PROFESSIONAL

ETHICS AND SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY
MODULE 1
DR. SHRINKHALA UPADHYAYA
 WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY

• Means ‘love of wisdom’ in Greek.

• Philosophers typically consider questions that are,

in some sense, broader and/or more fundamental
than other inquirers’ questions

• The main method of academic philosophy is to

construct and evaluate arguments
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
1. Logic: Logicians study good and bad arguments and
reasoning, and they study formal, symbolic languages

2. Metaphysics: Metaphysicians study what sorts of entities

exist, what the world and its constituents are made of

3. Epistemology: Epistemologists study knowledge, evidence,

and justified belief

4. Values: In value theory, philosophers study morality,

politics, and art, among other topics. For example: What
makes wrong actions wrong?
 POINTS OF PHILOSOPHY
• To discover truth, wherever and whatever it is.

• To learn how to better live our lives.

• To understand our own views, including their strengths and

weaknesses.

• To examine our own lives and be more conscious of our choices

and their implications.

• To learn how to better think and reason

* Philosophy and Ethics systematizes both facts and
 WHAT IS ETHICS

• Ethics is the science of conduct.

• It considers the actions of human beings with reference to
their rightness or wrongness
• Ethics is the word that refers to morals, values, and beliefs
of the individuals, family or the society.
• Aims at conduct for well-being and happiness.
• It involves the inquiry on the existing situations, form
judgments and resolve issues.
• Gives direction on how to live, to respond to issues,
through the duties, rights, responsibilities, and obligations
 WHAT IS ETHICS

• Ethics is the science of conduct. It considers the actions

of human beings with reference to their rightness or
wrongness. The word "ethics" is derived from the Greek
word ethos, which means "character“

• Mackenzie defines ethics as ―the study of what is right

or good in human conduct or ―the science of the ideal
involved in conduct. It is a branch of philosophy,
specially the moral philosophy that studies the
evolution of concepts; such as right or wrong behavior.
 OBJECTIVES OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

(A)Improvement of the cognitive skills (skills of the intellect in

thinking clearly)
1. Moral awareness (proficiency in recognizing moral
problems)
2. Cogent moral reasoning (comprehending, assessing
different views)
3. Moral coherence (forming consistent viewpoints based
on facts)
4. Moral imagination (searching beyond obvious the
alternative responses to issues and being receptive to
creative solutions)
5. Moral communication (to express and support one‘s
 OBJECTIVES OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
(B) To act in morally desirable ways, towards moral
commitment and responsible conduct
6. Moral reasonableness (willing and able to be morally
responsible).
7. Respect for persons (showing concern for the well-
being of others & self).
8. Tolerance of diversity (respect for ethnic and religious
differences, and acceptance of reasonable differences in
moral perspectives).
9. Moral hope (believing in using rational dialogue for
resolving moral conflicts).
10. Integrity (moral integrity, and integrating one‘s
professional life and personal convictions).
 TYPES OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

1. Meta ethics: (origin of ethical principle) It deals with origin

of ethical principles that govern the specification of right
and wrong behaviour. A major issue of debate in this
category is whether ethical principles are eternal truths that
evolved from a spiritual world or simply created by the
humans.
2. Descriptive ethics: (moral beliefs) It refers to the study of
moral beliefs of the people. It is a field of empirical research
into what people or societies consider right or wrong.
3. Normative ethics: (self moral conduct) It is concerned with
arriving at set of moral conduct rules against which
behaviour are judged.
 TYPES OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
4. Applied ethics: The ethical principles are designed or written for
implementation in a specific situation.
a. Bio ethics: These are the ethical principles or codes for
maintaining normal livelihood.
b. Medical ethics: The ethical principles or codes designed for a
medical profession.
c. Computer ethics: The ethical principles or codes designed for a
computer based profession.
d. Engineering ethics: The ethical principles or codes designed for
an engineering profession.
e. Business ethics: The ethical principles or codes designed for a
business operation
f. Legal ethics: The ethical principles or codes designed for
 Ethical Normative Theories of relevance to
• Utilitarianism Media
• Ethical action creates greatest good
• Ethical value of an action judged on its consequences
• Encourages responsible & thoughtful behavior
• Deontology
• Person’s duty are means to determine appropriate action
• Intention behind the action
• How do I determine what's rational?
• Virtue Ethics
• Virtue is a mean in between extremes of action
• Emphasizes virtues/ moral character
• What's the best sort of person to be like?
 Ethical Theories
• Casuist Theory
Casuistry, or case based reasoning, does not focus on rules and
theories but rather on practical decision making in particular
cases based on precedent.
First, the particular features of a case would be identified,
Then, a comparison would be made with other similar cases
and prior experiences, attempting to determine not only the
similarities but also the differences.
Casuistry should complement consequentialism, deontology, or
virtue ethics

So if a clinical ethics committee were asked to consider whether it was ethical for a
clinician to breach his / her duty of confidence, the committee would identify key factors,
like the health risks to others if information was not disclosed. It would then make a
 WHAT ARE MORALS
Morals are the principles enunciated by the elders of a
community or society.

• They have been influenced over time by :

• Dominant ideology and religion

• Morality is concerned with principles and practices of morals

such as:
What action is right in a given situation?
What is good or bad about the people,
It concerns ideals set by that society.
 • Morality • Ethics

• Generic . Related to • Specific . Convey

customs, traditions essence of morals
and in some cases
religion
• Related to results of
• Related to results of a right action before
wrong action when committing
committed

• Involve some kind of

• Involve judgment training in advance
and more serious
implications • EX:MANNERS
 WHAT ARE VALUES
• A value is defined as a principle that promotes well-being or
prevents harm.

• “It is paradigm about what is acceptable.”

• Personal values : Emotional beliefs in principles regarded as

particularly favorable or important for the individual.

• For example, a person’s firm belief in taking care of elders-

both known and strangers
 TYPES OF VALUES
• Our values associate emotions to our experiences and guide
our choices, decisions and actions.

The core human values are:

(1) Right conduct (Self-help skills, social skills, ethical skills)
(2) Peace (Attention, Calmness, Dignity, Discipline, Humility,
Happiness, Optimism)
(3) Truth (Accuracy, Fairness, Integrity, Honesty, Justice, Trust,
Reason)
(4) Love (Acceptance, Affection, Care, Compassion, Dedication,
Sacrifice, Forgiveness)
(5) Non-violence (Psychological, Social, Physical)