I had an interesting question posed to me today, and I 'd like to hear how you would have answered:

Are there times when you have to break a rule or violate a policy in order to ethically or morally "do the right thing?"

And, would you? Would you break the rules to do what is morally right if confronted with that?

'the right thing' is subjective...what's right for me may not be right for another and what's right for another may not be right for me

i break rules, always have, always will
just for the hell of it, rules are meant to be broken...

If I truly believe the "rules" are wrong, I will do the right thing. If it is something I believe in, no matter what, then I will do what I think is the right thing!

Ditto, could not have said it any better.....All I can say is it will not be the first times rules have been either broken or bent and will not be the last time....

i try to break the rules here..but you send me moderator emails when i do...

Germans who hid Jews in their basements from the Nazis were breaking the laws. So, yes, there are times when it's morally wrong to follow the rules.

I do EVERYTHING right

I do it....Goof's way.

yes the "right thing" can definitely be subjective

afterall to some people the "right thing" could be to always follow the rules regardless

but I think there are times when a result, an outcome - the greater good, have you, is more important than a policy or a rule being adhered to

even tho what the "right thing" or " the greater good" is may be subjective - situation dependent

Absolutely!

I'm a firm believer in Moral Objectivism. Basically that means that "certain acts are objectively right or wrong, independent of human opinion." Because sins (read "a moral wrong") can be committed by commission or omission, moral questions arise where all possible courses of action are considered morally wrong. So you have to measure or weight the wrongs and come to a decision that results in the least of the two sins. For instance: You might have to lie to protect someone from physical harm.

I agree - couldn't have said it better Ruth

funny how most people say they will break rules.
of course that's the "right" answer.
but place some authority figure in front of them,
and bam.
they're followers.
you're all simple humans.
rare is the case when someone won't obey.

when you can....that's a rare privlege I cling to in those far too infrequent moments where I am truly free

Simple, the right thing to do is to follow policy/rules, unless they are conflicting to the law of God, in which case, you would obey the law of God.

really???
i obey my intuition..that's it!

Me too!

look up the milgram experiment.

interesting are you a philospher? Yes, how many people say they NEVER lie?

Well gosh darnit, if lying protects me from harm, I hope you will - that may be an extreme example - like during an act of war - but I think it illustrates the point well

Yes, under certain circumstances I'd break the rules if I thought they were morally wrong. It's not your morals or anyone elses. It's what I believe is right.

is there a difference between publically and privately acting against the rules to choose a moral stance? I mean some people may publically obey out of self presrvation