Ethics Flashcards
What is Ethics
Ethics is the science of the morality of human acts, mainly referred to as the philosophy of Morality.
Ethics can also be defined as a process or systematic approach of understanding, analaysing and differentiating between what is right or wrong and what is good or bad.
Define the coded of conduct or coded of ethics.
They are a set of values, rules standards and principles outlining the type of behaviour that emplouers expect from employees in an organisation.
Companies tend to publish their code of Ethics, what do they tend to focus on. (3)
Behavious
Values
Ethics
What do the published code of conduct of companies highlight? (3)
Company values
Behaviour
External Practices
Why teach ethics? (6)
To prevent unethical business practices, both intentional and unintentional
▪ Evaluate and define our values and principles – actions, choices, decisions
▪ How to conduct ourselves at work or business
▪ Clarity on moral requirements
▪ Guide us in tempting situations
▪ To be always on the safe side
List the key differences between law and ethics
Definition
Rules
Creation
Existence
Punishment
Objectives
Bind
For a key difference between law and ethics
Describe Definition
The Law is defined as the systematic body of rules that governs the
whole society and the actions of its individual members but Ethics is the science
of an acceptable human conduct or behaviour.
For a key difference between law and ethics
Describe Rules
The Law consists of a set of written rules and regulations but Ethics
comprises of guidelines and principles of how people should behave.
For a key difference between law and ethics
Describe Creation
The Law is created by different levels of government but Ethics are
governed by an individual, legal or professional conduct.
For a key difference between law and ethics
Describe Existence
The Law is expressed in the constitution in a written form. As
opposed to ethics, it cannot be found in writing form.
For a key difference between law and ethics
Describe Punishment
The breach of Law may result in punishment or penalty, or both
which is not in the case of breach of Ethics.
For a key difference between law and ethics
Describe Objectives
The objective of the Law is to maintain social order and peace
within the nation and protection to all the citizens but Ethics help a person to
decide between what is right or wrong and how to act
For a key difference between law and ethics
Describe Bind
The Law creates a legal binding, but Ethics has no such binding
Ethics can be defined in terms of five constructs, list them
Rights
Obligations
Benefits to society
Fairness
Specific virtues
List the four main types of Ethics that are theoretically recognised
Meta-Ethics
Descriptive
Normative
Applied ethics
Normative ethics distinguishes between three types of normative ethical theories, list them.
Virtue ethics
Deontology
Consequentialist or teleological ethics
Describe Meta-Ethics
Meta-Ethics can be desscribed as
the phylosophical study of the nature, scope, and meaning of moral judgment
Decribe Normative Ethics
Normative or Prescriptive ethics is the study of ethical action, typically based on what
is morally right and wrong. T
Describe Utilitarianism
Normative or Prescriptive ethics is the study of ethical action, typically based on what
is morally right and wrong. T
Descirbe Kanianism
Requires us to embrace principles that demand fairness and consistency in our
actions.
Describe Contractarianism
Requires us to see the moral principles as those that we collectively agree upon
as group of people or organisations.
Describe Virue ethics
Virtue ethics is associated with the role character rather than the action in which people
conduct themselves as well as the virtue of moral phylosophy.
List 4 things that virue ethics teaches us?
▪ An action is only right if it is an action that a virtuous person would carry out in
the same circumstances.
▪ A virtuous person is a person who acts virtuously.
▪ A person acts virtuously if they “possess and live the virtues”.
▪ A virtue is a moral characteristic that a person needs to live well.
List 4 examples of virtue ethics
Justice
Fidelity
Prudence
Self-care
Describe Deontology Ethics
The expression deontology was derives from the Greek words which has meaning of
duty (deon) and science (or study) of (logos). The deontology ethics phylosophy is
mainly concerned with the relationship between the duty and the morality of human
actions
Describe Teleological Ethics
Teleological Ethics, also known as consequentialism or consequential ethics, states
that the right or wrong thing depend on the consequences of an act, and that the more
good consequences are produced, the better the act.
List the three components of utilitaranisainism under consequentialism
▪ This determines whether an action is right or wrong based on its consequences.
▪ The value of the consequences of an action is assessed in terms of the amount
of happiness or well-being caused.
▪ In assessing the total happiness caused to a number of people, equal amounts
of happiness are to have equal value, no one person’s happiness having
greater value that another’s.
A study believed that the quantity and quality of happiness can bemeasured in factors such as:
▪ Intensity
▪ Duration
▪ Certainty. – a probability of happiness or suffering taking place
▪ Volume – a number of involved individuals
▪ Time – whether happiness or suffering will happen now or in the future
▪ Future consequences – whether the particular activity bring benefit also in the
future
▪ Purity – whether the outcome delivers solely benefit or does it bring also
suffering?
List the 9 ethical ideologies and briefly explain them.
▪ Egoism – Best action/decision is one that maximizes good for oneself.
▪ Hedonism – Best action/decision is one that will maximize pleasure. People
should maximise human pleasure. You are, or should be, the motivation for all
of our actions.
▪ Intellectualism – Best action/decision is one that best promotes knowledge.
▪ Libertarianism – Liberty should be maximised.
▪ Welfarism – Best action/decision is one that best increases economic wellbeing.
▪ Situation Ethics – Best action/decision is one that results in the most love.
▪ Asceticism – Abstinence from egoistic pleasures to achieve spiritual goal is
right action.
▪ Altruism – To live for others and not caring for self is right action.
Describe descriptive Ethics
Descriptive Ethics, also referred to as Comparative Ethics, is one aspect that is
concerned with what people are made to believe as the right or wrong conduct, based
on moral attitudes and the moral norms and practices of societies.
Describe Applied Ethics
Applied Ethics is a component of moral philosophy of ethics that is maily devoted to
the treatment of moral problems, practices, and policies in personal life, professions,
technology, and government.
DQ buys a pizza for a study group 8 slices, she doesnt want it
a.) Moral conduct
b) Nom=rmative
c Altruism
DQ, sick friend, exceeping speed limit, which topic of ehtics describes your act
e) Teleology
DQ, which of the normative ethics, descerives share of profits company
b) Kantianism
DQ, women jobs,
d) APplied ethics
DQ lying by ommision protectiving privacy
a) APplied ethics
Opinion of majorit
a)
nog virtue thics
bing brave
