Professional Ethics

“On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good,
and not quite all the time” George Orwell
 e African Fable
Truth,
came Falsehood,
upon four Water,
heads of and Fire
cattle. were
ey traveling
decided totogether
splitthe and
cattle
evenly
and toldand each
Water take
thatFirean equal
was share.
going to ButFalsehood
burn his land andwas greedy
steal his
cattle. Water
Falsehood believed
tricked him
Truth intoand jumped
believing on Fire
thatWater and puthim
was going out.
to
steal their
cannotrun cattle so
uphill. they took
Falsehood them
laughedto the top
thathe of
hada hill for
tricked Water
everyone
and Truth,
cattle. eyrealizing
called Falsehood
Wind to had
determinelied, began
whom to
the ghthim
cattle for
belonged the
to, butWind
Falsehood did
and notknow.
Truth still According
doing? to
Accordingthis fable,
to this whatare
fable told in
Ethiopia and other eastern African nations, Truth
are still in a battle with one another. Let's hope truth wins. and Falsehood
Philosophy
Meaning, nature and Scope
Meaning of Philosophy
• e word philosophy literally means love of wisdom. Itis derived
from two Greek words i.e. 'phileo' (love) and 'Sophia' (wisdom).
• According to a tradition, Pythagoras was the rstto describe
himself as a philosopher. He speaks of three classes of people,
attending the festal games: those who seek fame by taking part
in them; those who seek gain by plying their trade; and those
who are contentto be spectators. Philosophers resemble the
third class: spurning both fame and pro t, they seek to arrive at
the truth by contemplation.
• Oxford Dictionary de nes philosophy as "thatdepartmentof
knowledge which deals with ultimate reality, or with the most
general causes and principles of things."
• Aristotle considers philosophy as "the rstand last
science"—the rstscience because itis logically presupposed
by every other science, the lastbecause deals with reality in its
ultimate principles and causes. He de nes itas follows: " ere is
a science which investigates being as being, and the attributes
which belong to this in virtue of its own nature. Now this is not
the same as any of the so-called special sciences, for none of
these treats universally of being as being. ey cuto a partof
being and investigate the attribute of this part" (Metaphysics
1003a18-25).
Nature of Philosophy
1. e love of wisdom
Aadvocate
philosopher
of is someone
knowledge andwho is
truth. obsessed
He with
desires to wisdom.
understand He is
what an
itmeans
apply to know
knowledge and whatittakes
rightly. us, he to consistently
cherishes wisdom and constantly
(the right
application of knowledge).
2. e asking of fundamental questions
Philosophy
questions is the practical
aboutreality. actand
ese are habitof
those asking
basic and fundamental
objective
questions
concerned thatstrike
with atthe
existence very
as a heartof
whole. In any issue
order to thatis
properly ful l this
role, a philosopher has to become annoyingly inquisitive.
3. A critically rational enquiry
Philosophy as itwere actually began in “wonder”; wonder about
the usual and unusual occurrences in the universe. Philosophers
are interested in understanding the ultimate and unifying principle
of the universe and are guided by a need to be rational, sensible
and intellectual while doing so.
4. Subjectivity and Objectivity
Man (subjectivity) and the universe (objectivity) are the dual
beings thatphilosophy is generally concerned with. e
ontological issue of whatman is and how he relates interactively
with the universe around him is deeply grounded in the very
presupposition of philosophy.
5. Dialectical Argumentation
e artof “dialectics” entails the verbal communication between
a subjectand an interlocutor, of which there is a systematic
pattern of “question and answer” in order to dive deep into issues,
and reach for its underlying truth. In doing this, there entails some
level of argumentation and logical reasoning, which asserts a very
unique quality of philosophy.
Scope of Philosophy
Whatphilosophy talks about
Philosophy talks aboutuniversals and general realities. Itsees
things from the widestperspective. Itperceives things as a whole.
Itconsiders the entirety of being as a vastinterconnected system.
is is why philosophy is regarded as a universal discipline. For
example; if philosophy were to talk aboutman, itwould do so in
connection with those elements thatare globally and objectively
presentin all men.
