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MODULE 5 ETHICS AND DEVELOPMENT Instructor: Masakija

Explore the concept of ethics and its importance in determining what is right and wrong. Learn about descriptive and normative ethics and their relevance in different spheres of life.

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MODULE 5 ETHICS AND DEVELOPMENT Instructor: Masakija

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  1. MODULE 5 ETHICS AND DEVELOPMENT Instructor: Masakija

  2. Concept of Ethics • Ethics as a concept has been defined in different ways by various scholars. • Etymologically, the word ethics is derived from a Latin word ‘Ethos’ that means character which incorporates the customs, practices and laws. • Customs = accepted ways of behaving or doing something in a particular society. • Customs govern our ethical life.

  3. Concept of Ethics • Practices = our actions with regard to our daily lives. • Laws = refers to the regulations which guide us from not doing wrong things. • Ethics can be defined as the branch of philosophy which is concerned with what is right and what is wrong.

  4. Concept of Ethics • Ethics can also be defined as the established code or set of conducts with stipulated or containing right conducts to be cherished and also the wrong conducted to be abandoned. • Ethics informs aperson what is right to be done and what is wrong to be avoided. It is from this process that laws are formed to prevent people from doing the wrong things.

  5. Concept of Ethics • Ethics is a branch of philosophy that uses the methods of science and not the methods of religion/faith. • It is a science; it is a systematized body of knowledge. • Ethics weighs, assesses, analyses and draws conclusions just like any other science.

  6. Concept of Ethics • Ethics projects that human persons are rational beings, therefore they OUGHT to act according to their nature (rationality). • Ethics comes from the desire to understand how to know what is GOOD and what is EVIL • The ability to know what is good and what is bad (evil) is in the human nature of rationality, and is referred as Ethics. • Ethics and Morality are related but are different.

  7. Spheres of Ethics Sphere of Ethics • The subject matter of ethics is human conduct (behaviour) where the sphere of ethics is dynamic as it changes over time. • The sphere of ethics include family, civil, and profession. • For example, children learn what is good or bad in their families, but as they grow up they go to a large society and the sphere of good and bad widens. It can widen for better or worse depending on what is going around on that society.

  8. Branches or Forms of Ethics • There are several branches or forms of ethics, among them include: • Descriptive or Comparative Ethics • Descriptive ethics deal with examining or studying on what people believe to be right and wrong within a particular society over a given period of time.

  9. Branches or Forms of Ethics • Descriptive ethics is based on investigating on how people do act or on how they behave. Hence, descriptive ethics do not examine on the rightness or wrongness of people’s acts or behaviours. • Descriptive ethics don’t identify the right conducts to be followed or the wrong conducts to be abandoned only that it generally investigate on how people act or behave.

  10. Branches or Forms of Ethics • On the other hand, Since societies are dynamic i.e. keep on changing, ethics can also change. Therefore, the current ethics of a particular society can be different from those ethics in the past 50 years ago and that is why descriptive ethics is also known as Comparative Ethics.

  11. Branches or Forms of Ethics Example: Descriptive Report on how some of office secretaries (whom most of them are females in the context of Tanzania) behave on the basis of ethics such report can include: • Preference on putting on short dresses • Spending relatively more time on chatting • Frequently ask support or “favour” to their bosses on different issues e.g. contribution for birthday ceremonies for themselves and/or their children etc. • Maintain punctuality at work • Eager to know the “profile” of their bosses in the workplace and home (off office)

  12. Branches or Forms of Ethics 2. Normative or Prescriptive Ethics • Normative or Prescriptive ethics is the study of ethical acts. Therefore, normative ethics essentially focuses on what are right things to undertake or wrong acts to avoid. • Normative ethics unlike with descriptive ethics, direct people on the right things to do and also expose the wrong things to be neglected.

  13. Branches or Forms of Ethics • Normative ethics is also referred to as Prescriptive Ethics since it bases or focuses on the principles which determine whether an action is right or wrong.

  14. Branches or Forms of Ethics • Normative ethics then identify various sets of behaviours or practices and scrutinize them in order to know what are right and what are wrong conducts.

  15. Branches or Forms of Ethics Example: Identified conducts among university students: • Skipping some meals among male-students in order to meet their girl-friends’ expenses • Occasional missing of lectures due trading activities, leisure etc. • Spending much time on chatting • Waking up in midnight for studies • Keeping their bags at Library Luggage-Keeping Section even if they are not in the library. • Depositing cash-money in some cafeteria as pre-payment for meals/foodstuffs.

