APPLIED ETHICS

VIRTUE ETHICS
2023
 SYLLABUS FOR ETHICS 2023
1.VIRTUE ETHICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
2. BIOETHICS AND VIRTUE ETHICS
3. ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
4. GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION
5. VIRTUE ETHICS IN BUSINESS AND MARKET PLACE
6. VIRTUE ETHICS AND POLITICS/GOVERNANCE
7. ISLAMIC ETHICS
8. CONCLUSION
 Introduction
Why do we need to study Applied Ethics?
• Every rational human being has a reason to cultivate virtues and develop
a strong moral character
• Knowledge of ethics helps in resolving ethical dilemmas; help us to know
what is right and what isn’t.
• Without ethics, society would be reduced to the type of animal living
that seen in the state of nature. Hunt, kill, fornicate, etc.
• In contemporary times, Applied Ethics is needed for inclusive and
sustainable development;
• We need ethical behavior for fighting social evils such as corruption;
environmental deterioration, etc;
• Ethics encourages us to become good citizens and to develop a healthy
civic sense.
 1.VIRTUE ETHICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Concepts of:
- Ethics
- Virtue
- Rights
- What are human rights
- What rights do people have and what is their
source or ground
- The ethics of War
 Ethics

Ethics comes from the Greek word ‘ethos’

which means character or ways of behavior. It
refers to a generally set of principles and
standards used by society in general to guide
their thoughts, behavior and actions; to
determine the goodness/badness or
rightness/wrongness of thoughts, behavior
and action.
 VIRTUE
Virtue – means excellence in life. According to Aristotle, virtue is
a mean between two vices. It focuses on the character of
moral agent as a driving force for ethical behavior.
• Human being should follow certain virtues such as justice,
temperance, courage, patience, tolerance, integrity, honesty
etc., so that can be good citizen.
Plato described 4 cardinal virtues in ‘The Republic’:
• Prudence
• Justice
• Temperance
• Courage
 Rights
The concept of Right is linked to the concept of
justice. Right is giving someone his due.

HR are rights inherent to every human being

and to all peoples at all times, being
recognized by international law and therefore
having validity independently of particular
constitutional order of each state.
What rights do people have and what is their source or ground

Human rights are basic rights of all human

beings. They are civil and political rights as
they enter into the sphere of human being's
civil and political life. Example of rights what
people have: right to life, private property,
freedom of expression, formal equality of
everyone before the law, right to nationality,
to participate in the government of their state,
etc.
 The source or ground of HR
Varela (2011) says in the book “Introduction to
Law” that human rights are rights accepted as
valid by all humanity, which are based on the
inviolability, timeless and universal nature of
the human person. These rights derive from
the nature of the human person, they are part
of the essence of Humanity.
 Ethics of war

According to Gandhi and Martin Luther King, war is always wrong.

Philosopher Erasmus said: “ The cost of war is so great that even if the war is
won, you lose much more than you gain.”

In general in the real world, although war is seen as idealistic and empty
dream, sometimes, it is politically justified Example:
- People with Cynical view like: Hitler and the Fascists, only war could remove
them. Nazis could not have been defeated by any other means than war.
- Some Religious talk about holy war: Jihad, says that war has the sanction of
god and has divine justification; war is fought to destroy the enemies of god.
 --
Governs justify war in the name of self defence, protection of innocent
people from totalitarian regimes, etc.
- War should be the last resort when all other peaceful and diplomatic
alternatives exhausted.
- War should be started only if benefits or gains are proportional or exceed
the costs of the war

• Principles governing conduct of war:

- War have to obey all international treaties and conventions (for instance,
non use of chemical/biological weapons)
- Civilians should not be targeted
- Evil methods such as mass rape/plunder campaigns, ethnic cleansing
should not be carried out
 Termination of war and peace agreements:

- The peace agreement should be moderate and reasonable; it

should not be vindictive (example: Treaty of Versailles after WWI)
- It should distinguish between leaders and soldiers of the defeated
nation and civilians; sweeping socio-economic sanctions ,
adversely impact to civilians should be avoided
- It should seek to remedy the wrongs that led to the war
- It should focus on rehabilitation and reconstruction of the
defeated nation by investing in its socio-economic development;
promoting disarmament and demilitarization, human rights,
education, etc
- Leaders and soldiers responsible for war crimes should be tried in
an objective manner
 Ethics of Drone Attacks/Targeted Killing (TK)

In conventional wars, soldiers put their lives at risk; in drone

attacks, people who carry out the attacks remain in high
tech centers far removed from the battlefield; virtual war;
it reduces human inhibitions against killing; war appears
to be cheaper/easier . It is allowed targeted killing if it is
impossible or too costly to use conventional methods to
capture a terrorist/militant

The principle to be followed inTargeted Killing is that of: Acts

of double effects, which consist in good effect without evil
effect.
 TK

• TK should be used only as a last resort, after less destructive

options have been exhausted. An independent and thorough
investigation must be made after each TK

• Ethics of foreign intervention

• International ethics is based on the premise of respect for
sovereignty and independence of states; any sort of external
intervention undermines this
• An external intervention can be justified only in emergency
circumstances such as in cases of genocide or ethnic cleansing.
 2. BIOETHICS AND VIRTUE ETHICS

