815 Discussion discussion

Discuss your reaction to the following ethical question:

“If a man steals bread to feed his starving family, is he wrong?”

Make sure that your response contains at least TWO DETAILS to support your opinion.

I do not think that the man is wrong, but in other peoples eyes, it might be wrong. Because in the court of law, this man is stealing, but he is just stealing one piece of bread. Its not as if hes stealing 30 pieces of bread and its for a good cause too. This man is just trying to save his family from starvation and he isn't even killing anyone in the process. Plus, I'm sure other people would do the same if they where in that situation. Then, if the man did steal just one piece of bread, I'm sure it didn't harm the man he stole from's business, so in reality no one got hurt. Therefor I think the answer to this question is no, he is not wrong.

I don't think the man is wrong. I don't think the man is wrong because he was not doing it for himself and it may look as if he was wrong but he is not thinking of himself he is thinking of his family. Also, if you put yourself in the situation you would do exactly the same thing. I technically think this man is a hero because he put his family before himself. Also, I would say the man is caring because he went to any means to support his family and provide them before he even thought of himself. I think the man is not wrong because he was in a time of need and if anyone was in that position they would have done the same thing.

"If a man steals bread to feed his family,is it wrong?" I think that what the man did was wrong because after all he did steal from someone else without their permission. For example the person that the man stole from probably had to feed their own amily and now they can't because you stole it. This showed that althought the man had good intentions for stealing the bread it doesn't change the fact that he did commit a crime that not only affected his family but the victim's family now as well. Another example is when someone steals money from a grocery store so that they can pay the bills and not get kicked out of their home. This example shows that although the person who committed the crime had good intenitions on helping their family, it doesn't change the fact that they stole money to do it in the first place.

I think if a man steals bread to feed his starving family it is not wrong because he is still stealing for a good reason and is trying to help out his family, and to make sure they do not starve. For example, if someone steals something because there parent won't buy it for them that is very wrong but the man was stealing because he has no money and his family was starving so I think it is a different reason to steal. Another reason why I think it is okay for the man to steal the bread because instead of letting his family die of starvation he did something about, and it was his only way of getting food.

I do not think if a man is stealing bread to feed his starving family is wrong because he is doing it for his family. The man is trying to support his family so this is a way to try and do it. Also, the man is not doing anything to the people who have the bread hes just trying to help his family out so it is not that bad. He is he being good to his family but he should too try more ways to getting the bread. The man did not do a wrong thing by stealing the bread to feed his starving family.

If a man steals bread to feed his starving family, he is wrong. For example, although the man was attempting to feed his starving family, the man was clearly committing an illegal crime. Like Lydia said, if the bread was/represented a great amount of money and this man stole it, he would clearly be wronged for it; why not the same with this case? This shows that the man was wrong in stealing the bread because no matter how poor he is and no matter how starved his family (and himself) may be, he does not have the right to steal something or commit a crime, just like any other citizen. Another example that this man was wrong in stealing the bread is because if the emphasis was on the fact that he stole something instead of the fact that he was attempting to feed his starving family, everyone would see it as a crime. This shows that the man was wrong in stealing the bread because from one's perspective, there is an emphasis on the fact that he stole something, not the fact that he is trying to feed his starving family. There are multiple families experiencing the same thing. If this case of stealing is okay, then the world will basically be saying that it is okay for poor people to steal. However, this is not the case. Therefore, if a man steals bread to feed his starving family, he is wrong.

I think the man is wrong for stealing the bread. I'm sure people can think that it is just food and everybody has the right to have some food and that is true, however, think about the bread you stole. The person worked really hard to buy it since obviously bread costs money and you didn't pay for it. Would it be fair to take something that you didn't work for? Another thing is that stealing is stealing. It doesn't matter if you are hungry, it makes it right to go somewhere and steal something? You also have to think about your morals. You don't want to make that excuse that you are hungry and it makes it right for you to steal. If you know something is bad then don't justify it, a wrong is a wrong, a wrong doesn't make a right.

If a man steals bread to feed his starving family, he should do it. For example, the man is trying to help and save his family from starvation. The man had the right to steal the food. Another example, is that the man isn't stealing the food just for fun. He is trying to survive his whole family. He doesn't want the family to die. Therefore, the man isn't wrong for stealing bread just to feed his starving family.

Yes I believe the man is still wrong.But two points I want to make is that one I dont think the man should be prosecuted because the evil act was done out of good. He should instead be guided to something that can help him like welfare or something. It is also up to the judge and store owner if the man is to be arrested and put in prison

I do not think that if a man steals bread for his starving family then he is wrong. The man is trying to do something that is necessary for him and his family's well-being and survival. He may be doing something that is considered wrong by stealing but he is also doing something kind by risking getting arrested for the wellness of his family. We all take risks for our families, whether it be skipping a prior obligation in order to help out your family or doing something that society dubs as wrong or illegal for the benefit of our families. If I were in the situation of the man, where my family is starving and we have no money to buy food, I would totally steal the bread (and some other stuff) so they could be well. Overall, I think the man is right by stealing the bread for his starving family.

No i do not think he is wrong because the Man is doing it for the love of his family. And if his family is actually starving and they had no money i would do the same. It was very kind of him to risk getting in trouble to feed his family who might starve to death. The man made a decision to start a family and he needs to keep them fed so he must do anything to keep his family from starving. So i think that it is totally ok for the man to steal food because it is for a kind loving purpose.

