...Ethics What is Ethics? Ethics is the study of what is morally right or wrong, good or bad. Views on ethics can very from person to person, based on individual belief. There are several ethical theories, which include virtue, utilitarianism, and deontology. Each of these theories are very different, yet are similar in some parts. These theories can be used to explain the differences in how they relate to virtue, value, and moral judgment. What is virtue theory? In order to understand virtue theory first, one must understand what defines a person’s character. A person’s character can de defined as all of his traits put together. Character traits can be good, bad, or somewhere in between good and bad. Virtue theory emphasizes on the character traits, and the evaluation of ethical behavior. Virtue theory stresses character over actions, duty, rights, or consequences. A person derives his virtues from his culture and environment. A virtuous person would simply strive to be the best person that he can be morally, using common character traits such as courage. The deontological theory of ethics is the opposite of virtue ethics. Deontological ethics is different from virtue ethics because deontology focuses on the act or duty itself, rather then if it was right or wrong. The focal point of deontological ethics is in the right actions justifying the duty itself. Deontology judges’ morality based on the examination of the actions rather...
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...© 2009 Ethics in a Nutshell By Matt Deaton, M.A. MattDeaton.net Ethics is the systematic reason-guided study of what we morally ought to do. It’s one of the four main sub-disciplines of philosophy, the other three being logic, metaphysics and epistemology. While most people defer to religion or society or their gut when deciding moral dilemmas, ethicists think through them for themselves. Whether or not we fully adopt their approach, we can all learn a thing or two from ethicists about asking the right questions, paying attention to the right factors, and holding a consistent set of moral beliefs. Oughts Based On Reason The difference between ethics and other ways of deciding what one ought to do is that ethics entails the rigorous use of reason. What we ought to do is one of those slippery questions to which conclusive answers are hard to pin down. All the traditional authorities have their flaws. Because religions ultimately appeal to faith, not evidence, and different religions proscribe different moral mandates, the objective thinker has no principled way to decide which to follow. Citing the Koran won’t convince a Christian, citing the Bible won’t convince a Muslim, and citing either won’t convince an atheist. Therefore, since ethicists want to appeal to reasons anyone can accept—regardless of their religious position—they can’t defer to holy books. Also, because societies disagree what morality entails, each just as confident in their conflicting...
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...Bethany Freitag 000291470 Intro to Ethics. My Moral Theory To begin to create my own moral or ethical theory, I really had to look into myself and figure out my morals. In addition I had to study and read the theories in our book to truly understand ethics and morals to create my own. My moral or ethical theory is a hybrid of sorts. It is based off of the theories we have studied this summer. It could also be something that stands on its own. When I think of ethical theories I always go back to Kant. His core ideas are slightly how I live my life. My morals stand on respect for life, like Kant, but a little broader. Another I could pull off of was the chapter we had on virtue ethics. I am a big believer in virtues and how they make life better, I tend to also call them my morals. Some of these morals or virtues, would be charity, compassion, accountability, faith and forgiveness. I also like to add in some feminism because I am a big proponent of equality in the sexes. I also live my life as though all persons or beings who have emotions, who can make decisions and such, are just as important as myself. The more I think about morals I keep going back to my number one, which is faith. When looking at faith I first think of religion, which is a very important thing to me. If something goes against what I believe in religion wise, nothing will shake that. When I also thing of faith though, I think of the virtue, having faith in humanity. We truly need to have faith...