BIOETHICS From the Greek βιος (Bio), meaning life and

έθος (éthos), meaning Ethics. The term was coined in the
United States, in 1970, by oncologist Van Rensselaer
Potter, in the article: The Science of Survival". Practically
Bioethics is concerned with issues related to health. Its
breadth ranges from issues relating to nascent life to life
in a terminal state. Bioethics is also concerned with very
recent issues, difficult to be evaluated from an ethical
point of view. Reading newspapers, listening to the radio,
talking to friends, people talk, for example, about
abortion, organ transplants, euthanasia, etc.
 --
It is important to talk about these and other
bioethical issues, but it is not possible to go right or
wrong, approving or condemning, in a simplistic
way, without knowing well the problems in
question. Behind these issues are concrete human
beings, living or dying, fulfilling or frustrating
themselves. Therefore, we need to know well: what
the sciences say about these issues - analyzing them
from an ethical point of view, in the light of faith
and in an attitude of dialogue and fidelity.
 --
It is important to talk about these and other
bioethical issues, but it is not possible to go
right or wrong, approving or condemning, in a
simplistic way, without knowing well the
problems in question. Behind these issues are
concrete human beings, living or dying,
fulfilling or frustrating themselves.
 --
Therefore, we need to know well: what the
sciences say about these issues - analyzing them
from an ethical point of view, in the light of faith
and in an attitude of dialogue and fidelity.
DEFINITION
Bioethics is the systematic study of human
conduct in the context of life and health sciences,
analyzed in the light of moral values ​and
principles (Pessini and Barchifontaine, 1996:33).
 --
Bioethics, should be an applied ethics based
on the description of scientific, biological and
medical data. Rationally bioethics analyzes
the lawfulness of human intervention on man.
Bioethics aims to rationally analyze the moral
problems linked to biomedicine and its
connection with the scope of law and human
sciences.
 SOME PRINCIPLES OF BIOETHICS 
To avoid getting lost in the discussion of each particular problem, we
need to find general criteria for reflection and action that can be
applied to the different situations that arise. Hence the fundamental
principles of Bioethics, among which we highlight the following:
1. PRINCIPLE OF THE INVIOLABILITY OF HUMAN LIFE.
2. PRINCIPLE OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE.
3. PRINCIPLE OF CHARITABLE AND NON-MALEFICIENCY.
4. PRINCIPLE OF AUTONOMY.
5. PRINCIPLE OF JUSTICE.
6. THERAPEUTIC PRINCIPLE
7. PRINCIPLE OF SOCIABILITY AND SUBSIDIARITY
8. PRINCIPLE OF FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY.
 --

1. PRINCIPLE OF THE INVIOLABILITY OF HUMAN LIFE.

Human life, starting from its embryonic stage, must be
respected and promoted, it cannot be destroyed or
manipulated for research purposes or for any other
pretext. Human life is sacred, it has an immense value
that no one can take, violate or destroy, at any stage of
development or condition in which it finds itself.
2. PRINCIPLE OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE.
According to this principle, it is important to ensure
people's quality of life, that is, to promote the basic
conditions to sustain life and human dignity, whether
in the field of health or in the field of social rights.
 --

This principle is linked to the first, the sacredness of

life, it is not possible to eliminate children with great
disabilities, nor to terminate seriously ill people or
people who have committed serious crimes, in the
name of quality of life.  

3. PRINCIPLE OF CHARITABLE AND NON-

MALEFICIENCY.
The medical ethics tradition affirms that it is always
necessary to do good to the patient, to promote his
health, without harming him.
 4. PRINCIPLE OF AUTONOMY.
According to this principle, it is not enough to
do good; it is necessary to respect the
conscience and freedom of a patient,
informing them about their health situation,
any risks and advantages of treatments,
obtaining their consent or the consent of
whoever is responsible for them, to perform
certain procedures doctors.
 --

The relationship between doctor and patient is

seen as between two subjects, and not
between a subject and an object, having to
share decisions and responsibilities.
5. PRINCIPLE OF JUSTICE.
This principle argues that it is necessary to
promote justice in the medical care of people,
in access to services provided by hospitals,
ensuring health conditions and treatment for
the poorest and most excluded in society.
 --
The principle of justice is based on the human
right to health, demanding a fair and equitable
distribution of services in this field. The right
to undergo surgery or more sophisticated
health examinations could not depend on the
social or economic situation, that is, on the
prestige or wealth of someone, but should be
guaranteed to everyone, especially those who
need it most due to the seriousness of your
status.
 6. THERAPEUTIC PRINCIPLE

This principle applies when, in order to save

the individual's whole life, intervention must
be done, including mutilating a part of the
organism. This principle governs all legality
and obligation of medical and surgical therapy.
The surgeon who cuts an appendix is ​morally
justified and even obliged to the extent that
this intervention is necessary to save the
organism.
The therapeutic principle applies when dealing
with an intervention on the sick part or that
which is the direct cause of the illness; when
there are no other ways and means to face the
disease; when there is a proportionally high
good chance of success; and when there is
patient consent.
 7. PRINCIPLE OF SOCIABILITY AND
SUBSIDIARITY

The principle of sociability says that in the case of promoting life

and health, citizens must be social, consider their own life and
that of others as a not only personal but also a social asset -
promoting the life and health of all and of each one. Based on
this principle, the donation of organs and tissue is justified,
although this implies some mutilation in the donor.
The principle of subsidiarity encourages the community to help
more where the need is greatest. Caring more for those who are
most in need of care and spending more on those who are
sickest. This principle encourages voluntary assistance; it gives
rise to assistance works such as hospitals, asylums, leper houses.
 --

8. PRINCIPLE OF FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY.

This principle emphasizes that freedom must take
charge responsibly in relation to the whole life of
one's own or that of others. This is because to be
free, it is necessary to be alive and that is why life
is indispensable for each and every one of us to
exercise freedom. But one cannot, in the name of
freedom of election, decide to suspend his life
(euthanasia). Or for religious reasons deny
mandatory care for the terminally ill or deny
some therapy such as blood infusion.