Making Ethical Decisions Michael Josephson

Question 1

What is required for effective ethical decision-making?

Answer 1

Ethical sensitivity, evaluation of complex facts, implementation skills, and a reliable framework of principles

A framework such as the Six Pillars of Character can guide ethical decisions.

Question 2

Define ethics.

Answer 2

Principles that define behavior as right, good, and proper

Ethics provide a means of evaluating and deciding among competing options.

Question 3

How do ethics and values differ?

Answer 3

Ethics concerns how a moral person should behave; values are inner judgments determining actual behavior

Not all values pertain to ethics; for example, the desire for health is a value but not an ethical value.

Question 4

What is the importance of universality in ethical decision-making?

Answer 4

Convictions about right and wrong often stem from non-universal sources like religion, culture, and personal experiences

These sources, while important, do not provide a consistent basis for making ethical decisions.

Question 5

Fill in the blank: Ethical decision-making requires a framework of principles that are _______.

Answer 5

[reliable]

Question 6

What challenges do people face when making ethical decisions?

Answer 6

Economic, professional, and social pressures that obscure moral issues

Additionally, a lack of knowledge about crucial facts can complicate decision-making.

Question 7

True or False: Values always relate to ethics.

Answer 7

False

Most values, such as the desire for wealth, do not pertain to ethics.

Question 8

List the components necessary for ethical decision-making.

Answer 8

• Ethical sensitivity
• Evaluation of complex facts
• Implementation skills
• Reliable framework of principles

Question 9

What role does a person’s background play in their ethical convictions?

Answer 9

It shapes their beliefs about right and wrong

Factors include religious beliefs, cultural roots, family background, personal experiences, and laws.

Question 10

What are the consensus ethical values mentioned?

Answer 10

Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship

Question 11

How do personal and professional beliefs vary?

Answer 11

They vary over time, among cultures, and among members of the same society

Question 12

What is meant by ‘moral imperialists’?

Answer 12

Individuals who seek to impose their personal moral judgments on others

Question 13

What does the universal ethical value of respect for others dictate?

Answer 13

Honoring the dignity and autonomy of each person and cautions against self-righteousness

Question 14

What determines how we will behave in certain situations?

Answer 14

Our value system, which ranks our likes and dislikes

Question 15

What are core values?

Answer 15

Values we consistently rank higher than others that define character and personality

Question 16

Fill in the blank: Ethical principles are the rules of conduct that derive from _______.

Answer 16

[ethical values]

Question 17

What is an example of a principle derived from the value of honesty?

Answer 17

Tell the truth, don’t deceive, be candid, don’t cheat

Question 18

What is the relationship between ethics and action?

Answer 18

Ethics is about putting principles into action

Question 19

What does integrity involve?

Answer 19

Consistency between what we say we value and what our actions say we value

Question 20

What does self-restraint in ethics mean?

Answer 20

Not doing what you have the power to do or the right to do when it is not right

Question 21

True or False: An act is proper simply because it is permissible.

Answer 21

False

Question 22

What is the difference between what you have the right to do and what is right to do?

Answer 22

There is a significant difference; not all rights align with ethical correctness

Question 23

What is an ethical person’s typical choice regarding the law?

Answer 23

An ethical person often chooses to do more than the law requires and less than the law allows.

Question 24

What is one inner benefit of being ethical?

Answer 24

Virtue is its own reward.

Question 25

What is a personal advantage of being ethical?

Answer 25

It’s prudent to be ethical. It’s good business.

Question 26

How does being ethical affect self-esteem?

Answer 26

Being ethical leads to self-esteem, the admiration of loved ones, and the respect of peers.

Question 27

What role does religion play in ethical behavior?

Answer 27

Good behavior can please or help serve a deity.

Question 28

How can upbringing influence ethical actions?

Answer 28

Ethical actions can fit in with upbringing or training.

Question 29

What is the ethics of self-interest?

Answer 29

When the motivation for ethical behavior is self-interest, decision-making is reduced to risk-reward calculations.

Question 30

What happens when risks from ethical behavior are high?

Answer 30

Moral principles succumb to expediency.

Question 31

What common unethical behaviors do people engage in?

Answer 31

• Cheating on exams
• Lying on resumes
• Distorting or falsifying facts at work

Question 32

What is the real test of our ethics?

Answer 32

Whether we are willing to do the right thing even when it is not in our self-interest.

Question 33

What concept did Enlightenment philosophers and the American Founding Fathers enshrine?

Answer 33

The pursuit of happiness as a basic right of free men.

Question 34

Is the pursuit of happiness a moral end in itself?

Answer 34

It depends on how one defines happiness.

Question 35

What influences our definition of happiness?

Answer 35

Our values, what we prize and desire.

Question 36

What often results from pursuing only material goals?

Answer 36

A lonely, disconnected, meaningless existence.

Question 37

What do morally mature individuals find happiness in?

Answer 37

Honoring universal ethical values.

Question 38

What is the foundation for real happiness?

Answer 38

The unity between principled belief and honorable behavior.

Question 39

Fill in the blank: Ethical actions can fit in with _______.

Answer 39

[upbringing or training]