It was late 2012, and the snowfall in Girdwood, Alaska had hit an all time high over the previous years for the Alyeska Ski Resort. That late Friday night, I began packing my ski belongings and making lunches in order to prepare for the Alyeska ski shuttle that picks you up 7:30 A.M. sharp to head to the mountain. I had a duty to ski as long as I could that day, and promised myself I would. Max’s face had just opened, and nothing was going to stop me, so I had thought. Well, I wake up the next morning, after receiving barely any sleep due to so much excitement, to a phone call from my father. “Bryan” he shouted out, “I’m really sorry to ruin your ski day, but the foundation to the cabin just collapsed and our cabin is just about sitting on the ice.”
After receiving the call, I knew I needed to go help my father with issues that had arisen at the cabin, but I was more than excited to go skiing due to the weather forecast. Do I break the promise to myself and miss out on the best ski day of the year, or do I help my father with far more important business (to him at the time, not so much me.)
I thought of this situation almost immediately and related it back to the Prima Facie Obligations theory. I was in immediate conflict over the duty to help out my father, or to fulfill my promise of skiing all day. After long thought and consideration, I decided to skip my wonderfully planned out day of skiing to instead help repair a foundation in 10 degree weather. Although it is not even close to what I would have wanted to do, I was faced with a Prima Facie obligation that outweighed my day of skiing.
1 Comment for “M2- Bagrant”
kjswedberg
says:I like how you chose to use this as an example of a Prima Facie obligation. Skiing can be a lot funner than helping fix a foundation for a cabin. However, it is important to follow your long term priorities and duties. Your father was probably glad to have your help in fixing his foundation.