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...philosophers of the Enlightenment era. However his work in epistemology (the study of knowledge) and theology (the study of religion) are still influential to current philosophers of our time. He was also known for his beliefs in ethics and his knowledge in astronomy. Kant was an independent person, meaning he did not let others influence his way of thought. He created his own moral values and acted alone in his findings and did not look for outside criticism. He believed that other people’s emotions and view towards a subject could impact one’s moral values and behavior. He was admired by his friends for this quality, and because of this he became famous for the concept known as the categorical imperative (Evers). Theory Developed and Its Example: Categorical Imperative: Kant developed a theory on morality that is known as the categorical imperative. This theory implies that one should only act on his or her own morals. Kant believed a person has a duty to be moral in every sense as he believed this was a moral requirement. He also believed that an action one takes must be moral enough for the entire universe to agree with, in order to become universally acceptable to keep peace and order (Hartman, 2011). According to Norman, “Kant’s moral imperative is categorical because it always holds – there are no ‘ifs, and, or buts’. One must always act on that maxim that one can will to be a universal law,” (Norman, 1983). In other words unless everyone in the universe benefits...
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...The Virtue theory states that a person should be virtuous, but not to the point where it would harm that person’s happiness (Flannigan Week 8 Lecture, Ch.12). In order to balance these acts so that they may be honorable, a person must follow the concept of the golden mean. The golden mean is being able to find the average or middle ground between two actions. A person must use practical wisdom so that he/she can acquire the golden mean in a situation. You acquire practical wisdom from family, friends, and good nurturing. Using practical wisdom requires reflecting on a specific situation and applying whatever wisdom we may have to that situation (Flannigan Week 8 Lecture, Ch.12). This theory can apply to the Ethical Standard 3.3 because the victim advocate must gain practical wisdom from not only a good upbringing, but from previous case experiences so that the advocate can find the most appropriate golden mean in a situation that may bring about feelings of blame, doubt, judgement, or condemnation onto the victim (Ethical Standards of the NAVSC, pg. 20). For example, if the victim begins to feel judged by the victim advocate, the advocate must find the middle ground so that the victim may feel like the advocate cares enough, but doesn’t overdo it where it feels judgmental to the victim; Nevertheless, finding the golden mean in some situations...
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...Applying Moral Philosophies to Business Ethics Moral philosophies - present guidelines for determining how conflicts in human interests are to be settled and for optimizing mutual benefit of people living together in groups. --There is no one correct way to resolve ethical issues in business. -- Each type of philosophy has a distinct basis for deciding whether a particular action is right or wrong. -- Ethics issues analyzed using different philosophical theories generally have the same appropriate outcome. Role Morality — people have a moral responsibility to fulfill their role in the organization Do employees have a moral responsibility to “do their jobs?” What are their responsibilities? Do employers have a moral responsibility to “do their jobs?” What are their responsibilities? How do employers handle conflicts in the different roles they perform? What if your superior wants you to carry out some responsibility, and your workgroup thinks this is unfair? What if some personal role conflicts with a work role? (Others roles include: student, parent, child, organization member, etc.) Moral Philosophy Perspectives 1. Teleology — egoism - enlightened egoism - utilitarianism 2. Deontology 3. Relativist Perspective 4. Virtue Ethics I. Teleology — consequences (consequentialist theories) egoism — right behavior is based on good consequences for the individual enlightened egoism — some basic “rules”...
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...| | Sco 120:Introduction to Ethics and Social ResposablityJohn MeeksShawna BandmannMay, 24,2013 | | Ethics is best described as the difference between what is morally right and what is not right. Ethical theory defines what is perceived to be right and what is wrong, while ethical practice suggest that one’s environment and cultural beliefs determine who one will react in any given situation. The question how do we as a society decide what is morally right or wrong in moral “free choice” (Mosser, 2010)? Morals are unique to each person, culture, religious belief and environment. Ethical practice is defined by the diversity within each society, where no to people are alike. Morals don’t define ethics, ethics define morality. Abortion an age old ethical debate between moral right choice and wrong choice, why? To evaluate abortion with ethics, we must first understand the argument from all perspectives. What is the debate reason abortion is so fiercely argued in past and present generations? Abortion is the term to define the choice to terminate a woman’s pregnancy. Unitarian view, which is the view that relativist challenge. Utilitarian view suggest that abortion is not wrong because its selfish and benefits the mother not the unborn fetus, this is what Unitarians refer to as :ethical egoism”(Mosser,2010). Relativist view is just a little less judgmental, suggesting that some situations may be determined morally correct while others simply remain wrong. In this paper neither...
