Morals and Ethics: METS 173

Lecture 5: Ethics By Orientation

Lecturer: Bernice Adjei

 Overview
 Introduction

 Applied ethics

 Anthropological ethics

 Social ethics

 Individual ethics
 Introduction

Ethics by orientation brings to mind “the origin of

ethics”. This leads to the some questions like;

Where does/do ethics come from?

How do people arrive at various ways of viewing ethics?

 Introduction cont…d

 Classifying ethics by neoethical principles is not enough. These

principles do not allow for the anthropological dimension and its

application, which has been the main role of ethics since the time of

Aristotle.

 Ethics is treated as practical philosophy, a discipline that assists people

in the most important decision-making.

 Introduction cont…d

Applied Ethics

Anthropological Orientation
 Applied Ethics
 Applied ethics is the actual application of ethical theory for the purpose of
choosing an ethical action in a given issue. It is the attempt to incorporate ethical
theory into all kinds of practical areas of human life .

 Applied ethics is usually divided into various fields.

 Business ethics discusses ethical behavior in the corporate world, while

professional ethics refers directly to a professional in his field.

 Biomedical and environmental ethics delve into health, welfare, and the
responsibilities we have towards other people and our environment.


 Applied Ethics cont…d

 Organizational ethics defines what a group values in relation to its

stated goal.

 International ethics tries to determine if a nation's primary

responsibility is to itself as a sovereign entity or to the world

community at large.

 Sexual ethics speaks to issues such as homosexuality and polygamy,

 Applied Ethics Cont…d
 Business ethics is also known as “corporate ethics” and it’s a form of applied ethics. It explores
values and economic ideas and the way they are incorporated into everyday practical life. It
searches for answers in corporations’ areas of business. Thomas Ng (2012) defines business
ethics as “ the study of business situations, activities and decisions where issues of right and
wrong are addressed”

 Its desirable course of action addresses:

 Customers

 Employees

 Society and

 The ecosystem
 Anthropological Orientation
 Some ethical systems prefer to emphasize personal advantage over that

of society. An individual’s life goals often differ from the interests and

priorities of corporations . This is why ethics is further divided by

anthropological orientation into

 Social ethics

 Individual ethics
 Social Ethics
 Social ethics attempts to find values that are generally accepted by the

whole of society. It shapes relationships within any given community

and at the same time presents its form to the outside world.

 Social ethics in the corporate environment is similarly aimed at

instilling some guiding believes by formulating ethical codes of

conduct.
 Individual Ethics
 This area of ethics is concerned with the well-being of individuals, in

particular their self-fulfillment.

 Ethics also examines the responsibility of individuals towards their

immediate social environment (family) as well as issues of work

relations with employees and their working relationships with other

employees.