Business Ethics as Rational Choice 1st Edition by John Hooker

Question

Business Ethics as Rational Choice 1st Edition by John Hooker

النسخة 1الرقم المعياري الدولي: 978-0136118671

Business Ethics as Rational Choice 1st Edition by John Hooker

النسخة 1الرقم المعياري الدولي: 978-0136118671

تمرين 1

Give a simple argument that breaking a promise, simply because it is convenient to do so, fails the generalization test. Note that one can break a promise only if it is possible to make a promise.

التوضيح

موثّق

The generalization test suggests that the reasons behind every action must be consistent with the assumption that everybody having the same reason would be acting the same way. Now in the event of anyone making a certain promise, it is important to understand that he or she should make a promise only if it is possible to make the promise in the said circumstances, and that for the promise to be trustworthy, the person making the promise should be trustworthy, at least to the person to whom the promise is being made.
However, as the proverb says, 'promises are made to be broken' if this is taken as an exaggeration, then anybody whosoever has made a promise, should not break it just because it can be broken. Because this defies the actual reason with which the promise was made, that is the rational justification behind any action (here that of making promises). Thus, it is clear that, not everybody would break a promise, just because it can be broken, and that brings in individuality to the actions, thus causing the generalization test to fail.