Topic 2

What is Principles of Ethics and where can I apply it?

Introduction
The development of a human person is very peculiar. One is born tabula rasa-a clean slate. With the
passage of years, one acquires a wealth of knowledge through education. Before children reach the
age of reason, they are subject to many passions without the intellect influencing their actions. The
moment a child reaches the age of reason, a new world opens up. The child starts to question- what
is this? who is this?.... Slowly, they are instructed by their parents and relations. A child is taught to
obey one's elder brothers or sisters- she/he realizes that they can agree or disagree, many times
with clear consequences. Their free actions have a connotation of right and wrong. Hence from a
very tender age, children are educated why certain actions are right and wrong and the basis of
their judgments. This continues throughout one’s life. We are going to examine these fundamentals
in this subject.

Definition of Ethics
A definition limits the identity of something (being) to a particular label. A definition signifies what
something is. The label human person signifies what a particular being is. It explains the identity of
the human being. There can be many types of definitions. Let us examine a number of these
definitions:

Stipulative definitions are intended to make something explicit that was implicit. An example is y=
ax+b. In this particular case the value of y, which in a business sense can be anything we take an
example of sales, that can be connected to a (the unit cost) and x (the number of items to be sold)
plus b (the fixed costs). Hence ax and b stipulates what the eventual outcome of y will be.

A lexical definition refers to the ordinary or dictionary use of a word.

An etymological definition refers to the root definition or origin of a word. For instance homo
sapiens originates from two words, homo which means man and sapiens which refers to intelligence
or wisdom.

A theoretical definition is used in scientific arguments after a number of similar propositions have
been analyzed.

Real definitions refer to reality.

Precising definitions are used to avoid ambiguity and are used especially in law.

Persuasive definitions are required to show and take a particular stand.

In this subject, we will use the etymological, real and lexical definitions. In terms of etymology,
Ethics is a transliteration into English of the Greek ήθικέ, which means moralia in Latin and English,
“morals”.

Real definitions
i) Ethics is the philosophical science which establishes the moral order of human acts. The
subject matter of ethics is man’s free acts and its point of view, their moral rectitude or
turpitude. For it to be a true science, it has to treat the ultimate causes of human
conduct and base its conclusions on unaided reason(Higgins, 1949, p. 8).

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 ii) Ethics is the systematic study of human actions from the point of view of their rightness
or wrongness as a means for the achievement of man’s ultimate happiness(Gichure,
1997).

The term Ethics is therefore related to the notion of custom, as an acquired way of doing things. For
Aristotle human action was given two meanings:
i) A disposition/natural habit e.g. fitness or aptitude- ethos.
ii) A habit which implies possession or a state of being (actualized operative habit)- ethos

Human acts, per se, are those acts proceeding from the will together with knowledge of the purpose
of the act. Therefore, a human act is free and deliberate. Three elements enter every human act: a)
motion of the will; b) previous intellectual knowledge; c) freedom. Habits are formed due to
repetition of human acts, and inasmuch as these acts are wanted, they modify one’s way of
behaving to a certain degree, and end up being in him or her a sort of second nature.

Levels of understanding reality

There are four levels of understanding or interpenetrating reality:
i) Experience: it can be the experience of external things through the external senses or
internal experience like love, hunger and greed.
ii) Trust: Trust is to confide on other people’s experiences. The traditions passed from
generation to generation are based on trust. The content of the faith transmitted is also
based on trust.
iii) Practice: This is knowledge acquired in daily life. This is what the “apprentice system” and
what “mentors” do in companies; what older politicians instill to their successors.
iv) Science: It is a systematic search for foundation and accuracy. Looking for the foundation of
our knowledge. Science analyses the experiences, traditions and practices to find out
whether they are reliable, whether what they affirm corresponds to reality.

