"A father was summoned by his boss to report to the office today. However, he was told by his wife that their eldest child was sick. Should he report to his boss? What moral obligations does the father hold?"
They weren't the exact words used. But that was the idea of it.
Step 1 [Understanding the case]
The father knew that he needed to go to the office because his boss ordered him to do so. He had not reported to his boss yet when he was told by his wife that their eldest child was sick. He may not have left their home yet, or he may have already been on his way to the office when he was told about his child.
Their child was described as the eldest. We know then that he had other children, otherwise, the child should have been described as the "only" child.
The severity of the child's sickness was not mentioned. He may be on the brink of death or not yet. We also are unsure of the father's fate if ever he decides to disobey his boss. Will he be fired or will he be allowed to return work after disregarding his duties?
Step 2 [Analyzing the case]
>> bear with me, i am not so used to doing this
According to Kant, moral obligation is universal and excuses no one. We are required to do the right thing. In every situation, there is a right thing to do and a wrong thing not to do, or there is a right thing to do and another more righteous thing to do. In the given situation, we really do not have a clear background that allows us to judge the weight of the father's responsibility - to his job and to his child. Is his role in his office so important that he should leave his child, or is his child's condition so bad that he should not report to the office?
Therefore, we make assumptions. [this is based on what usually occurs in everyday situations]
1. the child is not dying. He/she may suffer from fever, nothing so grave.
2. the wife could take care of the child and nurse him/her.
3. there is some serious consequence the father will have to face if ever he chooses to disobey his boss. otherwise, he may just choose to accompany his child, and not to report to work without worrying about an angry boss or an unresolved office duty.
4. Let's assume that the child is a boy. So we could do away with the he/she, him/her, etc.. :)
Thus, posing these assumptions, it is clear for me that the father should report to his boss. Why?
1. He has an obligation to his office and he has an obligation to his child. Presenting to work even if he knows his child is sick does not make him less of a father. If his child is old enough to understand that his father is not there when he was sick and the child feels bad about it, then the father has a fault even before his child became sick. He did not make it clear enough, in the days he was with his child, that he loved him. The child may have doubted his father's love because it was never shown to him or the child never felt it. Otherwise, the child, no matter how young his mind is, would understand faith. And he would have faith in his father, who even though is not physically present, mourns with him in his sickness. If his child is still so young and innocent, then it wouldn't very much matter if his father would not be around just this time. Because based on our assumptions, his wife is capable of taking care of the child.
2. Before entering any job, one is aware of the things/people he needs to sacrifice to do the job. For example, if you are a married man with children and you entered the army, you know that you will be away from your family as long as the war is on. You may have heard that your wife already died or one of your children has cancer, but you cannot leave your job. You should have looked forward to situations like this before you entered the job. If you are, however, a married man with children, and you entered any normal job. One is actually free to excuse himself from duty whenever there is an emergency. In our situation, however, his child's sickness is not severe and it is definitely not an emergency. Thus, the father cannot be excused from going to work. Cases like these have been thought upon by lawmakers and it has been applied now in lots of employment.
3. Any father, who genuinely loves his child, would definitely feel bad about not being able to be by his child's side in times of his child's sickness. It's not as if leaving his child is a decision that he has not thought over. A father has sacrifices to make. Sometimes, this includes being away from his family .However, there has to be a balance between work and family bonding. After all, fathers, including mothers, work for their family, so they also have to spend time with their family, especially in bad times.
Step 3 [Conclusion]
If i were the father, i would still report to my boss. i love my child more than my boss, but i have responsibilities at work, and sometimes father and son needs to be apart. i will still be checking up on my wife to know how my son is doing.. Son, you'll always be in my heart.. and keep in mind that you should avoid being sick again!
SO... that's all folks! :D that's my analysis of the case!
Quite lame, but that's the best i could come up to.
And seriously, i'm serious! Hahahaha! :D
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