Journalistic Principles and Ethics

1. Journalistic Principles and Ethics
Dr. Sam-Ang Sam

2. CONTENTS
1 Education: A Process
2 Ethics Quotations
3 Ethics: A Cerebral Process
4 Philosophy & Ethics
5 Teleology: Consequentialism
6 Deontology: Non-Consequentialism
7 Morality
8 Morality: Quality
9 Virtue
10 Character
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3. 1 EDUCATION: A PROCESS
 MORALITY
(QUALITY)
↓
 ETHICS
(CEREBRAL PROCESS)
↓
 CONDUCT
(MANNER OF BEHAVIOR)
↓
 ACTION
↓
 CHARACTER
(END/PURPOSE)
↓
 GOOD HUMAN BEING
↓
 INDIVIDUAL ORDER
↓
 SOCIETY ORDER
↓
 END OR PURPOSE “HAPPINESS” (Buddhism: Peace/Calmness)
33

4. 2 ETHICS QUOTATIONS
“The achievement of his own
happiness is man’s highest moral
purpose”(Ayn Rand in Louis P.
Pojman, 2002, p. 81).
“In all the world and in all of life,
there is nothing more important to
determine than what is right”(C. I.
Lewis, 1955, p. 27 in Louis P. Pojman,
2002, p. xi).
44

5. Ethics Quotations
 “Ethical relativism is the doctrine that the
moral rightness and wrongness of actions
varies from society to society and that
there are no absolute universal moral
standards binding on all men at all times.
Accordingly, it holds that whether or not it
is right for an individual to act in a certain
way depends on or is relative to the
society to which he belongs” (John Ladd
in Louis P. Pojman, 2002, p. 24).
55

6. Ethics Quotations
 “The good is good for you” (Statement of
Socratic Ethics in Louis P. Pojman, 2002, p.
182).
 “Does God love goodness because it is
good, or is it good because God loves it?”
(Socrates in Louis P. Pojman, 2002, p. 194).
 “There is no such thing as an ethical
philosophy dogmatically made up in
advance. We all help to determine the
content of ethical philosophy so far as we
contribute to the [human] race’s moral life”
(William James in Mike W. martin, 2001, p.
xii).
66

7. 3 ETHICS: A CEREBRAL PROCESS
 Ethics, Greek, ethos, meaning “character” (Thiroux
and Krasemann, 2007, p. 517).
 Sometimes, “ethics” is used interchangeably with
“morality,” except in philosophy, ethics means
“the study of morality” (Thiroux and Krasemann,
2007, p. 517).
 “Ethics” is often used to refer to the SECONDARY
ACTIVITY (after knowing what is right or wrong) of
reflecting on, reasoning, justifying, and criticizing
such [moral] conduct and considerations (Paul F.
Camenisch, 1986, p. 497).
 Moral reasoning (ibid., p. 498)
 Rules of Conduct
77

8. Ethics: A Cerebral Process
In another sense, ethics refers to
moral beliefs, i.e., to what an
individual or group actually believes
about moral matters.
In yet another sense, “ethical” means
“morally desirable” (Mike W. Martin,
2001, p. 8).
It has strongly positive connotations,
pointing to admirable character traits
and morally correct judgments and
acts (ibid.).
88

9. 4 PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS
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sIlFm’viTüa
 What is philosophy and ethics’ relationship to it?
 Philosophy literally means “Love of Wisdom.”
 Philosophy concerns basically with 3 areas:
1. Epistemology (The Study of Knowledge)
2. Metaphysics (The Study of the Nature of
Reality)
3. Ethics (The Study of Morality)
(J. P. Thiroux & K. W. Krasemann, 2007, p. 1)
 Ethics, main concern, deals with what is right or
wrong in human behavior and conduct.
99

10. Philosophy & Ethics
EPISTEMOLOGY METAPHYSICS ETHICS
(Study of Knowledge) (Study of Nature of Reality) (Study of Morality)
Teleology
(Consequentialism)
Deontology
(NonConsequentialism)
Hedonism
Utilitarianism
Ethical Egoism
Care/Feminist Ethics
Eudaimonism
(Virtue Ethics)
Confucian Ethics
Buddhist Ethics
Minimalism
Bioethics
1010

11. Philosophy & Ethics
 It asks such QUESTIONS as:
1. What ought I to do? (The general question)
2. How ought I to live? (Singer, 1991, p. xi)
3. What constitutes any person or action being good, bad, right,
or wrong, and how do we know (epistemology)?
4. How can I know what is right?
5. What is the ultimate criterion for right action?
6. Why should I do what is right?
7. What part does self-interest or the interests of others play in the
making of moral decisions and judgments?
8. What theories of conduct are valid or invalid, and why?
9. Should we use principles or rules or laws, or should we let each
situation decide our morality?
10. Are killing, lying, cheating, stealing, and sexual acts right or
wrong, and why or why not?
1111

12. 5 TELEOLOGY: CONSEQUENTIALSM
 Ethical theories that are concerned with the
consequences of actions or rules. [Theory of the Good]
 The traditional philosophical name for this is Teleology
(Greek, telos, teleos, an end or goal (Pojman, 1990, p.
73), and logos, logic (Pojman, 2002, p. 107); discourse;
argument; study; science, meaning “end” or
“purpose”).
 Philos. The doctrine of final causes; the study of
evidence in nature indicating that final causes exist; an
explanation of natural phenomena by final causes; the
metaphysical doctrine that final goals and purposes
rather than mechanical causes order reality.
 Examples of consequentialist theories are all forms of
ethical egoism and utilitarianism.
 “The Ends justify the Means.”
 Value is Fundamental and Obligation is Definable.
1212

