Question

Minimum of 1 scholarly source 

Dilemma
Helen wants to move to a new community, and she is applying for a job with a small retail establishment. She is confident that she is fully qualified and will be able to perform well if she gets the job. The employer, however, has advertised for someone with three years of retail experience, and Helen only has two-and-a-half years. She is considering whether to exaggerate slightly on her resume in order to improve her chances of getting the job.

Helen asks three friends to offer their advice on what she should do.

Henry says, “Go ahead and claim three-and-a-half years of experience; they’re going to be so happy with your work that by the time they check (if they ever do) it won’t matter.”

Jennifer says, “I’m sure you’ll arrive at the best decision on your own; I’ve always known you to be an honest person.”

George says, “It is never all right to lie, even when you are unlikely to get caught and it seems relatively harmless to do so.” 

Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, address all of the following questions relating to the dilemma:

Upon which of the Three Primary Schools of Ethics is each of Helen’s friends relying? Explain your reasoning.

Can you imagine other people using the same approaches to arrive at different kinds of advice? Provide examples.

Do one of these Three Primary Schools of Ethics feel like the style you usually use already? Explain.

Answer 1

Henry is relying on utilitarianism which means that the action which has best outcome must be implemented

Jennifer is relying on virtue ethics which means that things which have virtues make actions right.

George is relying on duty ethics which says that actions which are ethically (socially) right must be implemented.

Yes, all human being use all these approaches in their day- to- day life. For example, while giving treatment, if a patient refuses to take medicine, an utilitarian would suggest to administer the medicine by mixing it in patient's food; a virtue ethicist would advice to counsel patient for the same and an duty ethicist would suggest not to administer medicine without patient's consent.

Yes, as mentioned above, we all use these ethics in our life depending on the situation. like at some instance we use utilitarian approach (like while choosing for our career), in some situation we use virtue (like while dealing with toddlers; their temper tantrums); and sometime we use duty ethics (like following traffic rules/ civil laws)