Some people claim that everyone has his or her own ethics, in other words, ethics is individual. The amazing thing about ethical theory, however, is not that there are so many theories, but that there are really very few. Most of contemporary ethical theory is governed by two basic theories, with an additional five or six theories taking up the vast majority of the rest of the discussion. Over the course of the next few pages I will explain to you the basics of eight different ethical theories: utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, contractarianism, feminist or care-based ethics, natural law theory, Confucian ethics, intuitionism and ideal observer theory, and virtue ethics. I will tell you about some of the major proponents of the theory, some of its variations, and give you some examples of how it might be applied in real life situations.
To begin with, you need to understand the idea of an ethical theory. An ethical theory is a theory about what makes an action or set of actions morally right or wrong. In ethical theory we generally look for a key principle(s) of right action, which can then be applied in concrete situations. For example, in Plato's book, The Republic, Cephalus, an elderly business man, makes the claim that "right action consists in nothing more nor less than telling the truth and paying back anything we may have received." (I.331 a). This is a moral principle which never really gets developed into an ethical theory, because Plato quickly shows that it has to be abandoned. He does this by applying the moral theory to a concrete situation, which demonstrates that these actions (telling the truth and paying back what you owe) are sometimes right and sometimes wrong:
Suppose, for example, a friend who had lent us a ...
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...The opposite of integrity might be hypocrisy, where one's actions do not match ones words and convictions.
Conclusion
Here you have some of the rudiments of basic ethical theories today. They are, of course, not the only ethical theories, but I wanted to give you a general picture of some of the most popular or common theories, what they believed and who believed them. You will probably find that you use some of each of these principles in your decision making, or that you sometimes use one and sometimes the other, depending on the situation.
Works Cited
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, translated and analyzed by H. J. Patton [New York: Harper & Row, 1964].
Plato, The Republic, translated by Francis MacDonald Cornford [New York: Oxford University Press].
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice [Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971].
In everyday experience one is likely to encounter ethical dilemmas. This paper presents one framework for working through any given dilemma. I have chosen to integrate three theories from Ruggerio Vicent, Bernard Lonergan and Robert Kegan. When making a deceison you must collabrate different views to come to a one conclusion. Ruggerio factors in different aspects that will take effect. Depending on which order of conciousness you are in by Kegan we can closely compare this with Ruggerio's theories also. As I continue I will closely describe the three theories with Kegan and how this will compare with Lonerga's theory combining the three. While Family,
Ethics is the study of values and how right and wrong action is defined (Cooper, 1998).
Hazing is defined as “any activity expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate.” (Rosner & Crow, p. ). While most states have enacted anti-hazing legislation criminalizing the act of hazing, the application of these statutes is still quite rare. Id. at 277. Most lawsuits filed for reported hazing incidents are still reviewed under federal law claims ...
College athletes juggle busy academic and practice schedules all throughout their stressful weeks, so why shouldn't they be compensated for their time dedicated to sports? NCAA rules strictly prohibits players from being paid for all the hard work they do to protect “amateurism”, but are you really an amateur putting in over 40 hours a week between practice and other activities? Although students earn a college scholarship, that doesn’t cover living expenses, and access to a degree at the end of their career, players should be paid because schools, coaching staffs and major corporations are profiting off their free labor.
Another reason that college athletes should not be paid is because they are, under NCAA rules, to be considered amateurs. In the National Collegiate Athletic Association Rules it states, “College athletes are not to be paid, not to cash in on their prominence, never to cross any kind of line of professionalism.” Steve Wieberg, of the USA Today, studied the rules that the NCAA has placed on paying college athletes. He concludes that, “Athletic programs are meant to be an integral part of the educational program” (Weinberg). The reoccurring theme here should be obvious now —education is the most important part of the student’s time in college and being an athlete should come second.
“any brutality of a physical nature…to include forced consumption of liquor, drugs or other substances, or any other forced physical activity which could adversely affect the physical health and safety of the individual…to include extreme mental stress, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct which could result in extreme embarrassment, or any other forced activity which could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the individual…the implied or expressed consent or willingness of a person or persons to hazing shall not be a defense under this section.” (Allen, 2011)
Howard-Hamilton, Mary F., and Julie Sina. "How College Affects College Athletes." New Directions for Student Services (2011): 35-43.
Often, when one hears about fraternities or sororities on the news, the program has to do with hazing and a death or injury that it has caused an innoce...
