Civil Law: Ethical Analysis of Scenarios and Locke's Theories

This assignment analyzes three civil law scenarios through an ethical lens, applying the philosophical theories of John Locke to evaluate the moral consequences of actions. The first case examines a mayor accepting gifts from entities with city contracts, exploring the potential for conflicts of interest. The second scenario involves a college instructor who repeats lectures and assignments, and the ethical implications of this action are assessed. Finally, the assignment considers the ethical issues surrounding a couple's decision to have a child despite their instability. The analysis considers the principles of Locke's philosophy, particularly his ideas on ethics, moral judgments, and the pursuit of pleasure and happiness, to determine whether the actions are ethically sound. The assignment provides a comprehensive overview of ethical considerations within the context of civil law.

Running head: CIVIL LAW
CIVIL LAW
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Answer 1
In the first case it can be seen that the Mayor of a large city, who is a civic official, has
been given a free membership in an exclusive golf club owned by people who have received
multiple city contracts. In this case the problem can be said to be a civic official taking goods
that are considered as cash-value from people who have a chance of having business with the
city in the future. Although accepting gifts is ethical as anyone getting a gift would not think
twice before receiving any gift from anyone, however in this situation for the Mayor of a large
city to be accepting gifts from an organization which has not yet done business with the city but
has a chance of conducting business with the city in future can create controversies. The act of
receiving the gifts can be seen to be having moral consequence that would be resulting in
quantitative good for the official. In theory the gift givers can be seen to be benefitted because
they would have a high chance of receiving contracts that could potentially be profitable. In the
theories mentioned by Locke an explanation has been given for understanding ideas and moral
judgments (Lowe, 2013). According to Locke in his Book III of Essay ethics might be practiced
in a similar way as mathematics (Locke, 2015). As per the words of Locke morality can be seen
to be capable of being demonstrated like mathematics as precise real essence of the thing on
which the moral words can be seen to be known perfectly (Broad, 2014). The fact that the moral
issue discussions can be seen to be vague and obscure is just negligence in one’s part.
Answer 2
In the second scenario it is seen that a college instructor is pursuing her doctorate in the
night school and she has been giving same lectures, assignments and examinations every

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semester without improving them. This can be seen against the ethical values of a instructor. She
has the moral value to teach the students new things. Instead she is seen to be not taking the
slightest effort for improving her teaching. However she is doing so for the pursuit of gaining
extra time for her studies. This can be seen as a greater good and hence can be outweighing the
moral and ethical dilemma (West, 2013). The theory that if conducted in a rational way the
pursuit of pleasure and happiness could be leading to cooperation. It could in the long run even
be leading towards personal happiness and coincide with general welfare. An important necessity
of immediate pleasure is that it should be giving way to prudent regard for the ultimate good
which includes rewards in the future. Therefore it could be said that the college instructor’s
actions would have been approved by Locke. It can be concluded that the actions of the
instructor could represent greater good because the college instructor could be seen to be trying
to do something good for herself by pursuing a higher degree (Mill, 2016). The college instructor
cannot be considered to be a lazy person who simply did not want to put any effort, she just did
not have any time for doing her job and that could be understood. The action would be beneficial
towards thee college instructor as she would both be working and simultaneously gaining a
doctorate degree. It can be said her action is not completely against ethics as repeating the same
lectures and assignments would not harm the students much.
Answer 3
In the current scenario the problem is between husband and wife, Todd and Edna, who
had been married since last three years. Edna can be seen to be having a drinking problem and
Todd has a problem with keeping a job. To stop their constant bickering they decide to have a
child. This can be seen as ethically wrong as both Edna and Todd are neither emotionally nor

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economically stable (Ashcraft, 2013). Bringing a child into their unstable life could be seen to be
ethically and morally wrong as the child would be growing up in a toxic environment and would
have a high chance of becoming emotionally unstable as well. As per Locke’s theory every
human being has certain essential rights that can be open to interpretation for their contents.
However there is a grey area present where an essential right and a want or a desire can be seen
to be overlapping. The current scenario can be seen to be falling to the grey zone as Todd and
Edna’s thought that a child is necessary for their stability can somehow be seen to be mixing
with the desire of having a child.

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Reference
Ashcraft, R. (2013). Locke's two treatises of government. Routledge.
Broad, C. D. (2014). Ethics and the history of philosophy: selected essays. Routledge.
Locke, J. (2015). An essay concerning human understanding(Vol. 1668). London.
Lowe, E. J. (2013). The Routledge Guidebook to Locke's Essay Concerning Human
Understanding. Routledge.
Mill, J. S. (2016). Utilitarianism. In Seven masterpieces of philosophy (pp. 337-383). Routledge.
West, H. R. (2013). Utilitarianism. International Encyclopedia of Ethics.