Whatphilosophy does nottalk about
In contrastto the above, philosophy, due to its nature does not
talk aboutparticulars or individual entities. Itis notconcerned with
speci cs. Itwould never consider reality in isolation from the
whole. For example; considering the problem of democracy,
philosophy is notconcerned with the democracy of a particular
country alone (like Nigeria) butthe conceptof democracy on a
global scale.
Branches of Philosophy
Epistemology - the branch of philosophy concerned with the
nature and scope (including limitations) of knowledge. It
addresses four main questions. 1) Whatis knowledge? 2) How is
knowledge acquired? 3) Whatdo people know? 4) How do we
know whatwe know?
Logic – is the study of reasoning. Logic is often divided into two
parts, inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. e rstis
drawing general conclusions from speci c examples, the second
is drawing logical conclusions from de nitions and axioms.
Metaphysics
oftraditional – is concerned with
the [Link]
being andbranches explaining
Cosmology and the
ontology fundamental
are the two nature
the origin, evolution, structure, and . Cosmology
ultimate fate seeks
of the to understand
universe at
large, as well
investigation as
intothe natural
what laws
types of that
things keep
thereit in order
are in the. Ontology
world is
and the
what relations these things bear to one another.
Ontology
be said to deals
exist, with
and questions
how such concerning
entities can what
be entities
grouped, exist
related or can
within
aBefore
hierarchy,
the and subdivided
development of according
modern to
science, similarities
scienti cand di erences
questions were.
addressed as a part of metaphysics known as "natural philosophy."
e scienti
empirical c
and method, however,
experimental made
activity unlikenatural
the philosophy
rest of an
philosophy, and
by the end
dmetaphysics of the
"science" inbecame eighteenth
order to the century
distinguish it it
from had begun
philosophy to .be calle
ereafter,
philosophical
character into the nature of existence. enquiry of a non-empirical
Ethics
seeks –
toalso known
address as moral
questions philosophy,
about is
morality; a branch
that is, of
about philosophy
concepts which
like
good and bad, right and wrong, justice, virtue, etc.
Aesthetics
art, taste, –
and is the
the branch
creation of philosophy
and dealing
appreciation of with
beauty the
. It nature
is more of beauty,
scienti cally de ned as the study of
sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste. sensory or sensori-emotional values,
Political
property, Philosophy
rights, law,– is
andthethestudy of concepts
enforcement of asuch
legal as liberty,
code by justice,
authority:
what they
government are, why
legitimate,(or even
what if) they
rights are
and needed,
freedoms what
it makes
should a
protect and
why, what
citizens owe form
to ait should
legitimate take and why,
government, what
if the
any, law
and is,
when and it what
may duties
be
legitimately
philosophy overthrown,
have been theif ever.
political ree central
economy byconcerns
which of
propertypolitical
rights are
de ned and
distribution access
and to capital
punishment, is
and regulated,
the rules the
of demands
truth and of justice
evidence in
that
determine judgments in the law.
Morality and Ethics
Morality
• Morals
based are
on the
their welfare principles
experience and enunciated
wisdom. eyby the
were wise
edited, people,
changed
region, or modi
rulers ed or
(dynasty), evolved
and in to suitthe
accordance geography
with of the
developmentof
knowledge in science and technology and with time.
• Morality
such as: is concerned with principles and practices of morals
(a) Whatoughtor oughtnotto be done in a given situation?
(b) Whatis rightor wrong aboutthe handling of a situation? And
(c) Whatis
involved? good or bad aboutthe people, policies, and ideals
Ethics, Morality and Etiquette
• Hard to make distinction
• Morality: di erentiation between rightand wrong action.
• Etiquette: Code thatgoverns social behavior within a society or
class group.
• Ethics: Philosophy of moral values.
• So, morality de nes character whereas ethics points towards
application of morality. Etiquette focusses on behavior in a
particular setting.
What is ethics?
• Study of characteristics of morals.
• Deals with moral choices, con icts and therefore decisions to be
made by each person in relationship with another person.
• Involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts
of rightand wrong behavior.
