A dilemma: Frank about franc?

I've been leafing through Randy Cohen's "The Good, The Bad & The Difference" which is a collection of responses and dilemmas from readers of The Ethicist column in The New York Times Magazine.

I thought it might be fun to share a dilemma from the book here:



So... What do you think?

Sel
(:

Selaras,
thank you for mention of a source for ethical dilemmas and responses.

Now, for my two cents... why view yourself as "victim"? And if you are a victim, why would you want to victimize someone else (i.e., stop the pattern at you)? If it bothers you enough about getting the incorrect amount of change due to foreign coins being involved, then perhaps taking it back to where you got it is OK...

But why not just set aside such a coin, starting a collection of foreign coins? I personally have gotten Canadian coins instead of American from time to time, and viewed it just as an opportunity to gather something from somewhere else without the travel required.

While one vending machine may eat some extra change on the way to getting the food or drink you desire, in your future, some other machine will give back too much change for another item. In the process of living Life, your change levels will balance out, so why worry?

Sorcs

Heh, sounds like a healthy way to approach life... Lemons and lemonade?

My reaction would be that it should be fine to bring it back to where you got it, and get the correct amount from the restaurant instead. That poses a practical problem with ethics though. If Larry explains the situation outright, he'll probably be seen as someone trying to pawn off worthless money. I doubt an employee would just hand him the money from the till for asking nicely, so an honest and forthright approach would be likely to fail. If Larry doesn't say anything and just tries to pay with the franc, isn't that dishonest of him?

Is ignorance more blissful because it's more ethical? Is that an unrelated question?



Sel

It seems to me that this one presents a false dilemma. That is, the writer suggests two options--return the coin for a replacement or pass it along to someone else. Those are not, however, the only two options.

It seems to me that the receiver of the franc had an obligation to check his change at that time. Once he has gotten home and realizes that he was given a franc instead of a quarter, I'm not sure he should expect to get a replacement from the business (it would be "above and beyond" for them to do so). Yet it certainly does not seem appropriate for him to just pass it along to someone else. At this point--since he allowed himself to leave the shop with the wrong change--he brought this on himself, and the moral thing to do is to accept that, first and foremost.

If the money is an issue, he should visit a currency exchange (which can be accomplished through most banks). But I don't see him complaining to the business at this point, and I certainly don't see him pawning it off on someone else. Accept the mistake, count your change in the future, and get it converted to American currency appropriately.

If the franc is passed along by the current owner, when he knows that it is not correct, then it is the old two wrongs don't make a right.
If the money is that important--bring the coin back to the restaurant, otherwise, suck it up.

I would love to get a france, er Euro, in my change in the states. It would be a reminder of my lovely vacations in Europe.