I don't believe that what the man did is necessarily wrong because it was forced upon himself to provide for himself and his family so it is not really wrong. I believe that the reasons for doing something wrong is really what determines to what you really did was wrong or not.For example, if someone kills another man for self-defence then it is not necessarily wrong because it was for his own safety and so the meaning of doing something is a big part of whether it is truely right or wrong. I do also belive that the man should however have taken a different approach in getting bread because he can still be punished and my mom would always say"Don't do good things that seem bad" and so I think he should have not stolen it but nevertheless he was right for the reason as to why he would take the brread

I think that this would be fine to do. I mean if he gets caught stealing I don't think he should run but I don't think he should be taken in either. Maybe it would be wrong if he robbed the place but I think if he just shoplifted it it would be fine. I mean you also have a soup kitchen, so maybe he could go there first. But if that didn't supply anything good then I think that he could steal some bread. If a store manager loses 2 loafs of bread, he's not going to die, whereas the man with the bread really needs it because if he doesn't get it his family could die. If he asked the store owner the store owner would probably say no because he probably thinks that the homeless man is just a bum

I don't think that if a guy steals bread for his family that he is considered bad because, he isn't hurting anyone, and he isn't doing any damage. For example, it's not like he killed someone for the bread, he just took it because his family is poor and is starving. This shows that he is not a "monster", or considered bad.

“If a man steals bread to feed his starving family, is he wrong?” I don't think what the man did was wrong because he did it to feed his family which is more important. He decided that it was worth the risk, plus it's either his family or the family he's stealing from and ten out of ten times I would pick my family. Who wouldn't? The guy with the bread stolen probably doesn't need the bread anyway.

I do think he is wrong for stealing bread to feed his starving family because he will be committing a crime by stealing bread. If he commits the crime he could suffer consequences and go to jail beacause he did not pay any money for it and then his family would definitely starve and probably end up dying. Instead of committing the crime he can do the ethical thing by going to these places such as a church,clinics or hospitals where a social worker can guide him to get free food. If that man really wanted that piece of bread he could also have begged people for money on the trains and streets and hopefully some people would have empathy and give him some money to buy some bread so the man will be able to go home and feed his family.

It depends on multiple things. Who is this man who is poor? Why is he poor? Who is the man he is stealing from? Is he rich? Would that man who is being stole from, do the same in the hungry mans position? After knowing the answers for all these questions I feel like you can fairly state an answer but for right now it depends. I don't mean to bring religion in this discuss but in the jewish faith, in the torah, it says thou shall not steal. From that perspective, the stealing man would be wrong but if his family's life deepened on that loaf of bread, I feel like that would be an exception. So my final answer is that I beleive the man is a very caring man to risk getting caught but stealing from another person is wrong. So my absolute final answer is the man was right to steal the loaf because his family's lives might be at stake plus he is not stealing for kicks, he is stealing for the survival of his family. The man is not wrong.

“If a man steals bread to feed his starving family, is he wrong?” I think that it's different in each persons eyes. To the person who he steals the bread from, he's probably wrong TO THAT PERSON. But to his starving family, he's not wrong. He's saving them. In my opinion, the man isn't wrong. It's more important to save your whole family than to steal something that probably costs less than 5 dollars. But that's not really the issue. This is kind of a metaphor for perspective. In my opinion, the man isn't wrong. But there are definitely arguments for how he is wrong. It really depends on who you are and how the situation looks in your eyes. Society says that stealing is wrong, so that's what makes this so difficult. Is he wrong for disobeying society and breaking the law, or is he right for saving his whole family? I think he was right, but it honestly depends on who is looking at the situation.

"if a man steals bread to feed his starving family, is he wrong?" I feel he is wrong to steal but it was the right to do. He has to provide for his family but stealing is not a good thing. If he steals his family will have food to survive but a working person works hard to get money to buy that bread. Also the man can find a job to buy the bread instead of having to steal it. If the man gets caught stealing his family is going to suffer even worse because there would be no provider for the family but then again the family can get public assistance if they qualify . So i can conclude that it is wrong to steal that bread but he has to do what he has to do so he can provide for his family.

It is very difficult to answer the question, “If a man steals bread to feed his starving family, is he wrong?” without more information. Stealing is taking somebody else’s property without their permission. This is wrong. Sometimes, there is a very good reason for doing something wrong, but most times there is not. For example, pushing somebody is wrong, but if you push somebody out of the way of a truck that would hit him or her because that is the only thing you can do in a tiny amount of time, then the pushing is not wrong.

The example with the bread needs more facts. For example, if a man steals bread to feed his starving family in New York, he is wrong. There are a lot of places that people who have nothing can go to get fed. There are soup kitchens and churches and synagogues. There are organizations like “Share Our Strength” that help to feed the poor. Even begging for food is more honest than stealing. A person who doesn’t know where to start could go to a police person or police station to begin to help him or her. But maybe if you are very poor and maybe if you have done something wrong, you would be afraid to ask for the police for help. You might steal to help your family. That wouldn’t be right, but we could understand what happened. What if you were stealing from another poor person who only had enough food for his own family? Stealing can hurt the person or family or business you steal from. But maybe there are some times where stealing is still wrong, but is less wrong than in New York. For example, if you were in a war zone and you could be under attack just for being known, and your family was starving, then I can understand why you would have to steal to help your family to have food. Also, if you are suddenly poor, like if you are in a war area and your house blows up and you have nothing, then you couldn’t really plan ahead for you and your family, so stealing to stay alive would be understandable.