the house within a month, either to the person who had proposed an OK price or to seek another buyer. Luke can convince his brother using other data or by promising to tell him his reasons once the house has been sold and the store has been built. This will remove Luke's need to divulge information about the company to Owen.

References

Putnam M.S. Reflections on the Golden Rule. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/popout?ver=16k8g23zpfr81#attid%253Datt_186ccf1daca7bcc7_0.2_f_lf2x1b7q1

Greene H. (2016) Aristotle & Virtue Theory: Crash Course Philosophy #38. PBS Studios. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrvtOWEXDIQ&t=22s