Four Normative Theories Which Help Guide Ethical Decision Making

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Ethics permeates all aspects of society, both on an individual and societal level for it involves human interaction. The ethical decision-making models, like humans – are complex and do not exist in isolation, thus finding a set of uniform ethical values and standards in a multicultural society is highly challenging. This essay will briefly overview four Normative theories which help guide ethical decision making, regarding the hypothetical scenario case given from the teacher’s perspective.

Main Ethical Issue

This scenario offers a plethora of complex situations; however the main ethical issue appears to surround the lack of safety, understanding and respect due to different cultural views, perspectives, values and needs of others.

Consequentialism

In Consequentialism, the moral worth of an action is chosen (to be right or wrong) based primarily on the consequences or outcomes that will arise from performing an act (Preston, 2001). Right acts produce good consequences and eliminate possible negative outcomes. This perspective is most commonly utilised by teachers (Dr A. Sammel, personal communication, July 7, 2010) and society generally. Although there are several consequentialism perspectives, this paper focuses on the following key areas: (a) Egoism; (b) Altruism, and (c) Utilitarianism.

Egoism involves considering one’s wellbeing, welfare or self interest (Burgh, Field & Freakley, 2006), placing focus primarily on the individual, negating considerations for others. Three main forms of Egoism exist: (1) Physiological - teacher considers their own welfare and nobody else; (2) Ethical - an action taken by the teacher that is morally right to maximise one’s self wellbeing, and (3) Rational- the action by the tea...

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...thics and the community of inquiry: Education for deliberative democracy. Victoria: Thomson Social Science Press.

Hinman, L. (2003). Ethics: A pluralistic approach to moral theory. (3rd ed.). Ontario, Canada: Nelson Thomson Learning.

La Follette, H. (2007). The practices of ethics. Carlton, Victoria: Blackwell Publishing.

Preston, N. (2001). Understanding ethics. (2nd ed.). Leichhardt, NSW: The Federation Press.

Preston, N. (2007).Understanding ethics. (3rd ed.). Leichhardt, NSW: The Federation Press.

Shaver, R. (2002). Egoism. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egoism/#3

Singer, P. (1995). How are we to live? Ameherst, New York: Prometheus Books.

Tannsjo, T. (2002). Understanding ethics: An introduction to moral theory. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd.

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