We can say Ethics is experiential, practical and scientific. It is experience to the extent that
internally one can attribute certain adjectives like greed, it is practical to the extent that a virtue-a
good action-has to be done repeatedly and it is a science to the extent that it is knowledge about
human actions from the point of view of their rightness and wrongness through a thorough
examination of the ultimate cause(s).

Ethics can be viewed as science from three perspectives:

i) A speculative science

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 ii) A practical science
iii) A moral science

Ethics as a speculative science

Ethics is a speculative science because we can study it only for the purposes of knowing, either to
satisfy pure intellectual curiosity. It is a moment when reason, having common knowledge and
experience as a starting point, goes on in pursuit of the bases and foundations of notions such as
good, right, duty, evil etc. It is purely abstract and reflective.

Ethics as a practical science

Ethics is a practical science due to the fact that we can study it in order to know how to perform/do
something-i.e. good acts/habits. Ethics can be applied as a rule or norm to direct human action e.g.
students should not do an exam if they arrive at the examination room thirty minutes after an exam
commences. It enables the possessor to reason to true conclusions about the kind of human actions
which are conducive to fuller happiness in agreement with rational nature.

Ethics as a moral science

Some people reject Ethics is a moral science due to positivistic assumptions; an assumption that
Ethics is a kind of sociologism and not a methodological application; refutation of propositions
which can be equally applicable, in every single case.

These assumptions can be proven false since Ethics does have a method, and in that method the
common point of departure is knowledge [experiential] and investigates the rational foundation, so
as to arrive, philosophically, to the common foundation which transcends mere opinion. Also it can
establish laws and serve as a guide for human conduct and the assessment of values, independently
of other sciences. There is a consideration of moral principles, completion, and discernment of the
particular circumstances surrounding the case in question. Ethics is also a philosophical study
because it studies free actions which make up the moral life of man, from the point of view of their
wholeness or perfection, with the view of drawing light to its more profound universal aspects.

Max Scheller, a German philosopher of the last century explains this as follows:
"Sheller understands the moral task as a radical transformation of the person. It is the task of
'becoming better', something deeper and wider than 'doing' better, and much more, of course, than
just 'fulfilling' some norm.

The “be better” that a person desires is not only a set of things to be done, nor a list of laws to fulfill,
but it is a “way of being good” which is the source of actions- a good will. This will easily bring to mind
the Aristotelic idea of virtue-Arete, which actually is an operational way of being or a habit. Virtues
refer directly to actions an even more or less specific areas of these actions. Scheller, though, makes us
look to a broader and deeper level of the source of virtue, which is the radical goodness of the person.
The aim of moral life is not a form molded by actions, but the goodness of a person. To this good
person is what Scheller calls a ‘prototype’ or a ‘model’.

The activity that will improve me morally and in a radical way is not just doing something good, or
fulfilling norms, but following a personal way of being and in consequence acting in a similar way as
my ‘model’ or ‘prototype’. Following the model is more than just a copy cat of external activities. It is
much deeper. What attracts us of the model is not what he does or what he commands but his way of
being, his way of deciding, of loving.

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The effectiveness of the model is not his commanding or acting but in letting us see the source of his
personal decisions- the source of his love. And similarly what in the follower gradually changes are not
so much his actions, but his loving. (Sergio Sanchez-Migallon, El Seguimiento de los Valores en la Etica
de Scheller Scripta Teologica 39)

Division of Ethics
Ethics is a single field of knowledge. It is a moral science because it studies those areas of human
life where human freedom is at work using specific theoretical principles. It has two aspects:
a) Individual aspect, originally called ‘monastic’ or ‘personal’ commonly referred to as General
Ethics.
b) The social aspect, known as special ethics, political ethics or simply as social ethics.

