Ethics serves for peaceful coexistence among human beings. It can also be known as moral behavior.
This is a term that refers mainly to two points. In the first place, it refers to an established, well-founded standard that separates good from evil. In this sense, ethics determines the behavior of human beings in terms of duties, rights, obligations, justice and other virtues.
Second, ethics refers to the study and development of the ethical values of an individual. In this sense, ethics involves the evaluation of one's own moral principles, in order to determine if they have solid foundations and Promotes healthy coexistence among the members of a society.
Many scholars in the area consider that ethical and moral values are shared by most cultures, such as respect, trust, responsibility, compassion and justice.
Similarly, avoiding human suffering, promoting the pursuit of happiness and equality are ethical elements shared by most societies.
Ethics allows us to choose the way forward, allows us to differentiate between good and evil and is intimately related to moral values, such as respect, honesty and Justice. It is important not to confuse ethics with moral Since this is the foundation of the first.
Misconceptions about ethics
Sociologist Raymond Baumhart conducted a study in which he questioned people about the meaning of the term"ethics". Responses included the following:
- "Ethics has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or wrong."
- "Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs."
- "Ethics is a set of behaviors accepted by our society."
However, Baumhart explains that ethics can not depend on feelings, since feelings and emotions often deviate from what is ethical.
Likewise, ethics should not depend on religion even though most religions are based on ethical values, since this would mean that ethics does not concern atheists.
Finally, ethics is not a social convention, since, at times, what most people think may be wrong.
Nazi Germany is an example of a corrupt society based on the opinion of the majority, the" Supreme Aryan race "Which regarded Jews, Blacks, and other groups as inferior beings. This gives rise to one of the greatest genocides in the history of mankind.
Similarly, some people might consider ethics to be law enforcement. This conception is wrong, just like the previous ones.
For example, the laws approved slavery during the eighteenth century. However, enslaving a human being, condemning him to forced labor and considering him an inferior being are not ethical behavior.
Importance of ethics
Ethics, understood as the line that separates good from evil, imposes standards that go against fraud, robbery, assault, rape, murder and other activities involving the violation of the human rights of an individual. These include freedom, equality, the right to life and the right to private property.
Likewise, ethics as a standard includes the practice of values, such as honesty, compassion, and loyalty, whose presence or absence will determine an individual's behavior toward others around him or her.
Ethics as a method of evaluation
As already mentioned, the elements that shape an individual's behavior, such as feelings, social conventions, and laws, can be diverted.
That is why it becomes necessary to constantly examine our values, to ensure that our behavior is ethical.
Ethics in our day to day
For Randy Cohen, author of"Good, Evil and Difference: How to Differentiate Good from Evil in Daily Situations,"ethics refers to how individuals decide to change unjust situations. Cohen proposes the following example:
If a tramp asks you for money, you can give it to him or not. Ethics in this case intervenes when we make changes to the conditions of poverty and helplessness of citizens in general.
Similarly, Cohen points out that sometimes ethics may be contradictory, since there are situations in which moral and ethical values are rejected among themselves.
For example, lying is unethical behavior. However, if during the period of slavery a hunt - rewards asked you if you knew where a slave had fled, the most correct thing would have been to say"no"yet and if you knew where the slave in question was.
Given the situation that was presented previously, there are two possible attitudes: honesty and lies, ethical behavior and one unethical, respectively. So why not follow the path of ethics and tell the hunt-rewards where the slave is? This is where ethics gets complicated.
In this example, telling the truth would have led to the mistreatment of the slave or even his death, which would go against ethics. For its part, lying would have allowed the slave to escape, giving him the opportunity to lead a free life, which would be fair and therefore ethical.
From this example, it follows that ethical behavior is not always clear and therefore it is necessary to analyze the situations that are presented on a daily basis in order to determine which is the most appropriate option.
Knowledge of ethical principles allows us to weigh the different options that we have before a situation and choose the right one.
References
- Velasquez, Manuel; Andre, Claire; Shanks, Thomas; S. J. and Meter, Michael. (1987) What is Ethics? Retrieved on March 15, 2017, from: scu.edu.
- Lane, Tahree (2005) The role of ethics in daily life as we choose between... Right and Wrong. Retrieved on March 18, 2017, from: toledoblade.com.
- What are ethical values. Retrieved on March 18, 2017, from: businessdictionary.com.
- Values and Ethics. Retrieved on March 18, 2017, from: au.af.mil.
- Values, Morals and Ethics. Retrieved on March 18, 2017, from: changingminds.org.
- Ethics. Retrieved on March 18, 2017, from: importanceofphilosophy.com.
- Why do you think ethics are important. Retrieved on March 18, 2017, from: https://www2.ljword.com.
- Introduction to Ethics. Retrieved on March 18, 2017, from: bbc.co.uk.