Module 2

GE 108-ETHICS
What is Ethics? Basic Ethical Concepts
We face decisions all the time about what to do and what to be, both as
individuals and as members of larger groups. Should we stay up late watching
movies or should we get some extra sleep? What should we strive for in our lives?
In what ways should we respect and care for other people or other living beings?
Should we let other species go extinct when we could prevent this from
happening?
Ethics is the study of what is right and wrong, good and bad, what we
should and should not do or be, and related topics. Clearly, ethics is important to
many aspects of our lives. But studying ethics can be very challenging, by forcing
us to examine, question, and rethink our deeply held notions of how we should
live.
The purpose of this lesson is to improve our ability to engage in ethical
thinking. We say improve our ability because we, as a living, conscious human
being, already possess some ability to think ethically. We all do. We might have
different thoughts and reach different conclusions about ethics, but the core
ability to think ethically is something that unites all humans – and perhaps
members of some other species as well.
Thinking Ethically
Thinking about ethics is different from other types of thinking in some very
fundamental ways. When we think about what the nature of our world is, we can
make observations about the world to see if our thoughts are accurate. This
comparison of thoughts to observations is much of what science is about. But just
because our world is in a certain form does not mean that it should be in this
form. For example, we might see that our world is polluted or impoverished but,
meanwhile, think that it should be clean or rich.
Meanwhile, when we think about what activities we can do, we can try
these activities to see if our thoughts are feasible. This process of thinking and
trial is much of what design is about, whether it is engineering design, policy
design, or other types of design. But just because we can do some activity does
not mean that we should do this activity. For example, we may be able to build a
bomb or enact a repressive policy but, meanwhile, think that these activities
should not be done.
This raises the important question: how do we know the answers to these
should questions? Our observations of the world do not yield the answers,
because what we observe is not necessarily good. Our assessments of what we
can do also do not yield the answers, because what we can do is not necessarily
good. If these observations and assessments do not answer these should
questions, then what does?
The answers to these questions should ultimately lie in our own internal
intuitions. These intuitions are what speak to us when we think that something is
right or wrong, or should or should not be done. You can observe your intuitions
right now: simply imagine something you think is right, or something you think is
wrong, and notice the feelings of rightness or wrongness inside of you. These are
your intuitions! These intuitions are our ultimate source of ethical thinking.
Ethics compared with other Sciences that deal with Man
1. Ethics and Psychology
Psychology is a descriptive Philosophy that treats of man’s intellect, free will and
conduct while Ethics guides man’s intellect to know moral truths and man’s will to
translate his intellectual knowledge of moral truths into action (conduct). Further,
psychology, generally, deals with human behavior. It posits the Question: How
does man behave? Ethics on the other hand, asserts the question: why does man
ought to behave?
Ethics refers to the correct rules of conduct necessary when carrying out
research. We have a moral responsibility to protect research participants from
harm. However important the issue under investigation psychologists need to
remember that they have a duty to respect the rights and dignity of research
participants.
Ethics help determine what is considered right and wrong actions towards people
or situations. Examples of accepted ethical behavior include being honest,
treating people fairly, being respectful, and obeying the law. Psychology is the
study of how we feel, think, and act to determine why we act the way that we do.
As a scientific discipline and as a profession, it is important for psychology to
articulate its ethical principles. It gives us credibility and respect. It provides a
vehicle for resolving ethical issues, and it offers guidance in an often-ambiguous
world.
2. Ethics and Sociology
Sociology is concerned with human interactions. Human connections, on the
other hand, require a healthy social setup or structure. This right order
presupposes the application of suitable rules. These suitable rules presuppose
moral laws or the sequence of good and wrong activity, which is known as ethics.
As a result, ethics and sociology are inextricably linked. There can be no civilized
or humanized relationships in society apart from ethics.
Ethics is concerned with the ethical ideal, the right and wrong of acts, moral
growth, and the character of the individual. Sociology is the study of the nature of
human society, including its origins and progress. It investigates the evolution and
norms of various groupings. As a result, the relationship between man and society
is extremely close. As a member of sociology, man is studied. Ethics is the study of
man as a responsible individual with free agency. Because of this, ethics and
sociology are inextricably linked.

Ethics is dependent upon sociology for the description of man’s ultimate good in
relation with society. We only know the individual man as a member of some
society, what we call his virtues are chiefly exhibited in his dealings with his
fellows, and his most prominent pleasures are derived from intercourse with
them, thus it is a paradox to maintain that man’s highest good is independent of
his social relations, or of the constitution and condition of the community of
which he forms a part. The differences between ethics and sociology are the
following:

a. Normative science study ideals and positive sciences study facts.

Sociology gives factual knowledge of social relations while ethics ideals, it
decides the good and bad in social conventions, habits, traditions, etc. In
 this way, sociology and ethics are related to each other but their scopes do
not coincide.

b. Sociology is a comparatively theoretical study while ethics very much

affects our practical life. It tries to seek the ultimate good and, in its light,
makes judgements concerning virtues, duties, good and bad in social
institutions, conventions, authority and economic and political laws, etc. In
the form of the science of ethical ideals it is also related to philosophy.

c. So that ultimate good of the individual is based upon the ultimate good
of society as he is an inseparable part of society. The aim of ethics is to
synthesize individual and social good, selfishness and altruism. Social
science studies the social habits, conversions and those institution which
influence men. Thus, ethics depends upon sociology. On the other hand,
sociology also depends upon ethics.
3. Ethics and logic
Logic is the branch of Philosophy that deals with man’s correct thinking.
Ethics on the other hand deals with man’s correct doing and correct living.
Therefore, like sociology, logic is closely associated with ethics since a person who
does not know how to think correctly can never live his life rightly. In simple
terms ethics is the science that tells a man how he can act correctly with respect
to morality, and logic can be termed as the science of only thinking correctly.
Ethics and logic are closely related to each other. Both deal with doing things
correctly.

