ETHICS

Ethics - is the science of human conduct; and of the investigation of such human conduct in
terms of its morality.
Science - systematic study or a system of scientific conclusions clearly demonstrated, derived
from clearly established principles and duly coordinated
Morality - the quality of human acts as right, wrong or indifferent, moral, immoral or amoral.
Human conduct/act - acts done with knowledge, freedom and free will or consent.

Importance Of Ethics
Ethics means right living and good moral character and it is in good moral character that man
finds his true worth and perfection.
Education is the harmonious development of the whole man-of all ma's faculties: the moral,
intellectual, and physical powers in man.
The highest of man's power are his reason and will. Hence, the primary objective of education
is the moral development of the will.
However, there is no single ethical model that prescribes right from wrong.
Every person, when making a decision that is 'ethically correct' to them, would use different
models or theories.
Our focus here is on Normative Theories.
Normative theories VS Psychological theory
Normative theories focus on 'what should people do'.
This is different to psychological theory that looks at 'what people actually do'.
Normative theories can be broken down into two broad categories.
These are teleological and deontological.
The major difference between these theories is that teleological theories focuses on
consequences and outcomes of a decision while deontological theories focuses more on the
intention or duty to do the right thing rather than on the outcome itself.
Therefore, teleological theories are also known as consequential while deontological are
duty-based.
Teleological theory can further be broken down into 'ethical egoism' and 'utilitarianism'.
The difference between these theories is that ethical egoism will favour an action that would
result in the benefits being received by one's self. The word 'ego' can be defined as a person's
sense of self-esteem or self- importance. Thus, when we refer to 'ethical egoism' we refer to a
decision that is NOT ONLY ethically correct but that would ALSO result in benefits to the
decision maker.
Utilitarianism favours decisions that result in the greatest benefit to the greatest number of
people.
Deontological theory can also be further broken down into rights theory and justice theory.
Rights theory, focuses the rights of others. Decisions that uphold the rights of others would be
considered 'ethical'.
Justice theory focuses on fairness and equality.
Under this theory, everyone should be treated the same and benefits and disadvantages should be
shared equally.
Ethical Egoism
Ethical egoism is a theory that is based on self- interest.
That is, the pursuit of self-interest is considered 'ethically correct' since this theory assumes that
everyone acts in their own self- interest.
We also know that Ethical Egoism is a branch of teleological theory. This means that it
focuses on consequences and the outcomes of a decision rather than on intention.
Thus, according to ethical egoism, it is 'ok' or 'acceptable' to make a decision or choose an action
that benefits one's self.
The pursuit of self-interest is choosing an option that would result in the decision maker
receiving the net benefits.
However, the pursuit of self-interest is ethical but this should not be confused with selfishness.
Selfishness refers to the lack of concern for the values of others. It refers to someone who does
not care about others and does not care about fairness.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism considers a decision or action as ethically correct, if the greatest benefits are
received by the greatest number of people.
Utilitarianism becomes complicated when the action or decision that results in the greatest
benefit to the greatest number of people also results in a cost or disadvantage to others.
Therefore, it becomes imperative to use a systematic approach to resolving a problem using this
theory.
There are five steps when applying the utilitarian approach.
1. the identification of the issue or problem,
2. identification of possible solutions or actions
3. all the costs and benefits associated with each possible action.
4. The costs and benefits should then be weighed up against each other and
5. the option that results in the greatest good to the greatest number of people should be
selected.
Rights Theory
Deontological theory is broken down into rights theory and justice theory.
Rights theory, focuses the rights of others. Decisions that uphold the rights of others would be
considered 'ethical'.
Inalienable Human Rights Constitutional Rights
Justice Theory
 With justice theory, a decision or action that is fair or that results in equality would be
considered ethically correct.
 We also know that Justice Theory is a branch of deontological theory.
 This means that it focuses on the intention behind an act or decision rather than on the final
outcome or resulting consequences.
 There are two elements that make up the justice theory.
 That is, fairness and equality.
 So under the justice theory, an ethically correct decision or action is one that is fair or that
results in equality.
 The element of fairness refers to the same treatment of all people. This is linked to procedural
justice since it results in the same treatment of all people in a given situation.
 The element of equality refers to the equal distribution of benefits or equal distribution of
disadvantages to all people within a particular group or community.
 Accordingly, equality is liked with distributive justice.
 Consider an area designated for parking. There is a high demand for parking and only limited
space. In terms of distributive justice, the area should be divided into equal parking spaces.
So equal sized parking spaces for everyone would be fair if all people had the same needs.
 However a fair distribution does not ALWAYS have to be the exact or equal distribution for
everyone.
 Assume there are a few handicapped people who also require parking spaces. Due to their
special needs, they require larger parking spaces. To allocate the same size parking space for
a handicapped person and fully abled person would be 'unfair'.
 This demonstrates that in reality - distributive justice is a more complex concept than always
trying to give each person an identical or equal share.
Virtue ethics is a broad term for theories that emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral
philosophy rather than either doing one's duty (deontology) or acting in order to bring about
good consequences (teleology).
A virtue ethicist is likely to give you this kind of moral advice: "Act as a virtuous person would
act in your situation."
Virtue Ethics as a moral system, places emphasis on developing good habits of character, like
kindness and generosity, and avoiding bad character traits, or vices, such as greed or hatred.
Virtue-based theories give importance to moral education which molds individuals to habitually
act in a virtuous manner.
Focusing on the character of the agent, virtue ethics describes right actions as those chosen and
performed by a suitably virtuous person.
Virtue as Habit
VIRTUE should be understood in the sense of human flourishing.
This flourishing is attained by the habitual practice of moral and intellectual excellences or
'virtues'.
Aristotle said your Character is developed through HABITUATION.
Moral virtue is an expression of character, formed by habits reflecting repeated choices.
A habit is a "hard to eradicate" quality
2 Types of Virtues
Moral - Prudence (wisdom), Fortitude (courage), Temperance (moderation) and Justice
Theological - The virtues of Faith, Hope, Charity and Love.