  16. Branches or Forms of Ethics One can draw the following right conducts from the 6 identified conducts: • Waking up in midnight for studies • Depositing cash-money in some cafeterias as pre-payment for meals/foodstuffs.

  17. Branches or Forms of Ethics • There are various theories on normative ethics, among them include: • Consequentialism (Utilitarianism) • Deontological Ethics and • Virtue Ethics

  18. Branches or Forms of Ethics 3. Meta Ethics or Analytical Ethics • Meta ethics or Analytical ethics deals with the origin and meaning of various ethical concepts. • Meta ethics doesn’t consider whether an action is either good or bad but it just questions on ethics related concepts.

  19. Branches or Forms of Ethics • Meta ethics focuses on the meaning (definition) of ethical terms themselves such as: • What does it mean or imply with goodness or badness itself? • How can one distinguish between ethical and unethical person? • What is reality? • Is there any difference between “truth” and “reality”?

  20. Branches or Forms of Ethics 4. Applied Ethics • Applied ethics is based on investigating the useful application of various ethical theories into real life situations. Professional Ethics serve as the good example of Applied Ethics. • There are different Professional ethics in respect to various professions or fields.

  21. Branches or Forms of Ethics • Examples of Professional Ethics: • Clinical/Medical /Doctors’ Professional Ethics • Teachers’ Professional Ethics • Engineers’ Professional Ethics • Lawyers’ Professional Ethics • Media Ethics • Business Ethics

  22. Branches or Forms of Ethics • Organizational Ethics • Social Ethics • Development Ethics

  23. Branches or Forms of Ethics • Some Manifestations of incompliance to Professional Ethics: • Lack of patriotism among the citizens-e.g. signing of contract for self interest • Lack of commitment to particular ethical values in different professions like: • Medicine (not keeping patients’ secrets etc) • Learning-teaching (e.g. Cheating in exams)

  24. Branches or Forms of Ethics • Some Manifestations of incompliance to Professional Ethics: • In engineering e.g. civil engineering can lead to construction of buildings, roads and bridges with low quality. • In industries: production of goods and services below the required quality. • In Business: selling fake and expired goods.

  25. THEORIES ON ETHICS 1. Deontological Ethics Theories • Deontological ethics or Duty Ethics Theories focuses on examining the rightness or wrongness of actions rather the consequences produced by such actions. • These theories base on the idea that whether an act is morally right or wrong depends on whether it is in conformity or conflict with moral duties and rights.

  26. THEORIES ON ETHICS • There are some specific theories in Deontological Ethics among them include: • Categorical Imperative (Kantianism) • Moral Absolutism • Moral Relativism • Divine Command Theory and • Rossian Deontological Ethics theory

  27. THEORIES ON ETHICS • Categorical Imperative/Kantianism • Categorical Imperative or Kantianism (Kantian Theory) was developed by Immanuel Kant. • According to Kant, moral values should follow two principles: • Principle of Universality • In principle of universality, Kant maintains that a moral action should be applicable to all people.

  28. THEORIES ON ETHICS • Principle of Reciprocity • Principle of reciprocity is based on the famous axiom that “ What you wish others to do to you then do such things unto them”. This principle is widely used in several religious systems including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

  29. THEORIES ON ETHICS (b) Moral Absolutism • Moral absolutism holds that there are absolute or universal standards or principles against which moral questions or practices are judged. Therefore, on the bases of these standards, certain actions are judged to be right while others are considered to be wrong regardless of the context of the act. For instance: Killingand stealing are always considered as immoral/wrong practices under any situations.

  30. THEORIES ON ETHICS (c) Moral Relativism • Moral relativism contends that what is good (goodness) depends upon a culture of a particular society. • Therefore, good things include those things which have been approved to be good by a group of people or society on basis of culture.

  31. THEORIES ON ETHICS (d) Divine Command Theory • Divine command theory as one of the Deontological theories asserts that an action is right if God has decreed it to be right. For example, marriage (marrying) is the right practice before the God in reference to the Bible and Quran/Koran.