• Ethics is the science of conduct. Itconsiders the actions of
human beings with reference to their rightness or wrongness.
e word "ethics" is derived from the Greek word ethos, which
means "character“
• Mackenzie de nes ethics as ―the study of whatis rightor good
in human conduct‖ or ―the science of the ideal involved in
conduct‖. Itis a branch of philosophy, specially the moral
philosophy thatstudies the evolution of concepts; such as right
or wrong behaviour. So, itis clear thatethics is the study which
determines rightness or wrongness of actions.
• morals,e studylearn
on the
ethics
goodhelps
and to know
bad of the
them,people‘s
and beliefs,
practice values,
them to and
maximize their well-being and happiness.
• andIt involves the inquiry
resolve the issues. on the existing situations, form judgments
• Intheaddition, ethics tells us how to live, to respond
duties, rights, responsibilities, and obligations. to issues, through
• procedures
In religion, similar
is principles
limited. e are included,
principles and but the
practices reasoning
of on
religions have
varied from
conditions), to time
religion,to time (history),
society, language, region
caste(geography,
and creed. climatic
But ethics
has grown to a large extent beyond the barriers listed above.
• Inpractices,
ethics, the focus is
universally. to study and apply the principles and
Meaning of ethics and morals in
Philosophy
• Inof philosophy-
being. ethics study ideal human behavior and ideal ways
• Aristotle
led to endbelieves
goal od thatideal behavior
eudaimonia, which were
is those practices
synonymous with that
high
level of satisfaction and happiness.
• Immanuel Kantbelieved
with one’s duty ideal behavior was acting in accordance
• Philosophical
understanding, discipline of
analyzing, ethics:
and systematic
sistinguishing approach
matters ofto
righr
and wrong, goof and bad, admirable and
relate to relationship a,ong sentientbeings. deplorable as they
• Ethics is an active process, nota static concept- we will keep
evolving in our de nition of ethical, rightand wrong. Itis notand
can notbe static.
• Itincludes issues like freedom, responsibility to others around,
choices and judgments and so on.
• Morals are more speci c beliefs, behaviours etc derived from
ethics.
• Reverse of itis immorality- those behaviors thatare in
opposition to accepted social, religions, cultural or professional
ethical standards.
De nitions of Ethics in Psychology
• “A branch of philosophy concerned with thatwhich is deemed
acceptable in human behaviour, with whatis good or bad, right
or wrong in human conductin pursuitof goals and aims.”
• Ethics explores the nature of rights, of moral responsibilities, and
of how to go aboutaddressing an ethical problem.
Key Ideas
Types of Ethics
• Metaethics:
ethical [origins
principles haveof ethical
come principles]
from and investigate
whatdo they where
mean. out
Are
they social
individual conventions
emotion? or do
Metaethics they involve
answers expression
these of
questions- are
ethical principles universals/ will of God? Whatis
reason versus emotion in ethical judgmentand so on. the role of
• Descriptive
people. Itis aEthics:
eld [moral
of beliefs]
empirical study
research of
into moral beliefs
whatpeople of
orthe
societies consider rightor wrong.
• Normative
arrive ethics:
atmoral [self
standards moral conduct]
thatregulate more
and depractical-
ne task
rightand is to
wrong conduct. Itinvolves articulating
consequences of our behavior and so on. good habits, duties,
• Applied Ethics: ethical principles in action in speci c situations
Sources of ethics
Six primary sources
1. Religion
2. Genetic inheritance
3. Philosophical systems
4. Cultural experience
5. Legal system
6. Codes of conduct- within society or within formed groups.
 eories of Ethics
Utalitarian, Rights, Casuist
Utilitarian Approach
• Ethical action is one that provides the most good, or does the least harm.
• Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical
produce the greatest good for the greatest number. choice is the one that will
• Aim: greatest balance
wining over harm. between good and harm, wherein good should be
• Ingood
professional
and does realm-
least it
harm is that
for corporate
all who are action
a that
ected- produces
customers, greatest
employees,
shareholders, community and the environment.
• Deals
harm with consequences of actions- aim to increase good and reduce
• erefore, it is consequence based.
