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Module-1-Ethics.pptx

The document provides an overview of ethics, defining it as the study of moral correctness and wrongness in human actions. It outlines four main areas of ethics: descriptive ethics, normative ethics, metaethics, and applied ethics, each focusing on different aspects of moral reasoning and behavior. Additionally, it clarifies the distinction between ethics and morals, and discusses various ethical dilemmas and frameworks that guide decision-making.

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17 views19 pages

Module-1-Ethics.pptx

The document provides an overview of ethics, defining it as the study of moral correctness and wrongness in human actions. It outlines four main areas of ethics: descriptive ethics, normative ethics, metaethics, and applied ethics, each focusing on different aspects of moral reasoning and behavior. Additionally, it clarifies the distinction between ethics and morals, and discusses various ethical dilemmas and frameworks that guide decision-making.

Uploaded by

redondojohnwilliam
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ETHIC

S
Basic Concepts
ethos (Greek) –
“characteristic way of
acting”
Its Latin equivalent is mos,
mores meaning tradition
or custom
Ethics and Philosophy
Philosophy: Philosophy , derived from the
Greek 'philo' (love) and 'sophia' (wisdom), is
literally defined as “the love of wisdom.”
More broadly understood, it is the study of
the most basic and profound matters of
human existence. Fundamental questions of
human existence. Love of wisdom (Why?)
It begins with wondering. - (Plato)
Ethics: wrongness and correctness of our
actions
Four Main Areas of Ethics

Descriptive Ethics
Empirical research into the attitudes of
individuals or groups of people. Those
working on descriptive ethics aim to
uncover people's beliefs about such
things as values, which actions are right
and wrong, and which characteristics of
moral agents are virtuous.
One approach to descriptive ethics is just
that, to describe various aspects of
business ethics. This might include
surveys of ethical attitudes among
employees and managers.

Whether individuals feel pressure to


compromise moral principles to achieve
organizational goals. One might describe
the kinds of principles that individuals use
in making decisions.
 What people actually believe to be
right and wrong
 The moral values (or ideals) they hold
up to.
 How they behave.
 What ethical rules guide their moral
reasoning.
Normative Ethics
Concerned with criteria of what is
morally right and wrong. The central
question of normative ethics is
determining how basic moral standards
are arrived at and justified. The answers
to this question fall into two broad
categories deontological and teleological,
or consequentialist.
 It is wrong to kill people just
because they make you angry.
We should fight to free slaves
 when necessary, even when
doing so is illegal.
Pain is intrinsically bad—we
 ought not cause pain without a
good reason to do so.
Metaethics
Seeks to understand the nature of ethical
properties, principles, judgments,
attitudes, etc. It also attempts to answer
questions like “what is morality?”, “what is
goodness?”, “how to identify if something
is good or bad?” Addresses questions such
as "What is goodness?” and “How can we
tell what is good from what is bad?”
Applied Ethics

Deals with ethical questions specific to a


professional, disciplinary, or practical
field. Subsets of applied ethics include
medical ethics, bioethics, business
ethics, legal ethics, and others.
• Animal Ethics: e.g.: Is it permissible to eat meat?
• Biomedical Ethics: e.g.: On whom are we allowed to
perform medical tests?
• Business Ethics: e.g.: Do corporations have moral
status?
• Environmental Ethics: e.g.: Ought we curb climate
change for the sake of future generations?
• Information Ethics: e.g.: May I pirate music?
• Law: e.g.: Should personal, recreational drug use be
illegal?
• Philosophy of the Family: e.g.: What do children owe
their parents?
• Practical Distributive Justice: e.g.: To what extent
ought we give to charity?
• Procreative Ethics: e.g.: Is it permissible to abort a
fetus?
• Sexual Ethics: e.g.: Should prostitution be legal?
Clarifications and
Terminology
Ethics and Morals
Morals – on specific beliefs or attitudes
that people have or to describe acts that
people perform.
- personal conduct

Ethics – discipline of studying and


understanding ideal human behavior and ideal
ways of thinking.
Kinds of Valuation
Etiquette - customary code of polite
behavior in society or among members
of a particular profession or group.
Aesthetics – judgments of personal
approval and disapproval referring to
individual tastes and preferences.
Technique/Technical – proper way or
right way of doing things.
Issue, Judgment, Decision and
Dilemma
Issue – controversial and people keep on
debating about it.
Judgment – assessment of the actions or
behavior of someone
Decision – choice of what to perform or do
Dilemma - situation in which a difficult
choice has to be made between two or
more alternatives, especially equally
undesirable ones.
Ethics and Reasoning
 Reason that we give in the things
that we do
 Rewards and punishment
 Principles
 Ethical frameworks or ethical
theories
Ethics is concerned about the serious or
grave things that need our actions. It is
serious because it is a matter of life and
death. Examples are abortion, death
penalty, cigarette smoking, genetic
engineering. The guide may be there, but
the reasoning in relation to our specific
situation depends on our own selves.

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