Social Ethics and Morals - Essay Example

Ethical and Professional Issues Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Social Ethics and Morals Moral development is to the surfacing, change and understanding of what is socially acceptable from the early years of one’s life and throughout one’s life. It is concerned with how people relate to one another in the society. It purports that one should behave with regard to other people’s welfare and rights. People should treat each other with respect to justice. Measuring other people’s beliefs, emotions, attitudes, and behaviour is important as it reveals how they understand morality. There are various theories of morality (Hugman, 2005). Theories of Moral and Ethical Development Piaget’s Theory of Moral Reasoning Piaget a Swiss psychologist explored the development of moral reasoning in children. He opposed the proposition that children are forced to learn and adhere to moral laws in the society. He explained that children learn best from others in a group. Children adhere to the society rules through an active process rather than a passive one (Hugman, 2005). According to Piaget, there are two major differences on children’s perception of moral behaviour. The thinking of very young children is influenced by actions that they are associated with. The effect of the actions on the children affects what they think about the actions. Children thus learn to play by the existing rules, as they realize that they cannot come up with new ones. Piaget referred to this as moral realism with objective responsibility (Thomson, 1999). According to Hokins and Shonet (2001), the younger children are concerned with the results whereas the older ones tend to analyze the motives behind certain rules. Thus, the older children are able to determine whether the rules are fair or unfair. Consequently, they could demand a negotiation to ensure that the rules are fairy to everybody. According to Piaget, the moral learning is enhanced by collective decision making and problem solving. Finally, he asserts that moral learning occurs best at an early age. Kohlberg's Theory According to Kohlberg, moral and ethical behaviour constitutes of six developmental stages. Each developmental stage is more adequate in moral reasoning as compared to its predecessor. Kohlberg’s theory is an expansion of Piaget’s work. Kohlberg argues that morel developed is chiefly concerned with justice, and that it happens throughout an individual’s life. That morality is the method one use to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. Therefore, in life, the choice made by an individual is mostly influenced by one’s conscious (Hugman, 2005). Kohlberg further defines moral development as an individual’s ability to act according to the moral laws and in agreement with one’s conscious and not according to one’s egotistic values. Moral judgments are those judgments that compel an individual to take an action. These judgments are social and of value. Hugman (2005) asserts that moral development is an ongoing process taking place all through a person’s life. They emerge from the second year of one’s life. Most children internalize their parents’ moral standards by the end of the third year. When the children are in school, they get to understand the school rules and obey them. As one grows older, after adolescent, the social factor influences their moral development. a) Kohlberg’s in his theory discussed three levels of reasoning namely: preconventional, conventional and post conventional. The conventional reasoning is dictated by one’s self perspective whereas at the conventional level, social rules and norms influence one’s thinking. Kohlberg further elaborated on the six levels of moral development. The beginning two levels: obedience and punishment orientation and individualism and exchange, are based on the first level of moral development. During the third and the fourth stages, good interpersonal relationships and social order maintenance, the child displays conventional level of morality. Lastly, at stages five and six, post conventional level is observed. These two stages are social contract and individual rights and universal principles respectively (Hugman, 2005). From this theory, we can conclude that parents greatly influence their children’s moral development. This theory explains moral development using philosophical and psychological principles. Though a new field in psychology resulted from Kohlberg’s theory, there have been critiques of the theory. Some scholars argue that this theory overemphasizes on justice and excludes some social values that are equally important. Others have argued that the different stages ought not to be presented as distinctive domains. That these stages overlap each other; thus, it is wrong to treat them as separate domains (Thomason, 1999). The scale of Kohlberg is not a method of ranking moral behaviour but rather how people justify their moral behaviour; however, there is a on the scale score and a person’s moral behaviour. The general proposition is that moral behaviour is more constant, predictable and responsible in people at higher levels. Psychoanalytic Theory This theory was proposed by Freud. According to Freud, socialization is the main force behind moral development. It claims that moral development is triggered by replacement of egocentric desires by important social values of socializing agents for instance one’s parents. According to Freud, a child is born with selfish desires. During the anal stage, the child develops an ego to deal with conflicts that arise. The superego, which develops during the phallic stage, is what is relevant to morality. This is our conscience, which triggers feelings, such as how do they think about me. An evaluation of Freud’s theory reveals that the more anxiety a child suffers, the stronger his superego. Consequently, his morality will be greater. However, research evidence has opposed this. Research shows that, those who suffered most during their early days, are more immoral than those who did not. Freud idea that morality is high in boys than in girls has been opposed by other scholars. Little evidence has been found to support this view (Hugman, 2005). Some critiques suggest that Freud overemphasized on the role of same sex parent. He did not recognise the role of cognitive development in moral reasoning. Philosophical Approaches to Ethics Consequentialism ethics, deontology ethics and virtual ethics are very important when analyzing ethics from a philosophical point of view. Therefore, they ought not to be ignored in analysis of any case. The three philosophical approaches lay a basis for making ethical decisions. A combination of the three should be properly applied to arrive at the correct decision. Personal ethics and legal considerations should also be given a consideration in making such decisions (Bond, 2000). Following is a detailed analysis of the three philosophical approaches: Deontology This approach judges an action based on its adherence from rules. It is therefore bound to an obligation. A good example of a theory based on deontological ethics is Kart’s theory. This theory emphasizes on the nature of action and not what results from the actions. This theory further asserts an action’s result does not qualify it to be wrong but it is the motive of the action. Its advantages include, This theory permits people to be