E49. "Take-em!" - When is a request from a loved one emotional manipulation?

Philosophy | Ethics Short Story Discussions

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STORY SUMMARY: The narrator is invited by his father to go duck hunting as part of their bonding time. The narrator wants to spend time with his father, but expresses ethical concerns about hunting ducks. The father asserts hunting is a natural part of human evolution. The debate continues as the narrator decides to go on the hunt, but is undecided if he will pull the trigger. The story ends with father and son in the blind just at the moment before the narrator must decide if he is going to pull the trigger.

DISCUSSION: This isn’t really a story about sport killing or not, at least to us. The really interesting part of the story is about how family, and those emotional ties, and those we need to be loved by and respect, might cause us to do things that we find personally morally objectionable. Here, the father gives the son several chances to not participate in the duck hunt, but it’s clear he will be disappointed, and that it might limit their future ability to have father/son time. This sort of unintentional (or intentional) manipulation happens not just with family members, but those in authority, or those who we respect and want approval from.

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