• Holds
making that
theevery entity’s
decision, and interests
this should
includes be
those considered
of other equally
species when
since they
also are capable of su ering.
• Itis also
business the mostcommon
because of the approach
way in which to moral
itaccounts reasoning
for used
costs andin
bene ts.
• Because
certainty we cannotpredictthe
whether the future,
consequences ofit’s
our di cultto
actions know
will be with
good
or bad. is is one of the limitations of utilitarianism.
• Utilitarianism
justice and also
individualhas trouble
rights. accounting
For example, for values
assume a such as
hospital has
four people
transplants: whose
a heart,lives
lungs,depend
a upon
kidney, receiving
and a liver. organ
If a healthy
person
toproducewanders
save four lives into
atthethe hospital,
expense his
of organs
one life. could
is be
would harvested
arguably
would the
considergreatestgood
itan for
acceptable the greatestnumber.
course of action, Butfew
letalone the
mostethical one.
Calculus in ethical decision making
• Developed
making by
scientiearly
c. utilitarian
is calculusthinkers
weighed to make ethical
consequences decision
of
action in terms of its impacton
into accountfactors like: all animals and humans and took
• e number of humans and animals thatwould bene t
• e number of humans and animals thatwould be harmed
• How intense any resulting pleasure would be
• How long any resulting pleasure mightlast
• How intense any resulting pain would be
• How long any resulting pain mightlast
• Utilitarianism stressed equality and ghts againstself-interest
on the partof the ethical actor.
• As an illustration, let’s say you’ve volunteered to buy the paint
for the fence thatyou and your three bordering neighbors share.
e fence has to be painted one color: brown or white. You
prefer white butyour neighbors wantbrown. If you used a
utilitarian approach, you would buy brown paintbecause three
outnumbers one. Justbecause you are buying the paintdoes
notgive you any more weightin the decision.
Rights approach
• Has roots
rights. in work of Immanuel Kant and others who stressed individual
• Ethical action
those a ected. is one that best protects and respects the moral rights of
• Starts
nature with
and the
they belief
have that
the humans
ability to have dignity
choose freelybased
what on
theytheir
wanthuman
to do
with their lives.
• On the basis of such dignity, they have a right to be
themselves, as important rather than being only means to other ends. treated as ends in
• what
e listkindof moral
of life rights
to lead,therefore
to be includes
told the right
truth andto make
not be choice
lied, to about
have
privacy and so on.
• Also,
[Link] imply duties- in particular, duty to respect the rights of
• is approach asks us to identify the legitimate rights of ourselves
and others, in a given situation, as well as our duties and
obligations.
• Consider how well the moral, legal, and contractual rights of
everyone are respected and/or protected by the action, and
assess how well those a ected are treated as fully informed,
sentient beings with the right to free consent instead of just as a
means to an end.
• As such, the ethical action would be the one we have a moral
obligation to perform that does not infringe on the rights of others.
• When confronted with con icting or competing interests or rights,
we need to decide which interest has greater merit and give
priority to the right that best protects or ensures that interest.
Casuist approach
• Case-based method of moral reasoning particularly employed in
eld-speci c branches of professional ethics.
• Uses general principles in reasoning analogically from clear cut
cases which are called paradigms.
• Orderly yet exible way to think aboutreal life ethical problems.
• Has a long and complex history- many ancientGreek and
Roman philosophers have used a case based approach to
discuss ethical issues.
• T he Roman orator and philosopher Cicero wrote the rstknown
“case book” on situations in which duties seem to con ict.
• When examining complex issues, casuists may arrange and sort
many cases to create a resource called a taxonomy. Treating
similar cases similarly, casuists use taxonomies to develop
general guidelines or policies.
• Casuistry takes rules into accountbutbegins with the moral and
practical features of each case.
• demands deliberation abouthow to putgood character and
virtuous motives into practice.
• How decisions are made- rstthe particular features of a case
would be identi ed, and then a comparison would be made with
other similar cases and prior experiences, attempting to
determine notonly the similarities butalso the di erences.
