Topic Six: Philosophy and Ethical Issues

Welcome to topic six. We now focus our discussion on philosophy and

ethical issue. Welcome.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able to:-

1. Define ethics;
2. Distinguish it from what it is not;
3. Explain the standards that we use to make value
judgements;
4. Name and explain the different ethical theories;
5. Discuss the basis for making a distinction between right
and wrong; and;
6. Explain an ethical dilemma and how to resolve it.

6.0 Definition of Ethics

Ethics can be understood as a discipline of study, which deals with human

behavior, both in relation to how people behave and the way they ought to
behave. It seeks to distinguish between good and bad behavior. It also
analyses the criteria that we use to determine whether behavior is good or
bad.
It is a code of conduct that tells us how to behave in the different situations
in which we find ourselves as for example children, students, business
people, friends, spouses, teachers, professionals etc. It is important to
distinguish ethics from what it is not.

Ethics is not:-

a). Ethics is not the same as feelings.

There are people with highly developed habits who will feel bad about doing
something bad but there are those who will feel good even when they do
something wrong e.g. sadists. Our feelings will also tell us that something
is difficult to do even if it is the right thing e.g. testifying against one’s
parents in a court of law.

b). Ethics is not following culturally accepted norms.

Some cultures are quite ethical but some become blind to ethical concerns
e.g. female genital mutilation, cattle rustling etc

c). Ethics is not the same as religion.

Many people are not religious but ethics applies to everyone. Also, most
religions will incorporate high ethical standards but sometimes religion does
not answer some of our ethical concerns

d). Ethics is not following the law.

A good system of law will incorporate ethical standards but law can also
become ethically corrupt. It can also become a function of power to serve
narrow interests as in the case of totalitarian governments.

e). Ethics is not the same as science.

Just because something is scientifically or technologically possible does not
make it ethical. For example, there is the technological knowhow to make
nuclear weapons but that does not make their use ethical.

6.1 How Ethics begins

This topic seeks to answer the question: how do human beings begin to be
ethical and to set ethical standards?
The following are the reasons why people begin to be ethical:-

 Facing Alternatives

We encounter different options in everyday affairs: we therefore, need

principles that can guide us in making a choice between the alternative
options that are at our disposal.

 Deliberating

This has to do with future actions of individuals. Being a rational animal,

man has to weigh his/her actions. Since man has to make conscious and
deliberate choices that will be for his/her own good, they need guiding
principles to be able to do so.

 Choosing

Human freedom guarantees us the ability to make choices and this is what
makes ethical discrimination possible.

 Responsibility

This means understanding what we are doing because praise and blame
depend on this.

 Awareness of others

We are aware that our behaviour affects other people and other people’s
behaviour affects us. Ethics therefore, sets the standards of how we should
act so that we do not affect other people.

 Concern with Oneself

Self-preservation demands that we ask whether it is right to pursue a
certain line of action. Our ideas about ethics are reflected in our ideas about
ourselves.

6.2 Ethical Theories

These are theories that try to outline the universal standards of human
conduct.
There are three major divisions of Ethical theories. These are:-
1) Descriptive Theories
2) Normative Theories
3) Analytical or Meta-ethics

6.2.1 Descriptive Ethical Theories

These types of theories are basically empirical or scientific in orientation.

They deal with factual information about ethical norms of particular
societies. Their functions are simply to:-
 Describe the nature of morality
 Explain the way people have acquired moral norms
 Observe the way people actually behave
 Report the morality of a people
Descriptive ethical theories are found in a) cultural or anthropological
studies and assumptions, b) psychological assumptions or theories c)
religious assumptions and their ethical implications. What is common in all
these theories is that they do not make any recommendation or pass
judgement about the mode of conduct of a people. Descriptive theories are
important primarily because they tell us something about how people
acquire moral norms. They also enable us to determine the precise
relationship between morality, culture and society.
 6.2.2 Normative Ethical Theories

Normative ethical theories are not interested in describing the nature of

morality. Instead they are concerned with prescribing norms or principles
of moral conduct and standards for justifying character, motives and goals.
Normative theories play the role of:-
 Guiding our decisions about morally acceptable behavior
 Prescribing means by which we acquire our goals.

