The parable of sadhu

Summary of case facts

 Bowen H.McCoy and his friend, Stephen, are hiking above 15,000 feet in Nepal.
 There are four groups from different countries also hiking in the area.
 One of the groups finds a Sadhu, a holy man, dying of hypothermia and
exposure.
 The group carries the man to McCoy, and leaves him there.
 The author and the members of his team clothe the man and eventually leave him
in the sun near a path that leads to shelter.
 The mountain is extremely dangerous, and no one wants to risk their own lives
trying to carry the Sadhu two days back to town.
 Ethical issues
 Stephen is angry with McCoy, who eventually summits the treacherous
mountain.
 Stephen says that leaving the Sadhu alone was a breakdown of ethics- that
everyone just 'passed the buck'.
 Every one says that they all 'did their bit'.
 Stephen insists that this is a typical 'Western' approach to a problem: just
throw some material wealth at it and forget about it...
 McCoy’s Dilemma

 High adrenaline flow.

 A goal that didn't allow for any variation (sudden changes of plan
could be deadly in such an environment).
 A once in a lifetime opportunity (to summit the mountain).

Leave the sadhu Attain his goal Feel guilt all his life

Bring the sadhu to his Fail his goal Discover Buddhism( ! )

monastery
 Stephen says that their responsibility could have only ended under 3 circumstances:
 If the Sadhu had died while they are caring for him.
 If the Sadhu had demonstrated that he was okay.
 If they had carried the Sadhu to a village and arranged proper care for him.

 Nobody was responsible

 Discussion– what if the person in need was a North American woman or well dressed
Asian woman?
 Applicability of ethical theory

 Individual vs group ethics

 Implementing ethics in corporate world

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 Approach—colloboration, consensus, selecting a leader
 Considerations in making ethical decisions: summary of key insights from
ethical theories
Consideration Typical question you might ask yourself Theory
One’s own interests Is this really in my, or my organization’s, best long - term interests? Would it be Egoism
acceptable and expected for me to think only of the consequences to myself in this
situation ?
Social consequences If I consider all of the possible consequences of my actions, for everyone that is Utilitarianism
affected, will we be better or worse off overall? How likely are these
consequences and how significant are they?
Duties to oth ers Who do I have obligations to in this situation? What would happen if everybody Ethics of duty
acted in the same way as me? Am I treating people only to get what I want for
myself (or my organization) or am I thinking also of what they might want too?
Entitlements of Whose rights do I need to consider here? Am I respecting fundamental human Ethics of rights
others rights and people’s need for dignity?
Fairness Am I treating everyone fairly here? Have processes been set up to allow everyone Theories of justice
an equal ch ance? Are there major disparities between the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’
that could be avoided?
Moral character Am I acting with integrity here? What would a decent, honest person do in the Virtue ethics
same situation?
Care for others and How do (or would) the other affected parties feel in this situation? Can I avoid Feminist ethics
relationships doing harm to others? Which solution is most likely to preserve healthy and
harmonious relationships among those involved?
Process of resol ving What norms can we work out together to provide a mutually acceptable solution Discourse ethics
conflicts to this problem? How can we achieve a peaceful settlement of this conflict that
avoids ‘railroading’ by the most powerful player?
Moral impulse a nd Am I just simply going along with the usual practice here, or slavishly following Postmodern ethics
emotions the organization’s code, without questioning whether it really feels right to me?
How can I get closer to those likely to be affected by my decision? What do my
e motions or gut feelings tell me once I’m out of the office?