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00:00Say what?
00:09Dear Robot Ethicist,
00:11Mr. Anderson pays me $6 an hour to mow his lawn.
00:16It usually takes me two hours, but last week I got it done 30 minutes faster.
00:21He already paid me in advance.
00:22Is it ethical for me to keep the money?
00:25From Amber.
00:27Amber, the paper's new ethics columnist?
00:31Okay, let's see your response.
00:36Dear Amber,
00:37Ethical shmethical, just live in the moment.
00:41Best, Moby.
00:44Do you even know what ethics is?
00:47Alright, how should I begin?
00:50If you've ever watched a nature video, you may have noticed that animals pretty much
00:54follow their urges.
00:56They do whatever it takes to survive.
00:59They're not so concerned about other creatures, unless it'll help them.
01:03People are part of the animal kingdom, too.
01:05And we definitely have selfish urges.
01:09We want stuff for ourselves, whether it's food and money, or more complex things like
01:13love and popularity.
01:15But the difference is, we consider how our actions might affect others.
01:21Can you imagine what would happen if everyone acted on all their desires, all the time?
01:29Yep, total breakdown in society.
01:32Fortunately, we've evolved a sense of morality, or right and wrong.
01:36This sense guides us to believe in certain values, lying is wrong, kindness is good,
01:41that sort of thing.
01:42Values, in turn, help us make ethical decisions, choices that we feel good about.
01:48So you can think of ethics as a set of guidelines for behaving morally.
01:53Well, let's take this first letter of yours.
01:57If you take $12 for mowing the lawn in 90 minutes, your wage will be $8 an hour.
02:03That's deceptive, because you agreed to work for $6 an hour.
02:07And lying is morally wrong.
02:10Why?
02:11Well, our inner moral sense tells us it is.
02:14That's why so many ethical systems forbid it.
02:17Most religions and philosophies frown on dishonesty.
02:21And our legal codes prohibit certain kinds of lying, too.
02:24It's a crime to make false statements to the police or in a court of law.
02:28And if you're in business, it's illegal to make false claims to the public.
02:34It might help Amber to imagine herself in Mr. Anderson's shoes.
02:39No one likes being lied to.
02:41Mr. Anderson might not trust her to mow his lawn again if he finds out.
02:45Amber should admit that it only took 90 minutes to mow the lawn, and offer to give $3 back.
02:50She might lose a couple bucks, but her reputation is more important than money.
02:55Anyway, that was an easy one. What else have you got?
03:02Yesterday, I caught my friend Steve cheating off my test.
03:05He's never done it before, and he begged me to keep it secret.
03:09If his parents find out, he'll be grounded for weeks. What should I do?
03:13From Anthony.
03:15Hmm. This one's a bit trickier.
03:18We know that cheating is wrong, and every school has rules against it.
03:23On the other hand, friendship carries its own ethical obligations.
03:27Friends should be loyal and try to help each other out.
03:30By telling your teacher, you'd be betraying Steve.
03:35Yep, it looks like we've got an ethical dilemma.
03:38A situation with no clear-cut right answer.
03:41It may seem silly, but making a list of arguments for each action can be super helpful.
03:46The school code prohibits cheating, and you can get in trouble if your teacher finds out.
03:50But your friend will fail the test, and get grounded if you say something.
03:54Still, friendship cuts both ways. It wasn't fair for Steve to put you in this position.
03:59Hmm. There are definitely more reasons to speak up than stay quiet.
04:05Unfortunately, there is no formula for acting ethically.
04:08You have to judge by the individual situation.
04:11Ask yourself, what solution is fairest to all the people involved?
04:16Maybe you and Steve could go to your teacher together and tell her about the situation.
04:20Steve could ask for a makeup test, or promise to do extra credit to keep his grades up.
04:25That way, he won't get away with cheating, and you won't betray his trust.
04:31Nope, I was happy to help, but it wouldn't be ethical for me to answer all your letters.
04:35You're going to have to rely on your own moral compass for the rest of these.
04:47This explains so many things.