The concept of moral luck states or asks if one should be
accountable for their actions due to things beyond ones control. If the attempt
of an action is for the right reasons or not, can the fail or success be given
credit to that person or is it due to “lucky” or ”un-lucky” circumstances? For
example, one day in high school I decided to skip class. I told a couple
friends what I was doing and they decided to do it too. We were all spending
time together when one of my friends got a call from her mother asking where
she was. The school had somehow found out she was skipping. As a result my
friend got in-school suspension for a day. Now, that could have been me but for
reasons and circumstances not under my control I was not caught. I was very lucky.
I think
moral luck is not an ethical problem. Although sometimes it can be unfair it is
just out of our control. Society has also come to terms with it and most people
know what the rules are so there really shouldn’t be confusion by the
consequences. If two different people decide to drive under the influence of
drugs or alcohol they are knowingly taking a risk. They know it is possible
they could hurt someone (or they think that would never happen to them), but
either way they both know the risks and consequences involved. One driver gets
pulled over for blowing a couple stop signs and gets charged with a DUI. That
driver probably gets their license revoked and has to go to classes and such. The
other driver was not as lucky and ends up killing someone. That person gets
charged and sent to prison for their crime. The second driver although making
the conscious decision to drive under the influence, had the unfortunate luck
to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have been the other
driver, but they were “lucky” and no one got hurt. You cant blame the first
driver for something he or she didn’t do not matter of how much the possibility
of an outcome would be. The second driver committed actions unintended but
mostly out of their control. Even though it could have happened to the first
driver it would be un just to blame them for something they didn’t do.
Laura, I liked your example that you put here about your real life because sometimes life is the luck of the draw and for circumstances that we can't explain we do or don't get caught. I also liked your examples that you put at the end of post.
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