Subject Review Fundamental to this course are certain historical and philosophic
ID: 1152785 • Letter: S
Question
Subject Review Fundamental to this course are certain historical and philosophical perspectives. Briefly summarize and explain the ethical theories of relativism, utilitarianism, duty-based ethics, and virtue ethics. Please reference the reading in your answer.
textbook:An Introduction to Business Ethics, 5th Edition by Joseph DesJardins
When citing course material indicate so in parenthesis, example: (DesJardins pg 40). You should not need to reference sources outside of our course materials; however, if you do choose to reference an outside source, make sure you cite the source correctly. You may use any citation style as long as it is used uniformly.
pls type
Explanation / Answer
Relativism
Ethical Relativism suggests that no absolute ethical theory is there which can be regarded as true and universally applied to all the individuals, corporations and societies across the world. It suggests that the moral standards which are true and followed in a particular region of the world may not be applied and followed in other parts of the world. For example, child slavery is banned in India but the same is not specifically, in cocoa producing countries like, Ghana and Ivory Coast. Some determinants of ethics like, culture and upbringing, which differ from person to person and region to region are some of the reasons . It reminds of the cultural differences which exists in different societies of the world. Societies defend their beliefs and practices, hold their view points and have strong reasons to hold them.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism focuses on the result or consequence of an action. It advocates
the maximisation of the “over all good or greatest good for the greatest number of
people”. The good or bad acts are judged on the basis of the consequences. However,
utilitarianism has some inherent flaws; for instance, a lie may be considered to be good
if the consequence of that lie brings greatest good for the greatest number of people.
Utilitarian theory, nevertheless, has been applied to derive the greater good. For
instance, individuals require goods to satisfy their wants, but scarcity and competition
prevent the individuals to get everything they want, utilitarian theory comes handy in
this situation, as individuals can choose according to preferences which has the
maximum want satisfying power.
Duty Based
Duty theories base morality on specific, foundational principles of obligation.These theories are sometimes called deontological, in view of the foundational nature of our duty or obligation.deontological ethics emphasise that sometimes, the correct path is determined by the fulfilment of certain duties.
One of the deontological theories is given by Kant about the Categorical
Imperative, which advocates that our fundamental ethical duty is to respect the people
and treat them as equally capable entities, living an autonomous life. Kant gave the
maxims (universally accepted), according to which people?s acts should be based upon.
It leads to the common understanding of rights, duties and justice.
ethic of virtue ( virtue ethics)
ethics of virtue is based on evaluations of the moral character of persons or groups .A virtue is an excellent trait of character. The virtue ethical theory judges a person by his character rather than by an action that may deviate from his normal behavior. It takes the person's morals, reputation and motivation into account when rating an unusual and irregular behavior that is considered unethical. For instance, if a person plagiarized a passage that was later detected by a peer, the peer who knows the person well will understand the person's character and will be able to judge the friend. If the plagiarizer normally follows the rules and has good standing amongst his colleagues, the peer who encounters the plagiarized passage may be able to judge his friend more leniently. Perhaps the researcher had a late night and simply forgot to credit his or her source appropriately. Conversely, a person who has a reputation for scientific misconduct is more likely to be judged harshly for plagiarizing because of his consistent past of unethical behavior.