Introduction to Ethics

• Ethics are Greek "Ethos" (character) and Latin "Mores" (customs).
• In a legal context, ethics are a branch of philosophy focusing on actions and behavior.
• Ethics are based on well-founded standards of what is morally good/bad and right/wrong for society.

4 Branches of Ethics

• Descriptive Ethics studies moral beliefs and behavior, like Psychology and Anthropology.
• Normative Ethics studies what is morally right or wrong, like Philosophy and Theology.
• Applied Ethics applies ethics to real-life issues, like Medical Ethics, Business Ethics, and Codes of Ethics.
• Meta-Ethics studies ethics themselves, with all examples applying.

Code of Ethics

• A code of ethics consists of rules and principles encouraging ethical behavior among professionals.
• An ethical code is also called can include business, professional, and employee conduct codes.
• Examples of Codes: Code of Professional Practice and Employee Code of Conduct

Ethical Behavior

• Following society's idea of what is correct equals ethical behavior.
• Ethical behavior includes honesty, fairness, equity, and respect for dignity.
• Moral behavior correlates to greater personal goodness.

Morality

• Morality consists of standards, principles, or habits based on ideals of right and wrong.
• Morality focuses on whether actions align with adopted societal values.

Two Standards of Morality

• Moral standards are behaviors that seriously affect human welfare; includes killing, stealing, lying, and abuse as examples.
• Non-moral standards are rules unrelated to morals; includes fashion rules and game rules as examples.

Ethics vs Morality

• Ethics are guiding principles of conduct, whereas morality is the judgment of right/wrong.
• Ethics are influenced by profession or field, while morality is influenced by society, culture, and religion.
• Ethics are related to professional work, but morality is not.

Moral Reasoning

• Moral reasoning applies critical analysis to determine what is right or wrong in specific events.
• Moral reasoning guides what people ought to do in a given situation.

Scott Rae's Seven Moral Reasoning Model

• Scott Bothic Rae is an American Old Testament scholar and professor of Christian Ethics.

Seven Steps of Moral Reasoning

• Gather the facts and information by knowing all the facts before making any decision.
• Determine the ethical issues by identifying and clearly stating the ethical dilemma.
• Determine what virtues/principles apply by identifying and explaining the relevant moral values or virtues.
• List the alternatives with principles, creating multiple alternative courses of action.
• Compare the alternatives with the virtues/principles, evaluating and eliminating alternatives based on moral principles.
• Consider the consequences, weighing the positive and negative outcomes.
• Make a final decision, deciding and justifying the choice, accepting that solutions may have painful consequences.

Five Common Fallacies in Moral Reasoning

• Appeal to the People: Believing something is right because the majority believes it.
• Appeal to the Man: Attacking a person's character instead of addressing their argument.
• Circular Reasoning: Repeating the same point without answering the original question.
• Slippery Slope: Claiming one small step will lead to extreme negative consequences.
• Naturalistic: Assuming something is correct just because it is considered normal socially or morally.

Moral Development

• Moral development focuses on the emergence, change, and understanding of morality from infancy through adulthood.
• Morality develops across a life span in a variety of ways.
• An individual's experiences and behavior while facing moral issues during different periods of physical and cognitive development influences moral development.
• Lawrence Kohlberg created The 3 Levels & 6 Stages of Moral Development.

Level 1: Pre-conventional Level

• The Pre-conventional Level is the first level of moral development, lasting until approximately age 8.
• During the Pre-conventional Level, children accept the authority and moral code of others.
• People follow rules because they don't want to get in trouble or they want to get a reward at the pre-conventional level.
• This level of morality is mostly based on what authority figures tell you to do rather than what you think is right or wrong.

Stage 1: Obedience / Punishment

• Behavior is determined by consequences.
• Individuals will obey in order to avoid punishment.
• Example: A child doesn't take a cookie before dinner because they fear being scolded.

Stage 2: Self-Interest

• Individuals focus on receiving rewards or satisfying personal needs.
• Example: A child helps clean up toys because they'll get extra playtime.

Level 2: Conventional Level

• Conformity to social rules remains important to the individual.
• There is a shift in emphasis from self-interest to relationships with other people and social systems, lasting from 8 years old to early adolescence.
• Individuals strive to support rules set forth by authorities like parents, peers, and the government to win approval or maintain social order.

Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationship

• Also known as the "Good Boy/Girl Orientation."
• Behavior is determined by social approval.
• Individuals want to maintain or win the affection and approval of others by being a "Good Person."
• Example: A student volunteers to help a classmate to be seen as kind and helpful.

