Ethics: Values and Principles PDF

What is Ethics? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u399XmkjeXo&t=6s How many decisions do you think you make each day? If you ask the internet, the answer will range from 70 to 35,000. If you ask us, it’s the wrong question to be asking at all. That’s because we’re interested in ethics. We are not co...

What is Ethics? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u399XmkjeXo&t=6s How many decisions do you think you make each day? If you ask the internet, the answer will range from 70 to 35,000. If you ask us, it’s the wrong question to be asking at all. That’s because we’re interested in ethics. We are not concerned about the quantity of your decisions, we care about their quality. You might want to think of ethics as a tool that helps us create the difference between a good decision and a bad one. Ethics is the branch of philosophy that asks the practical question: What should we do? This leads to the study of things like values, principles, beliefs and norms. These are the things that shape our choices. Ethics asks us: How should we live? What choices should we make? What makes our lives worth living? It tries to help us define the conditions of a good choice, and then figure out which of our available options is the best one. Let’s say a close friend, Lee, confides in you that they’re struggling with depression. They’re feeling isolated and alone, but whenever they’re invited to go out they find it impossible to do. Lee insists they don’t want anyone else to know. They’re trusting this information to you alone. A few days later another friend comes to you, frustrated about Lee. Lee has flaked on plans at the last minute yet again, and your friend has had enough. They’ve decided they just won’t bother inviting Lee out anymore. So you’re torn. If Lee stops being invited to things, the isolation could make them feel even worse. Sharing information about their depression might help Lee be treated with more empathy and compassion. But it would be a breach of trust. And if Lee found out especially in a vulnerable state who knows what might happen. What do you do? Keep the secret, and allow Lee to be socially isolated? Or break Lee’s trust, but do it for their benefit? Answering this question means getting clear on what matters: Our values and principles. Our values are the things we hold to be good, and therefore care about most deeply. Things like justice, knowledge, family and equality. In this case, we’re likely to value both trustworthiness and compassion, which pull us in different directions. So it looks like an appeal to values alone won’t let us solve this dilemma. We don’t just need to know what’s good, we need to know what’s right. This is where principles come in, they help us draw a line in the sand. They determine the acceptable ways of getting the things we value. So what’s our guiding principle with regard to Lee? Some people might adopt a principle like “be true to your word” - meaning you keep Lee’s confidence, no matter the risks. Others might be inclined toward a principle like “act in people’s best interests”, and decide that it’s in Lee’s best interests that people know about the depression. Of course, there are still ambiguities, which is part of what makes ethical decision-making so complicated. So, how do we select which values and principles to adopt? And how do we make choices when we face a conflict of values or principles: Good vs Good, Right vs Right? What helps to orient our judgement is a connection to Purpose What’s our guiding north star? What’s our reason for being? Think about Lee again. Now, think about the purpose of friendship. What are friends for? Think about why Lee decided to tell you in confidence. Your purpose as Lee’s friend is to share their life with them- the highs and the lows. But it’s their life and it’s their decision on who they share it with. Lee chose to share this information with you alone. Given this, even if you prefer to act in people’s best interests, thinking about purpose, and thinking about Lee’s purpose, might encourage you to take a different path. Every time we make a choice, we change the world. What kind of world do you want to live in? Whether you make 35,000 choices in a day or just one, what’s important is that you make choices that are good and right. Choices you can justify, ones you can be proud of. That’s what makes the choices actively yours.