Ethics

1. Ethics • The reasoned study of the moral facet of human conduct.

2. Professional Ethics • The application of ethical principles and concepts to moral issues that may arise in professional life.

3. Morality • Refers to the rules and social mores (standards) that we are taught to follow. • Ethics, then, can be seen as an opportunity for the thoughtful questioning of those rules and mores.

4. Ethical Principles • General guidelines for ethical behavior; statements of how people should act under normal circumstances. • Examples: • "People should treat others as they would want to be treated themselves” • "People should respect the rights of others.” • "People should be honest.”

5. Ethical Values • Refers to ethical "ideals," such as honesty, generosity, integrity, courage, kindness, altruism, etc. • People often use values as a basis for the concept of "goodness.”

6. Ethical Issues • Situations or actions that have moral implications. • Topics that raise honest ethical debate.

7. Integrity • The character trait of living consistently with personal ethical principles that others would consider commendable. • (Thus, living consistently with reprehensible ethical principles would not be considered as demonstrating integrity.)

8. Character • The totality of one's personal ethical identity; the combination or sum of one's ethical strengths and weaknesses.

9. Profession • "Moral education is the most important task of the common school." (Horace Mann)An occupation whose members possess a specialized body of knowledge acquired through advanced education or training, and whose members choose to hold themselves and their colleagues to higher standards of ethics than those normally held by other members of society.

10. Code of Ethics • A written set of principles and rules intended to serve as a guideline for determining appropriate ethical behavior for those individuals under its authority.

11. Conflict of Interest • A particular kind of ethical issue or problem common in professional life. • Conflicts of interest occur when an individual who has promised or committed to act in the best interests of another person or group, violates that promise and acts in his or her own self-interest instead.

12. Conflict of Interest • Examples could include police officers accepting bribes to ignore illegal activity, politicians accepting gifts in exchange for political influence, accountants stealing money from clients' accounts, etc.