Ethics in the Professions

King Wave

More than sixty years after the bombing of Hiroshima, some people condemn it as a war crime and would see it as analogous to pushing the large man over the bridge to stop the train to save the five people. Others say it was more like diverting the train onto the side track, unintentionally killing one. Which view do you feel is more appropriate? Is there a correct way to think about this?
In “Keeping Public Institutions Invested In Tobacco,” Nathaniel Wander and Ruth Malone show that an investment management firm violated the fundamental ethical precepts of honesty and transparency in producing reports beneficial to Philip Morris. Would you work for such a firm? If you already were employed at such a firm and learned of the morally questionable conduct, what should you do? Is your answer the same if you have a chronically ill child with high medical costs and you will be unable to get health insurance if you quit your job?