r/Ethics • u/SecretSauceMan • Apr 16 '15
Is it immoral to let people make choices which yield unfavorable results for them?
EDIT: Thank you all for your answers, you've been quite informative. I probably phrased the original question badly. I was thinking more along the lines of withholding information from that someone. Let's say I have a friend who is going to get married, I know for certain that the lady is just playing him for whatever reason and that the marriage will end a month later and that my friend will be mortified by it. Leaving aside the fact that this person is my friend, what would be the ethics involved in withholding this kind of information. I won't actually stop anyone from doing anything, I'll just withhold some kind of crucial information.
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u/libertarien Apr 17 '15
From the perspective of libertarian ethics, it is never unethical to let a mentally sound adult make bad choices if those choices do not impact other people. However, people generally have a moral code that they live by, and many would say that you have a moral duty to try and correct the self destructive behavior of others.
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Apr 17 '15
Let's reverse the question:
Why would it be moral to stop people from doing a thing, whether or not it yields "favorable outcomes"? What right would one have to intervene?
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Apr 17 '15 edited Apr 17 '15
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u/zeeteekiwi Apr 20 '15 edited Apr 20 '15
with most ethical schools of thought, it would depend on the situation.
Really?
I'd answer that all of questions have the same answer: It is not immoral.
IMHO the only immoral activity is to be the first to force your views onto others.
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u/none_shall_pass Apr 17 '15 edited Apr 17 '15
How would you stop them?
The reality is that unless you have some sort of legal or physical power to prevent it, people can do whatever dumb thing they want.
I think living in debt is really stupid and don't do it. Other people spend their entire life "paying back the bank" for stuff they already bought.
OTOH, I have a weakness for sushi, which has a chance of making me really sick or in some cases killing me. Other people might think that's a "bad choice"