Your Personal Ethics Statement

1. Your Personal Ethics Statement
Comm454-001
Free Speech
& Ethics
Instructor:
Steve Klein

2. Your Personal Ethics Statement
What is YOUR personal philosophical
approach to help you answer and
deal with ethical questions?
How can YOU devise or define your
own personal ethical statement of
values and principles?

3. Your Personal Ethics Statement
There are three primary ethical
philosophies.
Each answers this fundamental question:
Does the ends justify the means?

4. Your Personal Ethics Statement
IF you answered NO, then you are an
ABSOLUTIST (or legalist) and
subscribe to deontological ethics (the
ethics of duty).
The ends NEVER justifies the means.
Discover the rules and follow them.

5. Your Personal Ethics Statement
Immanuel Kant
(1724-1804)
The categorical imperative
Without exception
Do only those things that
you would would be willing
to have everyone do as a
matter of universal law
The duty of the journalist is
to report the news. PERIOD.

6. Your Personal Ethics Statement
IF you answered YES, you are a RELATIVIST
and subscribe to teleological ethcs.
This is the ethics of the finals ends, or of the
consequences of the act.
The end can and often does justify the means:
INTENTION is critical.

7. Your Personal Ethics Statement
IF you answered MAYBE or
SOMETIMES, then you subscribe to
situational ethics.
This is the ethics of specific acts:
Does the end justify the means?
It all depends.

8. Your Personal Ethics Statement
Situational ethics
Antinominanism = no moral
absolutes … every person, every
situation is unique

9. Your Personal Ethics Statement
Situational ethics
Deontelics (John Merrill) = some acts,
by their very nature, are unethical in
most cases
The truth is paramount … lying is unethical (in
most cases BUT there are rare exceptions for
good purposes)

10. Your Personal Ethics Statement
Situational ethics
Love thy neighbor (Joseph Fletcher)
The one absolute is the Golden Rule:
You shall love thy neighbor as yourself.
Always place people first; do what is best for
people.

11. Your Personal Ethics Statement
Situational ethics
Utilitarianism = bring the most
happiness to the greatest number of
people.
This is a the philosophy of the greatest good
(rather than the greatest happiness) .. over a
long period of time.

12. Your Personal Ethics Statement
John Stuart Mill
(1806-1873)
He received a rigorous education
under his father, James Mill (1773-
1836), and Jeremy Bentham (1748-
1832), who were close friends and
together founded utilitarianism.
John Stuart Mill's own philosophy
developed into a more humanitarian
doctrine: he was sympathetic to
socialism, and was a strong
advocate of women's rights and
such political and social reforms as
proportional representation, labor
unions, and farm cooperatives.
On Liberty (1859) is probably his
most famous work.

13. Your Personal Ethics Statement
Situational ethics
Veil of Ignorance (John Rawls) = rule of
the people, or treat all people the same … no
personal bias.
Behind the veil of ignorance, all people
(regardless of race, gender, age, appearance)
are equal and treated the same.
If there was an exception, it should benefit the
least advantaged.

14. Your Personal Ethics Statement
Situational ethics
Aristotle’s
Golden Mean
(384-322 B.C.)
A rational and moral
position is somewhere
in between (though not
necessarily in the
middle)

15. Your Personal Ethics Statement
What is principled reasoning?
Appraise the situation
Identify your personal values
Appeal to those ethical principles
without abandoning your personal
values
Consider your loyalties

16. Your Personal Ethics Statement
Ultimately:
Make an informed,
intelligent and
prudent choice.