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Case study
The moral issues include; the son in law failing to tell his wife and family members that he had fathered an illegitimate child years before he met his wife. This is a moral issue because the man was obligated to tell the wife concerning the illegitimate child before they engaged in a relationship; therefore, the problem will end up hurting the wife in the process. The other moral issue is that the man has not uttered any information concerning his illegitimate son for the past ten years and is also not planning to tell his wife anytime soon in the course of their marriage. The parties involved are; the mother, the daughter, the son-in-law, and the illegitimate child.
The universalizable moral duties at stake include; when performing any actions, one should ask themselves if it is okay to everyone if they acted; all humans must be viewed as worthy of dignity and respect. In this scenario, the woman has decided to tell her daughter the truth concerning the illegitimate child despite her happy marriage with her husband. The husband did not see his wife as being worthy of dignity and respect.
The principle of respect for persons applies when; the husband did not treat the wife as an autonomous agent since he did not disclose his illegitimate child; therefore, the wife’s choices and opinions were not considered. The husband did not respect his wife by keeping the secret, thus not considering her judgment in the matter. Since no compelling reasons were limiting the husband from telling the wife about the illegitimate child, the mother took it up her task to inform the daughter, giving her the chance to judge the matter. It also applies if the wife was unable to self-determine due to illness or mental disability caused by the lack of a child. The lack of telling her the truth may have shown respect for incapacitation, therefore serving as protection.
Works cited
Benn, Stanley I. “Privacy, freedom, and respect for persons.” Privacy and personality. Routledge, 2017. 1-26.
Hinman, Lawrence M. Contemporary moral issues: Diversity and consensus. Routledge, 2016.
Kahn, Samuel. “Positive Duties, Kant’s Universalizability Tests, and Contradictions.” Southwest Philosophy Review 36.1 (2020): 113-120.