Social Justice Ethics and Ethical ReasoningBased on work by Professor Douglas Olena

What is ethics? is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions

about morality — that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice

Approaches to ethics1. Traditional We need to study (discover) what is right

and wrong conduct "Do not do to others what you do

not want done to yourself“

2. Modern – relativism Moral/Ethical is what we agree that is moral

Why are ethics important what we do will affect others in ways that

we cannot foresee. Nothing we do is in isolation – other people are always involved in one way or another.

‘six degrees of separation’ If you know six people you will have a link to everyone in the world!!

What we say or do will come back to us in the end. What goes around comes around!

Ethics should be considered as a set of principles by which to live; a code of conduct for our relationships with all

whom we come in contact. Ethics encompasses social mores, usually

expressed today as good manners; our behaviour towards our fellow humans and fellow creatures; and trust.

The world operates on trust. Trust is a belief that others will act in accordance

with ill defined, but generally accepted standards of behaviour and respect for others.

If trust is absent then very little of what we deem necessary, to allow the free flow of social intercourse and commerce, will occur.

All these matters are governed by ethics.

Ethical Considerations/ Principles Respect Autonomy –

It is assumed that individuals have the right to decide how they live their lives, as long as their actions do not interfere with the welfare of others. One therefore has the right to act as a free agent and has the freedom of thought and choice.

Do No Harm – The obligation to avoid inflicting either physical or

psychological harm on others and to avoid actions that risk harming others may be a primary ethical principle especially in helping professions.

Benefit Others – There is an obligation to improve and enhance the

welfare of others, even where such enhancements may inconvenience or limit the freedom of the person offering assistance. Helping professions presume the welfare of the consumer is primary when other considerations are equal.

Be Just – To be just in dealing with others assumes equal

treatment of all, to afford each individual their due portion, to be fair. It presumes reciprocity, impartiality, and equality.

Be Faithful – One should keep promises, tell the truth, be loyal,

and maintain respect and civility in human discourse. Only in so far as we sustain faithfulness can we expect to be seen as being trustworthy

Why Ethical Reasoning People should all be able to develop or moral

or ethical reasoning skills1. Believers and nonbelievers of many types

should be able to discuss moral matters together

2. We need to be able to evaluate our own and others views of what is thought to be good and bad, just or unjust.

3. Living in our world and multicultural country requires us to have a reason based connection to issues like justice, fairness etc…

Evaluating Ethical issues Descriptive (empirical) judgment:

Capital punishment acts (or does not act) as a deterrent

Normative (moral) judgment: Capital punishment is justifiable (or unjustifiable.)

Ethical Terms Core Beliefs:

Those basic principles that consciously or unconsciously impact our decisions.

They reflect our environment, religion, culture and training.

Right and wrong usually apply to action —as in, ‘You did the right thing

Good and bad imply that the thing should be positively regarded

Ethical reasoning When we make a moral judgment, we

need to be prepared to give reasons for it Reasons do not have to be purely rational We must be able to justify our position To just make a judgment and feel strongly

about it is not enough.

Reasoning & Arguments We should know how to reason well in

thinking or speaking about ethical matters

A good argument is a sound argument It has a valid form in that the conclusion

actually follows from the premises… ...and the premises or reasons given for

the conclusion are true

Top Down Strategy Using a top down strategy we devise norms by

ethical theory through ethical principles to make ethical/practical judgments1. Theory: Always treat people as ends in

themselves, not merely as means.2. Principle: Employers need to consider the

personhood of their workers.3. Practice: Pregnant women should be allowed

the opportunity to take half pay maternity leave lasting 2 months, and have their job waiting when they return.

Bottom up Strategy where we start with ethical judgments

then organize them in terms of principles to derive a theory1. Practice: Drunk drivers are responsible for the

deaths of about 17,000 people a year in the US.2. Principle: There should be some limits and

restrictions on people who drink and penalties for abusers.

3. Theory: People should have a right to protect their own life, no one has the right to take it from them without consent.

Can Ethics Be Taught? Plato thought that ethics could be

taught. “All evil is ignorance.”

“If someone knows something to be the right thing to do, does there still remain the question why we should do it?”