ETHICS

Professor Andrea A. Nielsen

OBJECTIVES

Develop an understanding of your ethical beliefs as well as those of the state you teach within.

Apply ethics in a way that will guide your professional life.

WHAT IS ETHICAL?

Turn and define it to your neighbor.

Who determines if something is ethical or not?

Are ethical things true and good?

Who “manages” ethics?• The state enters into ethics to provide order and law.

It strives to maintain things that are good and noble.

A DEFINITION OF ETHICS

A type of philosophy that deals with a sense of duty and perfect social interaction.

Requests whether something is correct or incorrect; decent or wicked in the sphere of ethics.

Ethical conduct can come from various places: customs, laws, religions, self-discovery, to name a few.

“ABOVE ALL DO NO HARM”

Hippocrates was a 5th century BC physician, but the Hippocratic Oath was probably written hundreds of years earlier as part of the Pythagorean pledge. The Oath includes a six part ethics:

• “Application of dietetics according to ability and judgment…I will keep the sick from harm and injustice.

• I will never give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.

• I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.

• Whatever house I may visit; I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice. . .

• What I may see or hear in the course of treatment or even outside of the treatment…I will keep to myself holding such things shameful to be spoken about.

• If I fulfill this oath…it may be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among men.”

ARISTOTLE'S VIRTUOUS MEAN

The mean is something that comes because of your desires and your personality traits.

• Vice of Deficiency• Virtuous Mean• Vice of Excess

For example if we develop the trait of being courageous, which is built on pushing fear away. However, if we push it too far we are categorized as being too prideful, but if we push it too little then we are labeled as a coward. So the virtue of courage stands at the mean of extreme and lacking.

ARISTOTLE'S VIRTUOUS MEAN

Vice of Deficiency

Virtuous Mean Vice of Excess

Cowardice Courage Rashness

Boorishness Wittiness Buffonrey

Want of Ambition

Right Ambition Over Ambitious

Shamelessness Modesty Bashfulness

ARISTOTLE'S VIRTUOUS MEAN

So ethics to Aristotle is a way to achieve the highest point or ultimate goal which leads to happiness.

We are all on the path to achieving happiness. However, how do we show these ethical beliefs?

THREE TYPES OF ETHICS

Virtue-based• Acts based on their temperance, courage, justice, faith, hope, and

charity.

Duty-based• Do what is write no matter what the consequences may be.• What are your Duties? What are the reasons behind them?

• Practical- a sense that you ought to do.• Theoretical – a use of math and logic.

Utility-based• Do what you feel will bring out the best or will help the most people.• What is your ethical point or foundation?

CURRENT ETHICS

“We expect all members of the administration to do the right thing for the right reasons.”

• President Bush’s Spokesman 1/17/20 regarding Enron

• How is this a reflection of duty, virtue, utility based ethics?

ETHICS VS. MORALS

Ethics are the laws that determine if something is right or wrong based on the community.

Morals come from ones thoughts, beliefs, and opinions.

Basically morals are your private thoughts and ethics are the publics thoughts. Which is more important?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/magazine/13Psychology-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

UTAH ETHICS

R277-515-1. Definitions.

R277-515-2. Authority and Purpose.

R277-515-3. Educator as a Role Model of Civic and Societal Responsibility. R277-515-4. Educator Responsibility for Maintaining a Safe Learning Environment an

d Educational Standards.

R277-515-5. Professional Educator Responsibility for Compliance with School District Policies. R277-515-6. Professional Educator Conduct.

R277-515-7. Violations of Professional Ethics.

http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r277/r277-515.htm#T8

VIKTOR FRANKL

“What matters is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment. We can discover this meaning in three ways: 1) by doing a deed, 2) by experiencing a value, and 3) by suffering.”

RESOURCES

EDAD 530 Russell A. Joki, Ed.D., Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Idaho.

Utah Department of Education, Retrieved September 25,2012 http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r277/r277-515.htm#T8

YOUR ETHICS

Ethics Chart

My Ethical Beliefs – includes an example of the ethics chart.