Ethics
09/09/2013
WHO ARE
THEY?
Trends,
Issues &
Ethics
WHAT DO
WE KNOW
ABOUT
THEIR
ETHICAL
POSITION?
WHAT IS ETHICS?
• Ethics may be defined as a set of moral principles that govern one’s course of action.
• Ethics and law are a system of conflict resolution.
• The law is the minimum behavior standard.
MORALITY
Everyone has some morality of his or her own ‐ what he or she thinks is right and wrong ‐ and it sometimes happens that people who others see as bad do not see themselves as bad.
Each nation has a conception of morality too, a conception which reflects the collective thinking of the majority of the people of the nation.
Much of a nation’s morality is stated in laws which prohibit immoral actions such as rape, robbery, or murder. It is questionable whether everything which is illegal is also immoral.
IN VITRO FERTILISATION
ABORTION
Four month after a single women got pregnant, having three IVF-treatments with donor sperm, she asks for an abortion.
According to the women, she doesn’t need the foetus any longer.
She made her point: she is fertile and is able to become pregnant.
WHAT IS ETHICS?
• Ethics is philosophy of morality.
• This is why it is sometimes referred to as ‘moral philosophy.’ • The term ‘ethics’ comes from the Greek term ethos meaning character, and we mean by the moral character of a person whether he or she is a good or bad person.
GOOD
EVIL
We’re doing this for years
It’s in my interest
Hey! This is what we’ve agreed on
We have to follow Gods will
Most people do it
My boss says it’s OK
I stick to the rules
As a human being I can’t act differently
I’m not doing anything!
Descriptive ethics
Prescriptive ethics
1
09/09/2013
norm freedom interest good duties
evil responsibility rights judgement How do we apply this all?
ETHICAL NIHILISM
• No ethical beliefs are true
• We cannot make ethical judgments at all.
GOLDEN
WHO ARE
THEY?
Trends,
Issues &
Ethics
WHAT DO
WE KNOW
ABOUT
THEIR
ETHICAL
POSITION?
WHAT IS ETHICS?
• Ethics may be defined as a set of moral principles that govern one’s course of action.
• Ethics and law are a system of conflict resolution.
• The law is the minimum behavior standard.
MORALITY
Everyone has some morality of his or her own ‐ what he or she thinks is right and wrong ‐ and it sometimes happens that people who others see as bad do not see themselves as bad.
Each nation has a conception of morality too, a conception which reflects the collective thinking of the majority of the people of the nation.
Much of a nation’s morality is stated in laws which prohibit immoral actions such as rape, robbery, or murder. It is questionable whether everything which is illegal is also immoral.
IN VITRO FERTILISATION
ABORTION
Four month after a single women got pregnant, having three IVF-treatments with donor sperm, she asks for an abortion.
According to the women, she doesn’t need the foetus any longer.
She made her point: she is fertile and is able to become pregnant.
WHAT IS ETHICS?
• Ethics is philosophy of morality.
• This is why it is sometimes referred to as ‘moral philosophy.’ • The term ‘ethics’ comes from the Greek term ethos meaning character, and we mean by the moral character of a person whether he or she is a good or bad person.
GOOD
EVIL
We’re doing this for years
It’s in my interest
Hey! This is what we’ve agreed on
We have to follow Gods will
Most people do it
My boss says it’s OK
I stick to the rules
As a human being I can’t act differently
I’m not doing anything!
Descriptive ethics
Prescriptive ethics
1
09/09/2013
norm freedom interest good duties
evil responsibility rights judgement How do we apply this all?
ETHICAL NIHILISM
• No ethical beliefs are true
• We cannot make ethical judgments at all.
GOLDEN