Applied ethics

From New World Encyclopedia
Ethics
Theoretical

Meta-ethics
Consequentialism / Deontology / Virtue ethics
Ethics of care
Good and evil | Morality

Applied

Medical ethics / Bioethics
Business ethics
Environmental ethics
Human rights / Animal rights
Legal ethics
Media ethics / Marketing ethics
Ethics of war

Core issues

Justice / Value
Right / Duty / Virtue
Equality / Freedom / Trust
Free will

Key thinkers

Aristotle / Confucius
Aquinas / Hume / Kant / Bentham / Mill / Nietzsche
Hare / Rawls / MacIntyre / Singer / Gilligan

Applied ethics is a field of ethics, which deals with varieties of ethical questions in the contexts of professional, disciplinary, and practical fields. Its sub-field includes Medical ethics, Bioethics, Business ethics, Legal ethics, and others.

In the tradition of Analytic philosophy, philosophical studies were split into two areas in the early twentieth century: logical analysis of languages and the studies of the history of philosophy. While they did not take the normative or ethical questions as the central topic of philosophy, a number of ethical questions arose in each professional or practical fields. Some philosophers responded these calls and developed philosophical theories and presented critical analysis in each field. Applied ethics refers to ethical discourses philosophers developed in diverse practical areas.

Because of the complexity of each ethical issue, a philosopher often has to consider fundamental questions of metaphysics, epistemology, theories of human nature as well as ethics. Furthermore, the question often ranges over multiple disciplines and academic fields, philosophers collaborate with scholars from other fields.

There are generally two approaches: attempt to apply ethical principles such as utilitarianism and Deontological ethics to each issue or question; develop situation based discourses by employing multiple ethical theories.


Challenges of Applied Ethics

Interdependency of ethics and other philosophical fields

Ethical question in practical fields often leads to questions beyond ethics. For example, the question of euthanasia, one of questions in Medical ethics, leads to the questions of the meaning of life, death, aging, happiness, suffering, and human existence. Seemingly simple ethical question is, in reality, deeply tied to a cluster of fundamental questions.

Modern approach

One modern approach which attempts to overcome the seemingly impossible divide between deontology and utilitarianism is case-based reasoning, also known as casuistry. Casuistry does not begin with theory, rather it starts with the immediate facts of a real and concrete case. While casuistry makes use of ethical theory, it does not view ethical theory as the most important feature of moral reasoning. Casuists, like Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin (The Abuse of Casuistry 1988), challenge the traditional paradigm of applied ethics. Instead of starting from theory and applying theory to a particular case, casuists start with the particular case itself and then ask what morally significant features (including both theory and practical considerations) ought to be considered for that particular case. In their observations of medical ethics committees, Jonsen and Toulmin note that a consensus on particularly problematic moral cases often emerges when participants focus on the facts of the case, rather than on ideology or theory. Thus, a Rabbi, a Catholic priest, and an agnostic might agree that, in this particular case, the best approach is to withhold extraordinary medical care, while disagreeing on the reasons that support their individual positions. By focusing on cases and not on theory, those engaged in moral debate increase the possibility of agreement.

Medical ethics and Bioethics

Medical ethics is primarily a field of applied ethics, the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to medicine. As a scholarly discipline, medical ethics encompasses its practical application in clinical settings as well as work on its history, philosophy, theology, and sociology.

Medical ethics tends to be understood narrowly as an applied professional ethics, whereas bioethics appears to have worked more expansive concerns, touching upon the philosophy of science and the critique of biotechnology. Still, the two fields often overlap and the distinction is more a matter of style than professional consensus.

Medical ethics shares many principles with other branches of healthcare ethics, such as nursing ethics.

Bioethics is the philosophical study of the ethical controversies brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, philosophy, and theology.

Business ethics

Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment.

In the increasingly conscience-focused marketplaces of the 21st century, the demand for more ethical business processes and actions (known as ethicism) is increasing.[1] Simultaneously, pressure is applied on industry to improve business ethics through new public initiatives and laws (e.g. higher UK road tax for higher-emission vehicles).[2]

Business ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. In academia descriptive approaches are also taken. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds with non-economic social values. Historically, interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporate websites lay emphasis on commitment to promoting non-economic social values under a variety of headings (e.g. ethics codes, social responsibility charters). In some cases, corporations have redefined their core values in the light of business ethical considerations (e.g. BP's "beyond petroleum" environmental tilt).

Environmental ethics

Environmental ethics is the part of environmental philosophy which considers the ethical relationship between human beings and the natural environment. It exerts influence on a large range of disciplines including law, sociology, theology, economics, ecology and geography.

Environmental ethics is properly but a sub-section of environmental philosophy, which includes environmental aesthetics, environmental theology, and all the other branches of philosophical investigation (e.g., epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of science, etc).

Legal ethics

Legal ethics refers to an ethical code governing the conduct of people engaged in the practice of law. In the United States, the American Bar Association has promulgated model rules that have been influential in many jurisdictions. The model rules address the client-lawyer relationship, duties of a lawyer as advocate in adversary proceedings, dealings with persons other than clients, law firms and associations, public service, advertising, and maintaining the integrity of the profession. Respect of client confidences, candor toward the tribunal, truthfulness in statements to others, and professional independence are some of the defining features of legal ethics.

American law schools are required to offer a course in professional responsibility, which encompasses both legal ethics and matters of professionalism that do not present ethical concerns.


See also

Bibliography

  • Chadwick, R.F. (1997). Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics. London: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-227065-7. 
  • Singer, Peter (1993). Practical Ethics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43971-X.  (monograph)

Anthologies

  • LaFollette, Hugh (2002). Ethics in Practice (2nd Edition). Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0-631-22834-9. 
  • Singer, Peter (1986). Applied Ethics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-875067-6. 
  • Frey, R.G. (2004). A Companion to Applied Ethics. Blackwell. ISBN 1-4051-3345-7. 

External links

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Journals

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  1. Ethics the easy way. H.E.R.O.. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  2. Miliband draws up green tax plan. BBC (2006-10-30). Retrieved 2008-05-21.