Ethics and Law

Introduction

Ever since we were kids and became aware of our surroundings, our parents
and elders have instilled in us a fundamental awareness of what is right and
wrong. It is actually an inherent trait of all humans and grows from our desire
to get along well with each other in order to live a harmonious life.

To achieve this goal, we understand that we must do to other people what

we expect them to do to us in return. For this, we try very hard to do what
we feel and see as the right things to do in certain situations. This is the
foundation of ethics. They are rules of conduct that show how our society
expects us to behave and are the guiding principles behind the creation of
laws. Ethics is one of the most controversial subjects of philosophy, mainly
because of its relation to our everyday lives. You can hardly find a person
who has not postulated on what is “good” or “bad”, or what is “right” or
“wrong”.

What is ethics?

Ethics is derived from the greek word “ethika” or “ethos” referring to moral
philosophy. As a study or discipline it concerns itself with:

 Judgments of approval and disapproval

 Judgments as to the rightness or wrongness, goodness or badness,

virtue or vice

 Desirability or wisdom of actions, dispositions, ends, objects, or

states of affairs.

Defined, ethics refers social guidelines based on moral principles and values.
It comprises the rules of right and wrong behavior. It relates to the notion of
good and bad, right and wrong, and just and unjust actions of individuals
within the society. The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary defines ethics
as "the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group. Ethical
conduct therefore denotes the generally accepted norms of practice within a
defined society. Ethics sprouts from within a person’s moral sense and desire
to preserve his self respect.

Conversely, based on society’s ethics, laws are created and enforced by

governments to mediate in our relationships with each other. Laws are made
by governments in order to protect its citizens. The judiciary, legislature, and

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executive are the three main arms in a government that are assigned to the
task of the creation and implementation of laws.

While laws carry with them a punishment for violations, ethics does not. In
ethics everything depends on the person’s conscience and self worth. For
example, driving carefully and within the speed limit because you don’t want
to hurt someone is ethical, but if you drive slowly because you see a police
car behind you, this suggests your fear of breaking the law and being
punished for it. Similarly, it may not be illegal or unlawful for a person to go
to buy a fancy dress or suit, wear it for a special occasion with the tags
tucked in, and then return it the next day; however, it may be unethical.

Often, laws are crafted from ethical principles or considerations, meaning

ethics can be the predecessor of laws. Thus, laws become a codification of
certain ethical values meant to help regulate society, and punishments for
breaking them can be harsh and sometimes even surpassing ethical
standards. Largely, the society relies on ethics to control people's behavior.
Nevertheless, with so many values, it at times becomes difficult to decipher
who or what is right and who or what is wrong. Laws seek to eliminate this
lacuna by defining the specific parameters for everyone to follow. However,
laws do not exist in every realm of life, thus ethics becomes the fallback for
control in many situations.

Ethics and laws are therefore necessary to provide guidance and stability to
people and society as a whole.

Summary of comparison between ethics and Law

Ethics Laws

Ethics are the socially acceptable Laws are rules developed by

rules of conduct governments in order to provide
balance in society and protection
to its citizens

Ethics comes from people’s Laws are created and enforced by

awareness of what is right and states / governments.
wrong

Ethics are moral codes the society Laws are codifications of ethics and
expects every person to adhere to other rules meant to regulate the

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 society

Ethics Laws

Ethics does not carry any laws are rules and regulations that
punishment to anyone who have specific penalties and
violates it consequences when violated

Ethics comes from within a person’s Laws are made with ethics as a
moral values guiding principle

Significance of ethics

Primarily, it is the individual or the human social unit of the society who
benefits from ethics in the following ways: -

 Satisfying Basic Human Needs: Being fair, honest and ethical is one of
the basic human needs. Every individual desires to live in a social
setup that is fair and ethical in its practices.

 Creating Credibility: A society that is believed to be driven by moral

values is respected and deemed to thrive. This perception is held far
and wide even by those who do not even know what the society is all
about.

 Enhancing social relations: A society driven by values is revered by its

members thus uniting the people and the leadership. Ethical values are
the common thread that brings the decision makers and the people on
to a common platform. This goes a long way in aligning behaviors
within the society towards achievement of the societal goals or
objectives.

 Improving Decision Making: A man’s destiny is the sum totals of all the
decisions that he/she takes in course of his life. The same holds true
for societies. Decisions are driven by values.

 Long Term Gains: Social settings that are guided by ethics and values
are healthy or vibrant in the long run, though in the short run they may
seem to stutter.

 Securing the Society: Often ethics succeeds law in safeguarding the

society. The law machinery is often found acting as a mute spectator,

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 unable to save the society and the environment. Technology, for
example is growing at such a fast pace that the by the time law comes
up with a regulation we have a newer technology with new threats
replacing the older one. Lawyers and public interest litigations may not
help a great deal but ethics can

Categories of ethics

Ethics usually falls into three categories; professional, social and individual.

 Professional Ethics: These are usually defined by employers and

employees are required to follow them. The general principles
underlying most of the ethical dilemmas employees confront in the
course of their employment are addressed by laid down professional
code of ethics (conduct). Professional codes of ethics may not provide
detailed guidance in all possible situations. This is where social and
individual ethics play an important role.

 Social Ethics: Comprise those values that are usually defined by the
society or a group at large as the primary values existing and to be
adhered to in that group.

 Individual ethics: Comprise those values that are usually defined by

personal heritage and integral family values. They are those values
that are important to a person as an individual.

Sources of Ethics

Primarily, ethics is affected by three sources; culture, religion and laws of the
state. It is for this reason we do not have uniform or completely similar
standards across the globe. These three factors exert influences to varying
degrees on humans which ultimately get reflected in the ethics of the
society. For example, ethics followed by societies of different faiths are
dissimilar.

Religion

It is one of the oldest foundations of ethical standards. Religion wields

varying influences across various sects of people. It is believed that ethics is
a manifestation of the divine and so it draws a line between the good and

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the bad in the society. Depending upon the degree of religious influence
there different sects of people; there are those who are referred to as
orthodox or fundamentalists and those who are perceived as moderates.
Needless to mention, religion exerts itself to a greater degree among the
orthodox and to lesser extent in case of moderates. Fundamentally,
however, all the religions operate on the principle of reciprocity towards
fellow human beings.

Culture

Culture is a pattern of behaviors and values that are transferred from one
generation to another, those that are considered as ideal or within the
acceptable limits. No wonder therefore that it is the culture that
predominantly determines what is wrong and what is right. It is the culture
that defines certain behavior as acceptable and others as unacceptable.

Human civilization in fact has passed through various cultures, wherein the
moral code was redrafted depending upon the epoch that was. What was
immoral or unacceptable in certain culture became acceptable later on and
vice versa.

During the early years of human development where the strongest the
survived, violence, hostility and ferocity were acceptable. Later on
(approximately 10,000 years ago) when human civilization entered the
settlement phase, hard work, patience and peace were seen as the ideal
virtues.

Further on, when human civilization witnessed the industrial revolution, the
ethics of agrarian economy was replaced by technology highlighting the
ensuing tussle between the values of the agrarian and the industrial
economy.

Law

Laws are procedures and code of conduct that are laid down by the legal
system of the state. They are meant to guide human behavior within the
social fabric. The major problem with the law is that all the ethical
expectations cannot be covered by the law and specially with ever changing
outer environment. The law keeps on changing but often fails to keep pace.