... Ethics maybe considered as a large field of study, however, it is generally designed to demonstrate to people “what is right or wrong in human behavior and conduct” (Thiroux, 2003). Ethics is also applicable to the ability to make choices, so the absence of this ability or opportunity to make a choice could be considered to be unethical behavior. Even though one is sometimes unaware of it, when choices are made there are standards competing, or ethical perspectives, that governs one’s behavior. My ethical perspective can be basically summed up into the saying ‘do unto others as you would have them do to you’. An individual’s duty lies within doing what is morally right. My perspective recognizes that ethical principles must be at all times appropriate, regardless of the circumstances, and at all times must be committed to enhancing individual freedom. (ethics-twi.org). Ethical perspectives can be put into four categories. Each category will identify a different standard for making choices, and also makes reference to some interest that is valued or referred. Utilitarianism is often times referred to as situational ethics. The ‘right’ thing to do does not necessarily depend in ethical standards, but rather on the assessment of the situation, the alternative courses of actions available, and the consequences of the choices available. The utilitarian ethic requires that a decision maker assess the choices of all involved in the outcome...
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...Gregory B. Sadler President and Founder, ReasonIO Ethics in Business Education Project Copyright Gregory B. Sadler, 2011 Goals and Scope of this Workshop Ethics can be complicated – in reality it often is Important to be clear and pragmatic about workshop Limited goal here: designed to help Business faculty with one specific skill/knowledge area Presumes only most basic knowledge about Ethics The Key Question: What Do You Need to Know To Assess Students’ Knowledge and Application of Ethical Theories? EB EP Copyright Gregory B. Sadler, 2011 What Do You Need to Know To Assess Students’ Knowledge and Application? You need basic understanding of each ethical theory You need to know what to look for in student responses You don’t need to be in agreement with any of these ethical theories You don’t need to know whether these theories are ultimately correct or not You don’t need to be concerned with other “big picture” issues, e.g. the origin of ethics EB EP Copyright Gregory B. Sadler, 2011 What We Are Going To Cover Five Ethical (families of) Theories Each articulates a particular perspective on good and bad, right and wrong Basic Principles / Key Terminology Important Variations in that family What to look for in student responses Knowledge of theory Application of theory EB EP Copyright Gregory B. Sadler, 2011 Five Theories Egoism the self and its needs Utilitarianism ...
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...Professional Values and Ethics Professional values and ethics is a multi step process. From the time one is born till the day that one dies one is always learning new values and applying ethical thought in their personal or professional lives. Many of the ideas and thoughts that one applies in their daily life can be easily applied to their professional life as well. If one has a strong will to learn and to excel this only enhances one’s goal in life to be the best in whatever they are doing, whether it be personal or professional growth. Ethics is defined as a set of ideals or disciplines that define a person’s character as good or bad, right or wrong, or by one’s moral duty (ThinkQuest). One’s personal moral principles or ethics can also be defined by one’s religious views or group codes. The ideals of a person’s character can be cultivated and enriched by one’s race and cultural rituals. All of these are pieces of our character and create who we are as individuals. Values are closely related to a person’s behavior and attitudes and are based on concepts and beliefs based on rules that we decide between right and wrong, should haves and should not’s (Changing Minds). High values can be described as having qualities that are worthwhile and desirable, with a unique quality. Values as well as personal ethics can define a person’s character. By being trustworthy, honest, and hardworking, one is displaying a strong character. People possessing these strong...
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...Ethics is a set of moral principles; a theory or system of moral values. Normative ethics is an ethical system with standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. This ethical system can be broken down into three categories: virtue ethics, utilitarian ethics, and deontological ethics. Normative ethics' golden rule is to do unto others what we want others to do to us. This establishes a single principle against which we judge all actions. The study and application of ethics has created a variety of approaches to the basic questions of what should I do?, what do i value?, and why do I value that? The purpose of this paper is to discuss the similarities and differences between virtue ethics, utilitarian ethics, and deontological ethics both morally and ethically. Virtue ethics is the character of a moral agent as a driving force for ethical behavior. For example, a person using the virtue approach would focus less on lying in a particular situation and instead consider the decision to tell a lie or not to tell a lie. Virtue ethics places less emphasis on learning rules, and instead stresses the importance of developing good habits of character. Utilitarian ethics is a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible balance of pleasure over pain or the greatest happiness of the greatest number. For example, a utilitarian approach implies that no moral act like stealing, or a rule like keeping your promise, is in intrinsically right or wrong. The rightness or wrongness...
