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what are the 3 major ethical theories

by Harrison Kuvalis Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

  1. Consequentialism
  2. Deontological ('Duty Based') Ethics.
  3. Social Contract Theories.

These three theories of ethics (utilitarian ethics, deontological ethics, virtue ethics) form the foundation of normative ethics conversations. It is important, however, that public relations professionals also understand how to apply these concepts to the actual practice of the profession.

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What are the seven ethical theories?

categories of ethical theory include deontology, utilitarianism, rights, and virtues. Deontology The deontological class of ethical theories states that people should adhere to their obliga-

What are the different ethical theories?

  • Immanuel Kant did not like a morality based on laws, church laws. ...
  • He says here that morality has its roots/foundation in the condition of goodwill among people. ...
  • He said we have an obligation to do the right thing. ...
  • People/actions are moral when they achieve the good/goodwill. ...

What are some examples of ethical theories?

  • Integrity in personal and professional matters
  • Honesty, truthfulness and sincerity
  • Loyalty and allegiance
  • Responsibility, reliability and dependability
  • Charity and kindness
  • Respect for others and their property
  • Self-discipline and acting with reasonable restraint
  • Knowing the distinction between right and wrong and good and bad behavior

What are the theories of ethics?

Theories of Ethics • Four major theories of ethics in the Western world – Utilitarianism: net benefits – Rights: entitlement – Justice: fairness – Egoism: self-interest 15 16. How does this work? Inclination Intended Result Will Duty Actual Result What makes an act right or wrong? 17.

What are the basic ethical theories?

Four broad categories of ethical theory include deontology, utilitarianism, rights, and virtues.

What are the 3 importance of ethics?

Primarily it is the individual, the consumer, the employee or the human social unit of the society who benefits from ethics. In addition ethics is important because of the following: Satisfying Basic Human Needs: Being fair, honest and ethical is one the basic human needs.

What are the 4 significance of ethics?

It does this by establishing rules, principles, and values on which we can base our conduct. The concepts most directly associated with ethics are truth, honesty, fairness, and equity. While ethics is a societal concern, it is of critical importance to the professions that serve society.

What are the 7 principles of ethics?

There are seven principles that form the content grounds of our teaching framework:Non-maleficence. ... Beneficence. ... Health maximisation. ... Efficiency. ... Respect for autonomy. ... Justice. ... Proportionality.Oct 7, 2014

What are the three ethical theories?

The three ethical theories are metaethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. Another term for ethics is moral philosophy. It is the practice of learning about, and recommending practices of right and wrong behavior. The word "ethics" stems from the Greek word "ethos," which means a custom or habit. In philosophy, ethics are the best way humans ...

What is the meaning of ethics?

In philosophy, ethics are the best way humans should live and the kind of actions that are acceptable or not in a given situation. The first type of ethical theory is metaethics.

What is normative ethics?

Normative ethics defines the moral standards that regulate right and wrong choices. This theory is subdivided into three theories: virtue theories, duty theories and consequentialist theories. It involves things such as good habits, a person's ethical duties and the consequences of making an inappropriate ethical choice.

What are the three theories of ethics?

These three theories of ethics (utilitarian ethics, deontological ethics, virtue ethics) form the foundation of normative ethics conversations. It is important, however, that public relations professionals also understand how to apply these concepts to the actual practice of the profession.

What is ethical theory?

Ethical Theories. As mentioned previously, Rae suggests that ethics are a process that is both an art and a science. There are generally three philosophical approaches, or what may be considered the science, to ethical reasoning: When people talk about these areas, they are usually discussing an area of ethics known as normative ethics, ...

What is utilitarianism in ethics?

The first ethical system in normative ethics, utilitarianism, is often equated with the concept of “the greatest good for the greatest number.” The idea is that ethical decisions are made based on the consequences of the action, which is why it is also sometimes called consequentialism. Interestingly, Curtin, Gallicano and Matthew found that, when faced with ethical situations in public relations, “Millennials will use utilitarian reasoning to avoid confrontation and achieve consensus.” The attraction of this ethical perspective may lie in the fact that it appears to be a way to weigh out the impact of behavior and determine the greatest good for the greatest number.

What is virtue ethics?

Finally, a third and growing area of philosophical reasoning with ethics is known as virtue ethics, one that has gained more attention in public relations scholarship in recent years. This philosophy stems from Aristotle and is based on the virtues of the person making a decision. The consideration in virtue ethics is essentially “what makes a good person,” or, for the purpose of this discussion, “what makes a good public relations professional?” Virtue ethics require the decision-maker to understand what virtues are good for public relations and then decisions are made in light of those particular virtues. For example, if the virtue of honesty is the of utmost importance to a good public relations professional, then all decisions should be made ethically to ensure honesty is preserved.

Why should public relations decisions be ethically made?

For example, if the virtue of honesty is the of utmost importance to a good public relations professional, then all decisions should be made ethically to ensure honesty is preserved. While this theory is growing in popularity, there are several objections that can be made.