Other approaches
• Fairness/Justice
ancientGreek approach:
philosopher has its
Aristotle,roots
who in the
said teachings
that"equals of the
should
moral be treated
question in equally
this and
approach unequals
is: How unequally.
fair is an " e
action? basic
Does it
treateveryone
discrimination? in the same way, or does itshow favoritism and
• Common-Good approach: common good
conditions thatare...equally to everyone's advantage.“ as "certain general
• Virtue
enable Approach:
us to be andVirtues
to are
actin attitudes
ways or character
thatdevelop our traits
highestthat
potential.
Honesty, ey
courage,enable us to
compassion,pursue the ideals
generosity, we have
delity, adopted.
integrity,
fairness, self-control, and prudence are all
Ethical actions therefore should pursue path of [Link] of virtues.
Professional Ethics
• Ethics in professional domain is critical because now
becoming more specizliased in job elds- more complexity. we are
• Professional bodies are becoming more structured
in de ning, developing and re ning professional codes. and working
• Sign of maturity and professional pride and gives unity
professions if they are guided by common ethical [Link]
• Talks aboutwhatkind of dilemmas
resolve those dilemmas and so forth. mightcome up, how to
• Helps professional choose
challenging problems. whatto do when faced with
• Prescriptive professional
to do in tough situations. ethics: guidelines thatprescribe what
Bene ts of Professional ethics
1. AssetProtection and Assurance:
• When workers possess an ethical working environmentand
ethical behavior in the workplace, the company’s maintenance
costdecreases to a remarkable extentbecause they are well
aware of their duties and responsibilities towards the company.
2. Productivity will increase:
• When the working sta and the workers value the work given to
them and then they will do all the given work in time and achieve
their settargets, this will greatly a ectthe sales and the
productivity of the company.
3. Team Work will develop:
• When
time all
comesthe workers
when they do their
have jobs in
achieved a responsible
the targetway way, then
before a
the
given deadline, then a question arises WhatNext? So
situation automatically bonds up all the individuals into a team. the
4. Public Image and Brand Value Increases:
• Ifasall gure
the members
outthere of the
values company
and are dedicated
responsibility to
towards work
the as well
environment,
the disposal then
of the itis
wastefor sure thatthe
productof thetype of
company cleanliness
will be and
unbeatable
customer in
basethe market,
due to the hence
clean resulting
and in
quality attracting
of the a
services bigger
or
products.
5. Adaptive to changes:
• Workers
the masterwith
keyprofessional
to the lock ethics
of in
success. the workplace
e team of are de nitely
understanding,
responsible trustworthy,
people will de reliable,
antly motivate,
adaptthemselvesconcern
into and
any kind
of position and work they are lled with.
6. Decision making and implementing is always easy:
• Whenever
one made there
is by is
the a need
advice to
of take
the a big decision
employees of then
the the best
company,
and whatwill
decision and be better
supportingthan
the every
companysingle
to employ
go aheadrespecting
with theirthe
decision.
7. Trouble-free working environment:
• Generally,
towhere
knowtherewhere everyone
eachisother there is
are unknown
higher and
chances moreover
of great no one
trouble wants
and
environment a friendly,
between therespectful
employees and great
there workplace
are fewer or
chances of
the least troubles from the employees end.
8. ere is no one left negative:
• When
negativepeople are
regardingdetached
the from
companies’ one another
work then and
it someone
has been gets
seen that
from that
aeverything single
sudden decline negative
in the employee
working of many
the are a
employees, ected.
but us
when there is
another is
then good
things to go and
become everyone
systematic is concerned
and in case about
if one
someone
gets
boostnegative,
up for the
the positive
person andand supportive
again he/she environment
starts working works
to as
their a
best.
9. Less Legal Issues:
• When everything is systematic and functional and in addition
your workers are cooperative and understanding then you won’t
be facing any problems or legal obligations from the employee’s
end, because all the workers are treated equally and all are well
known with their duties which the job requires from them.
10. e company will Touch New level of Success:
• When everything is so managed and systematic along with the
understanding of the employees because of their strong ethics,
the company will surely touch new heights of success and even
the growth of your business will be assured.