Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.

ANCIENT ETHICS

• Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh• Homer's Iliad • The Icelandic Eddas• The Sumerian Farmer's Almanac • The Egyptian Instruction of

Amenemope

TYPES:

Meta-ethicsNormative ethicsApplied ethics

Meta-ethicsMeta-ethics is the

branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments.According to Richard Garner

and Bernard Rosen,

1. What is the meaning of moral terms or judgments?2. What is the nature of moral judgments?3. How may moral judgments be supported or defended?

Normative ethics investigates the set of questions that arise when considering how one ought to act, morally speaking.

Normative ethics can be divided into the sub-disciplines of moral theory and applied ethics.

1. Virtue ethics2. Deontology3. Teleology

Three competing views:

Applied ethics is the philosophical examination, from a moral standpoint, of particular issues in private and public life that are matters of moral judgment.

• Bio ethics• Business ethics• Professional ethics

• Machine ethics• Relational ethics• Military ethics• Public service ethics

The Centre for Professional ethics was established at Case Western Reserve University, Canada.

• A profession is a vocation founded upon specialized high educational training, the purpose of which is to supply objective counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation.

• Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behaviour expected of professionals.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

COMPONENTS/QUALITIES

Honesty Integrity Transparency Accountability Confidentiality Objectivity Respectfulness Obedience to the Law

HONESTY

HONESTY

Honesty refers to a facet of moral character and denotes positive, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness along with the absence of lying, cheating, or theft.

“Honesty is the best policy. If I lose mine honor, I lose myself.”

-William Shakespeare

INTEGRITY

INTEGRITY O Integrity is a concept of consistency of

actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes.

O Integrity can be regarded as the opposite of hypocrisy, that it regards internal consistency as a virtue.

O The word "integrity" derived from the Latin adjective integer that means “wholeness”.

“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.” - Samuel Johnson

TRANSPARENCY

TRANSPARENCY O Transparency is a general quality. O It is implemented by a set of policies,

practices and procedures.O It allow citizens to have accessibility,

usability, utility, understandability, informativeness and auditability of information and process held by centers of authority (society or organizations).

“A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.”

-Dalai Lama

ACCOUNTABILITY

ACCOUNTABILITYO Accountability is often used

synonymously with such concepts as answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving.

O It is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies and be answerable for resulting consequences.

O It cannot exist without proper accounting practices.

ACCOUNTABILITYFields:O Political accountabilityO Ethical accountabilityO Accountability in administration &

education.O Individual accountability O Constituency relationsO Public/private overlap

“When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself.” — Louis Nizer

CONFIDENTIALITY

CONFIDENTIALITYO Confidentiality is an ethical principle of

discretion associated with the professions, such as medicine, law, psychotherapy.

O In law, and mediation, there exist communications between the client and the professional, which are “privileged” communications.

O In business, the confidentiality of information, a mainstream adaptation of the “need to know”

O In military, it is basic to the security of corporate information.

CONFIDENTIALITYConfidentiality regarding:1. Whose interests2. Which interestsConfidential information of:3. Worker4. Employer5. Colleague6. Competitor“In intelligence work, there are limits to the amount of information one can share. Confidentiality is essential.”

-Gijs de Vries

OBJECTIVITY

OBJECTIVITYO Objectivity is a principle of journalistic

professionalism. O In journalism, objectivity may

synonymous with neutrality.O Objectivity in journalism enables highly

accelerated news reporting and delivery, which sometimes is at tension with standards of objectivity.

“The belief in objectivity is a faith in 'facts,' a distrust in 'values,' and a commitment to their segregation.“

-Michael Schudson

RESPECTFULNESS

RESPECTFULNESSO Respect gives a positive feeling of esteem

for a person and conduct representative of that esteem.

O Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected.

O Rude conduct is usually considered to indicate a lack of respect, disrespect, whereas actions that honor somebody or something indicate respect.

O The opposite of respect is contempt.“I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.”

