Ethics

Ethics

The act of moral wisdom. 2010

The Socratic Method• Used first by the classical Greek philosopher Socrates. Plato was a

student of Socrates.

• A form of debate that inspires critical thinking and illuminates ideas.

• A method of thought that generates knowledge of ones beliefs and values.

• This practice is commonly used in the law schools and the criminal justice system.

• One form of this would be the Devils Advocate approach to thinking.

• Socrates unexamined life theory : He saw this as a life not worth living.....do not live life ‘’ dead from the neck up ‘’ . Be courageous and suffer the consequences rather then live with out a sense of purpose....this is true living.

• He said .... the wisest person is the one who realizes how truly ignorant they really are.

*He linked knowledge with doing .....’’It is morally wrong to hold knowledge and enlightenment with out taking moral action’’ .....the evil of inaction.

*Mindlessness in it’s self is an act of sin!!!In the end Socrates was seen as a deviant for challenging the morality and wisdom of his own government....he was put to death.

Fundamentals

• Keep an open mind about every issue.

• See issues from as many perspectives as possible.

• Test your bias on issues that you have already formed opinions on.

• Every one has their own truth !

• Never be ashamed to change your opinion on an issue.

• Most issues in life are gray and not simply black or white.

Morally ethical decisions

always come with a cost

Ethics .... ‘’a moral philosophy in human behaviour and morality ‘’

• Some rules for Ethical Thinking.

• 1) There are more questions than answers.• 2) It’s about Thinking / Behaviour....Modeling.• 3) Our decisions affect others.• 4) Honesty may not always pay.• 5) Humans beings can be dishonest. • 6) We feel guilt about bad things we do ‘’ this is good ‘’.• 7) There are NO experts only life.• 8) Moral action demands courage and integrity. • 9) Ethical decisions usually come with a price.• 10) Moral actions can often lead to social deviance.

Social ‘’ moral ‘’ deviants. Mohamed Ali , Donald Marshall Junior and Nelson Mandela.

Moral Maturity • Just like any other measure of our

personal growth morality has it’s own sense of maturity. Those who lack maturity usually act in reckless ways and with out empathy.

• An act of Evil is one that is acted upon with out empathy or regard for others.

• With out empathizing there can be no moral actions.

The Perils of Mindlessness

• Simply put , we allow others to navigate our existence , we are not the captains of our own ships.

• If it’s in print we believe it !

• We usually do not monitor our information sources .... CNN / CBC / BBC / FOX / MTV .... Your teacher / parents / peers ....

• Junk in the brain ...... Junk out of the mouth !!!!

• Constructing a critical mind is essential for ethical thinking.

Critical Thinking

• We touched on this earlier , it is not about criticizing something !!.... It is not a negative activity .... It’s a positive act of mindfulness.

• The student who asks probing questions , who seeks logic and examines assumptions benefits greatly over those who memorize and regurgitate information.

• Critical Thinking is not following others opinions blindly.

• A will to resist the temptation of jumping to conclusions.

• To find the courage to speak our views and risk ridicule from others.

• To evenly weigh evidence ,to rely on trustworthy sources of information.....to disregard hear-say or unsubstantiated opinions ......to think logically !!

• The ability to think fairly , not only about our own view points , but opposing view points as well.

The Counter Argument• A skill of Critical

Thinking is the Counter Argument.

• Each of us should be capable of making a counter argument for every value and idea we support !!!.

• What critical thinking is not : ... It is not about voicing unsubstantiated points of view or questioning for the sake of doing so .

•No comments from the Peanut gallery!!

• These principles are tools that we can all use to assist us in making ethical decisions about very complex issues .

• The Bell. This approach is based on the logic that if it feels wrong it likely is wrong....some what like warning bells that go off in our head telling us that we should rethink our decisions and actions.

• ....if you have ever said , ‘’ I knew I shouldn't have done that ‘’ , you likely were not attending to your warning bells.

Ethical Principles

• The Book : This approach refers to written codes of ethics , laws , regulations .....

• When thinking through an issue we might decide that it’s best to follow departmental policy or to hold others to codes of conduct.

• The Professional Conduct Rubric is an example of this.

• The Candle : The approach simply looks at how your decision might appear if it were held up to the light of day.

• Decisions that are made in hast often fail this test.

• How might others judge your actions ? , how will history remember your actions ?

• The Imaginary Video Camera: The approach works like this.....when you are thinking about taking action on a situation imagine what your actions might appear like if they were caught on video tape ! How would you be perceived?

• Rodney King beating , armature video , Mar/3/1991.

• The Other Person’s Moccasins : From the aboriginal saying ‘’ Never judge another person until you have walked two moons in their moccasins ‘’

– What would I be thinking if the roles were reversed ?– Have I allowed myself to suffer tunnel vision regarding

this matter ? – Am I so convinced that this person is wrong that I blinded

by my own bias ?

Summary

• At times we may have felt sickly / nervous and a need to constantly justify our position to ourselves and others because of our sense of guilt.

• These feelings may decrees once you act upon these ethical approaches however they will never fully diminish.

• The point is that we may avoid disastrous relationship and career ending events.

• Most of us rarely excises these skills , even if you fail you still have made an attempt to think ethically and with moral integrity.