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...Examination of Ethical Theories ETH/316 August 5, 2013 Examination of Ethical Theories There are seven general ethical categories used in defining the ethical values and morals people follow. Each category has different subsections and expectations for a person’s behavior. A person’s morals and ethical beliefs develop from a mixture of values from these various theories; therefore he or she does not necessarily fit snugly into one category. The top three ethical theories are deontological, utilitarianism, and virtue-based ethics – these are the theories under examination. Deontological Theory Also known as ‘duty-based’, ‘categorical imperative’, and ‘The Golden Rule’, deontology focuses on “decisions about what’s right [based] on broad, abstract universal ethical principles or values such as honesty, promise keeping, fairness, loyalty, rights (to safety, privacy, etc.), justice, responsibility, compassion, and respect for human beings and property” (Treviño, 2011, pg. 42). People following this ethical category believe moral principles outline the necessary obligations and duties – principles developed by biblical or religious beliefs and societal or government laws. A deontological person does not worry about the consequences of a decision. Their concerns focus on duty or moral obligations. In a professional capacity, the person follows instructions of managers or supervisors because it is his or her duty to respect authority, even if the instructions...
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...ubyuhb hu b Under this form of ethics you can't justify an action by showing that it produced good consequences, which is why it's sometimes called 'non-Consequentialist'. The word 'deontological' comes from the Greek word deon, which means 'duty'. Duty-based ethics are usually what people are talking about when they refer to 'the principle of the thing'. Duty-based ethics teaches that some acts are right or wrong because of the sorts of things they are, and people have a duty to act accordingly, regardless of the good or bad consequences that may be produced. Some kinds of action are wrong or right in themselves, regardless of the consequences. Deontologists live in a universe of moral rules, such as: It is wrong to kill innocent people It is wrong to steal It is wrong to tell lies It is right to keep promises Someone who follows Duty-based ethics should do the right thing, even if that produces more harm (or less good) than doing the wrong thing: People have a duty to do the right thing, even if it produces a bad result. So, for example, the philosopher Kant thought that it would be wrong to tell a lie in order to save a friend from a murderer. If we compare Deontologists with Consequentialists we can see that Consequentialists begin by considering what things are good, and identify 'right' actions as the ones that produce the maximum of those good things. Deontologists appear to do it the other way around; they first consider what actions are...
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...ENGINEERING ETHICS SENSES OF ‘ENGINEERING ETHICS’ The word ethics has different meanings but they are correspondingly related to each other. In connection with that, Engineering ethics has also various senses which are related to one another. Comparison of the senses of Ethics and Engineering Ethics Ethics 1. Ethics is an activity which concerns with making investigations and knowing about moral values, finding solutions to moral issues and justifying moral issues and justifying moral judgments. 2. Ethics is a means of contrasting moral questions from non-moral problems. 3. Ethics is also used as a means of describing the beliefs, attitudes and habits related to an individual’s or group’s morality. Eg. : Ethics given in the Bhagavat Gita or the Bible or the Quran. 4. As per the definition of dictionaries – ‘moral principles’ is about the actions and principles of conduct of the people. i.e. ethical or unethical. Engineering Ethics 1. Like the ethics, engineering ethics also aims at knowing moral values related to engineering, finding accurate solutions to the moral problems in engineering and justifying moral judgments of engineering. 2. Engineering Ethics gives a total view of the moral problems and how to solve these issues specifically related to engineering field. 3. Engineering ethics is also using some currently accepted codes and standards which are to be followed by group of engineers and engineering societies. 4. Engineering ethics also...
