Values

I got on the bus today with my son, cost $2.80 for me and $1.70 for him. From the $5 I gave the diver I got $1.50 change. Not thinking I took the money and sat down, it wasn't until I looked at the tickets I realised the mistake. Before getting off I gave the driver the difference, would you, or for a dollar doesn't it matter?

It appears that you've taken a deontological approach to your own morality, and as such are principally concerned with the "small items". Meaning, your moral code is premised on the morality of an action, not on the consequences of that action. One could argue (although, let's be clear that I'm not) that it would be more moral to take that dollar and give it to a homeless person, as the driver can hardly be criticised by the bus company for the loss of such an insubstantial amount, and the company itself is probably less deserving. I might do the same in your circumstance, yet there have been times when I've been in a restaurant, received terrible service, and then been quite happy not to mention that our drinks weren't on our bill. If I was to be consistent, I would alert the waiter, no matter how dissatisfied I was. However, in the presence of your son, returning the dollar to which you were not entitled is a good lesson, but advocating honesty in every situation is not advisable. Rather, I would suggest that a measure of consequentialism (the most famous example being utilitarianism) be employed, in addition to deontology. I think that to claim that most people have a set of espoused values, quite separate from their enacted values, is to see morality as a set of rules that one sets for oneself. I think most people would acknowledge that life is more complicated than that. Thanks for introducing a philosophical element to The Vine, though!

Answer, not fucking many.