John is a political aid to Jennifer Cousins, a candidate for the U.S. Congress f

Question

John is a political aid to Jennifer Cousins, a candidate for the U.S. Congress from Colorado. While at a social gathering John became privy to some potentially harmful information about Ms. Cousins' opponent Hudson Anderson. He learned in confidence that Mr. Anderson, the married and father of twin girls, was allegedly bi-sexual. Should John share the information he attained with his boss Ms. Cousins and her campaign staff? Yes or No? Use two of the eight ethical frameworks we have studied in this course (from the Ethical Frameworks Worksheet) to support your decision. Be sure to be specific as to why that framework is being applied and the tenets of the ethical perspective that work in each case.

Explanation / Answer

In the given instance, it would be ethical for John to not disclose the personal information about Hudson Anderson. This position can be supported by the rational of the utiliatarian theory of ethics According to which  a utilitarian decision maker must have the ability to compare the various types of consequences against each other on a similar scale. Thus comparing material gains, such as increasing the success of his own candidate , against intangible gains, such as protecting the honour of the opponent candidate. Thus, it would be morally ethically to not disclose the information about the opponents sexual orientation as it would ensure greater good for the larger number of poeple involved including the accused candidate, his family and the future of his children in society.

Secondly, the decision in favour of confidentiality can be defended based on the Kantian theory of categorical imperatives. According to the Kantian philosophy of morality, everyone has the duty to act according to the universal law of nature most of the time. Thus by Thisbe standard, one has the moral duty towards extending rational tolerance and acceptance since having sex for pleasure can be rational for heterosexuals, then having sex for pleasure can be rational for homosexuals. Anderson’s sexual orientation therefore is not irrational and immoral and there is no overriding reason to find it problematic. So, John should not disclose the information to his work associate.

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