Ethical American Spy 

In this essay, I will explore the ethical decisions made in Lauren Wilkinsons novel American Spy. The ethics of Marie Mitchell and Ed Ross seem to follow normative ethics, more specifically deontology ethics. A Short Introduction to Five Types of Ethics states deontology ethics “falls within the domain of rules that guide and assess our choices of what we ought to do [by a] system that involves a clear set of rules […] often referred to as a rule-based ethic.” Whereas, utilitarians believe  “the purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the amount of good things (such as pleasure and happiness) in the world and decreasing the amount of bad things (such as pain and unhappiness), [by rejecting] moral codes or systems that consist of commands or taboos that are based on customs, traditions, or orders given by leaders or supernatural beings [to follow the]  action that produces the most good […] of others as well as one’s own good , also stated in the handout. While both characters seem to be deontologists due to their positions in law enforcement, they are also strangely utilitarians. I think going further into the novel Mitchell seems to become changed and influenced into becoming more of a utilitarian. First I will explain why both Marie and Ross are expected to follow deontology ethics,  then I will discuss three scenes in the novel  in which both Mitchell and Ross are presented and act based on utilitarian ethics, starting with the dinner scene to the phone call and lastly the elephant scene. 

Marie and Ross are expected to follow deontology ethics because they both have important positions within law enforcement. Marie is working for the FBI as an intelligence officer and later on is drawn into what she believes is a CIA operation to infiltrate Thomas Sankara. Ed Ross is a CIA officer who approaches Marie with the offer to become a spy and work for him in Burkina Faso.  “Diversity & Inclusion at the CIA” introduces CIA workers as “officers on the front lines around the world, working tirelessly to ensure that our customers – the President and senior policymakers – have the intelligence they need to make informed national security decisions. In doing so, CIA officers are guided by a professional ethos that includes the core values of service, integrity, excellence, courage, teamwork, and stewardship.”