The increasing cognitive sophistication of the a mind brings with it an expandin
ID: 3502357 • Letter: T
Question
The increasing cognitive sophistication of the a mind brings with it an expanding moral obligation. Read the following moral dilemma.
In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $400 for the radium and charged $4,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money and tried every legal means, but he could only get together about $2,000, which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from if." So, having tried every legal means, Heinz gets desperate and considers breaking into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife.
Respond to the following questions:
Should Heinz steal the drug? Why or why not?
Does Heinz have a duty or obligation to steal the drug?
Why or why not?
Explanation / Answer
It us Heinz dilemma , described by Kohlberg who put forward theory of moral development.
Heinz should steal the drug because store man is not following morality himself by taking advantages of situation. Moreover, saving life has more goods than bada of stealing so he should do overall a good to society by saving a life.
Heinz does not have duty to steal but has a duty to save a life and more so if person is her wife. Ultimate morality is adjudged by consequences and processes both combined. Consequence is positive while process may involve some act of immorality.
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