Dimensions of Ethics

Importance of understanding the ethical dimensions

NORMATIVE ETHICS
• The Golden rule of normative ethics is “doing to other as we want them to
do
to us“. Since we don’t want our neighbours to throw stones through our glass
window, then it will not be wise to first throw stone through a neighbour’s
window.
• Normative Ethics deals with “norms” or set of considerations how one should
act.
•Thus, it’s a study of “ethical action” and sets out the rightness or wrongness
of the actions.
• It is also called prescriptive ethics because it rests on the principles which
determine whether an action is right or wrong.
Based on this reasoning given above, anything such as harassing,
victimising, abusing or assaulting someone is wrong.
• Normative ethics also provides justification for punishing a person
who disturbs social and moral order.
• Aristotle’s virtue ethics, Kant’s deontological ethics, Mill’s
consequentialism (Utilitarianism) and the Bhagwad Gita’s Nishkam
Karmayoga are some of the theories in Normative Ethics

Normative ethics can be of following types

1. Deontological Ethics
2. Teleological Ethics(consequentialism)
3. Virtue ethics (Aristotle ethics)

What is Deontological Ethics?

  Deontological Ethics is also known as Kantian Ethics or Duty-Based
Ethics.
 Under Deontological Ethics, right & wrong is determined based on the
MEANS & the end result is immaterial here. And actions are good or bad
according to clear set of rules.
 Deontological ethics holds that individuals have certain moral duties and
obligations, even if it produces a bad result. These duties include “do
not lie,” “do not steal,” or “do not harm others.” So, for example, the
philosopher Kant opined that it would be wrong to lie to save a friend
from a murderer.
 According to Kant, the Dignity of every individual is an important value &
it should be used as a criterion for judging right & wrong. He argued,
“Every individual should be treated as an end in himself & shouldn’t be
treated as means to some end.”
 The intention is also crucial in Deontological Ethics. It is seen whether an
act is carried out with good or bad intentions. If good work is done with
bad intentions, then actions are unethical.
 Instances where human beings are treated as means to some other ends
are
 Surrogacy
 Clinical Trials
 Consumerism (MNCs use common people as a means to maximize
their profits)
 Mahatma Gandhi, too, has emphasized a lot on means as an ethical
aspect. According to Gandhi, means should be equally pious & moral as
that of the end.
 The Hindu philosophy of Nishkama Karma that argues for doing one’s
duties without expectation of fruit is in line with Deontological Ethics
/Duty Based Ethics.
 Deontological or duty-based ethics motivates work, even when the result
is uncertain or far away. e.g. Lord Krishna advised Arjun to fight in the
war against the Kauravs.
Type of deontological ethics theory
1. Contrarianism
2. Natural rights theory
3. The categorical imperative
Teleological ethics:

 Teleological ethics is the theory of morality that derives duty or moral

obligation from what is good or desirable as an end to be achieved.
 It says that the moral quality or morality of an action is completely determined
by its consequences. In other word it can be said that end justifies means in all
consequences
 Consequentialism or teleological ethics is based on the premise that the
morality of an action is contingent with the outcome of that action.
 It is also known as consequentialist ethics, it is opposed to deontological
ethics (from the Greek Deon, “duty”), which holds that the basic standards
for an action’s being morally right are independent of the good or evil
generated
 Different types of Consequential ethics/ Teleological ethics include:
a. Utilitarianism (Rule Utilitarianism, Act Utilitarianism)
b. Hedonism
c. Consequentialist libertarianism
d. Welfarism
e. Situational ethics

