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Professional Ethics PDF

This document discusses two main theories in ethics: consequentialist theories and non-consequentialist theories. Consequentialist theories determine the morality of an action based on its consequences, while non-consequentialist theories assess morality based on the intrinsic features of the action. Some key types of consequentialist theories mentioned are utilitarianism and egoism, while Kant's theory is given as an example of a non-consequentialist view. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are briefly outlined.

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51 views5 pages

Professional Ethics PDF

This document discusses two main theories in ethics: consequentialist theories and non-consequentialist theories. Consequentialist theories determine the morality of an action based on its consequences, while non-consequentialist theories assess morality based on the intrinsic features of the action. Some key types of consequentialist theories mentioned are utilitarianism and egoism, while Kant's theory is given as an example of a non-consequentialist view. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are briefly outlined.

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aboubakr3000
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Professional Ethics

GEN 301
Summer II 2018
Assignment

Submitted to

Mr. Zuhair Dalal

Submitted by

Name:

ID:
Answer 1

Pressure to conform to the group and to adhere to its norms and beliefs can lead to the surrender
of individual moral autonomy. This tendency is enhanced by the fact that group actions
frequently involve the participation of many people. As a result, responsibility for what an
organization does can become fragmented or diffused throughout the group, with no single
individual seeing himself or herself as responsible for what happens. Indeed, it may be difficult
to say exactly who should be held accountable. This diffusion of responsibility inside an
organization leads individuals to have a diluted or diminished sense of their own personal moral
responsibilities. They tend to see themselves simply as small players in a process or as cogs in a
machine, over which they have no control and for which they are uncap-countable. They
rationalize to themselves contributing to actions, policies, or events that they would refuse to
perform or to authorize if they thought the decision were entirely up to them. ‘‘It’s not my
fault,’’ they think. ‘‘This would happen anyway, with or without me.’’ Diffusion of
responsibility encourages the moral myopia of thinking ‘‘I’m just doing my job,’’ instead of
taking a 20/20 look at the bigger picture. Diffusion of responsibility inside an organization can
weaken people’s sense of moral responsibility.

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Answer 2

In ethics there are two types of theories that are considered the two views of scientists and
researchers about the moral rightness or wrongness about actions in the life, for every theory has
its advantages and disadvantages and every theory has its types and differs in the consequences
of actions and how they deal with unethical behavior.

Consequentialist theories Non-consequentialist theories


Definition Those that determine the moral Those that determine the moral
rightness or wrongness of an rightness or wrongness of an action
action based on the action’s based on the action’s intrinsic
consequences or results. features or character.
Types • Egoism • Kant’s Theory
• Utilitarianism
Advantages Utilitarianism • Do not have to compute
▪ Practical, Results- consequences
oriented View • Provide strong guidance in
▪ Relatively clear how to rules
make ethical judgments • Ground systems on something
Egoism other than consequences and
• Our self-interest can avoid cost-benefit analysis
promote others as well

Disadvantages ▪ How can we know all the • Ignores consequences of acts


consequences of an or rules
action? • Divided over which rules are
▪ How can we compare best to follow and why
utility from person to • Unclear how to resolve
person? conflict between rules
▪ Do we include all • Seems to close down moral
generations? All species? discussion
▪ Will utilitarianism lead us • Virtue ethics seems to assume
to ‘repugnant that humans have a purpose,
conclusions’? that morality is innate and
Problems of Egoism that the virtues are clearly
• Psychological egoism is recognizable
not a sound theory • Can’t reconcile multiple
• Ethical egoism is not obligations. For examples,
really a moral theory at promises.
all
• Ethical egoism ignores
blatant wrongs

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Answer 3

in his book, A Theory of Justice, Rawls asks us to imagine a fantastic scene: a group of people
are gathered to plan their own future society, hammering out the details of what will basically
become a Social Contract. Rawls calls this the “Original Position.” In the Original Position, the
future citizens do not yet know what part they will play in their upcoming society. They must
design their society behind what Rawls calls the Veil of Ignorance.

Neither do the people know what type of society they will be entering. They do not know its
culture, its economic situation, or political climate.

It is important for Rawls that the planners of this future society operate behind this Veil Of
Ignorance, for as Rawls says, “if a man knew that he was wealthy, he might find it rational to
advance the principle that various taxes for welfare measures be counted unjust; if he knew that
he were poor, he would most likely propose the contrary principle. To represent the desired
restrictions, one imagines a situation in which everyone is deprived of this sort of information.”

Rawls contends that if “rational persons concerned to advance their interests” found themselves
in this type of Original Position, they would agree to a Social Contract in which there existed an
equal distribution of liberties and social goods. As an illustration, he describes the following
situation:

A group of people are presented a cake (that we assume they all desperately desire). One of them
must slice the cake and divvy out the portions. What instructions will they give the man doing
the slicing? Rawls says that they will tell the man slicing that he must take the last piece. By
doing this, they assure the man will cut equal pieces, for this is the best way he can assure
himself that he will get the largest share possible. If he were to cut uneven slices then the larger
slices would already be picked when his turn came, and he would be left with the smallest slice.

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Works Cited
BBC. (2016). Consequentialism. Retrieved August 25, 2018, from http://www.bbc.co.uk:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/consequentialism_1.shtml

Conner, P. (2016). Consequentialism and Nonconsequentialism. Retrieved August 25, 2018, from
https://www.academia.edu:
https://www.academia.edu/2146503/Consequentialism_and_Nonconsequentialism?auto=downloa
d

Farnam Street Media Inc. (2017, October). The Fairness Principle: How the Veil of Ignorance Helps Test
Fairness. Retrieved August 2018, from https://fs.blog: https://fs.blog/2017/10/veil-ignorance/

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