Chapter Three:

Theory of Ethics

By: Endale.M
 Chapter contents
3.1.Introduction to Ethics
3.2 scope of ethics

3.3.Ethical egoism and

subjectivism
What is ethics?
What is ethics?
The term is derived from the
Greek word ethos which can
mean custom, habit, At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles.
character or disposition. They affect how people make decisions and lead their
survives.

Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals

and society and is also described as moral philosophy.

Ethics covers the following dilemmas:

*How to live a good life
*our rights and responsibilities
*The language of right and wrong
*Moral decisions - what is good and bad?
 2. Normative ethics is
concerned with the content of
moral judgments and the
1 criteria for what is right or
Our concepts of ethics have been wrong.
2.
derived from religions, Theories that provide general
Approaches to ethics philosophies and cultures.
Philosophers nowadays moral rules governing our
behavior.
tend to divide ethical They infuse debates on topics like Like referee
theories into three areas: abortion, human rights and 3. Applied ethics looks at
1. Meta-ethics, professional conduct. controversial topics like war,
2. Normative ethics and
animal rights and capital
3. Applied ethics.
punishment
1. Meta-ethics deals with the
nature of moral judgment. How we should act in specific
Studies how we engage in areas of our life.
ethics. Like football players.
Like commentators
 Scope of Ethics
Ethical problems and phenomena arise across all the functional areas of companies and at all levels within
the company.
1.Ethics in Compliance
Compliance is about obeying and adhering to rules and authority.
2.Ethics in Finance
• In accounting – window dressing, misleading financial analysis.
• Related party transactions not at arm’s length
• Insider trading, securities fraud leading to manipulation of the financial markets.
• Bribery, kickbacks, over billing of expenses, facilitation payments.
• Fake reimbursements
3. Ethics in Human Resources
Human resource management (HRM) plays a decisive role in introducing and implementing ethics.
4. Ethics in Marketing
Marketing ethics is the area of applied ethics which deals with the moral principles behind the operation
and regulation of marketing.
5. Ethics of Production
This area of business ethics deals with the duties of a company to ensure that products and production
processes do not cause harm.
Defective, addictive and inherently dangerous products and
• pollution, environmental ethics, and carbon emissions trading.
• Ethical problems arising out of new technologies
 What are the
Importance of ethics?
Importance of ethics?
-It defines group identity and reflects close human
relationships and mutual respect.
-It provides guidance for dealing with ethical
dilemmas.
-It contributes to trust, justice, progress, and
leadership.
-It helps create a more just and sustainable world.
-It leads to a solid reputation and long-term financial
rewards for businesses.
 Where does ethics come from?
Philosophers have several answers to this question:
*God and religion
*Human conscience and perception
*a rational moral cost-benefit analysis of actions and their effects
* society and the collective beliefs and values of its
citizens.
* Ethics also come from those individuals willing to
make difficult choices and think about big questions:
* Good and bad,
*Right and wrong.
 x
God-based ethics - supernaturalism
Supernaturalism makes ethics
inseparable from religion. It teaches that
the only source of moral rules is God.
So, something is good because God says it
is, and the way to lead a good life is to do Intuitionism
what God wants. Intuitionists think that good and bad are real objective
properties that can't be broken down into component parts.
Something is good because it's good; its goodness doesn't
need justifying or proving.
Intuitionists think that goodness or badness can be detected
by adults - they say that human beings have an intuitive
moral sense that enables them to detect real moral truths.
Consequentialism
Consequentialism is an ethical theory that judges
whether or not something is right by what its
consequences are. For instance, most people would agree
that lying is wrong. But if telling a lie would help save a
person's life, consequentialism says it's the right thing to
do.
 Deontological ethics
Deontology is an ethical theory that
says actions are good or bad according
to a clear set of rules.
Its name comes from the Greek word
deon, meaning duty. Actions that align
with these rules are ethical, while
actions that don't aren't.
Example the fact that it is wrong to
kill.
 Virtue ethics
