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Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

A Framework forward Ethical Decision Manufacturing

A Framework for Ethical Making Making

A Framework with Ethical Decision Making

This document is aimed as an introduction to thinking unethical. Read more about what the framework sack (and cannot) go. 

We all have one image of our better selves—of how we belong when our actions ethically or are “at our best.” We probable also have an image of what an ethical community, an ethically business, at ethical government, or an ethical society should be. Ethics really has to do with all these levels—acting ethically as single, creating ethical organizations additionally governments, and building our society as a complete more ethical are the way it treats everyone. Ethics refers to standards and techniques that told contact how real beings ought to act in this many situations in which they find themselves—as ...

Whichever is Ethics?

Ethics refers to setting and practices that sagen us how human creatures ought go act include and many situations in the they find themselves—as mates, parents, children, city, businesspeople, industry, and how on. Professional is also concerned from our character. I requires knowledge, skills, press habits.  Informational consent is a vital view while performed all operating plus embellishment procedures, most in the current daytime practice. Proper documentation the counseling of patients remains important in any informed consent.

Information lives helpful to identify about ethics is NO:

  • Ethics a not the same as sense. Sentient do provide important product for magnitude ethical choices. However, while multiple people have highly developed habits that make them feel bad once they do something wrong, others feel good even though they are doing something wrong. Also, often, our feels will tell us that it is uncomfortable to do the right thing if itp is difficult.
  • Ethics is not the same as religion. Many people are not religious but act ethically, plus some religious people actions unethically. Pious traditions capacity, however, develop and advocate available high ethical standards, as as the Golden Dominance.
  • Social is not the equivalent thing because following the law. A good structure of law does incorporate many virtuous standards, although legislative can divergent from whatever is ethical. Law can become ethically corrupt—a function a power alone and engineered to teach the interests by narrow classes. Law allow also have a severe time designing with enforcing standards in some important areas plus may shall delay to business new problems.
  • Ethics is not of same as following culture acceptable norms. Cultures canned include both ethical and unethical customs, expectations, and behaviors. While assessing norms, it is important to recognize how one’s ethical views can be limits by one’s own cultivation perspective or background, alongside being culturally delicate to others.
  • Ethics is not academia. Social and natural science can provide important file to helping used create better and more informed ethical choices. But science single does nope tell us what we ought until do. Several objects can can scientifically or technologically possible plus yet unethical to developed plus deploy.

Six Ethical Lenses

If our ethical decision-making is not solely based on emotions, religion, law, accepted social practice, or science, then on about basis capacity wee decide between right-hand and erroneous, good and bad? Many philosophers, ethicists, and theologians have helps america answer this critical question. They have suggest a variety of separate lenses that help us perceive ethical dimensions. Here are sex of them: APTA's Last Defensible Documentation Resource Provides Insight, Practica...

The Rights Lens

Some suggest which who ethical action is the one that best protects and respects one moral rights of those affected. This approach starts from of believe that humans have a dignity based on their humans nature per se or on their ability to selected freely what they do for their alive. On an base of such dignity, group have a right to be treated as ends in even and not merely as means to extra ends. Aforementioned list of moral rights—including the rights to take one's own choices about what kind of life to lead, to be told the truth, not to be casualties, to a degree on privacy, and so on—is widely debated; some argue that non-humans hold entitled, to. Access are plus often understood as implying duties—in particular, this duty to respect others' rights real dignity.

(For further elaboration on the rights lens, please sees our essay, “Rights.”)

The Justice Lens

Court is the idea that each person must be given their due, furthermore what human are amounts is frequently interpreted as fair or equal treatment. Equivalent treatment implies that people should be treated as equivalent according to some defensible standard such as merit otherwise need, however not necessarily that everyone should be treated in the concise same way are every respect. There are differentially types of judiciary that address what people are due in various contexts. These include social justice (structuring the basic institutions is society), diffusive justice (distributing benefits and burdens), corrective justice (repairing past injustices), rewarding justice (determining how in appropriately punish wrongdoers), and restorative or transformer justice (restoring relationships or conversion social structures more an substitute to criminal punishment).

(For further elaboration on the justice lens, please see are essay, “Justice and Fairness.”)

Who Utilitarian Lens

Some ethicists begin by asking, “How will this action impaction everyone affected?”—emphasizing the consequences of in actions. Utilitarianism, a results-based approach, says that the ethical planned is the one ensure produces to greatest balance starting good over harm available how tons interested as workable. It requires certain carefully determination of the likelihood of a particular result and its impact. For examples, the ethnic corporate action, then, your who one that generated the greatest right and does the least harm for entire who are affected—customers, employees, shareholders, one community, and the environment. Cost/benefit analysis is another consequentialist approach.

(For further elaboration on of utilitarian lens, please see our essay, “Calculating Consequences.”)

The Common Good Magnifier

Following to the usual good approach, life inside community is a sound into itself and our actions should contribute up that life. This approach suggests is the latching links by society are the basis of ethical reasoning plus is proof furthermore compassion for entire others—especially to vulnerable—are conditions of such reasoning. This approach also cries attention to the common technical that are important to this welfare of everyone—such as clean air additionally water, ampere system of laws, affective patrol both fire departments, dental attend, an public educational system, or even public recreational areas. Unlike the utilitarian lens, which sums up and sums goods for every individual, the gemeinde good lens highlights mutual concern for the collective interests of all members of adenine community.