Types of Normative theories

There are two types of normative ethical theories. These are:-
 Teleological theories
 Deontological theories

6.2.2.1 Teleological theories

Teleological is derived from a Greek word, teleos which means

purposiveness, goal or that which has to be realized. These theories argue
that that the nature of moral concepts is to be sought in the ends or goals
of an act. According to teleological theories, acts which are right:-
 Depend on the consequences
 Are future looking
 Are goal-oriented
 Are self-realization-oriented
A good example of the teleological theories is Utilitarianism.

6.2.2.2 Utilitarianism

This is a theory that was propagated by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart
Mill. According to this theory:-
 An act is right if it promotes or intends to promote the greatest
happiness to the greatest number of people. It holds that the
end of an action justifies the means. The utilitarian principle
requires that:-
 We maximize pleasure or happiness
 We minimize pain or unhappiness

Morality is nothing more than the attempt to bring about as much happiness
as possible in the world. According to Bentham, there is only one moral
principle-that is, the principle of utility. It requires that whenever we have
a choice between alternative actions or social policies, we must choose the
one that has the best overall consequences for everyone concerned. This is
the greatest happiness principle. The ultimate goal is to decrease pain and
to increase happiness.

It should be noted that there are two types of utilitarianism. These are;
1. Classical utilitarianism
2. Hedonism.

Classical utilitarianism is the view that actions are to be judged right or

wrong solely by virtue of their consequences. Right actions are those that
have the best consequences. The consequences that matter are the amount
of happiness or unhappiness that is caused. Everything else is irrelevant.
No one’s happiness is to be counted as more important than that of anyone
else’s. Each person’s welfare is equally important. The happiness that
counts is that of all parties concerned.

Hedonism which was propagated by Epicurus argues that a good life is a

life of pleasure. Good actions are therefore, those that produce the greatest
amount of pleasure. Hedonism has always been an attractive theory
because of its simplicity. It should be noted that Bentham made a
distinction between pleasures of the mind and those of the body and argued
that those of the mind are better than those of the body. He is remembered
for his saying that it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a
pig satisfied to support his claim that the pleasures of the mind are better
than those of the body.

6.3 Ethical Egoism

This in psychological terms is the opinion that people are naturally inclined
to do things that are in their own interest. Psychological egoism is the view
that a person cannot avoid doing that which is to their own interest. Ethical
egoism is the theory which states that an action or a choice is right if it its
consequences are beneficial to oneself.

Thus it commands that one can only do that which is beneficial to oneself.
Egoists assert that an individual’s one and only basic obligation is to
promote for themselves the greatest possible balance of good over evil.
Even in second or third party considerations, the egoist would still argue
for what is in his or her own interest. E.g. in resolving a dispute between
two parties, one would give advice to the extent that their own interest is
taken care of.

However, egoism has been criticized for the following reasons:-

 It is not practical in the sense that if everyone sought their own
interest, what would happen in situations that require collective
sacrifice? For example in the case of a fire, what would happen
to those who cannot save themselves like the children and the
physically challenged? In reality, we do not save ourselves and
let them perish in the fire.

 It is self-contradictory. This is because, if all of us pursue our

own interests, neglecting those of others, then that would be
detrimental to the individual.

 If we were to adopt egoism, then it would be impossible to

judge or even give advice. Advice is pegged on morality. How
then would we advice based on our own interests? This means
that careers like counseling would then be impossible.

6.4 Deontological Theories

Unlike teleological theories, deontological theories are not interested in the

consequences of actions. The primary interests here are:-
 The consideration of the nature of the act itself
 The motive of doing the act
 That the act is done out of a sense of duty.

Deontological ethics is therefore, one of duty or obligation. A well known

representative of this position is a German Philosopher, Immanuel Kant.
His advice was that:-
Act only on the maxim through which you can at the same time will
that it should become a universal law.

This means that when we act we should wish that it is the sort of action
which would be recommended for everybody else. In this context of duty
and obligation, actions done out of inclination are not morally right because
they are done out of interest and not out of the good will or motive. The
ethics of duty is also called Categorical Imperative which means an
unconditional command.
Kant believes that morality is a matter of following absolute rules. Absolute
rules are those that admit no exceptions. They are rules which must be
followed regardless of what is the case. For example, stealing is never right
no matter what the circumstances. Moral requirements are categorical as
they do not depend on us having particular desires. Moral requirements
take the form, ‘you ought to do X’.