Virtue ethics is a broad term for theories
that emphasize the role of attractiveness and
virtue in moral philosophy rather than either Examples of virtue ethics include
doing one's duty or acting in order to bring - employee who helps his friends ,
about good consequences. - a good nurse who provides excellent care to
patients, and an individual who returns to the
store to pay for a product he forgot to pay for.
Principles
Virtue ethics teaches:
• An action is only right if it is an action that a virtuous
person would carry out in the same circumstances.
• A virtuous person is a person who acts virtuously
• A person acts virtuously if they "possess and live the
virtues“
• A virtue is a moral characteristic that a person needs to
live well.
The modern theologian James F Keenan suggests:
Justice
Justice requires us to treat all human beings equally
and impartially.
Fidelity
Fidelity requires that we treat people closer to us
with special care.
Self-care
We each have a unique responsibility to care for
ourselves, affectively, mentally, physically, and
spiritually.
 Situation ethics
In situation ethics, right and wrong depend upon
the situation. There are no universal moral rules
or rights - each case is unique and deserves a
unique solution.
Situation ethics rejects 'prefabricated decisions
and prescriptive rules'.
 Subjectivism
Subjectivism teaches that moral If a person says something is
judgments are nothing more than good or bad they are telling us
statements of a person's feelings or about the positive or negative
attitudes, and that ethical statements feelings that they have about
do not contain factual truths about that something.
goodness or badness. So if someone says 'murder is
In more detail: subjectivists say that wrong' they are telling us that
moral statements are statements about they disapprove of murder.
the feelings, attitudes and emotions that These statements are true if the
that particular person or group has person does hold the
about a particular issue. appropriate attitude or have
the appropriate feelings. They
are false if the person doesn't.
 Emotivism
Emotivism It is a form of ethical
subjectivism, the view that there
are no objective moral truths in the
When an emotivist says world. It is also a kind of non-
"murder is wrong" it's like cognitivism, a theory that suggests So when someone makes a moral
saying "down with murder" or that ethical statements are not judgment they show their feelings
"murder, yecch!" or just saying based on cognitive reasoning. about something.
"murder" while pulling a Some theorists also suggest that
horrified face, or making a in expressing a feeling the
thumbs-down gesture at the person gives an instruction to
same time as saying "murder is others about how to act towards
wrong". the subject matter.
 Prescriptivism
Prescriptivists think that ethical statements
are instructions or recommendations.
So if I say something is good, I'm
There is almost always a prescriptive recommending you to do it, and if I say
element in any real-world ethical something is bad, I'm telling you not to do
statement: any ethical statement can
be reworked (with a bit of effort) into a it.
statement with an 'ought' in it.
For example: "lying is wrong" can
be rewritten as "people ought not to
tell lies".
I. Ethical egoism is the prescriptive doctrine that all persons
should to act fromtheir own self-interest.
 Example
• Good Samaritan stopped to help a man whose car had broken
down on the freeway. The man shoot and killed the Samaritan, and
stole his car.

• The Action of a person who kill Samaritan is good or bad?

• What about the action of Good Samaritan who stoped his car and
help a man?
• What you say about ethical egoism from this short story?
• According to ethical egoism, stop his car and help to a
person is not correct
• Look your interest only
• Don’t transfer your interest to others
Individual ethical
egoism is the • Individual ethical egoism is a belief that
prescriptive can't be consistent unless it applies to
just one person. In other words, this belief is
doctrine that all notuneversalizable.
persons should
serve my self-
interest • Practically speaking, the doctrine is similar
(i.e.,egotism) to solipsism—there's no way to justify
the belief since it applies to just one person.
Universal ethical egoismAll people should do what
is in their own interests.” Unlike the individual
principle, this principle isuniversalizable.

Another problem is trying to figure out what

"their own interests" means. Does this
phrase mean short-term or long-term benefit,
pleasure, happiness, preference, or something else?
What gives you pleasure might not be a benefit or in
your interest.