Download gst113 ethics and human conduct in the society

NAME:
ADELEGBE BOLANLE MERCY
DEPARTMENT: ACOUNTING
COURSE:
GST113
ETHICS AND HUMAN CONDUCT IN THE SOCIETY
The saying that man is a ‘zoon politikon’ which means that man is a political animal by Aristotle
in a novel called ‘politics’ was aimed at telling us that man is a social being. This suggest that’s
no man can be self-sufficient rather we all need each other in pursuing our main aims. However,
a challenge has been thrown up in this saying, the challenge relates to having a code of conduct
that will guide everyone on how they interact. Perhaps the lack of such code of conduct which is
able to regulate individual tendencies in Thomas Hobbes’s state of nature is the reason why life
was bad. thus in order to guide against the situation of ‘’war of all against all’’ as is found in the
state of nature, every society has come to a level which it expects every individual under its
authority to listen so that it will promote the wellbeing of all in the society.
However, the rules in the society are not only concerned about how we should relate with each
oother, they are also put in to oversee conducts regarding how people should relate to other
things that of value to the society. As such the moral codes tells us how to relate with people,
animals and the environment and in some cases it with heavenly beings. The importance of these
moral rules has led to the systematic study of what is right or wrong, good or bad, just or unjust
called ethics.
ETHICS AND ITS GOALS
What s ethics? Ethics is a part of philosophy where the analytical and critical tools of philosophy
are focused on human actions. As a review, it touches every side of life where one can point to
one human conduct to another. This is the reason for the existence of an ethics of nearly
everything: business ethic, environmental ethics, research ethics, work ethics, Christian ethics,
medical ethics, bioethics etc. these different disparities of ethics recognize that there are varied
ethical challenges that lurk around different disciplines and facets of life that require effective
response that is able to ensure that moral principles are ‘’sustained in the various area of human
operations’’. Ethics points the way to how people should conduct themselves ‘’ so as to live a
good and happy life- the life of well-being’’ a life in which one is not just at peace with himself
but at peace with everyone around him. Ethics ensures social order which is germane for
safeguarding the common good. Furthermore, a good knowledge of ethics provide a guide for
political leaders, public servants and professionals regarding how to conduct the affairs of a
group of person’s.
In attaining the ultimate goals of ethics, which, as described above is to supply human beings
with standards with which they can make distinction between moral and immoral actions, moral
philosophers undertake two task which are: presenting us with better understanding of concepts
employed in moral discourse( this is under the sub-branch of ethics called metaethics) and; two,
developing theories that people can appeal to in making moral decisions and which serves as
justifications for human conduct( this is normative ethics)
METAETHICS
According to Bodunrin, ‘’ the first step in philosophical reasoning is conceptual analysis’’. This
step allow philosophers to explain the concept or idea of being discussed, thereby allowing the
philosopher to extract the meaning of his terms and avoid linguistic mess. In ethics , this aim is
undertaken in metaethics , a sub-branch of ethics dedicated to producing a better understanding
of concepts and terms employed in ethical discourse so thet people are better positioned to
interrogate principles of actions in ethical reasoning.
NORMATIVE ETHICS
There are some actions that everyone will agree is wrong eg stealing, murder, embezzlement etc
but there are others that we often find it difficult to get agreement on, eg euthanasia. One can
begin to wonder whether there are standards that one can adopt and appeal to as guides when one
is faced with making morall decisions. Such standards or norms will specify criteria that make an
act moral or immoral and help one make moral judgement ‘’on the right thing to do or the
appropriate course of action to take’’. Normative ethics is the sub-branch of philosophy that
deals with this issues. the main emphasis of this division of ethics is on determining ‘’ principle
that ought to guide human conduct’’ or ‘’the formulation of moral rules that have direct
implications for what human actions, institutions, and ways of life should be like. In fulfilling
this task, philosophers have made various normative theories that indorse what is meant to be
considered in determining whether an action is right or wrong.
The first set of theories is called teleological ethical theories. These theories have in common the
emphasis placed on the consequences of an action in determining its rightness or wrongness. An
action is right if it brings about good results and action is wrong if it brings about bad results.
Another theory called the ethical hedonism is an ethical theory that interprets the rightness or
wrongness of an actionthis way. The position of ethical hedonist is that pleasure is the only
intrinsic good worth seeking and pain the only intrinsic bad that should be avoided.
Deontological ethical theories reject the use of the outcome of an action in judging its rightness
or wrongness. Moderate deontological theories hold that ‘’consequences do matter but only as
one of the factors relevant in determining the moral rightness of an action’’ while extreme
deontological theories totally reject the relevance of consequences in determining if an action is
morally right or wrong.