Professional Ethics Ethical Theories

1. Ethical Theories

2. • Ethics deals with morality.
• An engineer with ethics possess the moral integrity with rich
ethical values.
Ethics
Consequential
Non-
Consequential

3. Ethical Theories
• theories help to create the fundamentals of obligation suitable
and applicable to professional and personal conduct of a
person in his everyday life.

4. Golden Mean Theory
• Proposed by Aristotle.
• The solution to a problem is found by analyzing the reason and the
logic.
• A “Mean value of solution” which will be between the extremes of
excess and deficiency.
• For example, the solution to the problem of environment pollution is
neither by avoiding industrialization and civilization, nor by neglecting
the environment completely. A mean solution that will work towards
controlling the pollution and protecting the environment will also help.
Problem in Application
• The application of this theory varies from one person to another with
their powers of reasoning and the difficulty in applying the theory to
ethical problems

5. Proper balance between extremes in conduct, emotion, desire and
attitude.
• Virtues are tendencies to find the golden mean
Virtuous Theory
• Emphasis an individuals character rather than following a set of rules
• If we focus on being good people, the right action will follow
effortlessly
• Nature has built into us the desire to be virtuous
• Virtuous means doing right things, at right time, in right way,
in right amount and towards the right people.
• Virtue is skill, way of living and can only be learned through
experience

6. • The most important virtue is practical wisdom, i.e., morally
good judgment, which enables one to discern the mean for all
the other virtues.
• Character develops through Habituation. If you do virtuous
things over and over again, eventually it become part of your
character.
• Become virtuous then you can attain pinnacle(peak) of
humanity

7. Courage

8. Honesty
• Breaking bad news gently
• Criticize constructively rather than soul crushing

9. Generosity
Giving drugs to addict not generosity

10. Duty based theory
• The term deontology comes from the Greek word deon, meaning duty.
• we are morally obligated to act in accordance with a certain set of principles and
rules regardless of outcome.
• The duty-based ethical theory was proposed by Immanuel Kant.
Some terminology to consider:
• Moral agent: An agent is a person who performs an action; a moral agent is a
moral agent is a person with the capacity to act morally.
• Maxim: rule or principle
• Will: the faculty of deciding, choosing, or acting
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11. A Theory of Duty
• Deontological theories hold that some acts are always wrong, even if the act leads to an
admirable outcome. Actions in deontology are always judged independently of their
outcome. An act can be morally bad but may unintentionally lead to a favorable outcome.
• Kant’s moral theory is based on his view of the human being as having the unique
capacity for rationality.
• Kant believes human inclinations, emotions and consequences should play no role in
moral action; therefore, the motivation behind an action must be based on obligation and
well thought out before the action takes place.
• Morality should, in theory, provide people with a framework of rational rules that guide
and prevent certain actions and are independent of personal intentions and desires.
• According to Kant, the moral worth of an action is determined by the human will, which is
the only thing in the world that can be considered good without qualification.
• Good will is exercised by acting according to moral duty/law. Moral law consists of a set
of maxims, which are categorical in nature – we are bound by duty to act in accordance
with categorical imperatives.

12. • “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it
should become a universal law without contradiction.” – Immanuel
Kant, Groundwork of Metaphysic of Morals
Deontologists live in a universe of moral rules, such as:
• It is wrong to kill innocent people
• It is wrong to steal
• It is wrong to tell lies
• It is right to keep promises
• The philosopher Kant thought that it would be wrong to tell
a lie in order to save a friend from a murderer.

13. • There are four virtues that come under this law,
1. Prudence
The quality of prudence states that every individual has a life that should be respected and every individual has
duties which should be done without any exception. One should always be cautious to perform one’s duties.
2. Temperance
Temperance is the voluntary self-restrain from the attractions. The temptations that might lead to the violation of duties and ethics have
to be restrained. No false promises are to be made as they contradict the principles of duties.
3. Fortitude
Fortitude is the sense of having tolerance. No perfection can be maintained if happiness alone is sought and no
happiness is achieved if perfection alone is sought. Both may or may not go with each other.
4. Justice
Every individual is a human being with a set of intrinsic values and morals. Truth and fairness are the aspects
one should always bear in mind. People should be treated as separate individuals but never as a mere means of
existence.
• A free will and a will under moral laws are one and the same. We are free only when we act in accordance with our own
best natures, while we are slaves whenever we are under the rule of our passions and wills. There should be a
universally valid will, under which everyone can be free.

14. Good points of duty-based
ethics
• Emphasises the value of every human being
• Duty-based ethical systems tend to focus on giving equal respect to all human beings.
• Says some acts are always wrong
• Some things should never be done, no matter what good consequences they produce.
This seems to reflect the way some human beings think.
• Provides 'certainty'
• Duty-based ethics don't suffer from this problem because they are concerned with the
action itself - if an action is a right action, then a person should do it, if it's a wrong
action they shouldn't do it - and providing there is a clear set of moral rules to follow
then a person faced with a moral choice should be able to take decisions with
reasonable certainty.
• Deals with intentions and motives
• Duty-based ethics can include intention in at least 2 ways...
• If a person didn't intend to do a particular wrong act - it was an accident perhaps -
then from a deontological point of view we might think that they hadn't done anything
deserving of criticism. This seems to fit with ordinary thinking about ethical issues.
• Ethical rules can be framed narrowly so as to include intention.

