18th Annual Student Research Conference
Interdisciplinary
Ethical Decision Making: A Case Study from the Novel Run Silent, Run Deep
Sara J. Bear
Dr. James A. Padfield, Faculty Mentor
Edward Beach's 1983 novel, Run Silent, Run Deep, is set in the American submarine warfare community of World War II, and is considered a classic of naval literature. The protagonist, Commander Edward Richardson, is a submarine captain locked in a duel with a Japanese destroyer captain nicknamed "Bungo Pete" by his adversaries, the American submarine crews. For personal and professional reasons, the destruction of Bungo Pete becomes a near-obsession for Richardson, and in the concluding pages of the novel he (Richardson) makes several decisions that may or may not be considered ethical, even by the routine exceptions to standard morality that are normally granted to those engaged in combat operations as a uniformed member of their nation's military. The ethics of Richardson's actions as depicted in the novel are examined using both utilitarian and deontological frameworks.
Keywords: Ethics, Decision Making, Military, Morality, Utilitarian, Deontological
Topic(s):Interdisciplinary
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 19-3
Location: OP 2111
Time: 10:15