Pine, Isaac

BSITM-TTO (1-YB-4)

DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS CASE STUDY

Ben and Tyler have been best friends since day one of college. Now seniors, they’re still
inseparable, despite many ups and downs over the years.
Lately, though, Ben’s been noticing that something’s a bit off with Tyler. He’s been
spending a lot of time with this girl Lucy, and less time with his actual girlfriend, Kendra.
Ben asked if something was going on between them, but Tyler insisted that he and Lucy
just have a lot of classes together and work together on homework, sometimes late at
night. Ben knows how much Tyler loves Kendra, and trusts that his friend is telling him
the truth. Later, though, Kendra confides in him that she thinks Tyler is cheating on her.
He waves away her concern, telling her that Tyler loves her and wouldn’t do anything to
hurt her.
However, this shady behavior continues for a few weeks, and Ben is starting to have
doubts about his friend’s honesty. These doubts are unfortunately confirmed when, at a
party, he sees Tyler flirting with Lucy. Kendra is spending the evening in the library, so
Ben realizes that Tyler is taking this opportunity to have a little fling. He watches from
across the room as Tyler leads Lucy to his bedroom, shutting the door.
Ben feels a strange mixture of emotions: confusion, betrayal, anger, and still an
irrational sense of protectiveness over Tyler’s integrity. “Tyler’s just drunk,” he tells
himself. “Everybody makes a mistake every once in a while.” Still, he feels hurt that
Tyler lied about being attracted to Lucy, and angry that he would cheat on Kendra. Even
though Tyler is his best friend, he still considers Kendra a close friend, too.

Questions:

1. If you were Ben, what should you do? Should you go home and pretend
you didn’t see anything?

- No, I should call my friend Kendra, tell her what happened, and get her opinion.
There may be an underlying cause here, and she may have a more professional
opinion on the situation than I have since she's been in it a lot longer. Be honest
with yourself, too. If I truly feel betrayed by what you've seen, I may want to
reconsider my friendship with Tyler.
2. Should Ben tell Kendra what he saw, so that she doesn’t get hurt? If he
does that, where does that leave his friendship with Tyler?

- It depends on how Ben feels about it and whether or not he trusts his friend to be
telling him the truth. On the one hand, Ben’s feelings are hurt that his friend lied
to him, cheated on Kendra, and are having an affair with a girl who is not even
dating him. However, he may be able to forgive and forget this betrayal if he
realizes that Tyler was only acting on the “drunk” side of things. Ben is still
concerned about his friendship with Tyler, so he may tell Kendra what he saw.

3. How this ethical theory of duty ethics will advise Ben to resolve this
dilemma?

- First, Ben will have to tell Kendra that he believes Tyler is cheating on her. He
has to consider what his duty is to Kendra and his friend. A further ethical duty to
Kendra is that she deserves the truth. He also has to consider what his duty is to
Tyler’s fidelity. A final ethical duty to Tyler is that he shouldn’t take advantage of
his friendship with Kendra. Based on these ethical principles, Ben decides to tell
Kendra that Tyler is cheating on her. Kendra believes that he is telling her the
truth and has faith in him that he will do the right thing. Ben tells Kendra that he
is sure Tyler will be honest with her after he’s been told the truth. Before he tells
her anything, Ben has to consider what she needs from him and what she believes.
Kendra is ready to forgive Tyler and let him be a good friend to her.