1. Discuss the following case in terms of virtue, non-malfeasance, and honesty. Can you identify examples of each (or their opposites) in the case study as written? Where and by whom? Explain your answers. Please do not get emotionally or personally involved with "finger pointing." Stay focused on virtue, non-malfeasance, and honesty.

The sister is acting non malfeasance because she knows that her brother is hiding the truth from a person he loves. She knows that if he really loved her, looked at her as someone he wants to marry and be with forever then he wouldn’t lie to her. She knows that he should be honest with himself and allow his girlfriend to make the call on if she wants to stay with him or not. His dishonestly isn’t fair to her. She also knows that if she exposes her brother then he will feel betrayed and hurt. She is basically caught between a rock and a hard place, her loyalty is torn between her brother and someone she calls a friend.

The brother and sister would be classified as virtue, but I believe the brother more due to the fact that he has to struggle between what’s the moral thing to do. He knows he’s a good person but at the same time lying and deceiving is bad and can jeopardize his relationship with his girlfriend. If he loved her deeply like he said he would be honest with her and except her decision.

2. How should each person in the case (brother and sister) handle his or her situation moving forward? Explain how non-malfeasance and virtue come into play. For example, what should the sister do and why? The brother? The girlfriend? In your answer, discuss the concepts of “no harm” and “honesty.”

I believe that the sister should be honest and tell the friend about what her brother is hiding. At the end of the day her brother should know that she told because she cares for the both of them. He brother will be looked at as a liar who put someone’s health at risk. She should use honesty, because that way she won’t feel conflicted and if they both know their status then they will be find ways to be responsible with the virus that he has.

As for the brother, I feel that he should be honest as well. I believe that when you are open to the person you are with it gives them the choice to stay or leave. It’s only when you don’t give them that option that they are angrier and less responsive to carrying on the relationship. With him choosing to be honest it will lift a burden from him and at the end of the day they can still carry on a friendship. Him thinking that no harm is done by keeping it a secret will result in the possibility of his girlfriend having to live with an infectious disease and he sister knowing that if she told then her friend wouldn’t have to live with having genital herpes.

The girlfriend should hear her boyfriend out and make her decision from there. She should have total understanding of his situation and make the best decision for herself first and foremost. She should be critical in the information that he shares with her and if it is valid enough that should make her like him more just for being honest and caring about her life.

3. In your opinion, can virtues or moral values conflict with each other? Do non-malfeasance and honesty conflict? Whether you answer yes or no, explain your answer.

I believe that non malfeasance and honesty does create a conflict because on one hand you don’t want to do harm to anyone but your integrity conflicts with that because you know what the right thing to do is. In the sisters case she knows that she has loyalty to her brother but his girlfriend is also a friend of her. She probably wishes she could stay out of it, but she knows that hiding it can cause a bigger problem than being quiet and having her trust lost with her friend.

4. How can the concepts of “excellence” and the “golden mean” be applied to this case? What might it look like for each person in the case to act according to the golden mean? In your answer, discuss the relationship between excellence and the golden mean.

The sister could use the golden mean concept because she is exhibiting virtue and being in conflict with her morals. She wants to play the fence because of the information that she knows can be harm for all parties involved in some way or another. If everything was all out on the table then the brother, girlfriend and sister would work in an operational excellence, that way they can problem solve this situation and come up with the best option for all parties to move forward in a positive direction

5. Considering your answers in questions 1 - 4 above, consider how the “new development” might change your answers. What should the sister do now?

With the new development, I believe that the sister should still tell her friend because what if her brother doesn’t tell even if they do get serious. She shouldn’t let her brother convince her that he is going to admit that he has genital herpes when he hasn’t told now. The fact that she knew will eventually come out one day. And it will make her look untrustworthy. The sister should use honesty because people’s lives are at a major risk. Her brother should understand that she’s not doing it to hurt him but to save himself from living a lie and understanding that not hiding it will help him and his future relationships. She also should reinforce the fact that it means he cares about his girlfriend’s well-being and she’ll values his trust.