Both deal with doing things correctly. - Ethical principles help in dealing
with several sensitive issues, that require you to think logically, with respect to
emotional values. For example, if we take the case of euthanasia, you have to
make the right judgment taking care of the emotional values.

4. Ethics and Anthropology

Anthropology is concerned with the origins of man and the conduct of
prehistoric man. Ethics, on the other hand, is concerned with the concept of
proper action as it has always been applied to all men. Ethics in anthropology
basically reflects general moral principles of what is bad and what is good in
terms of what one should not do and what one should do as a professional in the
discipline. That task, which remains on the level of description, is one for
anthropology or sociology. In contrast, ethics deals with the justification of moral
principles (or with the impossibility of such a justification).

5. Ethics and moral Theology

Moral Philosophy (ethics and Moral Theology presuppose God’s existence:

they too have the same end, i.e., the attainment of man’s goal: God. They have
the same means towards the attainment of this end, i.e., the right living. The two,
however differ in their basis. Moral Philosophy bases its principle on reason. On
the contrary, Moral Theology bases its principles on Faith or Divine revelation and
reason.

Many people conceive of morality as something personal and normative,

but ethics is the criteria of "good and bad" determined by a certain society or
social situation. For example, your local society may believe that adultery is
wrong, and you may agree. However, if your community has no strong sentiments
against adultery but you think adultery is reprehensible on a personal level, the
distinction might be valuable. According to these criteria, your morality would be
in conflict with your community's ethics. However, in public discourse, the
phrases moral and immoral are frequently used when discussing matters such as
adultery, regardless of their legality. As you can see, the distinction can get a bit
tricky.

It is necessary to investigate how the two terms have been employed in

discourse in various sectors in order to assess the implications of both phrases.
For example, many Westerners associate morality with Christianity since moral
theology is prevalent in the church. Similarly, ethics is a phrase used in business,
health, and law. In many circumstances, ethics acts as a personal code of behavior
for persons working in such industries, and the ethics itself are frequently hotly
disputed and contentious. These implications have aided in the differentiation
between morality and ethics.
 WHY STUDY ETHICS?
The serious student of ethics will find this work both profitable and
interesting to the highest degree.
The study of ethics helps a person to look at his own life critically and to
evaluate his actions/choices/decisions. It assists a person in knowing what he/she
really is and what is best for him/her and what he/she has to do in order to attain
it. study of moral philosophy can help us to think better about morality.
Ethics is a central component of any happy, healthy, and mature life. But
some critics still question the value of studying ethics and living an ethical life.
After all, if you ignore ethics, you can just focus on yourself, right? Not so fast.
Some great reasons to resist those critics include the following:
a. Ethics allows you to live an authentic life. An authentic and meaningful
life requires you to live with a sense of integrity. Integrity is making
commitments and sticking to them through thick and thin — no matter
how much violating them may benefit you. Having a firm character or
set of principles to guide your life and the choices you make is what
ethics is all about.

b. Ethics makes you more successful. You may think that ethics can hold
you back in all kinds of ways, but the truth is the opposite. Ethical
people embody traits that unethical people have to work at to fake —
they’re honest, trustworthy, loyal, and caring. As a result, ethical people
are perfectly suited not only for interpersonal relationships generally,
but also more specifically for the kinds of interactions that make for
thriving business. Unethical people generally don’t do so well at these
things.

c. Ethics allows you to cultivate inner peace. Lives that are lived ethically
tend to be calmer, more focused, and more productive than those that
are lived unethically. Most people can’t turn off their sympathy for other
human beings. Hurting people leaves scars on both the giver and the
receiver. As a result, unethical people have stormier internal lives
because they have to work to suppress their consciences and
sympathies to deal with the ways they treat others. When they fail to
properly suppress their sympathies, the guilt and shame that comes
 with harming or disrespecting one’s fellow human beings takes deep
root within them.

d. Ethics provides for a stable society. When people live ethical lives, they
tell the truth, avoid harming others, and are generous. Working with
such people is easy. On the other hand, callous and insensitive people
are distrusted, so it’s difficult for them to be integrated well into social
arrangements. A stable society requires a lot of ethical people working
together in highly coordinated ways. If society were mostly composed of
unethical people, it would quickly crumble.

e. Ethics may help in the afterlife. Some religious traditions believe ethics is
the key to something even greater than personal success and social
stability: eternal life. No one can be sure about an eternal life, but
people of faith from many different religions believe that good behavior
in this life leads to rewards in the next life.

Finally, while a book on ethics can by no means prescribe for anyone what
should be his vocation in life, or his avocations, it can at least proffer some
consideration, from the stand point of self-realization, self-sacrifice, and service,
that ought to help anyone in making such decisions.

ACTIVITY2:

What is ethics? In your own words why you should Study Ethics?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Activity 3
Come up with an answer to these questions by yourself.

1. Developing a car that can travel 100 miles per gallon of gasoline is a
matter of:

a. Ethics
b. Science
c. Design

2. How much money we should donate to charity is a matter of:

a. Ethics
b. Science
c. Design

3. Whether we should choose a more fuel-efficient car is a matter of:

a. Ethics
b. Science
c. Design