Chapter 1

Introduction to Ethics

The Meaning of Ethics and

Morality
Ethics is the study of ideal human behavior
and ideal ways of being
Ethics is an active process rather than a
static condition; called doing ethics, it
must be supported by logical, theoretically
based arguments.

The Meaning of Ethics and

Morality
Unethical describes ethics in its negative
form when, for instance, a persons
character or behavior is contrary to
admirable traits or the code of conduct that
has been endorsed by ones society,
community, or profession

The Meaning of Ethics and

Morality
Morals are specific beliefs, behaviors, and
ways of being derived from doing ethics
Immorality means that a persons behavior
is in opposition to accepted societal,
religious, cultural, or professional ethical
standards and principles

The Meaning of Ethics and

Morality
Amoral is a term that people use to refer to
actions normally associated with morality
that are done with a lack of concern for
good behavior
Nonmoral is used if moral standards
essentially do not apply to the acts

Types of Ethical Inquiry

Normative ethics is an attempt to decide or
prescribe values, behaviors, and ways of being
that are right or wrong, good or bad, and
admirable or deplorable
Common morality consists of normative
beliefs and behaviors that the members of
society generally agree about and that are
familiar to most human beings

Types of Ethical Inquiry

Meta-ethics (about ethics) is concerned
with understanding the language of
morality through an analysis of the meaning
of ethically related concepts and theories,
such as the meaning of good, happiness, and
virtuous character

Types of Ethical Inquiry

Descriptive ethics is an approach used
when researchers or ethicists want to
describe what people think about morality
or when they want to describe how people
actually behave, that is, their morals

Ethical Perspectives
Ethical relativism is the belief that it is
acceptable for ethics and morality to differ among
persons or societies
ethical subjectivism means that individuals
create their own morality [and that] there are
no objective moral truthsonly individual
opinions

Ethical Perspectives
cultural relativism is the ethical theory that
moral evaluation is rooted in and cannot be
separated from the experience, beliefs and
behaviors of a particular culture, and hence,
that what is wrong in one culture may not be so
in another

Ethical objectivism is the position that

universal or objective moral principles exist

Values and Moral Reasoning

Values are something of worth or something that
is highly regarded
Reasoning is the use of abstract thought
processes to think creatively, to answer questions,
to solve problems, and to formulate strategies for
ones actions and desired ways of being
Moral reasoning pertains to reasoning focused
on moral or ethical issues

Moral Reasoning Throughout

Western History
Ancient Greece
Socrates was an avid promoter of moral reasoning and
critical thinking

Platos reasoning was based on his belief that there are

two realms of reality, the world of Forms and the world
of Appearances
Aristotle was guided in his reasoning by his belief in the
importance of empirical inquiry and the belief that all
things have a purpose or end goal

Moral Reasoning Throughout

Western History
The Middle Ages
Augustine believed that one has a duty to
love God, and moral reasoning should
direct ones senses in accordance with
that duty

Moral Reasoning Throughout

Western History
The Middle Ages
Aquinas believed that people have a
desirable end goal or purpose, and that
developing excellences of character
(virtues) leads to human happiness and
good moral reasoning

Moral Reasoning Throughout

Western History
Modern Philosophy and the Age of Enlightenment
Some scientists and philosophers were bold
enough to believe that humans could ultimately
be perfected and that all knowledge would be
discovered

Moral Reasoning Throughout

Western History
Modern Philosophy and the Age of Enlightenment
an important proposition about moral
reasoning was developed by David Hume, who
argued that there is a distinction between facts
and values when moral reasoning is practiced

Moral Reasoning Throughout

Western History
Postmodern Era
a modern movement in philosophy and
the humanities that rejects the optimistic
view that science and reason will improve
humanity; it rejects the notion of
sustained progress through reason and
the scientific method

Moral Reasoning Throughout

Western History
Care-Based Versus Justice-Based Reasoning
A care approach to moral reasoning often
is associated with a feminine way of
thinking, and a cure approach is usually
associated with a masculine
Enlightenment-era way of thinking

Moral Reasoning Throughout

Western History
Learning From History
Christians still base much of their ethical
reasoning on the philosophy generated
during the Middle Ages

Moral Reasoning Throughout

Western History
Learning From History
Individualistic ways of thinking that were
popular during the Enlightenment era
remain popular today in Western
societies because autonomy (selfdirection) is so highly valued

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
Virtues are excellences in regard to persons
or objects being the best that they can be in
accordance with their purpose

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
Virtue ethics emphasizes excellence of ones character
and considerations of what sort of person one wants to be
Aristotles approach to virtue ethics is grounded in two
categories of excellence: intellectual virtues and
character or moral virtues
Plato designated the four virtues of prudence (wisdom),
fortitude (courage), temperance (moderation), and
justice as cardinal virtues, meaning that all other virtues
hinge on these primary four

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
Humes philosophy of ethics is based on
emotion as the primary human motivator for
admirable behavior rather than motivation by
reason
Nietzsche proposed that the best character for
people to cultivate is based on a will to power

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
Natural Law Theory means that the
rightness of actions is self-evident because
morality is determined inherently by
nature, not by customs and preferences

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
Deontology (study of duty) is an approach to
ethics that is focused on duties and rules

Kantian deontology prescribes that each rational

being is ethically bound to act only from a sense of
duty; when deciding how to act, the consequences
of ones actions are considered to be irrelevant

Ethical Theories and

Approaches
Western Ethics
Consequentialists, as distinguished from
deontologists, do consider consequences to be an
important indication of the moral value of ones
actions.

Ethical Theories and

Approaches
Western Ethics
Utilitarianism means that actions are judged by
their utility, that is, they are evaluated according
to the usefulness of their consequences
Utilitarians believe that it is useful to society to
achieve the greatest good for the greatest
number of people who may be affected by an
action

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
Casuistry means people make decisions
inductively based on individual cases
Today, casuistry is often the method used
by health care ethics committees to analyze
the ethical issues surrounding specific
patient cases

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
Narrative ethics has obvious similarities to
casuistry
Both narrative ethics and virtue ethics are
firmly embedded in human relationships

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
Using a narrative approach to ethics, nurses
are open to learning from a storied, nuanced
view of life; that is, they are sensitive to how
personal and community stories evolve, are
constructed, and can be changed

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
Critical Theory, sometimes referred to as
critical social theory, is a broad term that
identifies theories and worldviews that
address the domination perpetrated by
specific powerful groups of people and the
resulting oppression of other specific
groups of people

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
feminist ethics is specifically focused on
evaluating ethically related situations in terms
of how these situations affect women
ethic of care emphasizes the importance of
traditionally feminine traits such as love,
compassion, sympathy, and concern about the
well-being of other people

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Western Ethics
Principalism-Principles are rule-based
criteria for conduct that naturally flow from
the identification of obligations and duties

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Eastern Ethics
Indian Ethics
Hinduism is an ancient ethical system where
the main emphasis is cosmic unity

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Eastern Ethics
Indian Ethics
Buddhism is an ethic of virtue including the
Four Immeasurable Virtues: compassion
(karuna), loving-kindness (metta), sympathetic
joy (mudita), and equanimity (upekkha)

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Eastern Ethics
Chinese Ethics
Taoist philosophy underscores the flux and
balance of nature through yin (dark) and yang
(light) elements. Living well or living ethically is
living authentically, simply, and unselfishly in
harmony and oneness with nature

Ethical Theories and Approaches

Eastern Ethics
Chinese Ethics
Confucianism is a communitarian ethical
system in which social goals, the good of
society, and the importance of human
relationships are valued