ECELAWSCESS Chapter 3 Ethics

Ethics

a discipline or area of study dealing with moral problems

Engineering Ethics

The discipline or study of moral issues arising in and surrounding engineering

Morality

Study of human behavior as a consequence of beliefs about what is right or wrong (Descriptive Ethics)

Morality

Study of what is thought to be right and what the general public, group, culture, or society would generally do.

Ethics

define whether it is right or wrong for one person to kill another in a dispute over property

Morals

define whether I should kill my neighbor Joe when he steals my tractor

The End Justifies the Mean

The result of some actions taken is more important than the other repercussions of the said actions. As long as the desired result is achieved, it doesn’t matter what you do to get those results

The End Justifies the Mean

Satanic Doctrine teaching that we may do evil without becoming evil if our motive is good enough

Ethics

are beliefs regarding what is right and wrong behavior

Morality

refers to social convention about right and wrong

Virtues

are habits that incline us to do what is acceptable

Vices

are habits that incline us to do what is unacceptable

Moral

A category of moral action if they reflect a person’s values and those of society

Immoral

A category of moral action if they go againts a person’s values or those of society

Amoral

A category of moral action if they do not reflect choices based on values or social norms

Why be Moral?

The Ethical of Moral Dilemma

Situations where two or more moral obligations, duties or rights are in conflict. Often, not just a choice between right or wrong or good and evil. Greater of goods, Lesser of evils

Virtue Ethics Approach

The ethical choice is one that best reflects moral virtues in our selves and our communities .

Utilitarian Approach

The ethical choice is the one that approach produces the greatest excess of benefits over harm

Fairness Approach

The ethical choice is the one that treats everyone the same and does not show favoritism or discrimination

Common good Approach

The ethical choicen is the one that advances the common good

Hedonism

Humans are ends in themselves and not means

Result Oriented

Humans are ends in themselves and not means

Utilitarianism

The rightness of the Act is based in results.

Welfare. Consequence

Utilitarianism

The right thing to do is that which is likely to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people

The Act Utilitarian Test

A part of the utitilitarian test where it measures the consequence if a single act

The Act Utilitarian Test

A part of the utitilitarian test where you ask yourself, “Will this course of action produce more utility than any alternative course of action that I could take?”

The Act Utilitarian Test

A part of the utitilitarian test where the rightness or wrongness of the act is based on the premise that the probable benefit is maximized

The Rule Utilitarian Test

A part of the utitilitarian test where onme asks “Would utility be maximized if everyone did the same thing in the same time?”

The Rule Utilitarian Test

A part of the utitilitarian test where it would consider the consequence of an action in the long run if it is repeated over and over such that it becomes a “rule”

Cost-Benefit Test

Resolves moral problems by converting the negative and positive utilities to monetary terms.

Mostly used by the government and business sector when making a decision.

Universal criterion in resolving a moral issue

to be ethically valid, we must be willing for others to do similar course of action in similar circumstances

The Golden Rule Test

Self Defeating test (Kantian Ethics)

Asks the questions: Which actions are inherently good? Simply focus on the deed itself.

The Question you ask yourself when facing a moral dilemma

Can I will that all human beings should act in the same way I am about to act now if they are confronted with the same problem?

A universalized action can be self-defeating in two ways:

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The Rights Test

In this approach, the rights of the people must be respected.

Right

An entitlement to act in a certain way

Right

Serves as a protective barrier, shielding individuals from unjustified infringements of their moral agency by others.

Rights to Freedom and Rights to well-being

The two types of Essential Rights

Valid Consent

It is when the consent was given voluntarily.

Valid Consent

The consent was based on the information that a rational person would want, with the information presented in understandable form.

Valid Consent

The consenter was competent and rational to process information.

An experiment is valid if

The participants give their consent subject to the following:

Hindrance to Ethics in Business

Operating ethically does not always guarantee business success.

Fostering good business ethics

Why is it important that the company foster good business ethics?

Code of Conduct

Is a guide that highlights an organization’s key ethical issues and identifies the overarching values and principles.

Lotus

A _____ remains beautiful even as it lingers in the filthy waters of the pond.

Good Will

____ is only good withot qualification

Good Will

is a will that acts for the sake of duty, as a “good-in-itself”

Duty

is the necessity of acting out of reverence for universal law

Moral Obligation

Arising from conscience or the sense of right and wrong:

Moral Victory or Support

Having psychological rather than physical or tangible effects

Moral Certainty

Based on strong likelihood or form conviction, rather than on the actual evidence

Moral Scrutiny or Quandary

Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character:

Moral Lesson

Teaching or exhibiting goodness or correctness of character and behavior

Moral Life

Conforming to standards of what is right or just in behavior; virtuous