Chapter 1

Understanding
Ethics

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
“Ethics is about how we meet the challenge of
doing the right thing when that will cost more
than we want to pay”

The Josephson Institute of Ethics

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 What is Ethics?

Ethics is the study of how people try to live

according to a standard of ‘right’ or
‘wrong’ behavior in both how we think and
behave towards others and how we would
like them to think and behave towards us.

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 What is Ethics?
• Understanding ‘Right’ and ‘Wrong’
• Developing your own ‘Moral Compass’
• Doing The Right Thing’
• Value Conflicts
• ‘The Golden Rule’

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 What is Ethics?
• Understanding ‘Right’ and ‘Wrong’
– Moral standards are principles based on
religions, cultural or philosophical beliefs by
which judgments are made about good or bad
behavior.
– These beliefs can come from many different
sources such as friend, family, ethnic
background, religion, school, medias and
personal role models/mentor.

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 What is Ethics?
• Developing your own ‘Moral Compass’
– Your personal set of morals - your morality –
represent a collection of all these influences
as they are up over your lifetime.
– A strict family upbringing or religious education
background would obviously have a direct
impact on your personal morals.
– These standards would then provide a moral
compass to guide you in the choices you
make in your life.

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 What is Ethics?
• Doing the right things (how should I live?)
– When a person trying to formalise personal
principles into a code behavior, he/she is seen
to be adopting a value system.
– A person’s values have a specific worth which
can be expressed into ways ie intrinsic and
instrumental values.

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 What is Ethics?
• Value Conflicts
– Lying is wrong – but what if you were lying to
protect the life of loved one?
– Stealing is wrong – but what if you were
stealing food a starving child?
– Killing is wrong – but what if you had to kill
someone in self defense to protect your life?

This a gray area which makes the study of

ethics so complex.
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 What is Ethics?
• The Golden Rules
– ‘ Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you’

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 Ethical Theories

• Virtuous Ethics (Etika Cemerlang)

• Utilitarianism (Ethics for the Greater Good)
(Etika Utk yg Lebih Baik)
• Universal Ethics (Etika Sejagat)
• Ethical Relativism (Etika Berkaitan)

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 Ethical Dilemmas

Where the decision you must make requires you to

make a ‘right’ choice knowing full well that you are:
– Leaving an equally ‘right’ choice undone.
– Likely to suffer something bad as a result of that choice.
– Contradicting a personal ethical principle in making that
choice.
– Abandoning an ethical value of your community or society
in making that choice.

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 Resolving Ethical Dilemmas - I

• Step One: Analyze the consequences.

• Step Two: Analyze the actions.
• Step Three: Make a decision.

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 Resolving Ethical Dilemmas - II
• What are the facts?
• What can you guess about the facts you don’t know?
• What do the facts mean?
• What does the problem look like through the eyes of the people
involved?
• What will happen if you choose one thing rather than another?
• What do your feelings tell you?
• What will you think of yourself if you decide one thing or
another?
• Can you explain and justify your decision to others?
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Ethical Reasoning

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 Ethical Reasoning

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development:

Level 1: Pre-Conventional:

Stage 1: Punishment & Obedience Orientation

Stage 2: Individualism, Instrumentalism, & Exchange

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 Ethical Reasoning

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development:

Level 2: Conventional:

Stage 3: “Good Boy-Nice Girl” Orientation

Stage 4: Law & Order Orientation

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 Ethical Reasoning

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development:

Level 3: Post-Conventional:

Stage 5: Social-Contract Legalistic Orientation

Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle Orientation

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