-Albert Einstein

RESPECTFULNESSLanguage:O Respect is shown in many languages

such as: - An honorific is a word or expression. - An anti-honorific forms. - A Style is a legal, official, or recognized.Hand gesture:O When a person's foot accidentally

touches a book or any written material (manifestation of the goddess of knowledge Saraswati)

O This also counts for money, which is considered as a manifestation of the goddess of wealth Lakshmi.

OBEDIENCE TO LAW

OBEDIENCE TO LAWO Law is the set of enforced rules under

which a society is governed.O Law is one of the most basic social

institutions-and one of the most necessary.

O The law thus establishes the rules that define a person's rights and obligations. The law also sets penalties for people who violate these rules.

O In fact, laws frequently are changed to reflect changes in a society's needs and attitudes.

O Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior.

OBEDIENCE TO LAW

O The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution (written or unwritten)

O The law shapes politics, economics and society in countless ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people.

“An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

OBEDIENCE TO LAW

Legal subjects O International lawO Constitutional

and administrative law

O Criminal lawO Contract lawO Tort lawO Property lawO Equity and trusts

Legal systems O Civil lawO Common law

and equityO Religious law

“Whistleblowing”

“Whistleblowing”

O A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department or private company or organization.

O A whistleblower is a person who raises concern about frauds, corruptions, wrongdoings and mismanagement.

“Whistleblowing”O A government employee who exposes

corruption practices within his department is a whistleblower. So is an employee of a private organization, who raises his voice against misconduct, within the company. 

The misconduct can be classified in several ways, such as:O Violation of Indian laws.O Posing direct threat to public interest(Fraud,

corruption)O Violation of health or safety norms.O Deceptive practices.

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DIMENSIONS OF ETHICS

( 3 “R’s” of Ethics)O RULES

O RESPONSIBILITY

O RESPECT

CODES OF ETHICS

O The primary aspect of codes of ethics is to provide the basic framework for ethical judgment for a professional.

CODES OF ETHICS

O The codes of ethics are guidelines for specific group of professionals to help them perform their roles, to know how to conduct themselves, and to know how to resolve various ethical issues.

O The codes of ethics help the professionals to apply moral and ethical principles to the specific situations encountered in professional practice.

O These codes convey the rights, duties, and obligations of the members of the profession.

POSITIVE ROLES OF CODES OF ETHICS

O InspirationO GuidanceO Support for responsible conductO Deterring and disciplining unethical professional

conductO Education and promoting of mutual understandingO Contributing to a positive public image of the

professionO Protecting the status quo and suppressing dissent

within the professionO Promoting business interests through restraint of

trade

INSPIRATION

O Ethical codes provide a positive inspiration for the professionals to exercise their obligations effectively.

O These codes inspire the professionals to apply moral principles under the various conflicting situations.

GUIDANCE

O The ethical codes provide guidelines for achieving the obligations of professionals.

O These codes also provide specific guidelines, which tell how to apply the code to the unique situations.

SUPPORT

O The ethical codes offer positive and potential support to professionals to perform their duties in ethical manner.

O At times, the codes can serve as legal support for those professionals who are tangled in professional obligations and conflicts.

DETERRENCE AND DISCIPLINE

O The ethical codes can be used for deterring and disciplining unethical professional conduct.

O These codes are also considered as the formal basis for investigating unethical conduct

EDUCATION AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING

O The ethical codes can be used in educational institutions and other places for emphasizing the importance of moral issues and values.

O They are also useful to encourage a shared understanding among professionals, the public and government organizations concerning the moral responsibilities of engineers.

CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROFESSION’S PUBLIC IMAGE

O The ethical codes can confer a positive image to the public of an ethically committed profession.

O The codes enable the professionals to serve the public more effectively

PROTECTING THE STATUS QUO

O The codes institute ethical conventions. These ethical conventions can promote a minimum, acceptable level of ethical conduct.

O The codes can also suppress the dispute within the profession.

PROMOTING BUSINESS INTERESTS

O The codes of ethics promote business interests through restraint of trade.

O They help in facilitating morally feasible business dealings to the professionals.

LIMITATIONS OF CODES OF ETHICS

O Codes of ethics are broad guidelines, restricted to general phrases. The codes cannot be applied directly to all situations.