Despite the strength of the reasons as to why student-athletes should not be paid, there are certain problems with the current NCAA system which can and should be cured. The gap between a full scholarship and the cost of attendance should be covered by the academic institution, especially when a student athlete does not qualify for a loan. Such a policy will go a long way in ensuring that student-athletes are not leaving school to become professional athletes because they cannot pay their bills. Academic institutions should be able to provide at least that much for their athletes. Ultimately, this is a form of payment, but it is not the type of payment that some individuals are advocating. The primary purpose of these institutions is to educate; it is the coach's job to teach, and not just in terms of the sport a student athlete plays. These schools should facilitate the educations of student-athletes through scholarship grants, but not through a system of salaries dependent on supply and demand, which ultimately detracts a student-athlete from picking a school, and detracts them from attending a school, for the right reasons.
There are many things that can be debated as being controversial issues on college campuses, but the one I believe to be a problem, almost no one can argue with, would have to be hazing. Hazing is the practice of rituals and other activities involving harassment, abuse, or humiliation as a way of initiating a person into a group. In other words it’s another form of bullying that is thought of as a normal occurrence that is considered to be okay with most college campuses. Many colleges sit back and allow these rituals to happen, even going as far as having hazing myths and facts on their websites, but only taking real action when things have gone too far and death occurs. There have been over 140 deaths due to hazing since 1970 according to Hank Nuwer, a professor at Franklin College in Indiana, who has written four books on the subject.
Merriam-Webster defines hazing as: an initiation process involving harassment; to harass by banter, ridicule, or criticism, or by exacting unnecessary or disagreeable work (Merriam-Webster, 2012). The United States Military has had a zero-tolerance policy on hazing ever since then Defense Secretary William Cohen tasked each service with developing guidance. Secretary Cohen was reacting to the outrage following NBC’s Dateline documentary on the Marine Corps’ blood pinning ceremony for jump-qualified Marines (Leppo, 2003). Blood-pinning involves newly qualified service-members having pins or medals, with the back clasps missing, punched into their skin by numerous senior personnel (Landay, 1997).
A crew includes a screenwriter, whose job it is to provide the written blueprint version of the entire film. This is basically the starting point for any movie. Next there is the producer. There are many types of producers; executive producers, co-producers, assistant producers and line producers. They all do very different things. Some are the producers are responsible for raising the funds for the movie while others are responsible for the production that goes on during the filming of the movie and still other producers are in charge of what physically goes on the set. Then it is time for the director. The director is in charge of the actors. The director works with the actors to visually bring to life what was written on the screenplay (Fortunato, Who Does What on a Film). Now the idea needs to come together. The idea of writing, “what you know” is not always true and writing, “what you come to know” is in fact a more accurate way to write. Other good ways to formulate ideas are to use existing plays, novels, short stories, life stories, new articles, or even past TV shows and film. When using existing work a person needs to make sure that one secures the copyrights before starting write. Securing the copyrights does not mean one is finished yet. Now a person needs...
James Rachels expresses his thoughts on what a satisfactory moral theory would be like. Rachels says a “satisfactory theory would be realistic about where human beings fit in the grand scheme of things” (Rachels, 173). Even though there is an existing theory on how humans came into this world there is not enough evidence to prove the theory to be correct. In addition to his belief of knowing how our existence came into play, he also has a view on the way we treat people and the consequences of our actions. My idea of a satisfactory moral theory would be treating people the way we wish to be treated, thinking of what results from our doings, as well as living according to the best plan.
Whether put simply or scrutinized, morality cannot be defined simply by looking at it from one or two perspectives. One must acknowledge the fact that there are several different factors that affect judgment between “right” and “wrong”. Only after taking into account everything that could possibly change the definition of righteousness can one begin to define morality. Harriet Baber, a professor at San Diego State University, defines morality as “the system through which we determine right and wrong conduct”. Baber refers to morality as a process or method when she calls it a “system”. In saying “we” she then means to say that this concept does not only apply to her but also to everyone else. Through morality, according to her, one can look at an action, idea, or situation and determine its righteousness and its consequences.
Meaningless insults and unnecessary abuse occurs often while growing up. No matter what age, sex, or race a person maybe it is hard to escape the nastiness of others. Today children are growing up in a society that knows how to haze before they know the meaning of the word. Hazing ranged from little humiliating actions to something more serious such as drunken activities. There are many hazing incidents that go too far but for the most part hazing is silly tasks that does not seriously harm anyone. Some hazing cases include isolation, drills, not letting the pledges shower, and depriving them from sleep for a day or so. Hazing comes in many strengths and variations and in every way it will help build the ...