Stage 4: Law and Order Morality

• The child/individual becomes aware of the wider rules of society; judgements concern obeying the rules to uphold the law and avoid guilt.
• Moral decision-making becomes more than consideration of close ties to others.
• Individuals believe that rules and laws maintain social order worth preserving.
• Example: A person does not cheat on their taxes because they respect the law and value societal order.

Level 3: Post-Conventional Level

• Characterized by an individual's understanding of universal ethical principles.
• People think about what is fair, what is just, and what values are important during maturity and adulthood.
• Post-conventional morality occurs when people decide based on what they think is right rather than just following the rules.
• People at this level of morality have their own ethical principles and values and don't just do what society tells them to do.

Stage 5: Social Contract & Individual Rights

• Individuals view laws and rules as flexible tools for improving human purposes.
• Children/Individuals become aware that while rules/laws might exist for the good of the greatest number, there are times when they will work against the interest of particular individuals.
• Example: A citizen supports changing a law they believe is unfair, like advocating for equal rights reforms.

Stage 6: Universal Principle

• People at this stage have developed their own set of moral guidelines that may or may not fit the law.
• Examples are human rights, justice, and equality.
• Individuals will be prepared to act to defend these principles even if it means going against the rest of society in the process and having to pay the consequences of disapproval and/or imprisonment.
• Example: A person hides refugees during wartime, even if it's illegal, because they believe saving lives is the highest moral duty.

Psychoanalysis Theory

• Sigmund Freud developed a topographical model of the mind, describing the features of the mind's structure and function.
• Freud used the analogy of an iceberg to describe the three levels of the mind.
• The mind consists of all the mental processes which people are aware, and this is seen as an iceberg in the ocean.

Psychoanalysis Theory: Three Levels of Mind

• Conscious Mind consists of Thoughts, Feelings, and Perceptions. They are ideas or opinions produced by thinking and occurring suddenly in the mind, as well as include the ability to see or hear. Examples include communicating and answering a normal question.
• Pre-conscious Mind consists of memories stored to become knowledge. Everything that people can recall or retrieve from memory, like memorizing. creativity, imagination, logical thought and feelings. Examples include Memorizing, creativity, imaginations, logical thinking, values, emotions, and feelings.
• Unconscious Mind consists of things that people are unaware of and cannot become aware of, and any behavior that the person is not fully aware of. Examples: Violent motives, saying bad words, thinking of sexual activities, immoral desires, lying and selfishness.

Psychoanalysis and Personality Structure

• Freud's personality theory (1923) saw the psyche structured into three parts: the id, ego, and superego, all developing at different stages in our lives.
• The id, ego and superego are systems, not parts of the brain, or in any way physical, but rather hypothetical conceptualizations of important mental functions.
• The ID is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories.
• The SUPER EGO operates as a moral conscience.
• The EGO is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the superego.

Egoism

• The term "egoism" derives from "ego," the Latin term for "I" in English.
• Egoism describes a person acts respectfully or kindly for their own advantages.
• Egoism is a theory of ethics with the goal of benefiting the pleasure, or greatest good of oneself alone.

3 Types of Egoism

• Psychological Egoism suggests that every attitude, behavior, or decision of every person is intrinsically motivated by self-interest; for showing good behavior for advantages.
• Ethical Egoism argues that any action should be done solely to achieve individual benefits. Top moral responsibility is for you, especially to conform to society or organization; for showing good actions for advantages.
• Rational Egoism claims that it is necessary and sufficient for an action and behavior to be rational to maximize one's self-interest; for good behavior that is needed.

Altruism

• Altruism is the unselfish concern for other people, doing things simply out of a desire to help, not because you feel obligated to do so out of duty, loyalty, or religious reasons.
• Altruism involves acting out of concern for the well-being of other people.
• Examples include doing something to help another person with no expectation of reward, sharing resources even in the face of scarcity, and showing concern for someone else's well-being.

4 Types of Altruism

• Genetic altruism involves engaging in altruistic acts that benefit close family members.
• Reciprocal altruism is based on a mutual give-and-take relationship; helping another person now because they may one day be able to return the favor.
• Group-Selected altruism involves altruistic acts for people based upon their group affiliation.
• Pure altruism, also known as moral altruism, involves helping someone else, even when it is risky, without any reward, and is motivated by internalized values and morals.