Gone baby Gone is a film about deep philosophical arguments when a little girl is kidnapped. Ethical issues arise when Patrick and Angie argue over whether to take on the missing girl’s case. Angie doesn’t want to take the case because she fears finding a child abused or dead. Patrick doesn’t want to find her dead either but since they know people in the neighborhood and have the skills they should. Angie is taking a utilitarian approach of getting the most pleasure and benefit out of the situation by not taking the case. Patrick is taking a Kantian ethical approach. He takes the justified case for the reason that they need to find out the truth, which is the moral thing to do. The truth is, he plays an important role for Patrick in the movie, as people keep lying to him.
When Patrick shoots the pedophile, he acts selfish. He knew that he could get away with it. He was so angry and sick that the child died and he had to meet his own needs. He did not let the courts decide the fate of the pedophile who acted in his own interest. He questioned his actions afterwards and feels bad about it afterwards, but he still shot the pedophile. Police officer Remy Bressant argued with Patrick, saying that he was the right thing to do. He acted from an intuitionistic vision. He saw countless criminals get released for the crimes they committed, so he didn’t feel bad. He understood that the pedophile was guilty and got what he deserved. He didn’t need to reason nor could he understand why someone would.
From the point of view of Aristotelian virtue ethics, Patrick Kenzie is a good person. Patrick promised Amanda’s mother that he would get her daughter back, and he did. That was his own moral choice and he would do it no matter the cost. It was his good character, on which the virtue ethic is based, that got Amanda. Another example of his good character would be taking the case. He wanted to find Amanda dead, but he would still take the case. His moral choice outweighed the consequences, which is how he would feel as a virtue ethicist.
Patrick uses the theory of the golden mean to deal with the decision to bring Amanda back home. He didn’t want the conspirators to have Amanda, that would be excessive. He didn’t want his mom to have Amanda because that would be too lacking. So he decided to let her mother have it so he could control her. He took a “middle path” that he thought would best suit the situation.
The first option in Gone Baby Gone is that you can call the police and they will take Amanda back to her mother. Her mother is a drug addict, she is poor and only cares about herself. The second option in Gone Baby Gone is that you can turn around and let Beloved live a life with fake parents, but they will take care of her more than her. The false parents would be conspirators in her kidnapping. The utilitarian theory would take the second option. In this way everyone is happy. All those who died would not have died. Amanda wouldn’t know. Beloved would have had a more stable life. The response of the Kantian ethicists would be the first option. They would make the right decision that they would want to be consistent.
Children must not be separated from their Mothers; therefore, Amanda should not have been separated from her mother. If you make exceptions, it is not fair to children who are actually separated from their mothers in different situations. There would be no respect or order so there are no exceptions. Angie and Morgan Freedman follow the utilitarian approach. They both know that Amanda would be better off with Morgan Freedman. Patrick couldn’t live with the fact that he let a child get kidnapped when he knows kidnapping is wrong after all. Follow Kantian ethical theory. If I were Patrick, I would have done exactly what he did, even though he wouldn’t let Amanda go back to her mother. He would let child services deal with the problem because a child should never have to grow up in a Jerry Springer environment. I agree with the Kantian ethical theory. “Act only in accordance with that maxim for which you can at the same time want it to become a universal law of nature.”
The abuse of alcohol and drugs should not be in the upbringing of children. Amanda shouldn’t be with her mother. I think the only reason Patrick let Amanda go back to her mom is because he was in a relationship with her and grew up with her.
