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01 - The Concept, Branches and Importance of Ethics

This document discusses ethics, outlining its key branches and importance. It defines ethics as dealing with principles of right and wrong and moral duty. The major branches are meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Meta-ethics examines the meaning and nature of ethics. Normative ethics investigates how we determine moral action, exploring virtue ethics, deontology, and consequentialism. Applied ethics applies ethical theory to real-life situations. The document emphasizes the importance of ethics for decision-making, uniting people, and securing society.

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1K views33 pages

01 - The Concept, Branches and Importance of Ethics

This document discusses ethics, outlining its key branches and importance. It defines ethics as dealing with principles of right and wrong and moral duty. The major branches are meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Meta-ethics examines the meaning and nature of ethics. Normative ethics investigates how we determine moral action, exploring virtue ethics, deontology, and consequentialism. Applied ethics applies ethical theory to real-life situations. The document emphasizes the importance of ethics for decision-making, uniting people, and securing society.

Uploaded by

Princes joy Lasala
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GE 102 - ETHICS

Miss Melissa B. Puti


THE CONCEPT, BRANCHES AND
IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS
What is Ethics?
Ethics is the discipline dealing with
what is good and bad and with
moral duty and obligation.

It is the moral principles that govern


a person's behavior or the
conducting of an activity.
It is the branch of knowledge that
deals with moral principles.

It is a branch of philosophy that involves


systematizing, defending, and
recommending concepts of right and
wrong conduct.
Ethics is a set of moral
standards and a code of
behavior that governs an
individual’s interactions with
other individuals and within
society.
Ethics seeks to resolve
questions of human
morality by defining
concepts such as good
and evil, right and
wrong, virtue and vice,
justice and crime.
Major Areas/Branches of Ethics

Meta-Ethics
Normative Ethics
Applied Ethics
META-ETHICS

is the branch of ethics


that seeks to
understand the nature
of ethical properties,
statements, attitudes,
and judgments.
Metaethics is a branch of
analytic philosophy that
explores the status,
foundations, and scope of
moral values, properties, and
words.
Meta-ethics is the branch
of philosophical ethics that
asks how we understand,
know about, and what we
mean when we talk about
what is right and what is
wrong.
Meta-ethics is concerned
with the theoretical
meaning and reference of
moral propositions, and
how their truth values (if
any) can be determined.
Meta-ethics studies
the meaning of moral
language and the
metaphysics of moral
facts.
Meta-ethics is the area of
philosophy in which thinkers
explore the language and
nature of moral discourse and
its relations to other non-
moral areas of life.
According to Richard
Garner and Bernard
Rosen, there are three
kinds of meta-ethical
problems, or three
general questions.
META – ETHICAL PROBLEMS

What is the meaning of moral terms or


judgments? (moral semantics)

What is the nature of moral judgments?


(moral ontology)

How may moral judgments be


supported or defended? (moral
epistemology)
NORMATIVE ETHICS

Normative ethics is the study of ethical


action.

It is the branch of ethics that investigates the set of


questions that arise when considering how one
ought to act, morally speaking.
Normative ethics is
concerned with the
practical means of
determining a moral
course of action.
Normative Ethics
examines standards
for the rightness and
wrongness of actions.
Normative Ethics (also
known as moral theory) is
the study of what makes
actions right and wrong.
Views on How Moral Questions
Should be Answered

Virtue Ethics

Deontology

Consequentialism
Virtue Ethics

Emphasizes on the virtues of mind, character


and sense of honesty.

advocated by Aristotle with some aspects


being supported by Saint Thomas Aquinas

focuses on the inherent character of a


person rather than on specific actions
Deontology

Emphasizes that the morality of


an action should be based on
whether that action itself is
right or wrong under a series of
rules, rather than based on the
consequences of the action.
DEONTOLOGY

It argues that decisions should be


made considering the factors of
one's duties and one's rights

It is sometimes described as duty -,


obligation - or rule-based ethics.
Consequentialism

argues that the morality


of an action is contingent
on the action's outcome
or result
CONSEQUENTIALISM

the consequences of one's


conduct are the ultimate
basis for any judgment
about the rightness or
wrongness of that conduct.
CONSEQUENTIALISM

From a consequentialist
standpoint, a morally right act
(or omission from acting) is
one that will produce a good
outcome, or consequence.
APPLIED ETHICS

Applied ethics is a
discipline of philosophy
that attempts to apply
ethical theory to real-life
situations.
Applied ethics is concerned
with what a person is
obligated (or permitted) to
do in a specific situation or
a particular domain of
action.
The Questions Addressed by
Applied Ethics
"Is getting an abortion
immoral?"

"Is euthanasia immoral?"

"Is affirmative action right


or wrong?"
"What are human rights, and how
do we determine them?"

"Do animals have rights as


well?“
"Do individuals have the right of
self-determination?"
IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS

Satisfying Basic Human Needs

Creating Credibility

Uniting People and Leadership


IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS

Improving Decision Making

Long Term Gains

Securing the Society


IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS

Understanding and appreciating the


differences in moral reasoning among
individuals and groups of individuals

Understanding the need to confront


biases and bigotry.

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