What is Ethics? Ethics, also called moral philosophy, is the discipline concerned with moral principles like what is morally right or wrong and good or bad. Ethics is the practice of discovering and defending your values, principles, sense of morality, and purpose. Such principles affect how people make decisions and lead their lives. It refers to a situation related to the person, a side that is unique to him.
Origin
As you dive deep into the history of ethics as moral philosophical theories, you’d find that it began with ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Sophists, Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus. Several investigations and studies on Ethical Philosophy suggest ethics has gone through absolute changes and expansions since the day it emerged.
The word “ethics” is derived from the ancient Greek word “ethos” which comes from the word “Ethika”. The word Ethika means “issues related to ethe,” and ethe means “the place of a living being,” the place where it always goes, where it takes shelter. Together, they define one individual interact with other individual. The word ethics means character or temperament in terms of its origin.
What does ethics mean and its importance?
Ethics is a study of what is good and what is bad, and what is right and wrong to do in the conduct of life. It is therefore, above all, a practical discipline. In particular, the word is commonly used as a synonym for morality, and less often, it means moral code or system of a specific tradition, group or individual.
Ethics is what guides us to do what’s right, speak the truth, keep our promises, or help those in need. Ethics is what make all of us humans. It is the sense of right and wrong. It is an essential part of the foundation on which a civilized society is built. Ethics helps us make informed decisions that create positive impacts and keep us away from unjust outcomes.
Why ethics is important in business?
Ethics is what help us navigate those gray areas between right and wrong and good and bad. It doesn’t just apply to our everyday life; it also applies to the systems and organizations involved in businesses. Corporations and businesses establish ethics to promote integrity among their employees, partners, stakeholders, and consumers. Business ethics covers diverse areas, ranging from labor practices, free and fair trade, health concerns, environmental concerns, and more.
Business ethics is the application of general ethics ideas to business behavior. The idea is to promote good to society, profitability, foster better business relations and employee productivity through proper business ethics. To be precise, business ethics is the discipline concerned with ethical principles that examine and solve complex moral dilemmas.
Is ethics a branch of philosophy?
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with how a person lives, what he does, the decisions he take, what he gives importance and priority in life. In this respect, ethics is the self-knowledge of human being or the questions about what is right and wrong and how to live a good or bad life.
Ethics has always been viewed as a branch of philosophy, but its all-embracing practical nature links it with other areas of morality. The two disciplines are intertwined as ethics is often related to philosophical ideas concerning moral principles.
When the code of ethics was adopted?
Code of ethics is a set of standards, guidelines and principles that an individual or organization adopts to govern their decision-making process. It defines an organization’s moral values so that employees and consumers understand the principles that are accountable to hold. NAR’s Code of Ethics was one of the first standards of ethical duties adopted by any business group. NAR’s Code of Ethics was adopted in 1913.
Are ethics subjective?
Since there is no standard code of conduct or guidelines of what is right and what is wrong, the definition of ethics and morality may differ largely from person to person. So, it’s not wrong to say that ethics is purely subjective because there is no absolute standard of right and wrong.
Can ethics be taught?
It can be said that ethics can be taught, but how to teach ethics is a more complicated matter. Ethics covers the study of human actions and behaviors within moral boundaries that a professional group must respect. It is believed to be an extension of one’s conscience and moral behavior and, therefore, ethics can be very well learned through personal experiences. Ethics is more like a self-taught discipline.
Is ethics and morality the same?
Ethics and morality both relate to the conduct of right and wrong, good and bad, and are sometimes used interchangeably. Morality, however, deals with the principles governing the principles of right and wrong conduct. Ethics, on the other hand, is the standards or guidelines distinguished by a certain community or social setting. Morality can be a set of principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular community, religion or culture.
Why ethics is important in our life?
Ethics is the guiding principles that influence a positive outcome through our decisions and actions. Ethics helps us tell right from wrong, good from bad. It gives practical guidance to our lives. In many ways, ethics regulates our way of living and helps us live in a society with peace and harmony with others. Ethics is what define us as humans.
Why ethics in research is important?
Ethics of research and innovation has become a particularly important field in recent years, a particularly important component of any research project. Ethics in research is particularly important as it governs the standards of conduct for scientific researchers. And there are many reasons why researchers follow certain ethical norms while conducting research. It involves the moral principles which a researcher should consider while performing any experiment.
Are ethics universal?
There are no universal moral standards that can be universally applied to all people at all times. Ethics are relative among a distinct elite in the society. The same action or behavior can be morally right in one culture but be morally wrong in another. Similarly, what’s right for one many not be right for other. So, ethics are not universal because there are no universal moral standards that apply to every being, philosophy, community, or religion.
Do ethics change over time?
The moral standards or ethical principles do not remain fixed because morality is grounded in reality and reality changes. Ethical standards vary so much from people to people, culture to culture. An individual’s ethical standards might stay consistent across all contexts, but it is also possible that those standards might change for certain course of events. So, people’s moral values tend to change with time.
Summary
In a nutshell, ethics is the discipline that examines qualitative situations that make some actions right or wrong. Ethics covers the study of human actions and behaviors within moral rules. We are humans and we need some standards or principles on how to behave, how to speak, what to say, how to respond, and so on. Ethics is the branch of philosophy that deals with moral principles that govern an individual’s behavior or action.
References
Taskiran, Meliha Nurdan and Fatih Pinarbasi. Multidisciplinary Approaches to Ethics in the Digital Era. Pennsylvania, United States: IGI Global, 2021. Print
Choo, Suzanne S. Teaching Ethics through Literature: The Significance of Ethical Criticism in a Global Age. England, UK: Routledge, 2021. Print
Deigh, John. An Introduction to Ethics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print
Shaw, Deirdre, et al. Ethics and Morality in Consumption: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. England, UK: Routledge, 2016. Print
Sandu, Antonio, et al. Ethics in Research Practice and Innovation. Pennsylvania, United States: IGI Global, 2018. Print
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