What kind of motivation do we have to act morally? For example, are we motivated to appear “good” to obtain a favorable reputation?

First Disc

In reading Plato’s The Ring of Gyges, we are presented with the fundamental ethical question: are we only moral when others are watching? In 38 Who Saw Murder and Didn’t Call The Police, we read about a murder that happened in Brooklyn, New York in 1965 that led to the term “the bystander effect.”

1. What kind of motivation do we have to act morally? For example, are we motivated to appear “good” to obtain a favorable reputation?

2. Do you think we have an ethical duty to help those in danger, like Kitty Genovese? If so, why? If not, why not?