7/9/2015

AFrameworkforThinkingEthically

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AFrameworkforThinkingEthically

Thisdocumentisdesignedasanintroductiontothinkingethically.Weallhaveanimageofourbetter
selvesofhowwearewhenweactethicallyorare"atourbest."Weprobablyalsohaveanimageof
whatanethicalcommunity,anethicalbusiness,anethicalgovernment,oranethicalsocietyshould
be.Ethicsreallyhastodowithalltheselevelsactingethicallyasindividuals,creatingethical
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organizationsandgovernments,andmakingoursocietyasawholeethicalinthewayittreats
everyone.
WhatisEthics?
Simplystated,ethicsreferstostandardsofbehaviorthattellushowhumanbeingsoughttoactinthe
manysituationsinwhichtheyfindthemselvesasfriends,parents,children,citizens,businesspeople,
teachers,professionals,andsoon.
ItishelpfultoidentifywhatethicsisNOT:
Ethicsisnotthesameasfeelings.Feelingsprovideimportantinformationforourethical
choices.Somepeoplehavehighlydevelopedhabitsthatmakethemfeelbadwhentheydo
somethingwrong,butmanypeoplefeelgoodeventhoughtheyaredoingsomethingwrong.
Andoftenourfeelingswilltellusitisuncomfortabletodotherightthingifitishard.
Ethicsisnotreligion.Manypeoplearenotreligious,butethicsappliestoeveryone.Most
religionsdoadvocatehighethicalstandardsbutsometimesdonotaddressallthetypesof
problemsweface.
Ethicsisnotfollowingthelaw.Agoodsystemoflawdoesincorporatemanyethical
standards,butlawcandeviatefromwhatisethical.Lawcanbecomeethicallycorrupt,assome
totalitarianregimeshavemadeit.Lawcanbeafunctionofpoweraloneanddesignedtoserve
theinterestsofnarrowgroups.Lawmayhaveadifficulttimedesigningorenforcingstandards
insomeimportantareas,andmaybeslowtoaddressnewproblems.
Ethicsisnotfollowingculturallyacceptednorms.Someculturesarequiteethical,butothers
becomecorruptorblindtocertainethicalconcerns(astheUnitedStateswastoslaverybefore
theCivilWar)."WheninRome,doastheRomansdo"isnotasatisfactoryethicalstandard.
Ethicsisnotscience.Socialandnaturalsciencecanprovideimportantdatatohelpusmake
betterethicalchoices.Butsciencealonedoesnottelluswhatweoughttodo.Sciencemay
provideanexplanationforwhathumansarelike.Butethicsprovidesreasonsforhowhumans
oughttoact.Andjustbecausesomethingisscientificallyortechnologicallypossible,itmaynot
beethicaltodoit.
WhyIdentifyingEthicalStandardsisHard
Therearetwofundamentalproblemsinidentifyingtheethicalstandardswearetofollow:
1.Onwhatdowebaseourethicalstandards?
2.Howdothosestandardsgetappliedtospecificsituationsweface?
Ifourethicsarenotbasedonfeelings,religion,law,acceptedsocialpractice,orscience,whatarethey
basedon?Manyphilosophersandethicistshavehelpedusanswerthiscriticalquestion.Theyhave
suggestedatleastfivedifferentsourcesofethicalstandardsweshoulduse.
FiveSourcesofEthicalStandards
TheUtilitarianApproach
Someethicistsemphasizethattheethicalactionistheonethatprovidesthemostgoodordoesthe
leastharm,or,toputitanotherway,producesthegreatestbalanceofgoodoverharm.Theethical
corporateaction,then,istheonethatproducesthegreatestgoodanddoestheleastharmforallwho
areaffectedcustomers,employees,shareholders,thecommunity,andtheenvironment.Ethical
warfarebalancesthegoodachievedinendingterrorismwiththeharmdonetoallpartiesthrough
death,injuries,anddestruction.Theutilitarianapproachdealswithconsequencesittriesbothto
increasethegooddoneandtoreducetheharmdone.
TheRightsApproach
Otherphilosophersandethicistssuggestthattheethicalactionistheonethatbestprotectsand
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respectsthemoralrightsofthoseaffected.Thisapproachstartsfromthebeliefthathumanshavea
dignitybasedontheirhumannatureperseorontheirabilitytochoosefreelywhattheydowiththeir
lives.Onthebasisofsuchdignity,theyhavearighttobetreatedasendsandnotmerelyasmeansto
otherends.Thelistofmoralrightsincludingtherightstomakeone'sownchoicesaboutwhatkindof
lifetolead,tobetoldthetruth,nottobeinjured,toadegreeofprivacy,andsooniswidelydebated
somenowarguethatnonhumanshaverights,too.Also,itisoftensaidthatrightsimplydutiesin
particular,thedutytorespectothers'rights.
TheFairnessorJusticeApproach
AristotleandotherGreekphilosophershavecontributedtheideathatallequalsshouldbetreated
equally.Todayweusethisideatosaythatethicalactionstreatallhumanbeingsequallyorif
unequally,thenfairlybasedonsomestandardthatisdefensible.Wepaypeoplemorebasedontheir
harderworkorthegreateramountthattheycontributetoanorganization,andsaythatisfair.But
thereisadebateoverCEOsalariesthatarehundredsoftimeslargerthanthepayofothersmanyask
whetherthehugedisparityisbasedonadefensiblestandardorwhetheritistheresultofanimbalance
ofpowerandhenceisunfair.
TheCommonGoodApproach
TheGreekphilosophershavealsocontributedthenotionthatlifeincommunityisagoodinitselfand
ouractionsshouldcontributetothatlife.Thisapproachsuggeststhattheinterlockingrelationshipsof
societyarethebasisofethicalreasoningandthatrespectandcompassionforallothersespeciallythe
vulnerablearerequirementsofsuchreasoning.Thisapproachalsocallsattentiontothecommon
conditionsthatareimportanttothewelfareofeveryone.Thismaybeasystemoflaws,effective
policeandfiredepartments,healthcare,apubliceducationalsystem,orevenpublicrecreational
areas.
TheVirtueApproach
Averyancientapproachtoethicsisthatethicalactionsoughttobeconsistentwithcertainideal
virtuesthatprovideforthefulldevelopmentofourhumanity.Thesevirtuesaredispositionsand
habitsthatenableustoactaccordingtothehighestpotentialofourcharacterandonbehalfofvalues
liketruthandbeauty.Honesty,courage,compassion,generosity,tolerance,love,fidelity,integrity,
fairness,selfcontrol,andprudenceareallexamplesofvirtues.Virtueethicsasksofanyaction,"What
kindofpersonwillIbecomeifIdothis?"or"Isthisactionconsistentwithmyactingatmybest?"
PuttingtheApproachesTogether
Eachoftheapproacheshelpsusdeterminewhatstandardsofbehaviorcanbeconsideredethical.
Therearestillproblemstobesolved,however.
Thefirstproblemisthatwemaynotagreeonthecontentofsomeofthesespecificapproaches.We
maynotallagreetothesamesetofhumanandcivilrights.
Wemaynotagreeonwhatconstitutesthecommongood.Wemaynotevenagreeonwhatisagood
andwhatisaharm.
Thesecondproblemisthatthedifferentapproachesmaynotallanswerthequestion"Whatis
ethical?"inthesameway.Nonetheless,eachapproachgivesusimportantinformationwithwhichto
determinewhatisethicalinaparticularcircumstance.Andmuchmoreoftenthannot,thedifferent
approachesdoleadtosimilaranswers.
MakingDecisions
Makinggoodethicaldecisionsrequiresatrainedsensitivitytoethicalissuesandapracticedmethod
forexploringtheethicalaspectsofadecisionandweighingtheconsiderationsthatshouldimpactour
choiceofacourseofaction.Havingamethodforethicaldecisionmakingisabsolutelyessential.
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Whenpracticedregularly,themethodbecomessofamiliarthatweworkthroughitautomatically
withoutconsultingthespecificsteps.
Themorenovelanddifficulttheethicalchoiceweface,themoreweneedtorelyondiscussionand
dialoguewithothersaboutthedilemma.Onlybycarefulexplorationoftheproblem,aidedbythe
insightsanddifferentperspectivesofothers,canwemakegoodethicalchoicesinsuchsituations.
Wehavefoundthefollowingframeworkforethicaldecisionmakingausefulmethodforexploring
ethicaldilemmasandidentifyingethicalcoursesofaction.

