Ethics Reviewer Chapter 1
Ethics considerations. They originate from social
rules, etiquette
- Derived from the Greek word “ethos”
which means custom or a particular way of Moral Agent - is any person or collective
doing things. entity with the capacity to exercise moral
- Custom could also mean a form of agency. It is suggested that rational thought
behavior or character. and deliberation are prerequisite skills for
- The Latin equivalent for custom is “mos or any agent. In this way, moral agents can
mores” where morality was derived. discern between right and wrong and be held
- Ethics and morality have literally the same accountable for the consequences of their
meaning actions.
Human acts - are actions that is considered
- Both deal with the goodness and to be carried out voluntarily. Human acts is
badness, wrongness or correctness an act on which an individual can make a
of human conduct conscious decision whether or not to carry
- ETHICS (Theory) – provides certain an act.
principles and guidelines as to what
is good and bad Moral dilemma - is a problem in the
- MORALITY (Praxis) – the decision making between two possible
application of ethics. It provides with options It is a decision making problem
a quality that determines and between two possible moral imperatives,
distinguishes right from wrong neither of which is unambiguously
acceptable or preferable. Also called an
Law – is an ordinance of reason ethical paradox.
promulgated for the common good by the
ones who has the care of the society. False dilemmas - are situations where the
- Ethical rules are necessary even if decision maker has a moral duty to do one
we have the laws that are thing, but is tempted or under pressure to
implemented by civil authorities do something else.
since legality is not identical to
morality. Moral Responsibility - Making judgments
- What is legal is not always moral about whether a person is morally
responsible for her behavior, and holding
5 features of a law others and ourselves responsible for actions
1. Rational – for the preservation of and the consequences of actions, is a
good fundamental and familiar part of our moral
2. Ordinance – Laws are obligations practices and our interpersonal
and binding on everyone who has relationships.
the right to know the truth
3. Promulgated – publicized Moral principles - These are guidelines that
4. Charged – in a democracy, authority people live by to make sure they are doing
resides in us the right thing. These include things like
5. Common good – for the benefit of honesty, fairness, and equality Moral
the many principles can be different for everyone
because they depend on how a person was
Moral standards - involve the rules people raised and what is important to them in life.
have about the kinds of actions they believe
are morally right and wrong.
Non-moral standards - refer to rules that
are unrelated to moral or ethical