Kant says that categorical imperatives are possible because we are rational.
For example, reason demands that we should never lie. He concludes by
saying that when we act we should ask ourselves whether we would be
willing for everyone else to act in the same manner all the time.

6.5 Meta-Ethics/Analytical Ethics

Meta is a Greek word meaning that which comes after. For instance, meta-
physics means all that which is considered after physics. Meta-ethics means
all discussions done after talks about ethics are completed. Central to meta-
ethics is not the prescription of norms or principles; it is interested in:-
 Analyzing the meaning of terms used to talk about morality e.g.
what is meant by right, wrong, good, bad etc
 Analysis of statements about morality e.g. what does it mean
to say that stealing is wrong?
 Analysis of theories about morality
Meta-ethics is therefore, basically concerned with the analysis of the
language that we should in moral discourse.

6.6 The Standards that we use to arrive at Ethical Decisions

i). The Utilitarian Approach

Some Ethicists emphasize that the ethical action is the one that provides
the most good or does the least harm or the one that produces the greatest
balance of good over harm. The Utilitarian Approach deals with
consequences; it tries both to increase the good done and to reduce the
harm done.

ii). The rights Approach

Other Philosophers and ethicists suggest that the ethical action is the one
that best protects and respects the rights of those affected. This approach
starts from the belief that human beings have a dignity that is inherent in
their nature. On the basis of such dignity, they have a right to be treated
as ends and not means to other ends. The rights people have include the
right to life, privacy, private ownership of property, to worship etc

iii). The Fairness or Justice Approach

Aristotle and other Greek Philosophers have contributed the idea that all
equals should be treated equally. Today we use this idea to say that ethical
actions are those that treat all humans equally and if unequally, then fairly
based on some standard that is defensible.

iv). The Common Good Approach

The Greek Philosophers have also contributed the notion that life in a
community is something that is good in itself. This approach also calls
attention to the common conditions that are important to the welfare of
everyone. This may be a system of laws, effective police and fire
departments, health care, a public educational system or even public
recreational areas.

v). The Virtue Approach

Avery ancient approach to ethics is that ethical actions ought to be

consistent with certain ideal virtues that provide for the full development
of our humanity. These virtues are dispositions that enable us to act
according to the highest potential of our character and on behalf of values
like honesty, truth, integrity, fairness, fidelity, generosity, compassion,
tolerance etc. Virtue ethics asks of any action; what kind of person will I
become if I do this? Or is this action consistent with acting at my best?
6.7 Ethical Dilemmas

Ethical questions and issues arise for all people all the time. We may all
have to make decisions involving ethical issues in our daily and professional
lives because for example, we might apply for a job, and in order to be
considered for the position, we may have to decide whether to hide the fact
we were fired from a previous job for misconduct. In other words we have
to decide whether to lie to promote our own career interest or whether to
reveal the truth.

We will have to make ethical decisions in our day to day lives, so it is helpful
to recognize when an issue involves ethical considerations and then to be
able to apply a knowledge of ethics, including ethical terminology and
concepts, in making our decision about what to do.

When we decide to accept responsibility and make a decision involving

ethical considerations, we are faced with a personal ethical dilemma. A
personal ethical dilemma can be contrasted with an ethical issue. The latter
is usually an issue of public policy involving ethical questions. Examples of
such issues include the morality of capital punishment, whether to
incarcerate more people or use alternative sanctions for convicted
offenders, and other important social issues.

A further distinction between ethical dilemmas and ethical issues is that an

ethical dilemma is the responsibility of an individual and requires a decision
to be made. Ethical issues, on the other hand, being broad issues of social
policy, do not require individual decision making beyond the decision of
whether one is in favour of, or opposed to, a particular social issue.

How do we recognize when a dilemma is an ethical dilemma as opposed to

merely a dilemma? An ethical dilemma arises only when a decision must
be made that involves a conflict at the personal, interpersonal, institutional
and societal level, or raises issues of rights or moral character. An ethical
dilemma is a situation which requires a person to make a choice involving
ethical consideration but whichever decision the person makes, it will
appear like he/she is neglecting the other choice.

