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Transcript of Chapter 1 Understanding Ethics Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No...
Chapter 1
Understanding Ethics
Copyright © 2014 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
1-2
What is Ethics?
• Manner by which we try to live our lives according to a standard of right or wrong behaviors • In both how we think and behave toward others
and how we would like them to think and behave toward us
1-3
What is Ethics?
• Factors that influence the morality of ethics• How one was raised• One’s religion• Traditions and beliefs in one’s society
• Society: Structured community of people bound together by similar traditions and customs
1-4
Understanding Right and Wrong
• Moral standards - Principles by which judgments are made about good and bad behavior that are based on: • Religion• Culture: Particular set of attitudes, beliefs, and
practices that characterize a group of individuals• Philosophical beliefs
1-5
Understanding Right and Wrong
• Sources of beliefs• Family and friends• Ethnic background• Religion• School• Media• Personal role models and mentors
• Morality - Collection of influences built over a person’s lifetime
1-6
How Should I Live?
• Morals and values - Set of personal principles by which you aim to live your life• Value system: Set of personal principles
formalized into a code of behavior
1-7
The Value of a Value
• Intrinsic values: Quality by which a value is a good thing in itself and is pursued for its own sake, whether anything comes from that pursuit or not
• Instrumental values: Quality by which the pursuit of one value is a good way to reach another value
1-8
Value Conflicts
• Impact of a person’s or a group’s value system can be seen in the extent to which their daily lives are influenced by those values
• Conflicts occur when one is presented with a situation that places those values in direct conflict with an action• Personal value system - Specific choices and
responses to a situation by an individual
1-9
Doing the Right Thing
• Categories under which individuals classify ethics • Simple truth • Question of someone’s personal character• Rules of appropriate individual behavior• Rules of appropriate behavior for a community
or society
1-10
The Golden Rule
• Problem with the rule is the assumption that others would follow the same principles as you do
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
1-11
Ethical Theories
• Virtue ethics: Concept of living your life according to a commitment to the achievement of a clear ideal• Criticism - Societies can place different emphasis
on different virtues• Utilitarianism: Ethical choices that offer the
greatest good for the greatest number of people• Criticism - Idea that the ends justify the means
1-12
Ethical Theories
• Universal ethics: Actions that are taken out of duty and obligation to a purely moral ideal rather than based on the needs of the situation• Universal principles are seen to apply to
everyone, everywhere, all the time• Criticism - Reverse of the weakness in ethics for
the greater good
1-13
Ethical Relativism
• Concept that the traditions of your society, your personal opinions, and the circumstances of the present moment define your ethical principles• Implies some degree of flexibility as opposed to
strict • Offers the comfort of being a part of the ethical
majority in the community or society
1-14
Ethical Dilemmas
• Situation in which there is no obvious right or wrong decision rather a right or right answer
• Dilemmas occur when the decision you must make requires you to make a right choice knowing full well that you are:• Leaving an equally right choice undone
1-15
Ethical Dilemmas
• Likely to suffer something bad as a result of that choice
• Contradicting a personal ethical principle in making that choice
• Abandoning an ethical value of your community or society in making that choice
1-16
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
• Sleep-test ethics• Ethics of intuition• Should rely on our personal insights, feelings,
and instincts when we face a difficult problem• Process for solving an ethical problem• Analyze the consequences• Analyze the actions • Make a decision
1-17
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
• Arthur Dobrin’s questions• What are the facts? • What can you guess about the facts you don’t
know? • What do the facts mean? • What does the problem look like through the
eyes of the people involved?
1-18
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
• What will happen if you choose one thing rather than another?
• What do your feelings tell you? • What will you think of yourself if you decide one
thing or another? • Can you explain and justify your decision to
others?
1-19
Ethical Reasoning
• Looking at the information available in resolving an ethical dilemma drawing conclusions based on that information in relation to our own ethical standards
1-20
Figure 1.1 - Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages of Ethical Reasoning