a. Utilitarianism:
 Utilitarianism is a normative-consequentialist ethical theory that places the
locus of the rightness and wrongness of an act solely on the outcomes
(consequences) of choosing one action/policy.
 Utilitarianism is a universalistic form of Ethical Hedonism {where Hedonism
argues that pleasure is the highest good and the supreme ideal of life)
Utilitarianism maintains that the supreme ideal of life is pleasure – not the
individual pleasure but universal or general happiness.
 It is an ethical doctrine pioneered by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart
Mills. Utilitarianism is fundamentally driven by the principle of utility i.e.
that action is morally right which produces the best overall consequences
with regard to the utility or welfare of all the affected parties. Thus the
underlying principle of utilitarianism is that “an action is right if it produces
greatest good for the greatest number”.
 It is a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is
the one that maximizes utility, usually defined as maximizing happiness and
reducing suffering

b. Hedonism:
  Best action is that which maximise the pleasure . it further state that pleasure
is responsible object of our desire. Pleasure of the individual is the moral
standard. Ethical hedonism may assueme two forms namely ..ethical egoism
and ethical altruism
 Hedonism is a school of thought that argues that pleasure is the highest
good, the supreme ideal of life. In simple terms, a hedonist strives to
maximize net pleasure.
 The philosophy of Hedonism has been propounded by Aristippus of Cyrene.
 Hedonism evaluates human actions on the basis of the consequences of
actions i.e. pleasure and pain.

(i)Ethical Egoism:
 Ethical Egoism will prescribe that one should act only with respect to one’s
own self-interest or in the self-centeredness, which may include actions that
may be beneficial, detrimental, or neutral to the welfare of others.
 Exemplary Personalities associated with the philosophy of ethical altruism
are Ayn Rand (Rational Egoism), Adam smith (Conditional egoism), Thomas
Hobbes etc.

(ii)Ethical Altruism
 Ethical Altruism is an ethical doctrine that holds that individuals have a
moral obligation to help, serve or benefit others, if necessary at the sacrifice
of self-interest. More precisely, an action is morally right if the consequences
of that action are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone except the
agent.
 Exemplary and iconic real life personalities associated with the philosophy of
ethical altruism are Mahatma Gandhiji, Swami Vivekananda etc.
 Ethical altruism prescribes that an individual should take action in such a
way that it will have the best possible consequences for everyone except for
himself. According to it an action is morally right if the consequence of that
action is more favorable than unfavorable “to everyone except the agent”

Descriptive ethics
Descriptive ethics deals with what people actually believe (or made to
believe) to be right or wrong, and accordingly holds up the human actions
acceptable or not acceptable or punishable under a custom or law.
• However, customs and laws keep changing from time to time and from
society to society.
• The societies have structured their moral principles as per changing time
and have expected people to behave accordingly.
• Due to this, descriptive ethics is also called comparative ethics
because it compares the ethics or past and present; ethics of
one society and other.
• It also takes inputs from other disciplines such as
anthropology, psychology, sociology and history to explain the
moral right or wrong.
 Virtue ethics

Introduction
 Virtue Ethics focuses on a person’s virtues (qualities/values) rather than
his conduct or actions.
 It focuses more on the person than the action, assuming that if a person
has good values, he will do good deeds.
 For Civil Servants, Virtue Ethics are very important. Civil Servants must
be a man of great virtues because
 If a civil servant is a virtuous man, he will command the respect of
people, and people will accept him easily.
 All decisions taken by him will be influenced by his values, and
values don’t change overnight.
 Other example of good virtue are discipline(help a person to
achieve his goal), kindness, trust and belief , service to others(can
change lives, better neighbourhoods and create stronger nations)
• Virtue ethics is an updated version of a theory first proposed in ancient
Greece.
• It’s very difficult to set up a list of moral rules that are going to solve
ethical dilemmas across cultural lines.
• In practical terms, however, there’s agreement that the world is too
diverse and changing to be controlled by lists of recommendations and
prohibitions.
• So proponents of virtue suggest that we change the focus of our moral
investigations. Instead of trying to form specific rules for everyone to
follow—don’t bribe, don’t exploit the deceased on TV
• The idea is that people who are good will do the good and right thing,
regardless of the circumstances: whether they’re at home or abroad,
whether they’re trying to win new clients or making a decision about
what kind of images are appropriate in front of public.