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...Ethics Awareness Inventory Michelle Duffield PSY/490 July 10, 2011 Karlene Kilmer Ethics Awareness Inventory Paper The Ethics Awareness Inventory and the results were insightful and fascinating. The inventory appear to be a almost like fortune cookie conjuring. It will be interesting to know whether the determination is empirically valid. The assumption articulates ethical perception and technique. How ethical conduct can evaluate ethical conduct except through measurable results is not easily understood. If the results cannot be accurately measured, then confident objectivity that the fundamental moral construct even exists or is of any penalty to ordinary people. The Role of Personal Ethics in Psychology Ethical guiding principles shift focus as of late from personal character to organizational ethics. The major focal point of this change is, “…the misuse of power and discretion by individuals performing organizational roles” (Ethics Awareness Inventory, 2006, Introduction). The client-patient association in psychological therapy and clinical practice is the creation of ethical guidelines with the possibility for abuse of control and lack of attention to discretion. The results-centered approach to psychology would dictate the actions of the clinician must be in line with the declared principled rules of the practitioners. Also, ethical perspective recommends that ethical guidelines that support the practice of psychology should seek the greater...
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...Utilitarianism and virtue ethics both direct an individual’s moral decisions, but neither theory is perfect. Whilst utilitarianism focuses more on the consequences of our actions, virtue ethics focuses on the character of the person. In this essay, I will elaborate more on the core concepts of both utilitarianism and virtue ethics. Then, I will introduce a scenario that will be used to compare the two ethical frameworks side by side based on their suggestions. Finally, I will argue that between virtue ethics and utilitarianism in this scenario, even though they do not provide a morally perfect answer, utilitarianism has a more morally preferable answer than virtue ethics. Utilitarianism, also called by John Stuart Mill the “Greatest Happiness Principle” (Mill, p.77), states that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the opposite of happiness” (Mill, p.77). According to this principle, the actions that provide the greatest amount of happiness overall are morally the right actions to take, no matter what the said action actually is, because happiness is “pleasure and the absence of pain” (Woody Lecture Notes, Nov.5). This is known as maximizing total net utility, utility meaning “a measure of whatever one takes to be intrinsically good or...
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...Ethics Reflection Paper José Irizarry Strategic Planning and Implementation STR 581 January 8, 2015 Prof. Magda Oquendo Santiago Individuals are always in the process of making choices and decisions. It does not matter if they are transcendental or general decisions, the vast majority is formed by their values and points of view of what is correct or what is not, that which by definition is commonly referred to as ethics. As referenced in the ethics awareness inventory, the base for making ethical choices is founded by four fundamental values: character, obligation, results and equity, also known as CORE. These represent the ethics philosophy persons use to make ethical decisions, be it personal or professional. A business, a company, or an entity just as a person does, has a personality and a set of rules that direct and influence the subtleties of making choices. Therefore, careful consideration must be given to finding a balance among the leaders of the company and the organization itself. If an employee is in ethic agreement with the company, the employee will have a sense of belonging and have faith in the mission, product or service offered. However, if an employee is in disagreement with the ethics of the company, this employee will experience conflict. The ethics awareness inventory defines the first value as character. This feature focuses on the development of a solid principle of good morals. A person with good moral shows a strong behavior and strong beliefs...