O Engineering codes often have internal conflicts, since several entries in codes overlap with each other, which may result in moral dilemmas.

O The codes cannot serve as the final moral authority for professional conduct.

COMPUTER ETHICS

O Computer ethics is the study of ethical issues that are associated primarily with computing machines and computing profession.

COMPUTER ETHICS

O Don’t use a computer to harm other people.O Don’t interfere with other people’s computer

work.O Don’t snoop around in other people’s computer

files.O Don’t use a computer to steel.O Don’t copy or use propriety software for which you

have not paid.O Don’t use other people’s computer resources

without authorization or proper compensation.O Don’t appropriate other people’s intellectual

output.

COMPUTER ETHICS

O Think about the social consequences of the program you are waiting or the system you are designing.

O Use a computer in ways that insure considerations and respect for your fellow humans.

MEDICAL ETHICS

O Medical Code of Ethics is the document establishing the ethical rules of behaviour of physicians and dental practitioners, defining the priorities of their professional work, showing the principles in the relations with patients, other physicians and the rest of community.

MEDICAL ETHICSO The greatest ethical imperative for the

physician is the welfare of the patient.O The physician should approach patients with

consideration, respecting their personal dignity, right to intimacy and privacy.

O The physician should perform all diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive procedures with due exactitude and devoting the necessary time.

O The physician has the duty to maintain confidentiality. 

O It is the duty of every physician to continually update and develop professional knowledge and skills as well as to share them with co-workers.

LEGAL ETHICS

O Legal ethics encompasses an ethical code governing the conduct of persons engaged in the practice of law and persons more generally in the legal sector.

CODES OF ETHICS FOR LAWYERS

O Competency (having required knowledge to handle client’s case)

O Maintaining good communication with clientsO Advise and counsel her clientsO Protecting Client PropertyO Honesty (with clients, judges and other

parties)

CODES OF ETHICS FOR CLIENTS

O Completely provide the information to our lawyer

O Maintaining good communication with lawyerO Do not harm the opposing partyO Do not deal directly with the opposing partyO Honesty (with lawyer, judges and other

parties)

CODES OF ETHICS FOR JUDGES

O Analyze all the data that are providedO Should not be partial O Should give the correct judgmentO Should complete the case on time

CODES OF ETHICS FOR TEACHERS

O Teachers are duly licensed

professionals who posses

dignity and reputation with

high moral values as well as

technical and professional

competence.

O Posses and actualize full commitment and devotion to duty.

O Shall not engage in the promotion of any political, religious, or other partisan interest.

1. The Teacher and the State

2. The Teacher and the CommunityO Provide leadership and initiative to actively

participate in community movements.O Study and understand local customs and

traditions.

O Has the right and duty to determine the academic marks and promotion of learners in the subjects they handle.

O Shall not accept, directly or indirectly, any remuneration from tutorials.

O Base evaluation of the learner’s work on merit and quality of academic performance.

O Exercise utmost discretion to avoid scandal, gossip and preferential treatment of the learner.

O Shall not inflict corporal punishment on offending learners nor make deductions from their scholastic ratings.

3. The Teacher and Learners

O Establish and maintain cordial relations with parents.

O Inform parents, through proper authorities of the progress or deficiencies of learners under him.

O Hear parents’ complaint with sympathy and understanding.

4. The Teacher and Parents

5. The Teacher as a Person

O Live with dignity in all places at all times.O Place premium upon self-respect and self-

discipline.O Maintain at all times a dignified personality.O Recognize the Almighty God or Being as guide of

his own destiny and of the destinies of men and nations.

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

O Environmental ethics is the study to explore the ethical roots of the environmental movement and to understand what ethics tells us about our responsibility to the environment.

MARKETING ETHICS

O Marketing ethics is the area of applied ethics which deals with the moral principles behind the operation and regulation of marketing. Some areas of marketing ethics (ethics of advertising and promotion) overlap with media ethics.

JOURNALISM ETHICS

O Journalism ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and of good practice as applicable to the specific challenges faced by journalists.

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