REVIEWER IN ETHICS

ETHICS- is the branch of PHILOSPHY that studies moralities or the rightness or wrongness of the human
conduct.

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES:

- TRUTHFULNESS

- HONESTY

- LOYALTY

- RESPECT

- FAIRNESS

- INTERGITY

The word ETHICS is derived from Latin word ETHICUS and the Greek word ETHIKUS.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ETHICS

Ethics is a science- It is concerned with a particular sphere that deals with certain judgments that
we make about human conduct.

Ethics is concerned with the ideal of life.- It believes that what is ideal must not be one which
simply floats in the air.

Ethics is a wisdom of values.

Ethics is a science of values as it discovers the forms of conduct or behavior.

Ethics is concerned with the will.

It is based specifically on the fact that man is not only an intellectual being (capable of
knowing) and a sensitive being.
 Importance of Ethics

Ethics is a requirement for human life. It is our means of deciding a course of action.
Without it, our actions would be random and aimless. There would be no way to work
towards a goal because there would be no way to pick between a limitless number of goals.
Even with an ethical standard, we may be unable to pursue our goals with the possibility of
success.

Branches and Areas of Ethics

Descriptive Ethics
Deals with what people actually believe (or made to believe) to be right or wrong, and
accordingly holds up the human actions acceptable or not acceptable or punishable under a
custom or law.

Normative Ethics
Deals with “norms” or set of considerations how one should act. Thus, it’s a study of “ethical
action” and sets out the rightness or wrongness of the actions.

Meta Ethics
Meta Ethics is also known as “analytical ethics”. It deals with the origin of the ethical
concepts themselves. It does not consider whether an action is good or bad, right or wrong.
Rather, it questions – what goodness or rightness or morality itself is? It is basically
a highly abstract way of thinking about ethics.

Applied Ethics
Deals with the philosophical examination, from a moral standpoint, of particular issues in
private and public life which are matters of moral judgment. It attempts to answer difficult
moral questions actual people face in their lives.

MORAL STANDARDS & NON-MORAL STANDARDS

MORALS: Morals are the beliefs of the individual or group as to what is right or wrong.

ROOT WORD OF MORAL: Mos (mores) which means custom

Morality may refer to the standards that a person or a group has about what is right and wrong, or
good and evil.
Moral standards involve the rules people have about the kinds of actions they believe are morally
right and wrong, as well as the values they place on the kinds of objects they believe are morally
good and morally bad.
Non-moral standards refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical considerations. Either
these standards are not necessarily linked to morality or by nature lack ethical sense.

6 Characteristics of Moral Standards to Further Differentiate Them from Non-Moral

Standards

a. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits.

Moral standards deal with matters which can seriously impact, that is, injure or benefit
human beings.

b. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values.

Moral standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a moral standard
state that a person has the moral obligation to do something, then he/she is supposed to do
that even if it conflicts with other non-moral standards, and even with self-interest.

c. Moral standards are not established by authority figures.

Moral standards are not invented, formed, or generated by authoritative bodies or persons
such as nations’ legislative bodies.

d. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability.

Simply put, it means that everyone should live up to moral standards. To be more accurate,
however, it entails that moral principles must apply to all who are in the relevantly similar
situation.

e. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.

Moral standard does not evaluate standards on the basis of the interests of a certain person
or group,

f. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.

Prescriptivity indicates the practical or action-guiding nature of moral standards.

FOUNDATIONS OF MORALITY AND MORAL DILEMMAS

Jonathan Haidt: JONATHAN DAVID HAIDT is a social psychologist and professor.

The 6 Moral Foundations

CARE/HARM: This foundation is related to our long evolution as mammals.

FAIRNESS/CHEATING: This foundation is related to the evolutionary process of reciprocal

altruism.

LIBERTY/OPPRESSION: This foundation is about the feelings of reactance and

resentment.

LOYALTY/BETRAYAL: This foundation is related to our long history as tribal creatures

able to form shifting coalitions.

