What is ethics? We have the answer - The Ethics Centre

Ethics is the process of questioning, discovering and defending our values, principles and purpose. It's about finding out who we are and staying true to that ... SIGNUP ETHI-CALL DONATE Search WHATISETHICS? WHATISETHICSPartofwhatmakeshumansuniqueisourfreedomtodeterminehowwe’llact. Wheneverwemakeachoice,itwaspossibleforustohavemadeadifferentone. TheDanishphilosopherSorenKierkegaardcapturesthissensewhenhedescribesstandingontheedgeofacliff.Theonlythingthatpreventsusfromfallingintothevoidisus–ourchoicetodootherwise. Ethicsisonlypossiblebecausewecanactagainstournature,basedonourconscience.Itstopsusfromsimplydescribingwhatislikelytohappen,andallowsustomakejudgementsaboutwhatshouldhappen.Ofallthewaysyoumightact,whichisthebest?Ofallthepossibilities,whichoneshouldyoubringintoreality?That’sthequestionethicsseekstoanswer. Ofcourseyoucanonlyanswerthatquestionifyoudaretoaskit.It’scomfortable,safeandprettycommontodowhat’salwaysbeendone–passresponsibilityontoothersorstickwiththestatusquo.Ethicsasksustotakeresponsibilityforourbeliefsandouractions,andlivealifethat’sourown. Howdoyoudecide? Ethicsisn’ttheonlywaytodefinewhatthe‘best’decisionmightlooklike.Somemightseeitastheonethatadvancestheirowngoalsandinterests,ormakesthemostmoney.Othersmayfocusonwhat’slikelytobethemostpopularchoice. Attheheartoftheseisanuggetofethics,buteachisadistractionfromthequestionsthatmattermost.Ethicsdefinesthebestoptionastheonewhichbestachieveswhatisgood,rightandconsistentwiththenatureofthethingsinquestion.AtTheEthicsCentre,werefertotheseas‘values’,‘principles’and‘purpose’. Valuestelluswhat’sgood–they’rethethingswestrivefor,desireandseektoprotect. Principlestelluswhat’sright–outlininghowwemayormaynotachieveourvalues. Purposeisyourreasonforbeing –it giveslifetoyourvaluesandprinciples. Ethicsistheprocessofquestioning,discoveringanddefendingourvalues,principlesandpurpose.It’saboutfindingoutwhoweareandstayingtruetothatinthefaceoftemptations,challengesanduncertainty.It’snotalwaysfunandit’shardlyevereasy,butifwecommittoit,wesetourselvesuptomakedecisionswecanstandby,buildingalifethat’strulyourownandafuturewewanttobeapartof. Questionstoguideyou. Thereisnoready-madewaytodealwithethicalchallenges.Theyrequireustorespondtospecificcircumstancesandrelationshipsaswellasthevariousethicalconsiderations–purpose,valuesandprinciples–atplay. Still,thereareafewquestionsyoucanaskthatcanhelpcrystalisetheethicalissuesforyou. 1.WouldIbehappyforthisdecisiontobeheadliningthenewstomorrow? ThisisknownastheSunlightTest.Imagineifyourdecision–andthereasonsyoumadeit–werepublicknowledge.Whatifthepeopleyoumostadmireknewwhatyou’ddoneandwhy?Doyouthinkyou’dbeabletodefendyourself?Wouldotherpeopleagree,oratleastunderstand,whyyoudidwhatyoudid?Note–it’sthe‘don’tbeashamed’testnotthe‘don’tgetcaught’test. 2.Isthereanethicalnon-negotiableatplay? Istherearulethatanyreasonablepersonshouldapplytothissituationregardlessoftheconsequences?Somerulesareunbreakable,evenwhenthestakesarehigh.Forinstance,weshouldneveractinwaysthatunderminetheequalityanddignityofallpeople–ourselvesincluded.Therulesareoftenassociatedwithduties–someofwhichwecreateourselves,likewhenwemakeapromise. 3.Willmyactionmaketheworldabetterplace? Weoftenthinkaboutethicsintermsofconsequences.‘Thegreatestgoodforthegreatestnumber’isamaximmanypeoplerecogniseandaccept.Consequencesareanimportantpartofethicaldecisions,butaretheyeverything? Weshouldbeawareofwhatwe’resacrificingwhentryingtobringaboutgoodconsequences.Areweviolatinganimportantprinciple?Arewecompromisingourownvalues?Ifso,haveweconsideredthesefactswhenbalancingharmsandbenefits? 4.Whatwouldhappenifeverybodydidthis? Wouldyoubehappyifyourreasonforactionwasusedbyeveryoneinthesamecircumstance?Ifnot,thenwhatmakesyousospecial?Mostethicalframeworkssuggesttherightdecisionforonepersonshouldberightforeverybodyinthesameposition.Alotofunethicalbehaviourarisesfrompeoplemakingspecialexceptionsforthemselves.Thistesthelpsusbesurewe’rewillingtoholdourselvestothesamestandardsweholdothersto. 5.Whatwillthisdotomycharacterorthecharacterofmyorganisation? Manypeoplebelievethatourdecisionsshapeourcharacterandviceversa.Thatis,wecan’tlieandcheatwithoutbecomingafraudulentliar.Forinstance,ifwe’realiarwe’lltendtoliemoreoften. Thinkaboutwhetheryouractionisestablishingahabiteitherforyouoryourorganisation.Isitagoodhabit(virtue)orabadone(vice)?IfIcutcornersonaworkjobtodayamIdevelopingahabitoflazinessthatmayaffectmyfuturework? 6.Isthisconsistentwithmyvaluesandprinciples? Plentyofpeopleandorganisationsarehappytotellyouwhattheystandfor–butdotheywalkthetalk?Aremyactionsreflectingmyethicalbeliefs?Mostethicalsystemshavenotimeforhypocrisy. Answeringthesequestionsdoesn’tguaranteeeveryonewillacceptourdecision.Moraldisagreementisextremelycommon.Buteventheanswertoourquestiondoesn’tachieveuniversalapproval,thewayinwhichwereachthoseanswersmatters.Ethicsallowsustoexplorethesequestionsinawaythatissincere,rational,competentandhonest. Youmayalsobeinterestedin... ArticleBeingHumanStrugglingwithanethicaldecision?Hereareafewtips23Nov18 ArticleBigThinkers+ExplainersEthicsExplainer:Anarchy22Nov18 ArticleLifestyle+HealthThemorallifeismorethancarrotsandsticks16Nov18 ArticleBeingHumanThedangerofasingleview2Nov18