W2 Ethics Assignment 6

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Ashford University - California *

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208

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Philosophy

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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5

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Page 1 of 5 Let Them Eat Bread Grace Carrig University of Arizona Global Campus PHI 208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning Instructor: Paige Erickson June 19,2023
Page 2 of 5 Let Them Eat Bread I think we can all attest that stealing is wrong. Are there times when you can think of when stealing can be considered acceptable? The dictionary definition of stealing is to take one's property without the owner's right or permission. When referring to the definition, it is essential to distinguish what the word "right" can be defined as. On the first view, some would assume a right would be based on the situation, such as if an innocent man was starving. Regrettably, for this man, "right" in this sense means the legal right. Therefore, when looking at the definition of stealing, it is always legally wrong to steal in any situation, regardless of how unfortunate your position is. The book  Les Miserables (1862)  is a true story and an example of how society views one who steals to feed one's family. It was written by Hugo in his journal and reiterated by Martyris, N. (2017), "It made me think, wrote Hugo. The man was no longer a man in my eyes but the specter of  la misère , of poverty" (para. 3). In this midst of writing Les Miserables, Hugo was on his way to work. He saw a homeless man with a loaf of bread under his arm getting walked off by police officers as bystanders whispered that he had stolen a loaf of bread. This was in France when a bad harvest caused an acute bread shortage with prices rising. The bakeries were fronted with iron gates to protect them from the mad mobs.  Is it moral to steal to feed one’s family? I believe stealing, from a moral standpoint, is not always wrong. Laws must be followed, but that only sometimes means they are right. For instance, people who kill an armed intruder do not always go to prison as they can sometimes be deemed necessary. Laws have changed regarding things like this, suggesting that there might be some flexibility concerning the current laws concerning theft. It cannot be morally right to let a person starve because they do not have the means to buy food, and the law says it is wrong for him to feed himself without the proper
Page 3 of 5 currency. Being ethical is also not the same as following the law. The law often encompasses ethical standards which most people support, but laws, like feelings, are different from what is ethical. Slavery laws are a horrifically clear example of laws that stray from what is ethical. Being ethical is not the same as doing “whatever society accepts.” In any way society, most people accept standards that are, in fact, ethical. For example, an entire society, like Nazi Germany, can become morally corrupt. This, therefore, means that we as a society do not know if stealing is an act that is wrong or right; we cannot understand what is morally right or wrong if we do not have a moral system to begin with. It is moral to steal to feed one’s family. Most businesses do not use money out of their own pockets to deal with the theft and damage of the products; there is a particular fund for those issues. When someone steals food, it is almost always a matter of life or death. It was said by ProspectusX (2022), “For many, this may seem a far-fetched narrative, but for around 690 million people across our world, it is their dreadful reality. For them, stealing food is a matter of life or death” (para. 1). Stealing for necessity should not be considered stealing. When it comes to stealing food, baby formula, or even feminine products, things that are human needs that we cannot control should not be considered immoral because if they could buy it, they probably would. Most people who steal food do not want to steal food but have to. It is not moral to steal to feed one’s family. Stealing is something someone should never do. It does not matter why you need to steal; stealing is immoral. Stealing causes people who are willing to pay for products not to get any product. It was stated by ProspectusX (2022), “One could argue that no matter the food stolen, the consequences should never change, so long as the purpose behind stealing is the same – to feed a ‘starving family’” (para. 3). It does not matter where you steal from or why you steal certain products, stealing is a criminal offense. You could
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