In contemporary ethical thought, the division has become even more complicated. Practical
morality is separated from speculative or theoretical morality and studied as two different, though
related, fields. Formally Ethics is seen as pure theory, and within the practical aspect, ethics is
thought of only in pragmatic terms. Thus we find it divided into these fields:
a) Meta-ethics
This is an analytical enterprise consisting of an endeavour to discern what moral terms or
words mean. For instance, when we say good or right, just what do we mean? What constitutes
their rightness or goodness? It is an empirical science, involved in an attempt to discern what is
going on when people make value laden statements and judgments.

b) Theoretical normative ethics

All ethics involved in the making of moral judgments are often classified together under this
general heading and divided into: axiology [value theories regarding good/evil]; virtue ethics;
moral obligation which consists of theories regarding what kinds of actions are morally
permissible and which ones are not.

c) Applied Ethics
The aim in this branch of Ethics is to use theoretical ethics to resolve specific moral issues and
morally problematic, concrete cases arising in different areas.

Ethics is linked to other fields as follows:

i) Ethics and Psychology: Experimental psychology studies human faculties and their
operations, as well as conditions and motives, therefore, a good deal of factors that from
the material object of experimental psychology are also subject matter of Ethics.
ii) Ethics and Sociology: They partly coincide in their material object, man in society, but their
formal objects are distinct. Sociology describes, classifies and measures social actions
through empirical methods.
iii) Ethics and Metaphysics: Metaphysics is the foundational element for Ethics in the sense
that Ethics is an interpretation of a concrete aspect of the manner of ‘being’ of man, as
one endowed with free activity.
iv) Ethics and Anthropology: The relationship is that the norms of Ethics respond to the good
of the person, a human person. They express simply what is really good for man as man
leaving circumstances and intentions for further evaluations.

Why do I need Ethics

According to Levitt (1986), to say that the purpose of business is to make a profit is "morally
shallow." As he stated, "If no greater purpose can be discerned or justified, business cannot morally
justify its existence". Although there is still considerable debate over the desired degree of business

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responsibility beyond making a profit, many writers call for ethical and socially responsive
practices in business. Statistical research has shown that ethics and social responsibility are
important components of organizational effectiveness. In order for a person, human enterprises
and businesses to survive, ethics and social responsibility are essential to long-term benefits.
Findings suggest that managers do not need to fear that they are sacrificing profit when they stress
ethical and socially responsible behaviors(Singhapakdi, Kraft, Vitell, & Rallapalli, 1995, p. 49 & 54).
There is no dichotomy between profits and ethics.

To create an ethical culture in any organization it requires the incorporation of ethics into
educational curricula, its actual implementation, and the impact on managers that is likely to
influence their perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility (Singhapakdi & Karande,
2001, p. 149).

In order for ethics to permeate all private and public sectors, there is need to have implicit methods
of institutionalizing ethics. Emphasis should be put on culture, ethical leadership and open
communication channels (Jose & Thibodeaux, 1999).

Conclusion
It is an observable fact that all men-except, of course, the sophisticated few who do violence to the
light of their intellects-differentiate between human acts that are good and human acts that are bad.
Every nation and people have distinguished between good men and bad men. All languages have
words to express virtue and vice. People likewise think there are some acts which a man ought to
do because they are good and some which a man ought to avoid because they are bad. Those who
do good are regarded as deserving praise; those who do evil, as rightly deserving censure.

References
Gichure, C. (1997). Basic concepts in Ethics. Nairobi: Focus Publishers.
Higgins, T. (1949). Man as man. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing.
Jose, A., & Thibodeaux, M. (1999). Institutionalization of Ethics: The Perspective of Managers. Journal of
Business Ethics, 22, 133-143.
Singhapakdi, A., & Karande, K. (2001). How important are ethics and social responsibility? A
multinational study of marketing professionals. European Journal of Marketing, 35(1/2), 133-
152.
Singhapakdi, A., Kraft, K., Vitell, S., & Rallapalli, K. (1995). The Perceived Importance of Ethics and Social
Responsibility on Organizational Effectiveness:A Survey of Marketers. Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science, 23(1), 49-56.