Introduction to Ethics

• Ethics is a branch of philosophy exploring moral principles, concerning what is right and wrong, good and bad, and virtuous and vicious.
• Ethical dilemmas are situations presenting a choice between options with conflicting moral implications

Scope of ethics

• Descriptive Ethics describes and explains normative systems.
• Normative Ethics is generally considered to be a matter of general validity rather than subjectivity.
• Deontological Ethics emphasizes fulfilling moral duties or obligations, regardless of potential outcomes.
• Consequentialism determines the ethical correctness of actions based solely on their consequences.
• Virtue Ethics emphasizes developing virtuous character traits as the foundation for ethical decision-making and behavior.
• Meta-ethics delves into the philosophical questions about the nature, meaning, and knowledge of morality.
• Moral Ontology examines which aspects of the world possess moral significance or worth.
• Moral Semantics investigates the meaning of moral terms and concepts.
• Moral Epistemology deals with how we acquire knowledge about moral truths.
• Applied Ethics focuses on the practical application of moral principles, theories, and values to real-world issues and dilemmas.

Importance of Ethical Frameworks

• Ethical frameworks help individuals understand what is morally important and prioritize ethical factors in decision-making.
• Ethical frameworks provide principles, rules, and guidelines for evaluating the ethical implications of choices.
• Individuals and organizations use ethical frameworks to ensure similar situations are treated in a consistent manner, regardless of personal biases or preferences.
• These frame works offer a structured approach to navigating complex dilemmas, leading to reasoned and principled choices.
• Ethical frameworks guide individuals and organizations away from unethical behavior and toward responsible actions.
• By demonstrating commitment to ethical principles and values, trust and respect are earned from others. This fosters positive relationships, credibility, and a good reputation.

Ethical Dilemmas

• These can surface in personal, societal, and environmental setting

The Ethics Dilemma Debate

• Critical analysis of ethical dilemmas, evaluate conflicting values, and propose ethical solutions using ethical principles are all key parts of this style of debate

Historical Overview of Ethical Thought

Ancient Ethics: Greek Philosophers

• Socrates loved asking questions and prompted people to think deeply about their beliefs.
• Plato, a student of Socrates, focused on concepts such as justice, morality, and goodness.
• Aristotle, a student of Plato, thought becoming good involved cultivating traits like courage, honesty, and kindness.
• Stoicism, founded by Zeno of Citium, taught that a good life involves living in harmony with nature and accepting the things we cannot change.
• Epicureanism, founded by Epicurus, believed the goal was tranquility and pleasure without excessive or hedonistic indulgence.

Medieval Ethics: Christian Ethics

• With the spread of Christianity, ethical thinking revolved around Christian beliefs and teachings.
• Augustine of Hippo emphasized the importance of love, the sinful nature of humans, and the need for God's grace for moral transformation.
• Thomas Aquinas reconciled faith with reason, asserting humans could use their intellect to understand moral truths.

Early Modern Ethics

• Enlightenment thinkers began depending more reason and less on religion, including ethics.
• Utilitarianism states the best action creates the most happiness for the most people.

19th and 20th Century Ethics

• Existentialism questioned old ideas about being good, focusing on individual freedom and responsibility.
• Pragmatism dictates the value of an idea or action should be judged by its practical consequences.
• Analytic Ethics explored morality (metaethics), the meaning of moral terms (moral semantics), and right and wrong actions (normative ethics).

Contemporary Ethics

• Diverse Perspectives now cover virtues, deontology, consequentialism, feminist ethics, or environmental ethics.
• Applied Ethics handles real-world problems.
• Global Ethics addresses ethics on a global scale, like human rights, climate change, and global justice.

Activity: Written Reflections

• Critically reflect on how ethical principles can inform and guide our responses to specific contemporary issues.
• Select a contemporary issue such as Climate Change, Social Justice, HealthCare Access, Ethics and Technology, Environmental Sustainability, Human Rights, Economic Inequality, Refugee Crisis, Racial Justice, and Mental Health Awareness.
• Research to understand the chosen contemporary issue, considering its causes, impacts, and potential solutions.
• Identify applicable ethical principles or theories for addressing the chosen issue and how they might guide decision-making, behavior, and policy development.
• In a reflection explain the importance of these rules for dealing with the modern problem by answering "How do these rules help us understand what's going on? What ethical things should we think about when we try to solve this problem? How can these rules help people, groups, and governments decide what to do about the problem? Do these rules sometimes clash with each other when we try to fix the problem?".
• Support the reflection with real-world examples that illustrate the application of ethical principles in addressing the chosen issue.
• Summarize insights gained from analyzing the relevance of ethical principles to address the contemporary issue and discuss any implications or recommendations for action.
• Put Your reflection in a clear and organized manner and be sure it's following academic writing conventions. Include proper citation of sources used.