13. CONSEQUENTIALSM: “THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS”
1313

14. 6 DEONTOLOGY: NON-CONSEQUENTIALISM
 Ethical theories based not upon consequences
but upon some other moral standard (usually
considered “high” by the non-consequentialists).
[Theory of the Right]
 It referred to in traditional philosophy as
Deontology (Greek, loosely meaning “ought”).
Greek, deon, “duty; obligation; obedience” which
is binding or needful; dein, bind.
 Examples of such theories are Kant’s Duty Ethics
and the Divine Command Theory.
 Determinism: universal causation; man’s actions
are not based on free will.
 “The Ends do not justify the Means.”
 Obligation is Fundamental and Value is Definable.
1414

15. 7 MORALITY ¬sIlFm’ b¤
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PURPOSES:
Morality has at least 4 related Purposes:
1.To keep society from falling apart;
2.To eliminate or reduce human suffering;
3.To promote human flourishing; and
4.To resolve conflicts of interest in “just” way.
1515

16. 8 MORALITY: QUALITY
 In Latin, habits are morae or mores, giving us words like
“moral” (Nicomachean Ethics in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicomachean_Ethics).
 Morality, Latin, moralitas, moral quality or character; the
quality of conforming to the principles of good conduct;
moral or virtuous conduct.
 “Morality” often refers to actual moral choice and
conduct and to those considerations such as moral
values, considerations, and commitments which directly
shaped them (Paul F. Camenisch, 1986, p. 497).
 Morality is something that is learned through clarification
of our values and application of these values to cases
(Darryl Macer, 2008, p. 3).
 Morality provides us reasons for action (Peter Singer,
1991, p. xiv).
 Morality is concerned with promoting the good of
others.
1616

17. Morality: Quality
 The Socratic faith is “The unexamined life is not worth
living,” or rather, morally examined life is far more worth
living.
 Rather than a set of alien rules imposed on humanity,
morality is a natural expression of our lives as autonomous
agents and social creatures.
 What are moral values, and what are moral reasons for
the conduct and character that they generate?
Moral value
Moral reason
Conduct
Character
Honesty (Don’t lie)
Fidelity (Keep your promise)
Fairness (Do your share)
Respect for property (Don’t steal)
1717

18. Morality: Quality
 Providing a comprehensive definition of morality,
however, turns out to be a complicated task (Mike W.
Martin, 2001, p. 5).
 Morality concerns what we ought to become, how we
ought to relate to others, and how we ought to act.
 These “oughts,” however, are moral oughts; they differ
from other kinds of “oughts,” such as what ought to be
done in order to start a car or achieve some other
definite end.
 Morality is a matter of respecting human rights; morality
is fulfilling our duties to others; morality concerns the
most important values which should override all others
(such as the values of art); morality is obeying God’s
commandments; morality centers around the
happiness or self-fulfillment of all persons.
1818

19. Morality: Quality
 For now, let us say that morality
concerns the recognition of the inherent
value of people, both ourselves and
others, a value that is not reducible to
how others benefit us.
 In addition to how we should act, moral
reasons also apply to the kind of persons
we should become, the kind of
relationships we should have, and the
kind of communities and institutions we
should promote.
1919

20. 9 VIRTUE
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KuNsm,tþi¦
 Latin, virtus, (Greek, aretê) manly excellence,
strength, courage, worth, virtue [vir, man].
Moral excellence or goodness; conformity of
conduct to moral laws; any praiseworthy
quality or trait.
 Virtues are “human excellences” and consist
of those traits of character that should be
fostered in human beings, such as honesty,
loyalty, courage, wisdom, moderation, civility,
compassion, tolerance, and reverence.
(Thiroux and Krasemann, 2007, p. 86)
2020

21. Virtue
 Virtue is defined as “moral
excellence, righteousness,
responsibility, or other
exemplary qualities considered
meritorious” (Thiroux and
Krasemann, 2007, p. 85).
2121

22. 10 CHARACTER
Repeated Action = Habit
Repeated Habit = Character
2222

23. Character
 “Morality is internal. The moral
law . . . has to be expressed in the
form “be this,” not in the form “do
this.” . . . The true moral law says
“hate not,” instead of “kill not.” . . .
The only mode of stating the moral
law must be as a rule of character”
(Leslie Stephens in Louis P. Pojman,
2002, p. 159).
2323

24. Character
 Essential to Ethics is the quality of a
person’s habits, or in other words, their
character.
 Character is or should be the ultimate end
of all social activity, but because social
institutions are more or less imperfect, the
character produced by them is
fragmentary and inconsistent.
 Good human being
2424

25. Character
 In Greek, habitual character is êchê, the
root of the words “ethics, ethical, and
ethos” (Nicomachean Ethics in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicomachean_Ethics
)
 In Latin, the habits are morae or mores,
giving us words like “moral.”
 A man of excellence (or more generally
anything of excellence) is said to have
virtue (Greek, aretê), and this in its highest
forms is associated with the potential for
happiness (ibid.).
2525

26. Thank You!

27. Document File Location
File: L2 JOURNALISTIC PRINCIPLES & ETHICS/ethics.ppt
Date: August 30, 2016 (30/11/13)
Running Time: 1:30 hrs.