Choice and coercion

[eirias]

It's ethics time!

It's a familiar story: You're a teller at a bank and a guy comes in with a loaded gun and says, "Give me all your money or else I'll shoot." Ostensibly, he's offering you a choice between cooperation and death. However, ethically, most people do not consider this to be a real choice. Because the alternative is so noxious, it's said, it is not actually an alternative; this situation counts as forcing a person to do something against his will.

What I'm wondering is, how noxious does the "or else" have to be for the above to hold? Does it have to be lethal, or even physical? What is the line between choice and coercion?

Comments

[darlox.livejournal.com]

That's painfully subjective. There are people (probably reading this right now) that would have the same coercion reaction to the option "Give me all your money, or else I'll kill this baby bunny." On the other hand, if that baby bunny was the one eating all the vegetables in my garden lately, I would smile and wave.

Courtrooms are chock-full of cases where people pull "involuntary compulsion" out of their arse as either a defense or a complaint. I'd argue it's about 50/50 where that scenario is reasonable, vs. when it's completely disingenuous, albeit convenient, lie. Is it sexual harassment - arguably a form of coercion - if I tell a female employee "aw, come out and party with us tonight, or else everyone's going to think you're lame on Monday" ?? Bet the knee-jerk reactions to that question are equally 50/50 split.

[eirias.livejournal.com]

Umm, I don't see anything inherently sexual about partying. "Come out and screw a few of the guys tonight, or else, etc etc" = now you're talking sexual harassment.

[darlox.livejournal.com]

I agree. But, there was just a case virtually identical to that where the woman claimed she was "made to feel like less of a person", and "felt like her job was in jeopardy if she didn't socialize with the group outside of business hours." (The woman lost...)