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...assignment this week; the completion of Appendix B where we were to decide which course of action was to be taken based on each philosophical approach for the given scenarios. The three philosophical approaches are: consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. Consequentialism is the view that the value of actions is derived solely from the value of its consequences. In accounting, this approach is used to analyze which decision is most ethical based on the harms and benefits to the stakeholders; basically, it is the decision that does the greatest good for the greatest amount of people. In short, consequentialism is the decision is ethical if the positive outcome is greater than the negative outcome. Deontology is the ethical theory that is concerned with duties and rights. Whereas consequentialism is concerned with actions consequences, deontology is concerned with the obligation or duty motivating the decision (Brooks, 2007, p. 330). Decisions are based around moral standards, rights, fairness, and principles. Virtue ethics seems to lie somewhere between consequentialism and deontology; its primary concern is with traits of character that are morally right. Virtue ethics focuses on an individual’s integrity and character in relation to the moral community, such as professional communities (Brooks, 2007, p. 332). Scenario 1 The consequentialism approach is in favor of economic prosperity; the most favorable consequence for the greatest amount of people. This approach...
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...Ethics Essay August 18, 2014 University of Phoenix A brief definition of Virtue Ethics: "Virtue Ethics is a classification within Normative Ethics that attempts to discover and classify what might be deemed of moral character, and to apply the moral character as a base for one's choices and actions." The general concept behind Virtue Ethics is that it focuses on what the individual should choose for his/her own personal inward behavior (character) rather than the individual relying solely on the external laws and customs of the person's culture, and if a person's character is good then so ought the person's choices and actions be good. There is value in the ideals of Virtue Ethics, namely the value of directing the individual's attention away from following popular opinion while placing the attention back upon the individual him/herself. If the words "virtue," "ethic," and "moral" held clarity of definitions, then Virtue Ethics would surely become an excellent source of knowledge and teaching. Unfortunately, virtue, ethic, and moral have not yet been given a clarity of definitions, and so at present Virtue Ethics is not as effective as it could be, and within another view, Virtue Ethics may have become but one more variation of an external rule or custom for the student to follow. If a student does not yet know the origins and nature of virtue, ethics, and morals, then the student must accept the teacher's teachings to be true, and the student...
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...Aristotle and David Hume developed accounts of ethics that remained true to their own empirical philosophies that are different from more traditional accounts with the overall theme of how a virtuous person would live their life. In contrast, David Hume developed his own account of sentimentalist virtue ethics that challenges, or pushes back on, the virtue ethics Aristotle. According to Aristotle, we should be virtuous people – and as virtuous people do virtuous things. Instead of talking about particular actions and the rules according to which they are undertaken, then, Aristotle requires us to look at virtues, or qualities of character. Within Aristotle, the emphasis is more on character traits than on rules or obligations. Moral agency is not merely a matter of which rules to follow, but a whole way of life, which requires a unity of thought and feeling, which is characteristic of what Aristotle called ‘virtue’. What is a virtue, and what is the virtuous life? Aristotle’s definition is cited by Boetzkes and Waluchow: virtue is “a state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean, i.e., the mean relative to us, this being determined by rational principle, that principle by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it.” Virtue is a kind of disposition, but that’s not all – for virtue is a disposition to choose well. For Aristotle, virtuous action is action that emerges from one’s disposition to choose the middle point (or golden mean) between two vicious extremes;...
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...Each of the ethical frameworks have a unique component that sets them apart from one another in regards to how and why decisions are made. Of all the ethical frameworks, ethical formalism appears to be the most persuasive. Specifically, ethics of virtue is the most persuasive as it emphasizes how a good person will make good choices due to the values that are important to them (Pollock, 2014). Although there are not specific guidelines or rules regarding behaviors, good choices reflect values such as “thriftiness, temperance, humility, industrious, and honesty;” other values related to ethics of virtues are also “trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship” (Pollock, 2014, p.27-28). Thus, ethics of virtue...
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...Military Ethics PHI208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Prof Whitney Easton 10 March, 2014 Military Ethics This paper will discuss the topic of military ethics using the utilitarian theory. It will also incorporate the ethical system of virtue ethics. “Military ethics is about our learning what is good and true and then having the courage to do and be what and who we ought to. For military ethics is not about his or her successes or failures; it is not about their virtues or vices. Military ethics is about our heritage and history, and it is about our responsibility to be men and women of character.” (Toner, 2003) Strong military ethics are vital to maintaining disciplined service members, to providing a clear moral compass to follow and developing good character as well. First, military ethics could easily be applied to either theory, utilitarian or deontological; however, the utilitarian theory seems to be the better fit of the two. Even though it may seem that choosing the utilitarian theory focuses strictly on the greater good for the mass, it is however, a straightforward and direct way to evaluate behavior. Another ethical system, virtue ethics, can be associated with military ethics because by its definition virtue ethics emphasizes the role of one’s character and the virtues that one’s character embodies for determining or evaluating ethical behavior. (Wikipedia) The ethics that the military services have established follow a similar intent amongst the men and...