  32. THEORIES ON ETHICS (e) Rossian Deontology (William D. Ross) According to Ross an action is wrong unless there is a good reason to do so/justify. For example, we should not kill or lie unless there is a good reason to do so e.g. abortion is bad, but if it is done in order to save mother’s life then, it is right. .

  33. THEORIES ON ETHICS 2. Consequentialism (Teleological) Theories • Consequentialism or teleological theories assert that an action is right or wrong depending on the consequence(s) that it produces or provides as the outcome(s).

  34. THEORIES ON ETHICS • There are various specific theories within teleological theories; among them include: • Utilitarianism or Utilitarian Theory • Utilitarian theory maintains that an action can be regarded as right if it produces the most desirable effects/outcomes ( such as highest level of happiness) for many people.

  35. THEORIES ON ETHICS • For example: killing can be regarded as a right action if the consequences will lead happiness to the majority of the people. • Jeremy Bentham is among the advocates of utilitarian theory.

  36. Utilitarian Theory Killing one Person to save many People

  37. Utilitarian Theory Killing one Person to save many People

  38. THEORIES ON ETHICS (b) Hedonism Ethics Theory • It is among the Teleological theories. Hedonism theory stresses that “anything which maximizes pleasure is right”. For instance, it can highly please on to keep animals or birds rather than bearing and keeping children.

  39. Hedonism Ethics Theory Opted to Birds instead of Children

  40. THEORIES ON ETHICS (c) Asceticism • Asceticism advocates that abstinence from egoistic pleasures in order to achieve spiritual goals is the right action. (d) Altruism Altruism calls for or urges people to live for others and not caring for self is the right action.

  41. THEORIES ON ETHICS Altruism Altruism can also be defined as unselfish concern/care or support for other people.

  42. THEORIES ON ETHICS (e) Virtue Ethics Theory • Virtue refers to ethically good acts. • One can also define virtues as the intrinsic motives and practices of doing the right conducts in the sustainable ways. • Virtue ethics: the proponents of this theory argues that the basis of ethical behaviours stems from the character of the moral actor. • Hence, the goal of achieving a more ethical good or just society is done by instilling character and virtue in its members.

  43. THEORIES ON ETHICS • “ Virtue ethics advocates that an action is right if and only if it is an action that any virtuous person would also do in the same circumstances or ways. Virtuous person is someone who has a particularly good character/behaviour”. • Aristotle is among the scholars who advocate(d) Virtue Ethics theory.

  44. THEORIES ON ETHICS • Aristotle understood virtue as a constant, habitual inclination towards ethically good life. • Virtue has something to do with ethically good acts; the opposite of a virtue is a vice. • Virtue refers to repetitive acts, not just a single act.

  45. THEORIES ON ETHICS • There are two categories of virtues, theological virtues and cardinal virtues. • Theological virtues are faith, hope and love • Cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude. • Prudence: the intellectual virtue which enables one to judge correctly in matters patterning to ethical order.

  46. THEORIES ON ETHICS • Justice: the ethical virtue which inclines the will to render or give to each one what his/her due in every conceivable respect. • Temperance: an ethical virtue which makes a person ready to submit the desires for sensible pleasures to the control of reason. • Fortitude is an ethical virtue which regulates the human sensible pleasure (nature) to the demand of human reason in the face of obstacles which endanger the ethical good.

  47. THEORIES ON ETHICS 3. Cultural Relativism Theory • According to the theory of cultural relativism, there is no singular truth upon which ethical or moral behavior can reside, as our interpretations of truths are influenced by our own culture. • Ethnocentric is the idea or belief that one's own culture is more important than, or superior to, other cultures.

  48. MORALITY • Morality is derived from the Latin word “Mos” which means custom or “manner” • Therefore, the term “morality” in connection to its origin means customs or practices which build beliefs of a particular society. Hence, what is right or wrong is predetermined by a society in accordance to its beliefs.

  49. NORMS &MORALITY Norms • The norms (custom) governs our ethical life • The norms of morality promote the values and behaviour that enhance the human well being while prohibiting those that seem destructive. • Norms can be positive as- ‘do this’ or negative as ‘avoid that’ consistent or not consistent.

  50. MORALITY • Morals refer to what a society considers or perceives to be right and acceptable in such a society. • Morals are beliefs of individuals, groups of people or society in general on what is right or wrong. • Morality defines what are culturally accepted good behaviours to be cherished and what are bad behaviours or immoralities to be avoided.

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