AFrameworkforEthicalDecisionMaking
RecognizeanEthicalIssue
1. Couldthisdecisionorsituationbedamagingtosomeoneortosomegroup?Doesthisdecision
involveachoicebetweenagoodandbadalternative,orperhapsbetweentwo"goods"or
betweentwo"bads"?
2. Isthisissueaboutmorethanwhatislegalorwhatismostefficient?Ifso,how?
GettheFacts
3. Whataretherelevantfactsofthecase?Whatfactsarenotknown?CanIlearnmoreaboutthe
situation?DoIknowenoughtomakeadecision?
4. Whatindividualsandgroupshaveanimportantstakeintheoutcome?Aresomeconcernsmore
important?Why?
5. Whataretheoptionsforacting?Havealltherelevantpersonsandgroupsbeenconsulted?Have
Iidentifiedcreativeoptions?
EvaluateAlternativeActions
6. Evaluatetheoptionsbyaskingthefollowingquestions:
Whichoptionwillproducethemostgoodanddotheleastharm?(TheUtilitarianApproach)
Whichoptionbestrespectstherightsofallwhohaveastake?(TheRightsApproach)
Whichoptiontreatspeopleequallyorproportionately?(TheJusticeApproach)
Whichoptionbestservesthecommunity
asawhole,notjustsomemembers?
(TheCommonGoodApproach)
WhichoptionleadsmetoactasthesortofpersonIwanttobe?(TheVirtueApproach)
MakeaDecisionandTestIt
7. Consideringalltheseapproaches,whichoptionbestaddressesthesituation?
8. IfItoldsomeoneIrespectortoldatelevisionaudiencewhichoptionIhavechosen,what
wouldtheysay?
ActandReflectontheOutcome
9. Howcanmydecisionbeimplementedwiththegreatestcareandattentiontotheconcernsofall
stakeholders?
10. HowdidmydecisionturnoutandwhathaveIlearnedfromthisspecificsituation?
ThisframeworkforthinkingethicallyistheproductofdialogueanddebateattheMarkkulaCenter
forAppliedEthicsatSantaClaraUniversity.PrimarycontributorsincludeManuelVelasquez,Dennis
Moberg,MichaelJ.Meyer,ThomasShanks,MargaretR.McLean,DavidDeCosse,ClaireAndr,and
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KirkO.Hanson.ItwaslastrevisedinMay2009.
GobacktoDecisionMaking.

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