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...Ethics Essay Brock Q. Griffin ETH/316 October 01, 2012 Aron Muse Ethics Essay The science of right and wrong in human action, or as some believe it is what society deems to be right and wrong is what defines ethics (Boylan, 2009). What makes up ethics in a person? Is it his character as in virtue, or does it relate to family influence or a team concept as in utilitarianism. Does it manifest from a sense of duty as with deontological ethics? In this paper we’ll take a look at the differences in how each addresses ethics and morality. Deontological In this theory of ethics the emphasis is on doing what is right just because it’s right. However this theory can be related to both virtue and at some level utilitarianism. The similarity is that without a standard or virtue to hold you accountable you wouldn’t just up and perform deontological ethics. Your morals kick in as your foundation and you just do without thinking. Example is to open a door for someone, or to stand-up and let a pregnant woman sit down in a crowded area. In that situation you normally don’t think you just react. Utilitarianism Is the team concept or the action that produces more of a utility for the group. Utilitarianism is often contrasted with deontological for the fact that it’s calculated or thought out before the action is done. Where it differs from virtue is that it might not be installed in you, but in order to not bring negativity toward your group you perform...
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...Ethical Theories Virtues, ethics, and morals are what define people as good or bad, their actions as right or wrong. American society holds one’s virtues in high regard and often evaluates one based on virtue and moral conduct. Virtue by definition is, “the quality or practice of moral excellence or righteousness” (Collins English Dictionary, 2010). Thomas Mallory offered the most ethical character in fiction, Lancelot. It is his virtue that “Is an essential aspect of his success in arms” (McCarthy, 1988, p. 22). Virtue ethics and ethical relativism, studied by learned philosophers, help define the basis of right and wrong. Major Elements According to Aristotle, morality is a specific attribute of a person with regard to his or her own inner harmony. Aristotle explained moral attributes in the terms of one’s lucid ability of the inner self to manage its appetite for portion. He asserted that moral attributes are erudite and should be practiced to become habit (Athanassoulis, 2010, para 2). According to the textbook, “virtue is a state of character, that of being a good person” (Freeman, 2000, p. 88). Moral theories concern right and wrong behaviors; but virtue ethics change the kind of questions asked about ethics. Major elements in the theory of virtue ethics are the subjective behavior, qualities and habits that can lead the individual to make choices. This theory helps the individual to ask about right and wrong and how genuine fulfillment may be reached (Freeman...
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...definition of Ethics, * To discuss Principles of Ethical Conduct * To identify the Ideas organizing Principle of Ethics * To provide a systematic way of making ethical decision. * To encourage, motivate you to think about Ethical Decision you make. Meaning of Ethics Ethics: * Ethics provides a set of standards for behavior that helps us decide how we ought to act in a range of situations. In a sense, we can say that ethics is all about making choices, and about providing reasons why we should make these choices. moving from a primary focus on teaching employees to master the knowledge, skills, and job behaviors and apply them to the day-to-day activities (Making Choices: Ethical Decisions at the Frontier of Global Science) * Ethics refers to principles that define behavior as right, good and proper. Such principles do not always dictate a single "moral" course of action, but provide a means of evaluating and deciding among competing options. * The terms "ethics" and "values" are not interchangeable. Ethics is concerned with how a moral person should behave, whereas values are the inner judgments that determine how a person actually behaves. Values concern ethics when they pertain to beliefs about what is right and wrong. Most values, however, have nothing to do with ethics. For instance, the desire for health and wealth are values, but not ethical values. (www.josephsoninstitute.org) Concepts organizing Principle of Ethics 1. Autonomy...
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