CHAPTER FIVE

Ethics and Theories of Ethics

Definition of Ethics:
A branch of philosophy deal with what is good and bad
in human conduct
It deal with the philosophical study of values,
standards, norms, codes ( i.e. what constitutes good and
bad, right and wrong in human conduct.)

A branch of philosophy which deals with the dynamics

of decision making concerning what is right and wrong.
 Cont’
Explains why people judge things to
be good or bad.
-It aims to describe the moral beliefs
of a specific culture.
Example; if you believe that theft is
bad a descriptive ethics would
describe /explain why you believe
theft as bad.
Categories of Ethical Theorys
It can be broken down into non-normative
& normative ethical theories .
A. Appliednormative
Normative ethics
ethical theory B. General normative
ethics
Ethics
A. Scientific/
Non-normative Descriptive study
ethical theory B. Meta-ethics study
1. Non-normative Ethics
a. .Descriptive/scientific study
Describes how people actually behave not about such
behavior is right or wrong
What sorts of moral standards people claim to follow
Factual investigation of moral behavior
b. Metha ethics
Analysis the meaning of ethical terms used in moral
discourse
Investigate the meaning of ethical terms
Eg. If an act of euthanasia is right, then metha ethics
might ask just what do you mean by right?
 .
2 Normative Ethics
A. Applied normative Ethics

It is the application of normative theories to the actual world. It

is termed as applied because it uses the general ethical
principles in an attempt to resolve specific moral problems
Attempt to explain and justify positions on specific
moral problems, such as;
Sex outside marriage
 Euthanasia
 Nuclear armament
 Capital punishment
 Genetic research
 Environmental problems
 Abortion
 Homosexual
 Child Labor
 Business ethics, etc…
 B. General Normative Ethics
is the reasoned search for principles of human conduct,
including critical study of major theories about which things
are good, which acts are right and which acts are
blameworthy.
It attempts to determine human condact and action as good
or bad

General Normative ethic

Teleological Deontological (non-

(consequentialist) consequentialist

Teleological/consequentialist/ Hedonistic theory
- Teleological- derived from the Greek word “telos” meaning “end” or
“goal”.
-Describes the rightness/wrongness of actions based on solely on
the goodness/badness of their consequences.
It tries to assess/evaluates the moral worth of a particular actions by the
goal or consequences that it attains.
It is a normative theory which argues the morality of an action is
determined solely by a cost benefit analysis of is consequence
The main idea is that an action is morally right if it is a means to
appropriate moral goal/positive consequence
i.e. maximum pleasure over minimum pain
The end result of an action is the sole determining factor of its morality
That is simply to mean the end justify the means
One may have the best/ highest moral principle but if the result is bad
harmful that is morally wrong
Hedonism as a value theory says only
pleasure is good as an end.
Utilitarianism is hedonistic because it
interprets happiness as a balance of
pleasure over pain.
 Types of teleological ethical theory
A. Ethical Egoism (I-ism)
 Concerned about “how we ought to behave”.
 It argues an action is morally right if its consequence brings
happiness for the doer of the action
 i.e. You should look after yourself  “we ought to be “self
interested, self-centered, selfish”
 If you do not take advantage of a situation, you are foolish.
 look after yourself, and morality is a result of that self-interest.
 If I mistreat others, they mistreat me, so I resolve to behave myself.
 This is a twisted version of the Golden Rule.( Do on to others as you
would have them do on to you)
 The reason we should treat others the way we would like to be
treated is that it gives us a good chance of receiving such treatment
 These reflect that, we do it for our selves, and not for others.
 Do unto others so that you will be done in a similar way
 So ethical egoism ensures that “what goes around comes around”
Ethical egoism does not forbid one to help
others, or require one to harm others
Ethical egoism does not say that one ought
always to do what is most pleasurable or
enjoyable

