Tiger Woods: Infidelity, Celebrity and

Tiger Woods: Infidelity, Celebrity and Ethics Tiger Woods is guilty of serious and habitual infidelity. His sexual promiscuity while persisting in a marriage with two children constitutes an ethical trespass which calls into questions Woods' traits of honesty, his capacity to differentiate between right and wrong, his ability to execute morally-driven impulse control and the seriousness with which he adheres to his personal ethical duties. That said, Woods has also become the subject of extensive debate, unflinching criticism and a brutal public reversal of opinion where his character is concerned.

These two aspects of his ethical trespasses are distinct from one another though, as this ethical analysis will demonstrate. Namely, the primary thesis of the argument hereafter is that Woods did most certainly violate his ethical responsibilities as a husband and father, but that criticism of his ethical grounding as a human being has been largely cultivated by a public, media and professional association which lack the entitlement to render such judgments.

Fact Summary: Indeed, the events surrounding professional golfer and cultural icon Tiger Woods' dissolving marriage to Elin Nordegren became highly public on November 27th, 2009. Accordingly, Nordegren had become aware of Woods' extramarital affairs -- which emerging evidence says numbered over a dozen -- and had responded by attacking Woods with a golf club in front of their Florida home.

In the outcome, "the golfer eventually crashed his car into a hydrant and a tree on his own property." (Roberts, 1) This notable incident would invite the press to engage in a public outing of events transpiring between Woods and Nordegren, with the golfer's persistent, habitual and potentially even compulsive proclivities toward infidelity becoming clearly apparent. An important detail concerning these revelations is the public shock over the revelation that one of America's most visible, successful and admired athletes was capable of such extensive and unrepentant sexual trespass.

This is important because the previous public perception of Woods as a man of integrity, class and ethical grounding had been tarnished and would have a lasting influence on the way that his behaviors are now perceived. Information from News Media: Quite to the point, the News Media would engage in something of a feeding frenzy for bits of news relating to Woods' behavior.

According to the source provided by Dillon & Siemaszko (2009), the incident involving the automobile accident on his property would be prompted by Woods inadvertent exposure of his infidelities to his wife. Accordingly, the article contends that the accident occurred "reportedly after Nordegren caught him texting New York party girl Rachel Uchitel.

Uchitel, 34, was the first of at least seven reported mistresses (and counting) who have surfaced since then." (Dillon & Siemaszko, 1) The details incorporated with each affair -- with more surfacing after this initial wave -- would demonstrate an ongoing infidelity and a pattern of unfaithfulness to his marriage. According to the article by Bhatt (2009), there would be at least 14 women in total who would emerge as partners in Woods' infidelities.

Ethical judgment would emerge in a glut of criticism from colleagues, sponsors and media observers, who viewed these acts as a betrayal of the public image which Woods had established. By contrast, some would speculate that sympathy for Woods' jilted wife has been greatly exaggerated.

Accordingly, one of the errant debates being held over media currents denotes that "Although some sources tell People [Magazine] Nordegren "honestly did not know Tiger was cheating on her," others say she turned a blind eye to his affairs to maintain her luxurious lifestyle." (Roberts, 1) With no grounding to confirm or refute the latter of these claims, it is uncertain to what extent Nordegren may have been complicit in a marriage tainted by infidelity.

As we proceed to an ethical discussion on the matter, this emerges as a pertinent nuance such that we are inclined to doubt in at least some capacity that Woods engaged in this behavior fully in secret. This may alter the ethical implications of the discussion.

Ethical Issues: What should Tiger Woods' responsibilities as a husband have dictated in his behavior with respect to marital infidelity? What should Tiger Woods' responsibilities as a professional golfer have dictated in his behavior with respect to marital infidelity? What should Tiger Woods' responsibilities as an admired public figure have dictated in his behavior with respect to marital infidelity? What ought Tiger Woods' rights as a private citizen be in light of his infidelities? What ought the media's rights be in assessing Tiger Woods as a public figure in light of his infidelities? My Position: I am inclined toward a sense of sympathy for Tiger Woods only insofar as his behaviors have been scrutinized on a level not simply reserved for figures of public note but even more specifically for figures who have achieved a certain level of admiration with respect to public expectations.

This is highlight by media reports that speculate on Woods' integrity and general ethical standing, as well as his suitability to continue serving in his public role as an admired athlete. Given that Woods never engaged in behavior inappropriate to his professional standing (i.e. steroid use, gambling or unsportsmanlike conduct), and that he never engaged in behavior abusive of his publics (i.e. criminal behavior, violence, public misconduct), ethical assessments should be contextualized by his marriage.

We may therefore argue that while Woods may well have been a terrible husband, this should be seen as separate and distinct from his public character. However, the disappointment channeled through the public toward Woods suggests that many observers presume to understand the principles governing a private relationship. These presumptions are irrational and produce unempirical views on Woods' ethical character.

Opposing Position: The counterpoint to the view provided above is that Woods should be held up to a certain ethical responsibility which is foisted upon him by his public persona and the many fortunes he has gained by presenting himself in an ethically favorable light. The suggestion that this light has been artificially maintained points to what some view as a trespass of the public's trust as well as the provision of a negative ethical model to many who have otherwise held him in high esteem.

The revelation of Woods' infidelities has been seen by many -- and highlighted as such by the media -- as a betrayal of the responsibilities which Woods had taken upon himself by his selected professional associations, his embrace of fame, his assumption of success and the degree to which all of these conditions precipitated a perceived cultural importance in him for the general public. This points to a long-sustained public debate over the 'role model' responsibility said to be assumed by public figures such as professional athletes.

Virtue Ethics Analysis: Beginning with the particularly strict sense of virtue ethics promoted by British Philosopher Thomas Hobbes, we consider that Woods is largely viewed as having assumed a certain responsibility to uphold the moral values of his contextualizing culture. Hobbes endorses authoritarian power, suggesting that government must have the capacity to resist the rogue behaviors inherent to human nature.

Even to the extent that he does not speak of the individual when he describes the reality of human power dynamics, Hobbes concedes that in referencing 'power', he speaks "not of the men, but (in the Abstract) of the Seat of Power, (like to those simple and unpartiall creatures in the Roman Capitol." (Hobbes, 1) Here, Hobbes sees the frailty of self-interest as an obstruction to good, and thus imposes the suggestion of a power-concentration which revolves around the virtue of selfless rule.

Without taking this to assume that some intervening force should have preventing, or should now be punishing, Woods' behavior, we may at least deduce that Woods is guilty of the 'rogue' behaviors which can occur in a society which is not ethically governed. Duty Ethics Analysis: In our investigation here of the various possible lenses through which to understand Woods' infidelity, consideration of German theologian Immanuel Kant's 1785 Groundwork for the Metaphysic of Morals provides basic understanding for the discussion of morality from the normative perspective.

Such is to say that Kant's will be the most rigid of understandings on the ethical duties incumbent upon Woods. At the center of Kant's argument is the premise that the same reason which applies to the empirical nature of scientific discourse must rationally apply in the same way to ethical discourse. His perspective toward scientific certainty would mark a unique and original bridging of worlds between the corporeal and the ideological.

Accordingly, Kant contends that "physics will have its empirical part, but it will also have a rational one; and likewise ethics --.