AUTHORITY/SUBVERSION: This foundation was shaped by our long primate history of

hierarchical social interactions.

SANCTITY/DEGRATION: This foundation was shaped by the psychology of disgust and

contamination.

Sources of Morality
The object chosen
The intention of the one who acts
The circumstances of the act

OBJECT - the thing or action toward which the “will” deliberately directs itself.

INTENTION - the reason a person performs the action.

CIRCUMSTANCES - secondary elements of the moral act.

Definition of Moral Dilemma

A dilemma is a situation where a person is forced to choose between two or more conflicting
options, neither of which is acceptable.

Suggestions on How to Resolve Moral Dilemmas

Be reasonable, not emotional.
We have a greater chance of overcoming these struggles if we logically work through them.

Choose the greater good or the lesser evil.

Perhaps the soundest piece of advice is to conclude which choice allows for the greatest
good, or the less evil.

Is there an alternative?
Analyzing the situation in greater detail may reveal alternative options that were not
immediately obvious.

What are the consequences?

Weighing up the positive and negative consequences of each action will give a clearer
picture of the best choice to make.

What would a good person do?

Sometimes a useful thing to do would be to just simply ask: What would a good person do?

VIRTUE ETHICS: Moral Behavior, Virtue, and Habit

Definition of Virtue Ethics - Commonly referred to as character-based ethics, virtue

ethics believes that a right act is the action a virtuous person would do in the same
circumstances.

Principles of Virtue Ethics –

 An action is only right if it is an action that a virtuous person would carry out in the
same circumstances.
 A virtuous person is a person who acts virtuously
 A person acts virtuously if they "possess and live the virtues"
 A virtue is a moral characteristic that a person needs to live well.

Lists of the Virtues –

FAITH: The virtue by which we believe in God and in all that He has revealed.
HOPE: The virtue by which we trust God will fulfill his promises and look forward to eternal life.
CHARITY: The virtue by which we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.

 Justice
Justice requires us to treat all human beings equally and impartially.

 Fidelity
Fidelity requires that we treat people closer to us with special care.
  Self-care
We each have a unique responsibility to care for ourselves, affectively, mentally,
physically, and spiritually.

 Prudence
The prudent person must always consider Justice, Fidelity and Self-care.
The prudent person must always look for opportunities to acquire more of the other
three virtues

Good Points of Virtue Ethics -

 It centers ethics on the person and what it means to be human
 It includes the whole of a person's life

Bad Points of Virtue Ethics –

 It doesn't provide clear guidance on what to do in moral dilemmas
 Although it does provide general guidance on how to be a good person
 Presumably a totally virtuous person would know what to do and we could consider
them a suitable role model to guide us
 There is no general agreement on what the virtues are
 It may be that any list of virtues will be relative to the culture in which it is being
drawn up.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Lawrence Kohlberg, an educator, argued that the correct moral reasoning.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY

LEVELS:

LEVEL 1 (Pre-Conventional)
LEVEL 2 (Conventional)
LEVEL 3 (Post-Conventional)

Stages of Moral Development

Pre-Conventional (0-9)

Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation

The first stage highlights the self-interest of children in their decision making as they seek
to avoid punishment at all costs.

Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange

This stage observes how children begin to adopt the views taught, but also recognize that
there is more than one point of view for each matter.

Conventional (Adolescents and most adults)

Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships

This stage recognizes the desire to be accepted into societal groups as well as how each
person is affected by the outcome.

Stage 4: Maintaining the Social Order

In this stage, laws and social order reign supreme. Rules and regulations are to be followed
and obeyed. Stage four shows the moral development of a person as a part of a whole
society.

POSTCONVENTIONAL (30-DIE)

Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights

stage acknowledges the introduction of abstract reasoning as people attempt to explain
specific behaviors.

Stage 6: Universal Principles

The final stage of Kohlberg’s theory states that moral reasoning is based on personal
values.