B. Hedonism (the pleasure, happiness or satisfaction

principle)
This theory, views pleasure as the good.
Pleasure is a standared of an action for hedonism
(the highest pleasure or happiness or
Satisfaction)
 1. Egoistic Hedonism
The pursuit & production of ones own pleasure is good and is
the criterion of right action. (believes in the calculation of
pleasure and pain)
i). Cyrenacism (founded by Aristoppus 400 Bc)
 Argued that we should act in such a way that to maximize
our own pleasurable sensations.
 Most interested in the lower pleasures.
 The point is Enjoy bodily pleasure as much as possible, and
as immediate as possible.
 Double your pleasure, double your fun and eat, drink and be
merry/happy for tomorrow we may die.
 Emphasized on positive pleasure, bodily pleasure, immediate
pleasure
 ii. Epicureanism (Named after Epicurus its founder (300 Bc)
Advocates a life time of pleasures.
Pleasure by achievement, effort, moderate and long
lasting.
Example
 Health of body and peace of mind,
 Prsuite of freedom from bodily and mental pain,
 Attention to elevated and refined pleasure (mind is
the center for this kind of pleasure)
 Emphasized on negative pleasure (absence of pain),
mental pleasure, sustained pleasure, pleasure by
achievement, effort
2. Psychological Egoism
 Whatever it may look like & whatever we may think it is, no
human action is done for any reason other than for the sake of
the agent.
 In short, we are all selfish, or at least we are all self-interested.
 It is a theory about how humans behave.
 This theory believes that humans are always looking for
themselves
3. Utilitarianism (Social Hedonism) Jermy Bentham & John
Stuart Mill are chief advocators
 We ought to act so as to promote the greatest balance of good
over evil.
 It advocates We ought to act so as to promote the greatest
balance of pleasure over pain for the greater number of people.
 An action is right if and only if, it promotes the greatest
happiness for the greatest number of people.
Act-utilitarianism:

Appeal directly to the principle of utility

Consider wither specific act will produce the greatest amount of good over evil
Morality focuses on specific situations, rather than general rules.
An act is right if it is likely to produce the most good for the most people involved in the

particular situation.
Commonly accepted moral principles (eg. Don’t lie) couldn’t be taken as a guarantee to

justify the end of an action

Rules and principles may be appropriate to follow But the can not be used as an absolute

guide in moral decision making

Rules may be broken whenever doing so will produce the most good in a specific situation.
For example there are many instances that lying may be perfectly acceptable. Some times telling

the truth may expose innocent people to a greater harm. Those who lies to save the life's of
innocent victim is behaving properly
The point is relying on moral rules may be helpful. But if the application of those rules cause

more harm than good, do not hesitate to discard them

Rule-utilitarianism:
This regards moral values as primary
Insist certain moral rules to be followed
An act is right if and only if it is required by rule and the
acceptance of a rule is lead to greater good
The question here is not which action has the greater
utility but which rule has
The principles of utility is still the ultimate standard but
it is has to be appeared the level of rules rather than at
the level of particular act
i.e. the moral rules are not taken as a grantee, rather they
must be selected, maintained, and replaced on the bases
of their utility
2. Deontological (Non-consequentialist Ethics)
Deontology (a Greek word, deon,
"obligation” or “duty") is the
normative ethical position that judges
the morality of an action based on
rules.
As a result it is sometimes described
as "duty" or "obligation“ or "rule"
based ethics, because rules "bind
you to your duty”.
The morality of an action depends on its
intrinsic nature, on its motives, or on its
being in accord with some rule or
principle.
Actions are inherently right or wrong
regardless of the consequences which
they produce rather deduced from a duty
or a basic human rights
It include both duty-based and rights-
based approaches to ethical reasoning.
 A. Immanuel Kant Categorical Imperative:
Requires that we should respect for the
humanity & dignity of all person and
that, we treat each other in accordance
we think should be universally
practiced.
“Act as if the maxim you choose to
follow always become a universal law of
nature”, “Always treat humanity, whether in
your own person or in the person of any
other never simply as a means, but always
also as an end”
 Only Good will is good without
qualification- it refers that “nothing in the
world is good, without qualification except a
good will”.
 Good will and external action- we do not
say a person has a good will merely because
the person performs certain external action.
 Good will and the three types of
motivation- A person may do his/her duty
“out of self-interest”, by “direct
inclination”, which means by the immediate
satisfaction or pleasure it gives for him/her.
B. Divine Command Theory
Is a single rule non-consequentialist
normative theory that says, “We should
always do the will of God”.
In other words, whatever the situations, if
we do what God wills, then we do the right
thing, if we do not do what God wills, then
no matter what the consequences, we do
wrong.
Proposed by Thomas Aquinas and it states,
“Moral rules are established by God” for
example, the Ten Commandments.
 Approaches to Understand Ethical Theories
The Utilitarian Approach
-It means the greatest good for the greatest
number
It attempts to maximize good for the greatest
number of people.
Its ethical choice is the one that produces
the greatest excess of benefits over harm.
An action or policy is right if it produce the
greatest net benefits or the lowest net costs.
Moral principle of utilitarianism is
persons ought to act in a way that
promotes the maximum net expectable
benefit/utility and the lowest net costs,
for the broadest community affection by
their actions.
-Generally, utilitarianism argues that the
consequence of an action makes it either
moral or immoral.
The Rights Approach:
Focused on the individuals’ right to choose for
himself/herself people are not objects to be
manipulated.
It is a violation of human dignity to use people in a way
they do not freely choose. Include:
Truth: we have a right to be told the truth and to be
informed about matters that significantly affect our
choices.
Not to be injured: individuals have the right
not to be harmed unless he/she
knowingly/freely choose to risk injuries.
Privacy: We have the right to do, believe, and
say whatever we choose in our personal
lives so long as we do not violate the rights
of others.
Ethical behavior ground in protecting
people from having their rights harmed
by the actions of others without their free
chose.
The Fairness or Justice Approach:
"Equals should be treated equally and unequals
should be treated unequally."
The basic moral question is how fair is an action?
Does it treat everyone in the same way? or

