Ethical Theories and Moral Principles - Assignment Example

ETHICAL THEORIES AND MORAL/ ETHICAL PRINCIPLES QUESTION 1 (12 MARKS) a. What is the study of ethics? The word ethics1 is derived Greek word ‘ethikos’ that translates into a custom or habit. Ethics (Rest 2000:381-395) is derived from Greek word ethos that translates into character. Ethics is therefore a discipline2 that is concerned with studies of moral and ethical principles3 that individual or a group of persons is identified with, or adopt and character that they exhibit regarding right conduct that is accepted as defined by the customs or traditions of the society they live in. b. Why study ethics i. In order to develop critical abilities that are required to solve ethical and moral issues ii. In order to acquire skills and knowledge that is vital solving legal disputes based on moral and ethical framework iii. Enables individuals to develop a habit of taking part in philanthropy like donating money to charity, cloths and even blood in emergency cases and non-emergency scenarios iv. Equips learners with knowledge on sexuality and this helps to minimize rates of divorce and misunderstanding between couples v. It makes a learner to become a resource for taking part in ethical discussions vi. Helps to instill good ethical habits in the learner vii. Enables the learner to develop a critical thinking approach to ethical dilemmas that affect the community or the society they live in. c. According to Peter Singer, what constitutes an ethical position? Please use your own words. An ethical position should be one that is in line with ethical and moral expectation of a society, one that is a product of critical thinking. Question 2 (8 marks) a. What is moral or ethical principle It is a rule (Griffiths 2008:1-67) that evaluates relationship between expected importance or value that is assigned to an action and its corresponding output. b. In your own words, describe six (6) moral or ethical principles as described by Brennan and Griffiths (2008). Give an example of each principle while using current issues that might be found in the media. i. Autonomy: this refers to ability of an individual to make decisions that concern their own lives. ii. Nonmaleficence: no individual should do or perform any act that can harm another person like carrying our involuntary euthanasia iii. Beneficence: this principle advocates for persons to take part in activities that benefit others in the society. iv. Justice: this principle requires people to be fair to others and do what they would expect others to do fore them. v. Fidelity: this principle advocates for development of faithfulness attitude in people who are engaged in relationships. vi. Veracity: this principle advocates for truthfulness about issues that affect their decisions regarding their lives. A person therefore should be given adequate information in order to make informed consent about the consequences of the decisions that they make. Question 3 (4 marks) In your own words, define the following: (please explain their implications for the field of ethics) a. Deontology/non-consequantialism: Deontology is an ethical theory that advocates for individuals to exercise4 and practice5 behavioral attitudes and personality traits that conform6 to the community or the society that they exist in. For instance, abortion is a medical process of saving an expectant mother from a pregnancy that exposes her life into danger. Abortion is allowed in some communities but it is not accepted in other communities because it is considered as murder and termination of continuity of life (taken to begin after conception). b. Teleology/consequantialism: Teleology is derived from the Greek word telos that translates into end. Therefore teleology is a process of judging events or scenario or action depending on their outcome7. If the action produces joy and happiness, then the action is considered ethically right and vice versa. Question 4 (10 marks) In your own words describe the following ethical terms a. Ethical egoism: Egoism is derived from the Latin work ego that translates into I, therefore ethical egoism is an ethical theory that relates to actions that outline and underline our own interests, that define our motivations and goals of interests. They define our own personal traits or personal character. b. Virtue ethics: It is an ethical theory that helps to breed good behavioural attitudes like compassion, empathy, sympathy, honesty, faithfulness, tolerance and loyalty. c. Act utilitarianism Act utilitarianism is derived from the term act utility and therefore it is an ethical theory that requires an individual to evaluate the impact of their actions to the people who are affected by the act. The person should do what is going to add more ethical value. d. Situational ethics It is a theory that requires decisions regarding a scenario to be based on the present circumstances of the situation. e. Ethics of care It’s a normative ethical theory that requires individuals to interact with others in a caring way. The theory is based on the need to respect human rights in order not to undermine our own humanity. Topic: truth and honesty Question 5 (12 marks) a. Is there such a thing as “truthfulness”? Explain your answer. Yes, there is truthfulness but it is conditional. The quality of truthfulness exists in individuals who are righteous and have personality traits to uphold high level of integrity and dignity. People are trusted depending on how far they are able to speak truth. Truth depends on the dimension of intention of content that is communicated. In the medical field, there is a confidentiality ethics where a patient or a relative is not supposed to know criteria of treatment that is adopted. In this case, truthfulness has a measure that is evaluated based on the fact that ‘if a person is an individual is not telling the truth, while the person is not intending, then the individual is assumed not to be lying. A lie is an act of telling the