A:Archie just heard the news that his mother has cancer, and it is very likely terminal, although she will live for a number of months still. His mother told him this, and asked him to spread the news to the rest of the family, since she will be in the hospital for tests and will not have time to talk to or visit with anyone for a few days. Today happens to be Archie’s sister’s 30th birthday, and she intends to spend the day with her family at her favorite resort. She has been looking forward to this for a long time, and Archie will certainly ruin her day if he tells her the news. Should Archie wait a day to tell her the news, or should he call her and tell her now?
B:When Betty was going off to college, she promised her mother that she would go to church every Sunday. This was in return for Betty’s mother helping to pay her tuition. Betty has never been religious, and going to church hasn’t changed that, but she usually goes because she made the promise. Recently she started to skip church on Sundays to study for her classes. When she talks to her mom, should she tell the truth, or lie and say that she was at church as usual?
C:Charlotte and her friend Dave are both enrolled in the same Philosophy class, and they just submitted their first essay assignment. After turning it in, Dave confided in Charlotte that he had downloaded the essay from Imabigcheater.com. Before telling her, Dave swore her to secrecy. Charlotte is a decent student, who works hard and usually gets B’s. Dave is a bad student, but Charlotte knows that he regularly cheats, and often does well in his classes because of this. She has tried to dissuade him from cheating in the past, and knows it doesn’t work. So now the only option is telling her professor, either anonymously, or in person. Should she do so, even though she promised that she wouldn’t?