Ethical Issues
Ms. Portman

"Without civic morality communities perish; without personal morality their survival has no value."
- Bertrand Russell, 20th-century British mathematician and philosopher

"Ethics is a code of values which guide our choices and actions and determine the purpose and course of our lives."
- Ayn Rand, 20th-century Russian/American novelist and philosopher

The following information was taken from: The Josephson Institute of Ethics, "Making Ethical Decisions"

Ethics
Ethics refers to standards of conduct, standards that indicate how one should behave based on moral duties and virtues, which themselves are derived from principles of right and wrong. In order to apply this definition to practical decision making it is necessary to specify the nature of the moral obligations considered intrinsic to ethical behavior.

Aspects of Ethics
There are two aspects to ethics: the first involves the ability to discern right from wrong, good from evil, and propriety from impropriety; the second involves the commitment to do what is right, good and proper. Ethics is an action concept; it is not simply an idea to think and argue about.

Values vs. Ethics
The terms "values" and "ethics" are not interchangeable. Ethics is concerned with how a moral person should behave, whereas values simply concern the various beliefs and attitudes that determine how a person actually behaves. Some values concern ethics when they pertain to beliefs as to what is right and wrong. Most values do not.

The False Notion of "Personal Ethics"
While every person inevitably must decide for himself/herself how to regard his moral obligations, to say that ethics are "personal" misconstrues the nature of ethics.

It is likely that personal conscience will embrace a wider range of values and beliefs than core, universal ethical norms. When these "extra" values simply supplement ethical norms with personal moral convictions that are compatible with the dictates of normative ethics, there is no conflict between universal ethics and personal ethics. Unfortunately, some people are "moral imperialists" who seek to impose their personal moral judgments on others as if they were universal ethical norms. A bigger, sometimes related problem is that some people adopt personal codes of conduct that are inconsistent with universal ethical norms. Clearly, not all choices and value systems, however dearly held, are equally "ethical." If they were, there would be no legitimate basis for distinguishing between Hitler and Gandhi.

A person who believes that certain races are inferior to others and therefore that it is "right" to oppress or persecute those races has adopted a personal value system that is inherently "unethical" according to the universal and consensus values associated with normative ethics. Similarly, an individual who has decided that lying is proper if it is necessary to achieve an important personal goal cannot assert personal ethics as a shield against impropriety.

Simply put, all individuals are morally autonomous beings with the power and right to choose their values, but it does not follow that all choices and all value systems have an equal claim to be called ethical.

Ethical Commitment
Ethical commitment refers to a strong desire to do the right thing, especially when behaving ethically imposes financial, social or emotional costs. Surveys taken by the Josephson Institute reveal that, regardless of profession, almost all people believe that they are, or should be, ethical. While most are not satisfied with the ethical quality of society as a whole, they believe that their profession is more ethical than others and that they are at least as ethical as those in their profession. Unfortunately, behavior does not consistently conform to self-image and moral ambitions. As a result, a substantial number of decent people, committed to ethical values, regularly compromise these values - often because they lack the fortitude to follow their conscience.

People need to understand that ethical principles are ground rules of decision making -not just factors to consider. It is OK to lose; in fact, it is preferable to lose than to lie, steal, or cheat in order to win. People who are unwilling to lose have to be willing to do whatever it takes to win. Ethics has a price and sometimes people must choose between what they want and what they want to be. But ethics also has a value, which makes self-restraint and sacrifice, service and charity, worthwhile.

FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS:
How are "right and wrong, good and evil" determined?

How are solutions to ethical dilemmas determined?

What factors make a difference in how the solution is determined?

Why is it worthwhile to be ethical?

What is an ethical dilemma that immediately comes to your mind?

Due Thursday: Find a news article which exemplifies one of the issues raised on this handout and be able to explain why. Bring the article to class.