ETHICS

• Ethics derives from the Greek word "ethos" – character or in plural “manners”
• Ethics is the branch of philosophy that studies morality or the rightness or wrongness of human conduct. Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity. The branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles. Because it is concerned with norms of human conduct, it is considered to be a normative study of human actions.
• Morality - speaks of a code or system of behavior in regards to standards of right or wrong behavior.
• Moral Philosophy - ethics evaluates moral concepts, values, principles and standards.
• Rules - Are meant to set order. Are not meant to restrict freedom but to help grow in freedom, to grow in your ability to choose and do what is good for you and for others.
• Importance of Rules: 1. Rules protect social beings by regulating behavior; 2. Rules helps guarantee each person certain rights and freedom; 3. Rules produce a sense of Justice among Social being; 4. Rules are essential for a Healthy Economic System.
• Non-moral Standards - refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical considerations. Either these standards are not necessarily linked to morality or by nature lack ethical sense. Basic examples are include rules of etiquette, fashion standards, rules in games, and various house rules.
• Moral Standards - involve the rules people have about the kinds of actions they believe are morally right and wrong, as well as the values they place on the kinds of objects they believe are morally good and morally bad. Some ethicists equate moral standards with moral values and moral principles.
• Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits - Moral standards deal with matters which can seriously impact, that is, injure or benefit human beings. It is not the case with many non-moral standards. For instance, following or violating some basketball rules may matter in basketball games but does not necessarily affect one’s life or wellbeing.
• Moral Values ought to preferred to other Values - Moral standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a moral standard states that a person has the moral obligation to do something, then he/she is supposed to do that even if it conflicts with other non-moral standards, and even with self-interest.
• Moral Standards are not established by Authority figures - Moral standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a moral standard states that a person has the moral obligation to do something, then he/she is supposed to do that even if it conflicts with other non-moral standards, and even with self-interest.
• Moral Standard have the trait of Moral Universalizability - Simply put, it means that everyone should live up to moral standards. To be more accurate, however, it entails that moral principles must apply to all who are in the relevantly similar situation. If one judges that act A is morally right for a certain person P, then it is morally right for anybody relevantly similar to P.
• Moral Standard are based on Impartial Consideration - Moral standard does not evaluate standards on the basis of the interests of a certain person or group, but one that goes beyond personal interests to a universal standpoint in which each person’s interests are impartially counted as equal.
• Moral Standards are associated with Special Emotions and Vocabulary - Prescriptivity indicates the practical or action-guiding nature of moral standards. These moral standards are generally put forth as injunction or imperatives (such as, ‘Do not kill,’ ‘Do no unnecessary harm,’ and ‘Love your neighbor’). These principles are proposed for use, to advise, and to influence to action. Retroactively, this feature is used to evaluate behavior, to assign praise and blame, and to produce feelings of satisfaction or of guilt.
• Dilemma - Refers to a situation in which a tough choice has to be made between two or more options, especially more or less equally undesirable ones.
• "NOT ALL DILEMMAS ARE MORAL DILEMMAS"
• Moral Dilemmas - Are situations in which a difficult choice has to be made between two courses of action, either which entails transgressing a moral principle.
• Personal/Individual Dilemma - Are those experienced and resolved on the personal level. Conflict arrives when a person is asked to choose between two important values for him or her.
• Organizational Dilemma - Refers to ethical cases encountered and resolved by social organizations. Encountered by institutions, business, or organizations in their decision-making process, at this level the dilemmas that the organizations’ experiences usually affect more than one person and they can be part of the internal group or part of an external stakeholder.
• Structural Dilemma - Refer to cases involving network of institutions and operative theoretical paradigms. As they usually encompass multi-sectoral institutions and organizations, they may be larger in scope and extent than organizational dilemmas. Affect a network of institutions and operative theoretical paradigms like universal care, juvenile laws, and immigration. this type of dilemma can affect a community and even a society at large
• ONLY HUMANS CAN BE ETHICAL: Only human beings are: Rational, Autonomous, and Self-Conscious; can act Morally or Immorally; and, part of the Moral Community.