Professional Ethics 1

DR. MUHAMMAD ZEESHAN MIRZA

LECTURE - 2

Department of Engineering Management (DEM) – NUST- CEME

 Course Information

Course Name Professional Ethics

Course Code HU-222
Credit Hours 2
Email zeeshanmirza21@hotmail.com
Visiting Hours 2-4 pm

Department of Engineering Management (DEM) – NUST- CEME

 Ethics

 Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a

right to do and what is right to do

Potter Stewart

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 Profession

 A paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged (special) training

and a formal qualification

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 Professional Ethics

 It is a term that encompasses the organizational and

personal standards of behavior a professional individual is
expected to possess
 Most organizations have their own internal code of practice
that defines the professional ethics of a certain profession

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 A Case for Discussion

 A trial lawyer was asked what he would do if he discovered

that his client had committed a murder some years earlier
for which another man had been wrongly convicted and
would soon be executed

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 Basic Ethical
Principles

 Beneficence – Doing good to

others

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Beneficence – Doing good to others

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Beneficence – Doing good to others

Courtesy: parhlo.com

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 Least
Harm

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 Autonomy

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Non-violence or Peace

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 Justice

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 Truthfulness
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 A Case for Discussion

 A trial lawyer was asked what he would do if he discovered

that his client had committed a murder some years earlier
for which another man had been wrongly convicted and
would soon be executed

 The lawyer said that he had a legal obligation to keep this

information confidential and that, if he divulged it, he would
be disbarred

 Was his decision right according to professional

ethics?

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 Moral Development

 Moral development is the gradual development of an

individual's concept of right or wrong conscious, religious
values, social attitudes and certain behavior

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 Lawrence Kohlberg

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Moral Development Theory

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 Moral Development Theory

 He used storytelling technique to tell people stories involving

moral dilemmas

 In each case, he presented a choice to be considered, for

example, between the rights of some authority and the needs of
some deserving individual who is being unfairly treated

 One of the best known of Kohlberg’s (1958) stories concerns a

man called Heinz who lived somewhere in Europe

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 Moral Development Theory

 Heinz’s wife was dying from a particular type of cancer. Doctors said a
new drug might save her. The drug had been discovered by a local
chemist, and the Heinz tried desperately to buy some, but the chemist
was charging ten times the money it cost to make the drug, and this was
much more than the Heinz could afford
 Heinz could only raise half the money, even after help from family and
friends. He explained to the chemist that his wife was dying and asked
if he could have the drug cheaper or pay the rest of the money later
 The chemist refused, saying that he had discovered the drug and was
going to make money from it. The husband was desperate to save his
wife, so later that night he broke into the chemist’s and stole the drug

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 Moral Development Theory

 1. Should Heinz have stolen the drug?

 2. Would it change anything if Heinz did not love his wife?
 3. What if the person dying was a stranger, would it make
any difference?
 4. Should the police arrest the chemist for murder if the
woman died?

 By studying the answers from children of different ages to these questions,

Kohlberg hoped to discover how moral reasoning changed as people grew
older. The sample comprised 72 Chicago boys aged 10–16 years, 58 of whom
were followed up at three-yearly intervals for 20 years (Kohlberg, 1984)

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 Level 1: Pre-conventional Morality

 Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation

 Kohlberg's stage 1 is similar to Piaget's first stage of moral thought. The

child assumes that powerful authorities hand down a fixed set of rules
which he or she must unquestioningly obey

 When asked to elaborate, the child usually responds in terms of the

consequences involved, explaining that stealing is bad "because you'll
get punished"

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 Level 1: Pre-conventional Morality

 Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange

 This stage children recognize that there is not just one right view that is
handed down by the authorities. Different individuals have different
viewpoints

 At stage 1 punishment is tied up in the child's mind with wrongness;

punishment "proves" that disobedience is wrong

 At stage 2, in contrast, punishment is simply a risk that one naturally

wants to avoid

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 Level 2: Conventional Morality

 Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships

 At this stage children who are by now usually entering their teens see
morality as more than simple deals

 They believe that people should live up to the expectations of the family
and community and behave in "good" ways

 Good behavior means having good motives and interpersonal feelings

such as love, empathy, trust, and concern for others

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 Level 2: Conventional Morality

 Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order

 Stage 3 reasoning works best in two person relationships with family

members or close friends, where one can make a real effort to get to
know the other's feelings and needs and try to help.

 At stage 4 , in contrast, the respondent becomes more broadly concerned

with society as a whole. Now the emphasis is on obeying laws,
respecting authority, and performing one's duties so that the social order
is maintained

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 Level 3: Post-conventional Morality

 Stage 5 Social Contract and Individual Rights

 At stage 5 people begin to ask, "What makes for a good society?" They begin
to think about society in a very theoretical way, stepping back from their own
society and considering the rights and values that a society ought to uphold
 They then evaluate existing societies in terms of these prior considerations
 Stage 5 subjects, then, talk about "morality" and "rights" that take some
priority over particular laws
 Kohlberg insists, however, that we do not judge people to be at stage 5
merely from their verbal labels. We need to look at their social perspective
and mode of reasoning

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 Level 3: Post-conventional Morality

 Stage 6: Universal Principles

 Kohlberg believes that there must be a higher stage 6 which defines the
principles by which we achieve justice
 Kohlberg's conception of justice follows that of the philosophers Kant and
Rawls, as well as great moral leaders such as Martin Luther King.
 According to these people, the principles of justice require us to treat the
claims of all parties in an impartial manner, respecting the basic dignity, of
all people as individuals
 The principles of justice are therefore universal; they apply to all. Thus, for
example, we would not vote for a law that aids some people but hurts others.
The principles of justice guide us toward decisions based on an equal respect
for all

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 Moral Development Theory

 At stage 1 Children think of what is right. Doing the right thing is

obeying authority and avoiding punishment
 At stage 2, Children are no longer so impressed by any single authority;
they see that there are different sides to any issue. Since everything is
relative, one is free to pursue one's own interests, although it is often
useful to make deals and exchange favors with others
 At stages 3 and 4, Young people think as members of the conventional
society with its values, norms, and expectations. At stage 3, they
emphasize being a good person, which basically means having helpful
motives toward people close to. At stage 4, the concern shifts toward
obeying laws to maintain society as a whole

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 Moral Development Theory
 At stages 5 and 6 People are less concerned with maintaining society for its own
sake, and more concerned with the principles and values that make for a good
society. At stage 5 they emphasize basic rights and the democratic processes that
give everyone a say, and at stage 6 they define the principles by which agreement
will be most just

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