The Definition of Ethics and the Foundation of Moral Development
LS 312 Ethics and the Legal Environment
Unit 2 Assignment
The Definition of Ethics and the Foundation of Moral Development
Dianne Wing
Kaplan University
December 18, 2012
THE DEFINITION OF ETHICS AND THE FOUNDATION OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Ethics
Ethics is simply defined as a set of principles of right conduct, the motivation based on ideas of right and wrong. It is also the study of the general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by a person (moral philosophy). Ethics also speaks to the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession as in medical or business ethics (Free Dictionary, 2012).
The Theorist
John Rawls 1921-2002 John Rawls was an American political philosopher in the liberal tradition. His theory of justice as fairness envisions a culture of free citizens with equal basic rights acting together in a democratic economic system. His description of political liberalism speaks to the legitimate use of political power in a democracy, intending to show how lasting unity may be accomplished despite the diversity of worldviews that free institutions tolerate. His work on the law of people extends these theories to liberal foreign policy, with the purpose of showing how a peaceful and tolerant international order might be achievable (Wenar, 2012). John Rawls is recognized as being among the most important political philosophers of the late twentieth century. He is best known for his theory of Justice as Fairness that advances principles of justice necessary to govern a modern social order and offers a hypothetical variation on the social contract theory, in which rational representatives make social decisions from behind a "veil of ignorance" that prevents prior knowledge of what status they will hold. According to Rawls, this method would produce a society where individual freedoms are maximized for all and social inequality is justifiable only under conditions that would be
Unit 2 Assignment
The Definition of Ethics and the Foundation of Moral Development
Dianne Wing
Kaplan University
December 18, 2012
THE DEFINITION OF ETHICS AND THE FOUNDATION OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Ethics
Ethics is simply defined as a set of principles of right conduct, the motivation based on ideas of right and wrong. It is also the study of the general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by a person (moral philosophy). Ethics also speaks to the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession as in medical or business ethics (Free Dictionary, 2012).
The Theorist
John Rawls 1921-2002 John Rawls was an American political philosopher in the liberal tradition. His theory of justice as fairness envisions a culture of free citizens with equal basic rights acting together in a democratic economic system. His description of political liberalism speaks to the legitimate use of political power in a democracy, intending to show how lasting unity may be accomplished despite the diversity of worldviews that free institutions tolerate. His work on the law of people extends these theories to liberal foreign policy, with the purpose of showing how a peaceful and tolerant international order might be achievable (Wenar, 2012). John Rawls is recognized as being among the most important political philosophers of the late twentieth century. He is best known for his theory of Justice as Fairness that advances principles of justice necessary to govern a modern social order and offers a hypothetical variation on the social contract theory, in which rational representatives make social decisions from behind a "veil of ignorance" that prevents prior knowledge of what status they will hold. According to Rawls, this method would produce a society where individual freedoms are maximized for all and social inequality is justifiable only under conditions that would be
References: Johnson, D. (2012) Hostess Failure Not Union 's Fault, Truth-Out, http://truth- out.org/opinion/item/12928-hostess-failure-not-unions-fault Kaplan e-Guide (2012) The Kaplan e-Guide to Ethics and the Legal Environment, Chapter 2, p. 1-7 Kemerling, Garth. (Dec. 30, 2011). John Rawls, Philosophy Pages (photo included). http://www.philosophypages.com/dy/r.htm#rawl Olen, H. (2012) Who Killed Hostess Brands and Twinkies? FORBES, http://news.yahoo.com/hostess-executives-earnings-revealed-blame-bakery- workers-company-210214635.html Pauyo, J. (2012) Why people/organizations act ethically; 12 Manage, http://www.12manage.com/forum.asp?TB=i_er&S=46 The Free Dictionary (2012) Ethics, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ethics Wenar, Leif, "John Rawls", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/rawls/