15. Bad points of duty-based ethics
• Absolutist
• Duty-based ethics sets absolute rules. The only way of
dealing with cases that don't seem to fit is to build a list of
exceptions to the rule.
• Allows acts that make the world a less good place
• Because duty-based ethics is not interested in the results it
can lead to courses of action that produce a reduction in the
overall happiness of the world.
• Most people would find this didn't fit with their overall idea of
ethics

16. Utilitarian Ethics
• The Utilitarian ethics was proposed by John Stuart.
• Happiness or pleasure of a greatest number of people in the society is considered as the
greatest good.
• According to this philosophy, an action is morally right if its consequences lead to happiness of
people and wrong if they lead to their unhappiness.
• Consequentialism tells us we need to take into account the final consequence of our action, even if
the act itself is not morally good.
• Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) developed the principles of utility by defining it as a measure of
maximizing pleasure while minimizing pain. Bentham wrote that everyone prefers pleasure over
pain.
• Teleological reasoning takes into consideration that the ethical decision is dependent upon the
consequences (“ends”) of the actions. In teleological reasoning, a person will do the right thing if
the consequences of his or her actions are good. Additionally, if an action by a person was an act
that was “not good,” but the consequences turned out to be “good,” under some theories of
teleological reasoning, the act may be deemed a good ethical act.
• An example of this can be the removal of reservation system in education and government jobs,
which can really benefit the talented. But this can have an impact on the rights of the minorities.

17. What are these ethics?
Cost-benefit analysis in engineering. Supports the idea of maximizing benefits
against cost
• It weighs the total good against total bad and then compares the results to similar
tallies of the consequences of alternative actions or rules.
Types of Utilitarianism
1. Act Utilitarianism
Focuses on each situation and the alternative actions possible in the situation.
“A particular action is right if it is likely to produce the higher level of good
for the most people in a given situation, compared to alternative choices that
might be made.”
• In accordance with this theory, the good done is only considered but not the
way how it is done. For example, looting the richer to feed the poor, can satisfy
and make a group of poor people, happy. But looting is not a way of morality.
Hence act-utilitarianism seems to justify the wrong-doing.
Types of
Utilitarianism
Act
Utilitarianism
Rule
Utilitarianism

18. Rule Utilitarianism
“Right actions are those required by rules that produce the
higher level of good for the most people.”
• “Act as faithful agents or trustees of employers”.
• Engineers should abide by it even when an exception might happen
to be beneficial
• One should seek the help of law and order to prove the guilt of richer
and let see that the poor get benefitted.
• Rule utilitarianism operates as a check and balance for utilitarian principles,
assuring that decisions that may be utilitarian in principle are qualified with
the notion of universality, asking “what would the result be if everyone
followed a rule that allowed this act?”

19. The Problems with Utilitarianism
• A limitation of utilitarianism is that it tends to create a black-and-white construct of morality. In utilitarian ethics, there are
no shades of gray—either something is wrong or it is right.
• Measuring happiness is difficult. Happiness is subjective and as a result is open to interpretation.
• Desired ethical consequences that actually result from our actions do not always happen immediately.
• When utilitarian decisions benefit the majority at the expense of the minority, the minority’s rights may not be
taken into account.
• Utilitarian ethics is concerned about the consequences of our actions, regardless of the action itself. However, it
can be difficult to know what the consequences of our actions will be because of the variables that we do not
control.Utilitarianism also cannot predict with certainty whether the consequences of our actions will be good or bad—
the results of our actions happen in the future.
• Utilitarianism also has trouble accounting for values like justice and individual rights. For example, say a hospital has
four people whose lives depend upon receiving organ transplants: a heart, lungs, a kidney, and a liver. If a healthy
person wanders into the hospital, his organs could be harvested to save four lives at the expense of his one life. This
would arguably produce the greatest good for the greatest number. But few would consider it an acceptable course of
action, let alone an ethical one.
• So, although utilitarianism is surely a reason-based approach to determining right and wrong, it has obvious limitations

20. Rights-based Ethical Theory
• The Rights based ethical theory was proposed by John Locke.
• Solution to a problem is by realizing that every person has a right to live. Live and let live is the
philosophy behind this theory. The rights of a person towards life, health, liberty, possession, etc.
are taken care of under this theory.
• For example, any action in terms of Capital punishment, Jails, Income taxes and Medical charges
etc. come under this category.
• Rights-based ethics is the recognition of human dignity at its most basic form. The ethics refer to
the basic human rights whether they are positive or negative. Everyone has a right to live, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.
• The natural law states that human laws are defined by morality and not by some authority. This law
is derived from the belief that human morality comes from nature. Any action done by a person that
would prevent a fellow being from living a good and happy life, is considered immoral or unnatural.
• Any law should have some morals. Moral duty is the obligation to act based on ethical
beliefs.
Problem in Application
• One rights of a person may be in conflict with rights of the other.

21. Uses of Ethical Theories
• Ethical theories help in the following areas −
• Understanding moral dilemmas.
• Justifying professional obligations and ideas.
• Relating ordinary and professional morality.