What process is followed in resolving an ethical dilemma? Hare (1987)

argues that we initially use an intuitive level of moral thinking when we
consider ethical dilemmas. This provides us with relatively simple principles
derived from our upbringing and past experience of decision making.
Critical thinking is another process of thinking about moral decisions; in
contrast to intuitive thinking, critical thinking applies principles established
by philosophy and moral concepts, and is therefore non-intuitive.

In making moral judgments when faced with moral dilemmas, we may

initially apply an intuitive form of thinking, relying on our intuition to
identify possible courses of action to make the decision. However, we are
likely to find that our intuitions do not adequately equip us to make moral
decisions and that critical thinking is required. Consider the following
dilemmas:-

1. You are a police officer on night patrol when you see a vehicle
weaving in and out of the lanes on the road. You flag down the
motorist and clearly he is driving while under the influence of alcohol.
He is also your father. What do you do?

2. You are a police officer on night patrol when you come across a most
wanted terrorist who offers you a lot of money to set him free. You
also have a sick son in hospital that requires an urgent operation but
you have not been able to raise the money. What do you do? Should
you release the terrorist to continue killing people?

3. A newly recruited correctional officer, Tom, overhears three other

correctional officers, Fred, Bob, and Charlie, discussing arrangements
to assault an inmate, Raymond, who has previously attacked another
correctional officer, a close friend of the three officers.

Tom is faced with a dilemma: whether or not to prevent the attack on

Raymond. His dilemma is an ethical dilemma because if he does act, this
will involve a conflict between himself and Fred, Bob and Charlie. It is also
an ethical dilemma because it raises issues of rights and morality; that is,
the right of Raymond to safety and security even in prison, and the morality
of allowing a person to be assaulted other than in an act of self defense.
In order to resolve his ethical dilemma, Tom will need to pursue a process
of analysis resulting in a decision. The following criteria provide a way to
resolve an ethical dilemma.

1. Identify the fact that one is faced with an ethical dilemma and state
the dilemma clearly
2. Collect the facts and circumstances of dilemma
 3. Collect all the facts and knowledge relevant to the decision, including
one’s own values about the issue and the values of his/her workplace.
4. This is an ethical dilemma, so one will call to mind their knowledge of
ethical principles and theories with the aim of applying them ethical
to his/her possible courses of action.
5. Identify one’s available options for action. One must support each
alternative action with reasoning derived from ethical principles in
order to give credibility to their choice of action.
6. One will then make a decision based on their analysis of the dilemma
after applying the ethical approaches to each course of action. They
will choose the option that for them is the most ethically appropriate.
In other words, after considering the choices according to their
process, they will decide, “This would be the right thing for me to do.”
Or this would be the better option. They therefore, resolve their
ethical dilemma by making an ethical decision and acting on that
decision.

It should be noted that, the process of making an ethical decision seems

straightforward. However, making an ethical decision may involve factors
such as one’s personal values, personal priorities; or how a particular
decision might affect friends or even strangers. Therefore, the most ethical
choice is not always clear.

To act ethically therefore, is not simply a matter of deciding what is right

and wrong in advance and stubbornly sticking to that position. Since there
are many gray areas where there are no specific rules, laws, or guidelines
laid out in advance, it is not always easy to know which decision is the most
ethical choice. In addition, if we are to act in an ethical way we have to
justify what we do, and the justification must be sufficient that it could in
principle convince any reasonable human being.

Hare (1987:218) argues that moral judgments must be able to be applied

universally. According to this principle, similar actions ought to be judged
similarly unless there are morally relevant differences between them. For
example, if I judge it wrong for you to cheat in examinations, I must be
prepared to say that it is wrong for me as well, unless I can explain how
my situation is different from yours in a morally relevant way (Holmes
1998:151).

Thus, the principle does not say whether you should cheat, but it does
require that whatever you do, you must be consistent. Singer (1995:175)
expands this notion somewhat by arguing that when thinking ethically, I
ought to consider the interests of my enemies as well as my friends, and
of strangers as well as my family. If, after I have fully taken into account
the concerns and preferences of all these people, I still believe that a
particular action is better than any alternative, then I can honestly say that
I ought to do it.

When trying to resolve an ethical Dilemma, or to make an ethical decision,

therefore, it is important to use the following criteria:-

1) Recognize the Ethical Issue

Find out if:-

 There is something wrong personally, interpersonally, or socially.
Could the conflict, the situation, or the decision be damaging to
people or to the community?
 Does the issue go beyond legal, institutional or social concerns? What
does it do to people who have dignity, rights, and hopes for a better
life together?

