d6.docx
You have befriended an elderly woman in your neighborhood. She confides in you that she does not trust banks, so she keeps her $25,000 in savings under her mattress. She also does not trust lawyers, so she has no will. She has been told by her doctor that she does not have much longer to live. She has almost no surviving family except for a long-lost nephew out in California. She asks you to hold onto her money, and when she dies, to locate her nephew and give the $25,000 to him. You are reluctant, but since she trusts no one else, you promise to do as she asks. When she dies, you locate the nephew, but learn that he is an alcoholic crackhead who begs for money by day and then drinks and does drugs all night. You also learn that a wonderful orphanage in your neighborhood is about to be closed because the bank is going to foreclose on its mortgage. This orphanage has done an enormous amount of good, providing a good home to many orphaned children. The only thing that will save the orphanage is a donation of $25,000. You fear that if you give $25,000 to the nephew, he will go on a binge and waste the money. What do you do, give the money to the deserving orphanage, or keep your promise to the woman and give the money to her nephew? (You are not an ethical egoist, so keeping the money is not an option!) Do you give the money to the nephew or give it to the orphanage? Justify your choice. (5 sentence minimum)
Liliana Quesada
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