Universal Ethics Case Study

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FACTS Luke is an employee of ABC and is working on a project that will build an adult entertainment retail store on land at the corner of the neighborhood where Luke’s brother, Owen, lives. Owen is considering taking an offer on his house at an “okay” price given the current real estate market but is hesitant because he might get a better offer if he waits a few years. As soon as ABC’s plans to build the store are made public in one month, the property values of the surrounding neighborhood will decrease significantly. ISSUE Should Luke disclose the information to his brother about the new adult entertainment store or should he keep it confidential? Luke is faced with an ethical dilemma in which he must decide if he should be loyal to his…show more content…
Categorical Imperative Luke may also wish to consider Kant’s categorical imperative (CI), which states "act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." (IEP). In other words, it is imperative because it commands moral duties. Under CI there is no room for selfish goals because everyone will act according to the same general rule. Every action, no matter what the variety, will be evaluated under the same moral law. In this case, Luke will only be telling Owen about the new store for selfish reasons. He would like his brother to benefit financially before the rest of the neighborhood’s property values decrease. He also deeply cares about his brother and does not want his brother to lose faith in him. Therefore, if Luke tells Owen, he is doing it to save himself from the wrath of his brother. On the other hand, ABC is operating under selfish circumstances as well as they will benefit from the store and the neighborhood will not, even though they do intend to tell the public in one
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