Course Title:

Professional Ethics and

Environmental Protection
A.S.M. Kamrul Islam
Lecturer
Green University of Bangladesh
Learning Outcomes of the
Session At the end of the session, the
learners will be able to:

Explain the concept of Ethics with examples

Areas covered

• Definition and scopes of Ethics Describe the different types of Ethics

• Different branches of Ethics
• Value and Morals
• The reasons for studying Ethics Identify the differences between ethics and
Reading material: Business Ethics: An Overview
morality
What is Ethics?

At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles.

They affect how people make decisions and lead their

lives.

Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals

and society and is also described as moral
philosophy.
Ethics is a system of moral principles. Ethics is concerned with
what is good for individuals and society and is also described
as moral philosophy. The term comes from the Greek word
ethos.

Meaning- custom, habit, character or disposition

“Ethics is a study of right and wrong”
Ethics leans towards decisions
based upon the individual
character, and the more
subjective understanding of
right and wrong by individuals
– whereas “morals” emphasizes
the widely-shared communal
or societal norms about right
and wrong.
Concepts
• Ethics is a code of behavior.
• It is the science of morals describing a set of rules of behavior.
• Ethics, as a science, involves systemizing, defending and
recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.
• Ethics is a branch of philosophy and is considered a normative
science because it is concerned with the norms of human conduct.
• As a science, ethics must follow the same rigors of logical reasoning
as other sciences.
Another look Integrity

Moral Ethics Honesty

It is distinguished from formal

sciences such as mathematics and
logic, physical sciences such as
Chemistry and Physics, and Rights
empirical sciences such as
economics and psychology.
 How is Ethics different from Morality?

Traditionally, ethics referred to the philosophical study of morality, the latter

being a more or less systematic set of beliefs, usually held in common by a
group, about how people should live. Ethics also referred to particular
philosophical theories of morality. Later the term was applied to particular
(and narrower) moral codes or value systems. Ethics and morality are now
used almost interchangeably in many contexts, but the name of the
philosophical study remains ethics.
Why does Ethics matter?

Ethics matters because:

1. It is part of how many groups define themselves and thus part of the identity of
their individual members.

2. Other-regarding values in most ethical systems both reflect and foster close human
relationships and mutual respect and trust, and

3. It could be “rational” for a self-interested person to be moral, because his or her

self-interest is arguably best served in the long run by reciprocating the moral
behavior of others.
• Ethics explores questions such as:

⚬ What is the good life and what are the

means to achieve it? Ethics is the study
⚬ How should we balance our own happiness
with the happiness of others? of moral values
⚬ What are the moral obligations and
responsibilities of individuals and societies? and judgments
⚬ How should we deal with moral dilemmas
and conflicts in various domains?
⚬ What are the sources and standards of
moral authority and justification?
 Involves describing,
characterizing and studying
Descriptive Ethics morality.
Major Two
What Is?
Branches of
Involves supplying and
Ethics
justifying moral systems.
Normative Ethics

What should be?

 Descriptive ethics is the branch of ethics that studies how
Descriptive Ethics people actually think and behave morally.
What do people think is right?

Tells us how people should act morally.

Normative Ethics
How should people act?

Deals with applying ethical theories and principles to

Applied ethics real-world problems and situations.
How do we take moral knowledge and put it into practice?

Studies the meaning and nature of ethical concepts and

language.
Meta-ethics
What does 'right' even mean?
 Philosophers nowadays tend to divide ethical
theories into three areas: Metaethics,
Normative ethics and Applied ethics.

1. Meta-ethics deals with the nature of moral

judgement. It looks at the origins and meaning of
ethical principles
Approaches/Types to Ethics
2. Normative ethics is concerned with the content of
moral judgements and the criteria for what is right or
wrong

3. Applied ethics looks at controversial topics like

war, animal rights and capital punishment
Do you
have any
questions?
Send it to me! We hope you
learned something new.