Ethics poses the problem of giving meaning and significance to man’s life: giving order to one’s own life through fair behavior is a requirement that, unlike what is imposed by law or social habits or morality, current, does not bind because of economic or social sanctions; On the contrary, it is binding due to the fact that it addresses man as a rational and free being, therefore capable of making decisions and assuming responsibilities.
But ethics does not only affect the subjective sphere of personal choices, but also collective life and the judgment on the fundamental laws and institutions of our society. In addition to the problem of individual responsibility, ethics also affects that of justice. However, there are numerous and different types of ethics, and in this Psychology-Online article, we will delve into some of them, highlighting their characteristics and accompanying them with some examples. Let’s see what types of ethics exist.
Descriptive ethics
For descriptive ethics, the problem is not determining what is right or wrong, good or bad, but understand the mechanisms that determine human decisions. The problem with a merely descriptive ethics is that it does not answer really relevant questions.
- Let’s take an example. It is often said that men are naturally inclined toward pleasure. This general proposition (all men naturally tend towards pleasure) would be a generalization made about singular propositions and, in principle (but it could be argued) confirmed by factual data. The problem is that even if men really tend toward pleasure by nature, that doesn’t mean they should do it, that’s fair, it puts a choice, it is determined toward “the possible world” that gives us more pleasure than another with less pleasure but more fair, for example.
Therefore, Descriptive ethics can be useful to verify the limits and possibilities of effective behaviors, but it remains silent in the face of the normative problem.
Normative ethics
Normative ethics is a type of philosophical research that is essentially based on an a priori analysis: it involves determining a priori the properties of acts that should be considered right or wrong, what moral judgments mean, such as considering the role of people’s character in elections, what life is to be considered virtuous, etc. One of the fundamental problems of philosophical ethics is establishing the meaning of moral judgments: do they have truth value? Many answers can be extracted from this problem, a classic case in philosophy in which a simple question is not followed by a simple answer.
Normative ethics can be divided into three types of analysis:
- One refers to study of particular cases given by the reality of the facts.
- One poses the problem of the first level of regulatory analysis.
- Another poses the problem of the second level of normative analysis.
In the following articles, you will find more information about the and.
religious ethics
At the base of each conception of ethics is the notion of good and evil, of virtue and of a certain vision of man and human relationships, ideas often related to a particular religion, or in any case with an ideology. . Religiously based ethics, in effect, establish standards of behavior that are intended to be valid for everyone.while secular ethics does not seek to impose values.
Secular ethics
As we have seen, secular ethics does not seek to impose values and is generally attentive to human demands that take into account historical conditions and transformations. In reality, speaking of secular ethics already presupposes confrontation with religious ethics, that is, with a system of dogmatically and universally identified values; In reality it is more appropriate to speak of a secular approach to the ethical problem, defining this approach as free of references to a predetermined ideology and more willing to face the problems of the individual and the specific historical context in which it is expressed.
Christian ethics
Christian ethics is dominated by the idea, preached by Jesus of Nazareth, of the ineffable fatherhood of God before which men are all equal and all brothers. The evangelical rule of conduct, precisely because it exemplifies divine perfection, is translated into a commandment of love for others; All ethnic and social distinction falls and unconditional love for one’s brother, even if he is an enemy and a sinner, is the supreme commandment.
By inserting itself into the tradition and civilization of the Mediterranean world, Christianity necessarily had to measure itself with Greek culture and, while claiming its absolute originality, it was absorbing essential reasons to transform them and adapt them to the new conception of life and the world.
virtue ethics
A virtue ethic is evidently based on the concept of virtue. This term means a disposition, a habitus, a quality or character trait that an individual has or try to have. This ethics does not assume deontic principles as the basis of morality, but rather considers areteic judgments to be basic. Deontic principles derive from earrings and if they are not derived from them, they are superfluous. A virtue ethic views areteic judgments about actions as secondary judgments and based on areteic judgments about people and their motives or character traits. Therefore, for virtue ethics, morality has nothing to do with the obligatory nature of action. To be moral, you have to be a certain type of person, not just act a certain way. Therefore, we look first and foremost at the person and their being rather than at the action they perform.
Professional ethics
Professional ethics means set of convictions and moral norms that regulate the exercise of the profession and that, in a given society, are considered universally binding for those who practice said profession.
The idea of some form of professional ethics, that is, of the fact that also the exercise of the profession, as well as many other sectors of existence (family, sexuality, social life), is subject to ethical norms and committed to the realization of , has been present in society since the professions were established. The famous Hippocratic Oath can be considered the first testimony to the true code of professional epic.
In the following article, we talk about the .
Medical ethics
The principles and values that, since ancient times, have governed the professional practice of medicine (through oaths and deontological codes) obliged the doctor to always act for the maximum benefit of the patient, prohibiting any intervention that could harm you or go against the moral values that prevail in society. Of course, the cultural contexts were different, so were the criteria and values. Ancient medical ethics placed emphasis on the character and virtues required of the doctor who practiced the art. He had to have a certain bearing, which defined his profile or professional style (etiquette), including being in good health, not overweight, cheerful, serene, reserved, but determined, and polite.
Starting in the sixties of the twentieth century, some theologians and moral philosophers began to question the possibility that medical ethics based on the moral principles of deontological codes could guarantee the respect for the individual rights of people. The new biomedical ethics, or bioethics, was developed in those years mainly from the philosophical-legal assumptions of the informed consent and the possibility that the patient had the right to refuse, on the basis of one’s own value system, therapeutic treatment.
End of life ethics
Throughout the 20th century, the clinical, and therefore also psychological, conditions that can characterize the terminal phases of human life have progressively changed. Economic, social and medical-health progress allows a growing number of people to reach old or very old ages (in some Western countries, about two-thirds of the population dies after the age of 75). Less and less people die from acute death and more and more people die as a result of degenerative clinical forms. Technological procedures and medications make it possible to delay the moment of death or artificially keep alive people without consciousness and physiological autonomy, but often it is only a prolongation of the unfortunate clinical condition. The consequence is that patients, doctors and institutions are called to make decisions that put beliefs and judgments into play that may come together, particularly with regard to the value or dignity attributed to the life lived in the terminal phases.
Media ethics
Media ethics is a discipline that ranges from ethical problems in printed paper to problems that arise in the information society as a whole (books, radio, television, web). A television ethics problem will then be created, a web ethics problem, a book ethics problem and a radio ethics problem (shortened today to television understood as a radio-televisual system).
- Television ethics. The ethics of television is what everyone has to deal with most often, with television being considered the most powerful information instrument in terms of reach for everyone. Its participation in such a wide audience that includes children and the elderly makes it necessary impose an appropriate model of behavior to protect the weakest and most impressionable groups, as well as social minorities.
- Web ethics. The transformation of an area of exchange and free exchange of data contained in some computers into the largest public space in history makes the question of the rules applicable to the Internet and the issue of the rights that are affected indefensible. It seems essential to adopt a true governance system.
Ethics in sports
Finally, a context in which we find a type of ethics is sports. The ethics of sport is the set of rules that govern sports activities with the aim of making them healthy and promoting well-being of the parties involved. We are talking about a commitment to not only physical well-being, but also psychological, social, and even spiritual, if necessary. In this article, we explain in depth everything related to .
Here you will find more information about the and a.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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