单选题
Right and Wrong
Suppose you work in a library, checking people's books as they leave, and a friend asks you to let him steal a hard-to-find reference book that he wants to own.
You might hesitate to agree for various reasons. You might be afraid that he'll be caught, and that both you and he will then get into trouble. You might want the book to stay in the library so that you can read it yourself.
But you may also think that what he proposes is wrong--that he shouldn't do it and you shouldn't help him. If you think that, what does it mean and what, if anything, makes it true?
To say it's wrong is not just to say it's against the rules. There can be bad rules which stop what isn't wrong--like a company rule against criticizing the boss. A rule can also be bad because it requires something that is wrong--like a law that looks down upon black people in hotels and restaurants. The ideas of wrong and right are different from the ideas of what is and is not against the rules.
If you think it would be wrong to help your friend steal the book, then you will feel uncomfortable about doing it: in some way you won't want to do it, even if you are also unwilling to refuse to help a friend. Where does the desire not to do it come from? What is its motive behind it?
There are various ways in which something can be wrong, but in this case, if you had to explain it, you'd probably say that it would be unfair to other users of the library. They may be just as interested in the book as your friend is, but read it in the reference room, where anyone who needs it can fred it.
These thoughts have to deal with effects on others--not necessarily effects on their feelings, since they may never find out about it, but some kind of damage. In general, the thought that something is wrong depends on its impact not just on the person who does it but on other people.