#What is ethics? Explain the different approaches to ethics.
“Ethics can be defined as the systematic study of human
actions from the point of view of their rightfulness or wrongfulness, as means
for the attainment of the ultimate happiness.”
Etymologically,
the term ‘ethics’ correspond to the Greek word ‘ethos’ which means- character,
habit, custom, ways of behaviour.
In
simple words ethics refers to what is good and the way to get it, and what is
bad and how to avoid it.
Ethics
covers the following dilemmas-
1.
How to lead a good life?
2.
Our rights and responsibilities.
3.
The language of right and wrong.
4.
Moral decisions- what is good and bad?
Our concept of ethics have been
derived from religions, philosophies and cultures.
They
infuse debates on topics like abortion, human rights and professional conduct.
Approaches to ethics-
Philosophers tend to divide ethical
theories into four areas: meta-ethics, descriptive, normative and applied
ethics.
Meta-ethics:
a.
It is a study of what ethical terms and theories
actually refer to.
b.
It looks at the origins and the meaning of
ethical principles.
c.
It deals with questions like- ‘what do the words
“good”, “bad”, “right”, “wrong” mean?’
Descriptive ethics:
a.
It is a study about people’s belief about
morality/right and wrong.
b.
It deals with questions like ‘what do people
think is right?’
Normative ethics:
a.
It is a study of ethical theories that prescribe
people ought to act.
b.
It deals with questions like ‘how should people
act in a particular situation?’
Applied ethics:
a.
It looks at controversial topics like war,
abortion, capital punishment, human rights etc.
b.
It deals with questions like- ‘How do we take
moral knowledge and put it into practise?’
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