Soda Crate Moral Dilemma (& Informal Survey)
I have a moral dilemma and will go along with whatever the majority reply. Last week went to the Big City (2 hour drive). Heading back home got a flat on the interstate. While putting on the spare ...
Forum Discussion
FYI, Star Trek, the Next Generation was my all time favorite television show. I enjoyed it more than all the the other Star Trek series too. Why that one? Because every episode Jean-Luc Picard had to make ethical and moral decisions based upon his personal convictions vs what was "really" the right thing to do vs military protocol.
Being in the military myself, I understood the concept of following orders, laws, rules, and doing them blindly as directed by my superiors. Other wise, the military would collapse. That's the purpose for rank in the military. Higher ups give the orders, lower downs follow blindly, even if it means their own death. That's the cost for being in the military and everyone is aware of it.
But in the series, Picard always had to struggle with the "Supreme Directive" vs what he knew was right, which seemed to almost always conflict. His struggle to make the right decision, his concious, his obligation to the military, his position always come to a critical point. How he justified his decisions is what makes that series so great in my opinion. If you can over look all the science fiction in the show, and step around that, it is a reflection of what ever one of us struggle with. How we deal with our own concision vs what is really the right thing to do.
Amazing, one episode really brought it all down to an understandable level. The origination, in this case, "The Enterprise" must be protected at all costs, even if that means sacrificing your own life to protect it. In the military, it's about protecting our way of life, at the expense of any one individual. And when you think about it, big business does the same thing. Corporate decisions to fire people or make changes at the expense of the working "guy" happens all the time. Protect the integrity of the "organization" no matter how it affects the individual inside the organization. And this is the business philosophy we encounter every day in the work force. (Protect the organization at the expense of the individual).
Moral dilemma to say the least.
It goes without saying, I was thrilled with Psychology and Ethics in college. Maybe that's why I ended up working in a social environment type job for over 25 years and then one day realized computers don't lie. They either work or they don't. Software development is much easier than trying to get into the heads of some folks.
Maybe that's why this thread is so interesting and even entertaining to some folks, and repulsive to others. The whole concept of moral ethics begins when we are kids and have to make the decision to take that package of bubble gum from the store an shove it in our pockets because WE wanted it so much then and didn't have the money to pay at the time. So we learned to justify our faulty actions? over time, we learn to cheat on our taxes, cheat on the job, drive against the laws of the road, and even justifying the moves that lead to heinous crimes. It all begins with the simple decision to take a box or not!
Being in the military myself, I understood the concept of following orders, laws, rules, and doing them blindly as directed by my superiors. Other wise, the military would collapse. That's the purpose for rank in the military. Higher ups give the orders, lower downs follow blindly, even if it means their own death. That's the cost for being in the military and everyone is aware of it.
But in the series, Picard always had to struggle with the "Supreme Directive" vs what he knew was right, which seemed to almost always conflict. His struggle to make the right decision, his concious, his obligation to the military, his position always come to a critical point. How he justified his decisions is what makes that series so great in my opinion. If you can over look all the science fiction in the show, and step around that, it is a reflection of what ever one of us struggle with. How we deal with our own concision vs what is really the right thing to do.
Amazing, one episode really brought it all down to an understandable level. The origination, in this case, "The Enterprise" must be protected at all costs, even if that means sacrificing your own life to protect it. In the military, it's about protecting our way of life, at the expense of any one individual. And when you think about it, big business does the same thing. Corporate decisions to fire people or make changes at the expense of the working "guy" happens all the time. Protect the integrity of the "organization" no matter how it affects the individual inside the organization. And this is the business philosophy we encounter every day in the work force. (Protect the organization at the expense of the individual).
Moral dilemma to say the least.
It goes without saying, I was thrilled with Psychology and Ethics in college. Maybe that's why I ended up working in a social environment type job for over 25 years and then one day realized computers don't lie. They either work or they don't. Software development is much easier than trying to get into the heads of some folks.
Maybe that's why this thread is so interesting and even entertaining to some folks, and repulsive to others. The whole concept of moral ethics begins when we are kids and have to make the decision to take that package of bubble gum from the store an shove it in our pockets because WE wanted it so much then and didn't have the money to pay at the time. So we learned to justify our faulty actions? over time, we learn to cheat on our taxes, cheat on the job, drive against the laws of the road, and even justifying the moves that lead to heinous crimes. It all begins with the simple decision to take a box or not!
