Download ETHICS: BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW

IIDE
COLLOQUIM ON ETHICS
AN INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Dave Lubbe
PRESENTER
PROF. DAVE LUBBE
Ethical dilemma
• You are practicing as a medical doctor.
• Mr. Slow Puncture visited you complaining of stress
and burn out because of his work load.
• You send him for blood test – it turns out that he is
HIV positive.
• He demand you not to tell his wife Beauty – she is
also your patient.
• You try your best to persuade him otherwise but he
does not want to change his viewpoint.
• Beauty informed you two weeks ago that they use
condoms as precaution and that they wants to start a
family within six months.
– What will you do, and why?
CONTENTS
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4.
WHY ETHICS AND WHAT IS ETHICS?
THE HISTORY OF ETHICS – AN OVERVIEW
MYTHS/ARGUMENTS ON ETHICS
PRIMARY CHARACHTERISTICS OF GOOD
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
5. ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
6. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO ETHICAL PROBLEMS
1. WHY ETHICS AND WHAT IS
ETHICS?
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Life is full of ethics/ moral decisions
Ethics – more than “professional ethics” (slide 5)
Ethics – morality as synonyms
Ethics ≠ religion – influence
“Ethics concerns itself with what is good/ right in human
interaction” – one of many definitions – (slide 6)
Interaction – two parties or “things”
Good/ right - ???????
Ethics and the law (slide 7)
Apples and barrels
ETHICS
Ethics
Business ethics
Professional ethics
Ethics / Morality
Good
Self
Other
Relation between
ethics and law
Ethical Unethical
Legal
Illegal
Apples & barrels
Good
apples
Good
barrels
Bad
Barrels
Bad
apples
2. THE HISTORY OF ETHICS – AN
OVERVIEW
 Classical antiquity
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From myth to logos
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Origins of western philosophy
 Middle ages
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Union of philosophy and theology
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Faith and knowledge
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Universities
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The renaissance
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Printing
Reformation
Humanism
Man, history, nature
The 17th Century
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Modern territorial states
Rationalists
Natural Law
Mathematical and natural research
Rationalists
 Enlightenment
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American revolution
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Age of reason
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Civil and political law
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Rejection – traditional authority
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Scientific development – human progress
 The 19th century
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European nation states
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German idealism
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Materialism
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Industrial revolution
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Evolution theory
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Natural vs. human sciences
The 20th century and postmodernism
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Age of extremes
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Communism and Fascism
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World of wars
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“Borderless world”
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Relativity and quantum theories
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Environment
• Some philosophers and main aspects
 Socrates – dialogue with CRITO
 Knowledge – from discussion and arguments
 Ask questions
 Refuse – traditional answers
 Once know who are – behave well
 “Inner eye”
 Plato
 Philosophy – ethics - footnotes of Plato
 Aquinas
 “Natural law” – by God
 Hobbes
 Social contract
 Adam Smith
 Invisible hand
 Karl Marx
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Class economy
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Class consciousness
 Kant
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Morality – sticking to compulsory rules
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Who, how, what
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Moral law of duty/ moral action
 Postmodernism
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Post war
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Uncertainty
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Freud/ Jung – unconscious
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Skeptical – “objective reality”
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Ecology – “long march to prison”
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Environmental ethics
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Lack – universally shared moral values
3. MYTHS/ ARGUMENTS ON ETHICS
Introduction
• Africa – fraud endemic, etc
• Rest world – Enron, etc
Myths
• Dog eat dog
• Survival of the fittest
• Nice guys come second
• It is not serious
• When in Rome
• The bottom line is all that matters
• Ethics is not a business “issue”
• Unethical behavior pays
• Justice system failed
4.
PRIMARY CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
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Discipline
Transparency
Independence
Accountability
Responsibility
Fairness
Social responsibility
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© Professor Dave Lubbe.
5. ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
(One of many)
Eight steps to sound ethical decision making
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Gather the facts
Define the ethical issue
Identify the affected parties (stakeholders)
 Identify the consequences for them
 Identify their claims or rights
 Identify the obligations to them
Consider your own character and integrity
Think creatively about potential actions
Discuss your decision with others
Check your gut feeling
6. SOLUTION TO ETHICAL PROBLEMS
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Ethical code – in organization
Corporate governance
More ethical training
Most difficult problems in business world
 Not a clear right or wrong - (not “soft option”)
• Principles and not just rules
• Ethics is
 A state of mind
 Not a checklist
• Tone at the top
• Not just one-size-fits-all
• Intellectual honesty (ethics)
• “I have no problem with ethical issues - I merely
ask myself whether I would mind if my old
mother read about this in the press.”
• “The only thing required for evil to triumph, is for
good men to do nothing.”