What is the morally right thing to do in the following cases?

Be sure to discuss your reasons and possible alternative solutions to the one that you propose. Is what you would 'actually' do different from what you 'should' do? If so, why?

1. The sheriff in a southern town is guarding the courthouse against a mob that is about to storm it by force, in order to capture a black prisoner and lynch him even before his trial. If the mob is frustrated, many people may be killed in the ensuing riot. Should the sheriff deliver the prisoner to the mob?

2. Should the wealthier members of society be forced to pay through taxation, for the poorer members? If so, how much?

3. A man has been sentenced to prison for armed robbery, and admits guilt for the deed. "But", he argues,"I'll never do anything of the kind again. I'm not insane or a danger to society. I would be happier out of jail than in. My wife depends on me for support and she and the children would be far happier if I were able to be the family breadwinner again. As to the influence on others, almost no one would ever know about it; you can keep the matter out of the newspapers and no one except you will ever know that the crime was committed. Therefore, you should release me" Assuming he is correct, what would you do?

4. A rich man and a poor man commit the same type of crime. The rich man is fined $10,000 while the poor man is sent to jail for one year. Is this fair?

5. You are on a country road and see two neighbouring farm houses on fire. One is yours and the other belongs to a new couple who just moved in. Your wife and child are at home as are your neighbours. You can only save one house. Which one do you save?

6. You run an orphanage and have had a hard time making ends meet. A car dealership offers you a new van worth $15,000 for free if you will falsely report to the government that the dealership donated a van worth $30,000. You really need the van and it will give you an opportunity to make the children happy. Do you agree to take the van?

7. You are shopping and notice a woman stuffing a pair of stockings into her purse. Do you report her?

8. You are waiting with a few other people to board a bus. The bus pulls up and before you can board the driver gets out and goes into the convenience store to get a coffee. You are the last to get on the bus. Do you pay your fare?

9. You discover Bill Gate's wallet lying on the street. It contains $1000.00 Do you send it back to him?

10. It is 3 a.m. and you are late getting home. As you approach the intersection you notice that no one is around. Do you drive through the red light?

11. In Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment the main character plots and carries out the murder of an old woman who has a considerable amount of money in her apartment. After killing her, he steals the money. He argues that 1) she is a malicious old woman, petty, cantankerous and scheming, useless to herself and to society (which happens to be true), and her life causes no happiness to herself or to others; and 2) her money if found after her death would only fall into the hands of chisellers anyway. Whereas he would use it for his education. Is this action justified?

12. As a nurse, you are the last person to see Mr. Doe before he dies in hospital. You believe that he has become mentally incompetent in the last few hours and in that time he has rewritten his will. In the new will he viciously attacks each member of his adopted family and reveals that he actually was born a woman. He then cuts every family member out of the will leaving his fortune to a Psychic Chatline . Mr. Jones asks you to make sure that the new will gets to his lawyer. Knowing that the document will most likely be thrown out of court but not before the damage to Mr. Doe's family is done, do you carry out Mr. Doe's last request?

13. Would it be justifiable to whip pigs to death if more succulent pork resulted from this process, giving the consumers of pork more pleasure?

14. Why punish the theft of $1000 more than the theft of $100?

15. Why punish attempted murder less than murder?

16. You are on a boat and nearby are two large rocks filled with persons waiting to be rescued; there are five people on one rock and four on the other. Assume that you cannot rescue both groups and that you are the only one able to rescue either group. Which group do you rescue?

17. You can only rescue one of each of the following, which do you save?
a) A child or an adult
b) A stranger or your dog
c) Hitler or lassie
d) Your spouse or a Nobel Laureate
e) A dog or a weasel
f) Your entire family or the entire canine species
g) A bottle with the cure for cancer or your brother
h) A bottle with the cure for cancer or your brother who just gave you one of his kidneys

18. Are the following acceptable grounds for a person to the life of a non-human animal? a) Its noise bothers you at night.
b) The wolf is killing your sheep.
c) Its meat makes a tasty dish.
d) You enjoy seeing it squirm.
e) The gophers are destroying your vegetable garden.
f) You just don't like snakes
g) The condor (an endangered species) keeps killing your prized carrier pigeons.
h)I enjoy hunting.

19. Are any of the following situations objectionable?
a) Raising and killing rabbits for food.
b) Raising and killing rabbits for fur.
c) Clubbing baby seals over the head for fur.
d) Raising chickens under crowded conditions on wire netting.
e) Slitting open the bodies of cattle in slaughterhouses before they are unconscious.
f) Using spontaneously aborted fetal tissue for treating Parkinson's disease victims.
g) Using intentionally aborted fetal tissue for purposes of art.
h) A highly rated television show which depicts the actual torture of a convicted criminal.
i) A highly rated television show which depicts the actual torture of a poor homeless orphan.
j) Torturing a person (who will die from the injuries) as the only means to find out where they have hidden a nuclear bomb.

20. Pick any one of the above 19 questions and try to consider why someone might answer it differently than you. Can you offer reasons for their views? Are any of these reasons persuasive?