2) Get the Facts

Ask yourself:-
 What are the relevant facts of the case? What facts are unknown?
 What individuals and groups have an important stake in the outcome?
Do some have a greater stake because they have a special need or
because we have a special obligation to them?
 What are the options for acting? Have all the relevant persons and
groups been consulted? If you showed your list of options to someone
you respect, what would the person say?

3) Evaluate alternative actions from the various ethical

perspectives

Ask yourself:-
 Given the different ethical perspectives i.e. Utilitarianism, Rights
Approach, Justice/Fairness Approach, Virtue Approach or the
Common Good Approach, which is the best option for acting?
 4) Make a decision and Test it

Ask yourself:-
 Considering all the perspectives, which of the options is the right or
the best thing to do?
 If you told someone you respect why you chose this option, what
would that person say? If you had to explain your decision on
television, would you be comfortable doing so?

5) Act, and then Reflect on the Decision later

 Implement your decision and then ask yourself; how did it turn out
for all concerned? If you had to do it all over again, what would you
do differently?

6.8 Issues in Applied Ethics

As noted earlier, there are many controversial issues discussed by

ethicists today. We are going to briefly look at some of them in this topic.
They include the following:-

a) Bio-medical ethics

This focuses on a range of issues which arise in clinical settings. Health

care workers are in an unusual position of continually dealing with life and
death situations. It is not surprising, then, that medical ethics issues are
more extreme and diverse than other areas of applied ethics. For
example, ethical prenatal issues arise about the morality of surrogate
mothering, genetic manipulation of fetuses, the status of unused frozen
embryos, and abortion. In Kenya for example, there has been the ongoing
debate on whether to legalise abortion or not.

Other issues arise about patient rights and physician's responsibilities,

such as the confidentiality of the patient's records and the physician's
responsibility to tell the truth to dying patients.

The Hiv Aids crisis has raised the specific issues of the mandatory
screening of all pregnant women for Hiv Aids, and whether physicians can
refuse to treat Hiv infected patients. Additional issues concern medical
experimentation on humans, the morality of involuntary commitment, and
the rights of the mentally disabled. Issues also arise on whether to end
life or not. Specific issues for example arise about the morality of suicide,
the justifiability of suicide intervention, physician assisted suicide, and
euthanasia.

b) Business ethics

It examines moral controversies relating to the social responsibilities of

capitalist business practices, the moral status of corporate entities,
deceptive advertising, insider trading, basic employee rights, job
discrimination, affirmative action, drug testing, and whistle blowing.
Kenya for example is faced with the challenge of counterfeiting and sub
standard goods as evidenced by the ongoing crack down on second
generation alcohol.

c) Environmental ethics

The issues in environmental ethics often overlap with business and

medical issues. These include the rights of animals, the morality of animal
experimentation, preserving endangered species, pollution control,
management of environmental resources, whether eco-systems are
entitled to direct moral consideration, and our obligation to future
generations.

d) Sexual morality

Controversial issues in sexual morality include monogamy versus

polygamy, sexual relations without love, homosexual relations, lesbian
relations and extramarital affairs.

e) Social morality
This includes an examination of issues such as capital punishment,
nuclear war, and gun control, the recreational use of drugs, welfare
rights, and racism.

Summary
We have come to the end of this topic in which we have defined ethics and
discussed the different ethical theories. We have also made an analysis of
how ethics is applied to real life issues and also defined an ethical dilemma
as well as providing a framework for ethical decision-making.

Further Reading

http://ethics.sandiego.edu/

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-ancient/#6

https://www.college.columbia.edu/core/students/cc/optitexts/epicmeno.p
df

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v7n1/thinking.html

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v7n1/thinking.html

Aristotle Ethics

Michel de Montaigne Literary and Philosophical Essays: French, German

and Italian

David Hume An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals

Self-Assessment
1) Define ethics.
2) Explain the normative ethical theories.
3) Discuss how ethics is applied to real ethical issues.
4) Explain the framework for ethical decision-making.
5) Discuss the duty based ethical theories.
6) Distinguish ethics from what it is not.
7) Explain the reasons why ethics begins.
Food for Thought!