consistent in their actions. Those who adhere to this theory will always place those people to whom they are closely associated before their actions. This system also allows its followers to be, ‘supererogatory’. This is a situation where a good act may not morally be required. On the other hand, the disadvantages include, the moral duties may end up making the world worse. For instance, a deontologist would not kill someone who is predicted to kill millions of people in future. A deontologist may follow a duty without a logical reason for doing so. For instance, one may report to work very early to avoid trouble even if he has nothing to do there. Lastly, in cases where there is duty conflict, this system may not provide a solution. Virtue Ethics According to this theory, ones ethical behaviour is majorly determined by one’s character. According to this theory, the root of morality is one’s character or identity. Advantages of the theory include that virtue ethics results in creation of desirable human beings with good morals. In addition, it also unifies emotions and moral reasoning. Moral ethics emphasizes on moderation as well. On the other hand, the disadvantages are the virtue ethics theory has failed to address some issues. For instance, there is no clear understanding of what a virtue is. This is because different societies have different virtues and the theory does not put this into consideration. Consequentialism This theory is based on the consequences or the results of our actions. Consequentialism dictates that the most fundamental ethical question Is, ‘What is likely to result of this course of action?’ An action that is not considered to be right by other ethics could therefore be approved to be virtuous. For instance, an action like cheating would be considered to moral if its consequences are good (Hugman, 2005). It advantages: According to House et al (2006), consequentialism is active concerning morals. This theory stresses on the effect of our action on other people. This is necessary, as we are obliged to treat others in a fair way. It offers solutions to moral conflicts. Moral conflicts arise when we have different moral laws have different directions. In this case, consequentialism presents a general solution. According to this theory, even the hardest questions have answers. This theory gives early theories a consideration though it contradicts them. It therefore can be said to be daring. The limitations are that the theory is morally offensive. For instance, it could justify killing to be morally upright if its consequences are good. Besides being morally insensitive, it is very demanding as always have to seek actions with the best results. Because this theory fails to address all questions, it can be termed as being as being incomplete. This theory has a no basis. It seeks to explain its own consequences. Moreover, in real life this theory has been proven to have no place in real life (Houser et al, 2006). Though this theory may not always be applicable in every action we choose to undertake, it is very important. Mostly, the actions we engage in are dictated by the moral judgment of their consequences. In counselling, decisions should be absolutely guided by the principals of ethical framework. Any decision made thus should therefore not be an individual’s but should rather take into consideration those to whom it is directed. In order to take good care of the clients, as a nursing trainee, I should seek consultation from other colleagues. Every decision made should therefore be sensitive to the wishes and values of the patient (Houser et al, 2006). Every individual has his own personal value that develops continuously as a person grows. The external environment that we interact with influences our personality. In the community where we live, we associate with different kinds of personalities some with lifestyles contradicting the general societal views. This implies that in our work industry, we should adopt professional values and not impose our own ideas on the clients. Values could include our humility, arrogance, honesty, bravery, and love. These values influence the choices and judgments we make in our lives. For instance, an arrogant person may opt to lose a friend instead of apologizing to the friend. In counselling practice, however, one need to be careful and avoid making decisions based on their personal values. The client’s values should be the basis of our decisions (Hugman, 2005). The professional code of ethics is a set of rules the counsellor is expected to honour and practice. The code thus serves as a guide to the counsellor’s conduct as well as to the legal evaluation. These code that the practitioner should have responsibility both to the counselling profession and the client. The practitioner thus should recognize and respect the client. The client’s rights should be promoted and respected (Thomson, 1999). Any confidentiality information acquired in the course counselling should be maintained. In relation to responsibility to the profession, the practitioner should perform effectively with confidence. The practitioner’s conduct should portray a positive image of the profession. The practitioner should be accountable for any action that they engage (Houser et al., 2006). Conclusion In summary, when making decisions, the value of counselling should not be ignored. Ignoring such values could lead to unprofessional behaviour. There, a decision will be considered right if it is sensitive to human rights and offers security of the client. This implies that a decision that could endanger the client’s life is wrong and should not be the conclusion. It is also important that the relationship between the client and the practitioner be characterized by confidentiality (Thomason, 1999). As a practitioner, therefore, I would ensure that the client confides in me by ensuring them confidentiality. According to BACP (2002), counselling sessions should be able to display completeness by handling the clients concerns effectively. In addition, I should be able to make the client confide in me by establishing a working rapport. Here, I should display an image of myself that appeals to the client’s interest. This can be achieved by adjusting ones level to that of the client. This way the practitioner is able to persuade the client to confide in him. In practicing counselling, there is need to ensure that any decision arrived at characterized acceptable values. These values relate directly to the clients welfare as well as work ethics. On the other hand professional ethics requires that the practitioners commit themselves to their client’s needs, protect the client from harm and pass sound and fair decisions References BACP. (2002). Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy Rugby: Bond, T. (2000). Standards and ethics for counselling in action. London: Sage. Collins-Chobanian, S., Wong, K., & May, L. (1997). Applied ethics: a multi-cultural perspective. London: Prentice-Hall. Hawkins, P., & Shohet, R. (2001). Supervision in the helping professions. Milton Keynes: OU Press. Houser, R., Wilczenski, F.L., & Ham, M. (2006) .Culturally relevant ethical decision-making in counseling. New York: Sage. Hugman, R. (2005). New approaches in ethics for the caring professions. London: Palgrave. Thomson, A. (1999). Critical reasoning in ethics: a practical introduction. London: Routledge.         Read More