Knowledge acquired subject to an ethical responsibility is an all-encompassing description on knowledge, but to establish this viewpoint as a common practice it must be clarified as to what ethical responsibility is. Ethical responsibility is that which holds an individual to the decision making level of taking certain factors such as: social benefit, benevolence, paternalism, honesty, law-abiding, justice, harm, autonomy, personal benefit, and personal rights into strict consideration when making a decision on how to utilize and distribute knowledge in the case at hand.
The greatest problem in this claim lies still in what is ‘ethical responsibility’? Juxtaposed to morals, which are commonly different amongst individuals as pertaining to their contrasting cultural and religious backgrounds and affiliations, ethics are rather standardized, thus allowing a concept like ethical responsibility prospective for individuals of all cultural, social, and religious backgrounds. Ethical responsibility is a decision making determination factor that is commonly employed in numerous career fields such as medicine and healthcare, law, education, coaching, and more. Subjecting decisions to ethics makes for an honest and just decision, and knowledge should logically be treated with the same ethical
Cited: Bacon, Francis, and Anne Underbrink. "What Is Knowledge?" Junior Theory Of Knowledge. Natrona County High School, Casper. Oct. 2011. Lecture. Einstein, Albert. "What Is Knowledge?" Junior Theory Of Knowledge. Natrona County High School, Casper. Oct. 2011. Lecture. Stewart, Potter, and Anne Underbrink. "Ethics." Junior Theory Of Knowledge. Natrona County High School, Casper. Jan. 2012. Reading.