Egoism: The Poisoned Baby Formula Dilemma
You are a 3-year employee of a corporation that makes baby formula. One day at work, you notice a memo on your boss desk that says quality control testing has shown a random sampling of formula has been contaminated with a chemical that can cause serious illness or death.
Your boss returns to her office and sees you looking at the memo. You have a friendly relationship with her and so you ask about the contamination. She tells you that everything is under control and you should forget you saw it. When you attempt to question her further, she grows serious and tells you that the entire company could be in jeopardy from multimillion–dollar lawsuits if the information went public. She also insinuates you will be fired with prejudice, making it very difficult for you to find a job in the future if you went forward. This would be a huge hardship as you are the only member of your family who earns an income.
- Using what you know about Ethical Egoism, explain what you would do. Be sure to illustrate a thorough knowledge of Ethical Egoism in your essay, as that will be a significant part of your grade.