truth when it is not intended when viewed through the lens of sincerity of intention. b. What is “whistle blowing”? Give an example and brief account of this phenomenon Whistle blowing is an act of disclosing confidential information that is related to danger that can result out of implementation of the information, or illegal or unethical conduct that are against existing codes of ethics, be it on an employee or an employee in conjunction with other individuals that may not be members of staff of the organization. For instance, if there are employees who have unethical practice like siphoning money out of the organization through improper procurement procedures should be reported and the whistle blowers should be protected through an act. c. When would it be best to not tell the truth If there are no measures in place to protect the privacy of the whistle blower, exposing fraudulent practices in an organization may breed enmity between employees and may be a risk to life for the whistle blower. In other circumstances, exposure of fraudulent practices in organizations becomes a matter of press and the whistle blower may loose the job and his or her career may end. Termination of services through whistle blowing in many organizations is characterized by loss of benefits because initially, the organization may consider such a practice as a bad publicity to the organization. In large organizations, which are registered in the stock exchange, the organization may loose it share price. TOPIC: SEX, LOVE AND MORALITY Question 6 (12 marks) a. How do ethics and morals apply to sexuality Sex should start at the appropriate age when the girl or boy have completed their school and are in a position to make upright decisions regarding income and work. Sex should not be commenced before marriage and sexual practice should be monogamous in order to limit cases of single parent families. b. How can love apply to ethics and morals? Love should be practiced with individuals who morally and ethically qualify. For instance, love should be monogamous and should respect the age of the individuals who are involved. Love between elderly individual and under-age individuals is highly morally and ethically condemned and triggers public outcry8. Love should exist between individuals who are able to make rational decisions about sexuality and who are not engaged or in marriage. Children below the age of 18 should not be exposed to pornography or sexual material. Ethically, parents should not let their children to have access to pornographic content. c. What is “agape”? Agape translates into universal love especially love of God to mankind. Individuals should sacrifice their own lives to serve or help others who are in need. Agape also includes the act of volunteering to serve others. For instance, individuals who sacrificed their lives to take part in rescue of persons during august 1998 terror attacks on American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. TOPIC: LIFE AND DEATH Question 7 (12 marks) a. What is euthanasia? Euthanasia is medically defined as a process through which a physician intentionally terminates the life of a chronically sick patient or terminally sick patient with either consent of the patient or relative of the patient. The definition of euthanasia also includes an intentional action by a person to terminate the life of a patient in order to end the suffering of the patient or to reduce medical costs that may result from hospitalization of the same in case of spinal cord injuries. b. In your own words explain four (4) different types of euthanasia i. Euthanasia by omission: this is intentionally causing or contributing to death of a sick patient or a very old person who is unable to move by failing to provide necessary patient care like giving the patient food or water. The patient dies from dehydration or starvation. ii. Euthanasia by Action: this is intentionally terminating the life of a patient who is terminally ill especially spinal injuries through use of lethal injections. It also includes giving a terminally ill patient poisoned food. There is no consent by the patient to end their lives and mostly occurs to patients who has lost motor nerve communication or are unable to make rational decisions. iii. Physician assisted suicide: this type of euthanasia occurs when a physician to a patient intentionally assists a relative of the patient to end the life of the patient. There is no consent of the patient. It can also be termed generally as involuntary euthanasia. iv. Voluntary euthanasia: this is termination of the life of a terminally ill patient as a result of an agreement between the patient and his or her physician. It involves consent of the terminally ill patient and the patient has time to counsel her or his relatives and leave a will. c. List six (6) bio-ethical issues i. Cloning ii. Embryo adoption iii. Genetic engineering iv. Surrogacy v. Xenotransplantation vi. genetic engineering vii. stem cells d. Explain “sanctity of life” versus “quality of life” approaches to life and death as ethical issues. Sanctity of life refers to value that is placed on life and recognizes that life begins after conception. Sanctity of life is a function of a life that is free from substance abuse, irrelevant learning that could affect ethical and moral conduct of an individual or any external or environmental input that can affect psychological and physiological development an individual character. Quality of life refers to standard of life that an individual lives and is a function of good nutrition, moral nourishment, ethical nourishment, emotional nourishment and physiological nourishment that contribute to normal health. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR MATTERS Question 8 (10 marks) a. What is meant by ‘public good’ (‘public interest’?) These are things (Downs 1962:1-36) that positively or negatively affect way individuals or citizens are treated and whether the way they are treated undermines justices, integrity, individual’s rights and freedom9 . Any judgment entered against the individual should respect personal life10 of the individual by complying with individual’s dignity, justice, rights and freedoms (Goodsell 1990; Mowbrary 2003:315-340). Public interest11 is taken as something that supports the wish of the society and not inclined to serve individual members or sectional interest groups12. b. Explain three (3) values that can assist business or government organizations to evaluate decisions in terms of “public interest” or “public good”. i. Innovativeness: should have opportunities for development of new technologies. ii. Accessibility: people should have means of communication to take part in decision iii. Openness: environment should be enabling for public participation iv. Transparency: people should be made to understand how the process id structured. c. Give an example of a decision that your Australian (New South Wales) state government or territory has recently made that is in the “public interest” and explain why it is in the interest of the public. On 5th August 2008, a rule was passed about business succession in Australia a company owner should have a will in place concerning his or her personal estate and also a will that gives details of his or her succession. TOPIC: ETHICS AND THE PROFESSIONS Question 9 (6 marks) a. What occupations do we consider to be “professions”? Identify six professions. Occupations that are taken to be professions are those that require adherence to high ethical standards and that require professionals to uphold responsibilities attached to their positions and that the public domain understand have special knowledge and skills in them. The individuals are products of relevant training in the profession and have undoubted experience and preparations to serve at the positions. Examples of occupations that qualify to be professions are: i. Architecture ii. Accounting iii. Pharmacists iv. Physiotherapists v. Surveyors vi. Dentists vii. Engineers b. Why do professional “code of ethics exists”? i. Code of ethics help to provide guidelines on how new employees into an organization or interns serving their internship should be oriented into the organization and terms of their service with respect to protocols and procedures of the organization ii. Code of ethics help to formulate principles for accountability that employees and interns should exercise within and outside the organization that help to foster corporate citizenship iii. Code of ethics help professionals to know procedures that should be followed when resolving conflicts that are likely to emerge in the workplace. This helps to outline procedures that are necessary to tackle problems that arise in the organization and minimize labor disputes as well as employees misunderstandings. iv. Code of ethics in an organization help to provide avenues for making informed decisions TOPIC: GLOBALIZATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT Question 10 (10 marks) a. What do the terms “anthropocentrism” and “ecocentrism” mean? What do these terms mean for environmental ethics? Anthropocentrism is a human centered model that advocates for human care while ecocentrism is a nature centered system of values that advocate for safer environments (Dunlop and Vanliere 1978:10-19) and reduction of global warming (Alelrod 1994: 84-104). b. What is speciesism Speciesism is an attitude of discrimination that is based on species. Speciasism definition also includes the act of human intolerance on species through assigning various values for a particular species. c. Preston talks of a “global ethic”. In your own words explain what this is (or might be) and why this is important in terms of addressing global issues. Use 2 global issues to illustrate your answer. Global ethic (Allport 1967:432-443) refers to a variety of common moral values and ethical standards that are shared by different cultures, tradition and religions in the world and is concerned with creation of diversity of ethical viewpoint in order to promote global justice and develop acceptable social and moral responsibilities. For instance, there is global concern about global warming and reduction of greenhouse effect. It is for the world countries to come together and adopt methods that could help to reduce global warming like cessation to use fossil fuels and encouragement of green technology. Second, there is also concern on imbalances in economic development around the globe. Countries need to come together and alleviate standards of living, create alternative economic resources that could develop undeveloped and developing countries. Thirdly, there are concerns about imbalances that are affecting global trade. There is need for countries to improve their processing methods in order t o produce goods or products of high quality and those that have no effect on global warming. Taxes imposed on goods should also be waved to facilitate free trade among nations. Bibliography Alelrod, L. (1994). Balancing Personal Needs With Environmental Preservation. Journal of Social Issues , Vol. 50, 84-104. Allport, G. a. (1967). Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , Vol. 5, 432-443. Downs, A. (1962, Spring). The public interest: Its meaning in a Democracy. Social Research , 1-36. Dunlop, R. V. (1978). A Proposed Measuring Instrument and Premilinary Results: The new Environmental Paradigm. Jouirnal of Environmental Education , Vol. 9, 10-19. Goodsell, C. T. (1990). Public Administration and the Public Interest. In G.L. Wamsley et al (eds), Refounding Public Administration. NewBury Park: Sage Publication. Griffiths, J. a. (2008). Ethics in the Society (second edition 2008 ed.). Southern Cross University. Mowbrary, C. H. (2003). Fidelity Criteria: Development, Measurement and Validation. American Journal of Evaluation , Vol. 24, 315-340. Rest, J. N. (2000). A New-Kohlbergian Approach to Morality Research. Journal of Moral Education , vol. 29 (iss. no. 4), 381-395. Read More