Example
• A local TV station has seen advertising revenue plummet and
layoffs have to be made.Who should go?
• Should Jim get to stay because his wife just had their first child?
• Should Jane get to stay because she’s fifty-seven and probably
won’t be able to find another job?
• Should John—who’s a tireless worker and the station’s best film
editor—be laid off because he was hired only two months ago?
• It’s a hard choice and there’s no way to know for sure what’s right.
• It is certain, however, that there are better and worse ways of
handling the situation.
How to handle the Situation ?
• Method 1 –
• Send them an email – ask to security to escort them – hide yourself
till they leave the office.
• Method 2 –
• Draw up criteria for making the decision and will stand up and
inform those who are being let go why the decision was made.
• The thoughts (complaints, regrets, excuses) of those being
released will be honored and heard attentively, but the decision
will stand.
What exactly is virtue ethics ?
• Virtue ethics is the idea that we can and should instill those qualities in
people and then let them go out into the complex world confident that
they’ll face dilemmas well.
• In another case, whether to hand over a bribe in a place where
everyone
is bribing?
• We don’t know what decision they will make. But we rely on their good
character to be confident they’ll do right.
• Virtue isn’t so much a natural characteristic like height or hair
color; it’s more of an acquired skill
• once a certain level of mastery has been reached—is rewarding or
satisfying. Typically, a person driven by virtue has nurtured a
moral instinct for acting in consonance with the virtues. Doing
right feels right.

Characteristics of Virtue
• Wisdom (both theoretical and practical) •
• Fairness
• Courage
• Temperance
• Prudence
• Sincerity
• Civility
1. Wisdom or Prudence
• It is the learned ability to take a deep breath and respond to
situations thoughtfully.
• For example, sometimes you don’t get the desired result and
you feel angry on people because of whom you were not
appraised.
• You feel like scream on the guy’s or even hit him? Or Talk
about it quietly after the meeting? Let it pass like nothing
happened?
• Practical wisdom doesn’t give an answer, but in the heat of the
moment, it’s the virtue of making the decision coolly, of doing
something you won’t regret later.
2. Fairness
• It is the virtue of judging people’s acts dispassionately,
evenhandedly, and from all points of view.
• If some one is asking for bribe, the verdict is going to
partially depend on where the client is.
• If he’s in the country, where no one believe bribe is wrong –
• Or if he’s in the country where bribe is common.
• No one is saying the first is wrong and the second right, but
the different contexts need to be considered,
• fairness is the ability to consider them, to make evenhanded
judgments even in very different situations.
3. Courage
• It is the virtue of moderate boldness.
• If you’re crime reporter, you know that sometimes you need to
take risk for breaking an important story.
• That does not mean that to stand up and shoot from the
middle of a gunfight.
• That’s not courage but foolishness
 4. Temperance
• It is the virtue of self-control with respect to pleasure,
especially the pleasures of the body and the senses.
• If you are an alcohal seller there is no doubt that you are
surrounded by best of the wine and whiskey bottles.
• Still you don’t drink as you know that it is your business and
you use your self control.
5. Sincerity
• It is the ability to reveal yourself to others with confidence that
you’ll be respected.
• If you are a TV reporter then you can’t just read cold facts.
Being human you control your emotions and show sincerity
towards the job.
• On the other hand, no one’s going to watch a reporter who
arrives at a crime scene, reports that he feels sad, and breaks
down in tears.
• Little emotions helps you show your sincerity towards a
situation.
6. Civility
• It is the virtue of showing consideration for others without
humiliating yourself.
• It’s the disposition to show others that you take them seriously
while also respecting yourself.
• In essence, the idea is, when having lunch with your boss, you
don’t eat like you’re sitting in front of the TV in your family
room; you respect her, and you expect the same from her.

Applied ethics