Does it show favoritism and discrimination?

Three types:
Distributive justice: fair division of benefits
and burdens among individuals.
 Retributive justice: while an individual
doing a wrong action some sort of punishment
should be imposed, the punishment should fit
with the wrong action/crime
Compensatory justice: what kind and
amount of compensation someone should
receive if he/she has been wronged.
The Common Good Approach:
Since society comprising individuals their good is linked to
the good of the community  Community members are
bound by the pursuit of common values and goals.
All actions and decisions should for the benefit of the
community.
Laws
Public safety
 Peace among nations
A just legal system
An unpolluted environment
 Hospitals and health care are all artifacts of the common
good approach.
 The Virtue Approach (Aristotelian Ethics):
Deals with certain ideals that we should strive for
the full development of our humanity.
These may Include:
Honesty
 courage
Compassion
Generosity
fidelity, integrity and fairness
 self-control, and prudence are all examples of
virtues.
2.Normative/prescriptive Ethics:
It is an attempt of outlining out what
people should do or not
Prescribes rules that people should follow
It aims at creating moral standards.
Selected issues in Applied Ethics
Applied Ethics:
Deals with moral dilemmas and problems in human and
social developments.
 Applied ethics can be explained by the following nature
of the ethics. Or
Applied Ethics is one part of Ethics that deals with the
ethical aspect of:
Development (Development Ethics)
Environment Ethics
Profession Ethics
Public Service Ethics, etc
 Cont’
Development Ethics:
what is development? It is the total transformation of the life
of the society in the political, social & economic, &other
aspects.
From the moral point of view of development ethics raises
the following questions:
-In what direction &by what means should a society 'develop'?
-Who is morally responsible for beneficial change?
-What should be counted as good or bad development?

-What are the moral obligations, if any, of rich societies to poor

societies?
 Cont’
What controversial moral issues might emerge in
development policymaking and practice and how
should they be resolved?
How should the burdens and benefits of
development be distributed?
What are the most serious local, national and
international impediments to good development?
 Cont’
Environmental Ethics:
Is about the moral relationship of human beings to
the natural environment.
It raises a number of questions in relation to
human beings instructions with the natural
environment:
-Should individuals continue clearing forests for
various consumption purposes?
-Should individuals continue making gasoline
powered vehicles?
-What environmental obligations do individuals
need to bear for future generations?
 Cont’
Is it right for humans to extinct other species
for their own convenience? etc.
Professional Ethics
-Profession: the Kge, skill and attitude acquired in
a specific field of study from a formal institution
through a long period of training + certification /
licensed
- Its Goal: the Goal of any profession is to deliver
service (kge, skill & attitude); therefore, the
concern of professional ethics is how
professionals should deliver their service to
the public
 THE END

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