ETHICS BPS217

Understanding the Difference Between Good and Bad is an excellent starting point for understanding the Law



Law is (generally) based upon ethics.

When you understand differences in morality  from one person to another; you have an insight into the causes behind people breaking laws.
 
Ethics are believed to derive from a number of sources including: religion, political power, good role models, and also from an innate human desire to do good for others.
 
 

Explore an understanding of "good" and "bad" - and what makes something moral or immoral.

Explore an understanding of "good" and "bad" -and what makes something moral or immoral. 

A person's ethics will have a lot to do with why they adhere to or break laws.


The behaviour of lawyers, judges, police and politicians; will he largely affected by ethics. A clear understanding of ethics, coupled with a knowledge of law, should be the driving forces behind the management of any legal system In this respect, studying ethics is a valuable, if not critical area of study for anyone who work in the law.

 

COURSE STRUCTURE

This course involves nine lessons as follows:

1. Overview and Introductory Ethics
Another way of defining ethics is: “Those norms and rules of conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour”.
Ethics as a concept was not invented, but emerged from human beings starting to examine their own state of being, and beginning to ask: “What is right, and what is wrong?"
In Western thinking, there are broadly three main ethical theories which underlie modern approaches to determining appropriate behaviour.
Examine your own ideas of morality and how you as an individual decide what is right and wrong

2. Arguing an Ethical Position –An overview of Meta ethics
Metaethics is one of three main groups of ethical theories.
Expressivism is a non-cognitive theory of ethics

3. Accommodating Varying Viewpoints
Philosophers have considered different ways to rationalise conflicting viewpoints through ethical decisions.
There are a number of different ethical viewpoints which can be applied to any ethical dilemma, though none can be said to be the right way.

4. Virtues and Morality
A virtue is a personal attribute that is good for the person who possesses that virtue.
What do we mean by morality?

5. Reasons for Ethical Decisions
How do we determine a moral code of conduct and how that tends to be based on religion, the legal system and etiquette, but how does a person decide to adopt one ethical position rather than another?

6. The Social Contract
Social Contract is a means of creating social order, a way of governing how people interact with one another so that individuals are co-operative and treated fairly.

7. Applied Ethics A –An individual’s Rights
Human rights refer to the rights held by everyone by virtue of being a human being.

8. Applied Ethics B -An Ethical Society
An ethical society is likely to have a community which shares ethical ideals and is committed to making life more ethical.

9. Applied Ethics C –Ethics in Work and Business
We consider why organisations require ethics and will focus on the application of ethics in different organisations beginning with ethics in a business/ profit making setting.

 

Ethics is Both Theoretical and Practical

Ethics is commonly thought of as a subdivision within the broader discipline of “philosophy” (philosophy is the study of human thoughts). The term ethics is often applied to examination of theories of the ideal, whereas actual behaviour is frequently discussed in terms of morality.  

The practical application of ethics in society is continually changing; and is reflective of general opinion. Often changes in ethics can preceed changes in laws. Slavery for instance may have been largely considered "ethical" in British society in the 18th century; but public opinion changed in the 19th century; and slavery came to be seen as unethical, first; and eventually as a reflection of thaty change, laws were passed to make slavery illegal.

Similarly, a whole range of social issues have become unfasionable, then seen as unethical, and eventually legislation has changed to accommodate what public opinion dictates as ethical (Consider voting rights for women, capital punishment, and the treatment of homosexuals in society).

Studying Ethics provides remarkable insights into the law!