Review the details of the case below, “The FBI Looks it Up in the Library” and consult a list
of ethical questions to determine what the librarian should have done. Previous cases
presented in the chapter have hints on how questions may be applied to the case, but here
you are asked to provide your own insights.
Which of these questions from the various ethical theories do you consider most appropriate to the case? You may choose one or as many you think may apply. How would you answer them?
THE FBI LOOKS IT UP IN THE LIBRARY
Two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were investigating a series of art thefts
that, they believed, were committed by amateur art thieves who might have recently acquired
some knowledge of art by checking out books from the local public library. In the process of one
of their thefts, they severely beat an elderly woman and left her comatose. The FBI agents went to
the library to find the names of people who had recently checked out books on art. The agents
entered the library at the start of a holiday weekend, when the director was on vacation. They
asked the reference librarian to provide them information on those who had borrowed art books,
but he refused on the basis of the library’s policy of keeping such information confidential. He
knew that the library director stressed such confidentiality in general, but the director was unable
to be contacted for advice in this case. He suggested that the agents wait until the director
returned from his vacation, but the agents claimed that they needed the information immediately
if there was any chance of finding the criminals. The agents’ emphasis on the brutality of the
crime and their status as agents of the federal government eventually induced the librarian to
provide the information. He later said that, if he had had the time to think about his decision, he
would have decided otherwise. The librarian is the one who made the decision.
Teleology:
• What are the consequences of my action?
• What are the long-term effects of my action?
• Does my action promote the greatest happiness?
Deontology:
• What principle applies in this case?
• Can this principle be applied consistently in this case and in all similar cases?
• Can this principle be considered as a possible universal principle of behavior?
• Which course of action best exemplifies the ideal of treating all people as ends in
themselves?
• Which course of action best exemplifies and most fully promotes the ideal of a society of
free, responsible people whose ends promote each other rather than conflict with each
other?
Intuitionism:
• What does my conscience tell me about this?
• Do I feel good about this action?
Virtue theory:
• What character traits does this action express?
• What effect will this action have on my character?
What effect will this action have on the character of other people?
• Is this the action of a person whose character I would admire?
Note: All questions must be answered and all written assignments are required to be in the current APA format including a title page. Please limit all written assignments to 3 pages if possible without compromising your completion of the assignments. I am looking for quality work with cited support of your responses