What are the challenges of a duty conflict?

The challenges to this perspective, however, include 1) conflicts that arise when there is not an agreement about the principles involved in the decision; 2) the implications of making a “right” choice that has bad consequences; and 3) what decisions should be made when duties conflict.

Who is the father of deontology?

The second prominent concept, deontological ethics, is associated with the father of modern deontology, Immanuel Kant. He was known for the ‘Categorical Imperative’ that looks for transcendent principles that apply to all humans.

What is moral theory?

Each moral theory holds a specific approach in how to handle life’s decisions. Throughout history, a few moral theories have surfaced and have been analyzed for their strengths and weaknesses. A moral theory often shapes a person’s attitude toward others, belief system and life choices.

What is virtue theory in high school?

If a high school student is temperate, modest, witty and intelligent and plagiarized on a class writing assignment, the virtue theory would analyze the student's past personality traits and interpersonal skills in order to determine whether the student is truly guilty.

What is utilitarianism in science?

Utilitarianism is a moral theory that implements fair choices in an effort to ensure the least amount of harm is done to all parties involved. The utilitarianism approach requires that you decide what course of action needs to be done and evaluate the outcomes of each action.

Why can't a coffee shop owner be identified with deontology?

A coffee shop owner who requires his employees to dress in black cannot be identified with the deontology theory simply because the requirement is the owner’s preference and whatever governs such preference is neither moral nor immoral.

Why would utilitarianism support Julie's killing of one of the hostages?

Utilitarianism would support Julie’s killing of one of the hostages because the other 19 lives are a greater benefit, regardless of the fact that the cost would be one person’s life.

What are the three ethical systems?

There are three major categories of ethical systems that students typically learn about in philosophy classes: consequentialism, deontology and virtue ethics. I will describe all of them briefly, then describe each one of them in more detail, pointing out their defining features and major variants. I’ll then discuss the nature of Objectivist Ethical Egoism and how it compares and contrasts with each of these types of ethics.

What is the ethical theory of consequences?

The Ethical Theories: Brief Summary. Consequentialism names a type of ethical theory that judges human practices, like actions or rules, based on their consequences. Human practices that produce good consequences are morally right, while ones that produce bad consequences are morally wrong.

What is deontology in ethics?

Deontology names a type of ethical theory that judges human practices based on whether they are consistent with certain duties that the theory holds as intrinsically moral. Consequences are irrelevant to a fully deontological theory. Deontological theories tend to focus on the motives of actions, and whether a given action was motivated by duty or something else. In many deontological theories, motivation by moral duty itself–rather than other factors, like self-interest–is essential to an action’s being morally right. An advocate of deontology says that you should do certain things, just because those things are the right things to do, (they “align with duty.”) The originator of deontology as a formal theoretical framework was the German philosopher, Immanuel Kant. Later advocates have included W.D. Ross, Robert Nozick and Christine Korsgaard.

How are consequentialist theories divided?

The second major way consequentialist theories can be divided is by “whose consequences” count as morally relevant. That is, what beings are directly morally relevant in evaluating the consequences of a practice.

What is the theory of ethical egoism?

Objectivist Ethical Egoism, unlike the other terms here, names one specific theory. It takes human life as the abstract or general standard of moral evaluation. Roughly speaking, that which promotes human life is the good, that which damages or destroys it is the bad. Because Objectivism, the whole philosophy from which this ethics springs, views human life as fundamentally individual–needing to be lived, maintained and enhanced by each individual through his own action–Objectivist Ethical Egoism (OEE) takes each individual’s own life as his own effective standard of value. That which promotes the individual’s own life overall is the good for him, that which damages or destroys his own life is the bad for him.

Why do philosophers consider alternatives to actual consequences?

The reason philosophers may want to consider the alternatives to actual consequences as the relevant type, is that people are not omniscient and can’t predict the future consequences of actions perfectly. So it doesn’t necessarily seem right to morally judge a decision, that was made at a given time and with a limited state of knowledge, by all of the actual consequences that followed. It would seem that one is saying that a person whose action produced bad consequences due to factors outside his possible knowledge was acting immorally. So, with “actual consequentialism,” people will sometimes be judged as acting immorally because they are not infallible predictors of the future. This tends to go against common-sense ideas of what morality demands.

What are Aristotle's virtues?

Other qualities that Aristotle considers virtues, include truthfulness, magnanimity, modesty, and pride.

What are the three types of ethics?

Three Categories of Ethical Theories. In the study of ethics there are three types of ethical theories: intuition-based, end-based and duty-based. These three types of ethics seek to describe the rules, behavioral trends and moral codes that govern -- or ought to govern -- human behavior.

What is end based ethics?

End-based ethics involves the idea that a person ought to do what produces the greatest good; the act that produces the greatest good is held to be the most moral act in a given situation.

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