Moral Dilemna

What's up? Been lurking for a while and decided to sign up and post.

OK actually I had something on my mind. There was this occurence... School was out and I was heading home, I was starving so I stopped in at this restaurant and ordered a sandwitch and took it to a table and sat down after finishing it I realized I had not paid for it!

Yeah evidently they were super busy and distracted because there was this manager/investor type looking around everywhere and talking to them. So I was just about to go up to the counter and say I hadn't paid but then I realized if I did that the owner guy might get mad at the employees. So I just left. What should I have done do you think?

Nice! You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.

I wouldn’t have thought of getting the boss mad but it is a good point.
I think that I probably would have paid it anyway, mostly because of the economical situation we are in. I don’t think anyone can afford to lose money today. As far as the employee is concerned, he may be more attentive in the future. I believe that efficiency in all areas, would help this economic crisis to be less severe.
This said, I do understand your point also.

Glad to have you aboard and hope you have a great 2010.

Richard

As a past student of Ethics (U of Central Florida) I am inclined to refer to G.E. Moore’s ‘Principia Ethica’ a book he published in 1903 which re-defined the modern “age of reason” of moral philosophy and conceptual analysis. The title page offers this simple quote: “Everything is what it is, and not another thing” Bishop Butler.
While there is an argument as to your intent which could be called “good”, looking deeper into it the benefit seems heavily tilted in your favor. ‘Egoism’ says that one pursues ‘his/her own interest’. Even if the Egoist claims his own resulting happiness is not merely the ultimate rational end for himself but a part of a ‘Universal Good’ it is very difficult to sustain this argument under philosophical scrutiny. There may be a (likely) legal argument that such an action constitutes theft of goods and service.

Just a thought.