CJA 453 Week One: Assignment
All ethical decisions affect others (by definition), and, as Aristotle points out, ethical decision-making is achieved consistently only through practice. Given the outline of virtue ethics provided by Aristotle (i.e., seeking the real goods via the moral virtues), evaluate the moral permissibility of the conduct in question in each scenario. Important note on method: Critical thinking requires the ability to evaluate viewpoints, facts, and behaviors objectively to assess information or methods of argumentation to establish the true worth or merit of an act or course of conduct.
Qs.3. Homeless Man Returns Diamond Ring
A homeless man panhandling in Kansas City, Missouri was asking passersby for change, while holding an empty cup. A woman dropped some change into the cup, but her diamond ring accidentally fell into the cup at the same time, and she did not notice it. (She kept the ring in her pocket because it irritated her finger.)
The homeless man did not notice the ring until he was getting ready to leave for the day. He thought the ring was a fake, but had it appraised and found it was worth $4,000. The homeless man kept the ring, hoping the owner would come by again, which she did two days later.
He returned the ring to her, saying his upbringing did not allow him to pawn the ring, "It&x27;s a blessing but do still have some character." The woman&x27;s fiancée later started an online fund-raising drive to raise funds for the homeless man for his honesty. Within a week more than 6,000 people had donated money to him.
Evaluate the moral permissibility of returning the ring, accidentally dropped into the cup of the homeless man.