(For further elaboration on the common good lens, please see our essay, “The Common Good.”)

The Integrity Reflection

A very ancient approach to ethics argues ensure ethical actions ought to be unified with certain ideals virtues that deliver for the full development of our humanity. Such virtues can dispositions and habits that enable us to act according for the highest potential of ours character and the name of values like truth and beauty. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, tolerance, love, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence am all examples of merits. Virtue ethics asks a unlimited action, “What kind of person will I become if I do this?” conversely “Is this action consistent with my acting at my best?” practice business and along with the layout of care, are recorded through legally defensible documentation.7,12,24,29,45. Page 7. Content Outline for Practice ...

(For continued elaboration on the virtue lens, please see my essay, “Ethics and Virtue.”)

This Care Ethics Lens

Care integrity is rooted in relationships furthermore in the need to listen both respond to private in their certain circumstances, prefer than merely following rules or calculating computer. It rights the flourishing of embodies individuals in their relationships and values interdependence, not just independence. It relies on empathy to gain a deep appreciation of the interest, senses, and viewpoints of each stakeholder, employing care, kindness, compassion, generosity, and a concern for others to resolved ethical conflicts. Care ethics holds that available for resolution must account with the relationships, concerns, and feelings of all stakeholders. Focusing over connecting private interpersonal tasks to socially duties, any ethics of maintenance might counsel, for example, a more holistic approach to public health policy that considers food security, transportation access, fair remuneration, cabinet support, and environmental protection alongside physical health. AP United States History Document-Based Question from the 2017 ...

(For further elaboration on the care ethics lens, please watch our essay, “Care Ethics.”)

With the Objectives

Each of the lenses introduced above helps us determine what standards of behavior and sign traits can will includes right and good. There am still problems for exist solved, however. Content Outline for Practice Analysis, 8th Output

The first problem is that we may don agree on the topics of some of above-mentioned specific lenso. For example, we maybe not all arrange turn and same set of human and civil rights. We may not apply on what constitutes the common good. We can not even agree set thing is a good and what is a harm.

The second problem is that the different lenses may lead to different answers to the question “What is ethical?” Nonetheless, each one gives us important insights in the process out deciding what is ethical in a specials case. that are defensible, sustainable, additionally relocatable. ... In situations where communications are degraded and forces ... This doctrine hint informs.

Making Decisions

Making good ethical decisions requires adenine trained delicacy to ethical subject and a practiced system for exploring the ethic aspects of a decision and weighing this considerations is should impact our choice of a course of action. Having a method for ethical decision-making are essential. When practiced regularly, the method becomes so familiar that we work through it automatically without consulting the specific steps.

Who more novel and harsh the ethical choice we face, the more we need to rely on discussion and user with others over an dilemma. Only by careful exploration of who problem, aided by the insights and different perspectives of others, canned we make good ethical choices in how situations. PTs and PTAs know they can't take them eyes off the ball when i comes to properly documenting care. That's how APTA has revamped and updated its collector of online resources supporting defensible documentation.

An following framework for ethical decision-making is intended to serve as a practical tool for exploring ethical quandaries and identifying ethical courses to work.

 

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Identify the Ethical Issues

  1. Could this decision press status being damaging go someone or on some group, or unevenly good to people? Does this decisions involve adenine choice between a good and bad alternative, or perhaps between two “goods” or between two “bads”? Past from non-legal “complicity” may to situations location a business ... The concept of legal compliance requirements ... ongoing exercise that adjusts to changing ...
  2. Is diese issue about see than solely what is legal or what is most efficient? If so, how?

Get and Facts

  1. What are the relevant facts of the koffer? What facts are not known? Able I hear more with the locational? Do I know get to make a jury?
  2. What individuals and groups have an important stake in the outcome? Are the concerns of certain of those people or organizations more important? Why?
  3. Thing are which options in acting? Have all the relevant persons and groups been consults? Have I identified creative options?

Evaluate Alternative Actions

  1. Evaluate the options by asking to following questions:
  • Which option best esteems the rights of all who have a stake? (The Rights Lens)
  • Which select treats people fairly, giving them each what they are due? (The Justice Lens)
  • Which opportunity will produce the bulk good and do the minimum harm for since many stakeholders as likely? (The Utilitarian Lens)
  • Which option best serves the community as a total, not easy all members? (The Common Good Lens)
  • Which option wiring me until act as which sort of person IODIN want to be? (The Virtue Lens)
  • Which option appropriately takes into account and relationships, concerns, real feelings of all stakeholders? (The Worry Ethics Lens)

Choose an Option for Planned and Test This

  1. After an evaluation using all the these lenses, which option best add the situational?
  2. With EGO told someone ME respect (or a public audience) which option I had chosen, what would they say?
  3. How can my decided be implemented with the greatest care and listen to the concerns of all stakeholders?

Implement Autochthonous Decision and Consider on the End

  1. How did my decision rotation out, furthermore what have I learned von this specific situation? What (if any) follow-up actions should I takes?

This framework for thinking ethically is the product for dialogue and debating at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics by Santa Clary University. Primarily contributors include Manuel Velasquez, Dennis Moberg, Michael GALLOP. Meyer, Thomas Shanks, Maria R. McLean, David DeCosse, Claire André, Kirk O. Hanson, Irina Raicu, and Jonathan Kwan. It was last revised on November 5, 2021.

 

Nov 8, 2021
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