Ethics By: Miguel Orellana

What are the ethics?

Ethics refers to a set of standards that ought to tell an individual what is wrong or right Ethics are what they are because they are based and supported on consistent and well-founded reasons. By revising and analyzing one’s ethical values, one can change or try to modify them in order to make them righteous and therefore, making oneself a better person. We need to check our ethical values to make sure they are not badly influenced by external causes, such as: –Religion: Religion can actually increment the level of ethics, but ethics cannot be bound for only religious people or considered as a religion. –Feelings: Feelings and emotions can detour one’s ethical values, someone driven by emotion can do what is NOT right. –Society/Politics: The points of views of society should not always be applied to one’s ethical values. Take as an example abortion, many governments and societies have made lawful abortion, but it is not obligatory to accept it. Another example is Nazi Germany, a morally corrupt society. Ethics also refers to the analysis we make of our own ethical values.

History of the ethics

Ethics in ancient Greece Socrates: the ultimate object of human activity is happiness, and the necessary means to reach it, virtue. Plato: Virtue enables man to order his conduct, as he properly should, according to the dictates of reason, and acting thus he becomes like unto God. Virtue consists in justice, temperance, and fortitude. Aristotle: Man seeks happiness, and this consist basicaly in acting rightly.

Ethics: History of Christian Morality Ancient paganism never had a clear and definite concept of the relation between God and the world, of the unity of the human race, of the destiny of man, of the nature and meaning of the moral law. God has written his moral law in the hearts of all men, even of those outside the influence of Christian Revelation; this law manifests itself in the conscience of every man and is the norm according to which the whole human race will be judged on the day of reckoning. In consequence of their perverse inclinations, this law had to a great extent become obscured and distorted among the pagans; Christianity, however, restored it to its pristine integrity. Thus, ethics received its richest and most fruitful stimulus.

Ethics in education

“Character education means creating a culture that calls for everyone in the school community to be the best people they can be. Character education programs that work are, in fact, a giant mutual-improvement process involving students, teachers, administrators, parents, and other stakeholders.” Ethical decision-making is taught in schools, but it is supplemented by reflection, coping skills, and cooperation. This helps to maintain a dialogue with children, helps him or her connect with their friends.

Problems with ethics There are many problems with ethics, because this area of knowledge has to do with different perspective of what is ethical or not all around the world. As each has its own opinion we have our own view of what is wrong and right. It mostly consists of your culture and a belief that affects your decision of what is ethical Major Problems with Ethics: 1-Moral Relativism According to Ms. Dickson power point moral relativism is: values are determined by the society that we grow up in and there are no universal values. This is a problem because of the variety of cultures, so there is more practice of moral relativism, and therefore we cannot chose one. 2-Self-Interest Theory According to Ms. Dickson power point self-interest theory is : human beings are always selfish and will never be different This is a problem because being selfish may affect the decision of what is ethical, and to care about other not only you.

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