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...paragraphs the three ethical theories virtue, utilitarianism theories, and deontological ethics will described relating factors to ethics and morality. Definitions for each will be given followed by how they relate in comparison to ethics and morals. Conclude by explaining the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to ethics. Comparing morals and ethical theories helps one to understand a person’s guidance method, which helps or aides a person through their decision making process. Each theory will emphasize the different points including predicting the outcome or end results. To compare the similarities and differences between virtue, utilitarianism theories, and deontological ethics, you will see the breakdown what is meant by virtue and utilitarianism concepts and how they are defined. Stemming from my research, we understand ethics is the study of the person’s action and how that person determines right and wrong. And morals are our ability to determine right from wrong influenced by our upbringing in a religious environment. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary (n.d.), virtues are “conformity to a standard of right” and “a commendable quality or trait”. When I think about virtues, I imagine a person who does what is right no matter what the situation. This person must possess a quality trait that makes him or her believe that there is a higher power they have to eventually have to answer to in the end. “Virtue ethics is also sometimes called...
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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 Ethics has an extend definition and different meaning for each person, but as a personal definition for me this big word means integrity, respect, principles and values. There are three theories in regard ethic they are; virtue theory, utilitarianism theory and deontology theory. They have similarities for example one of them is do the right thing in any circumstance and of course depending of the person’s viewpoint. The definition of virtue theory, utilitarianism and deontology is the following; “Virtue ethics is currently one of three major approaches in normative ethics. It may, initially, be identified as the one that emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to the approach which emphasizes duties or rules (deontology) or that which emphasizes the consequences of actions (consequentialism). Suppose it is obvious that someone in need should be helped. A utilitarian will point to the fact that the consequences of doing so will maximize well-being, a deontologist to the fact that, in doing so the agent will be acting in accordance with a moral rule such as “Do unto others as you would be done by” and a virtue ethicist to the fact that helping the person would be charitable or benevolent.” (Hursthouse R, 2012) Virtue theory looks for the good, the excellence and could be classified as the character of the person. Utilitarianism theory emphasizes more in the action that produces more utility for a group than an individual’s interests “the greatest...
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...Ethics Essay Ethics, according to dictionary.com, is the branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. Or as the textbook states, ethics is the science concerning the “right and wrong” of human action. This paper will be discussing the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. There will be a description of the differences in how each theory addresses ethics and morality. It will contain a personal experience to help explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one of the three theories. The three main views of the normative ethics theory is virtue ethics, deontological ethics, and utilitarianism. Virtue ethics focuses on the virtues, or moral character, while deontological focuses on duties and rules, and utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of ones actions. Virtue ethics is called agent based or character ethics, as well. According to the textbook, when using the virtue ethics approach, one should take the viewpoint that in living their life they should try to cultivate excellence in all that they do (Boylan, 2009). Virtue ethics suggests that people should develop their character so that they will lead a good life. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism. This means that the moral worth of an action is determined...
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...Ethics essay: Things to consider and justify: • Health workers of all kinds should have a competence in ethical thinking. In order to develop such competence to the full it is necessary to understand the theories of moral philosophers. Health workers need to know the basic content of and the difficulties with the various theories of ethics, and they need to be aware of the different principles for action that follow from the various theories • Health workers need more than a willingness to "do good", to "do the right thing", or to "be moral". They need tools to be ethical just as an occupational therapist needs a goniometer to measure joint movement, or knowledge of anatomy and physiology. And as with the learning of all skills, health workers need time and experience in order to develop their ability to work with these tools • The essence of moral reasoning- A respect for moral reasoning is a sign of maturity in a person. It is a significant mark of civilisation. Moral reasoning is made possible by intellect, stamina and patience. It is clear that there are no specific rules that can always be applied to best effect in all situations. And it is apparent that a reliance on intuition is not sufficient Seedhouse, 2008- By having a in depth knowledge of the principles and theories, gives us more option for moral reasoning in practice. • The point of describing so many theories is to make it utterly clear that it is inadequate to select one theory and apply it consistently...
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