Ethics

Ethics – Greek word – Ethika or Ethos – referring to

character
Broadly referring to principles of conduct governing
groups or individuals and trying to distinguish
between:
Right / Wrong
Good / Bad
Proper / Improper
Continued..
B E is a normative science – as a branch of
philosophy, it is concerned with norms of human
conduct
Not empirical like physics and chemistry
Not formal like math and logic
Ethical decisions are real life and not theoretical
They have an impact on people, society, culture,
economy, ecology etc.
History of Ethics
6th Century BC – Pythagoras founded Orphism
5th Century BC – Socrates and Pluto
4th Century BC – Aristotle – Nicomachean Ethics
Propagated theories of Virtues – essentially Good
Habits
Continued..
3rd Century BC – Romans developed theory of
Stoicism, with principles like:
Nature is orderly and rational
Man should endure and renounce worldly goods and
trappings
All other religions also had their own theories of
ethics – Pre-Christian Zoroastrianism, then
Christianity, Hinduism, Jainism, Islam, Buddhism
and Sikhism
History of Business Ethics
1960 – Ralph Nader raised issue of consumer
safety from unsafe automobiles
1965 - Unsafe At Any Speed
Watergate scandal, Vietnam war
Sale of defective material
Illegal political contributions
Discrimination and reverse discrimination
Trade union tyrannies
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Purpose of business?
In an economically free and competitive society,
excessive self-interest by one will be checked by
that of other
Corporate espionage
Bribes
Insider trading
Usage of chemicals in food
Compromising on safety features of products
Definitions
BE is a form of applied ethics that examines
ethical principles and moral or ethical problems
that arise in a business environment
System of moral principles applied in the
commercial world
Moral principles concerning acceptable and
unacceptable behavior by business people and
organizations or corporations
Moral Boundaries
Are corporations and nations moral agents like
individuals?
Are non humans to be considered in ethical
decisions?
To what level?
To what extent should a moral agent take into
account the interests of others not closely
connected with himself?
Who are the moral agents?
Ethics anyone??