Week 1 Forum: Three, Two, One Response about Bioethics
Background Reading: Ethical Perspectives and Theories How Does Ethics Differ from Morals and Values?
The terms values, morals, and ethics are often used interchangeably. However, there are some distinctions between these terms that are helpful to make.
• Values signify what is important and worthwhile. They serve as the basis for moral codes and ethical reflection. All individuals have their own values based on many aspects including: family, religion, peers, culture, race, social background, gender, etc. Values guide individuals, professions, communities, and institutions. One expression of values might be that `Life is sacred.’
• Morals are codes of conduct governing behavior. They are an expression of values reflected in actions and practices. Morals can be held at an individual or communal level. For example, ‘One should not kill’ provides a guideline for action based upon values.
• Ethics provides a systematic, rational way to work through dilemmas and to determine the best course of action in the face of conflicting choices. Ethics attempts to find and describe what people believe is right and wrong, and to establish whether certain actions are actually right or wrong based on the all the information available. For example, ethics might address a question such as ‘If killing is wrong, can one justify the death penalty or kill in self-defense?’
What Are Some Different Ethical Perspectives?
Ethicists defend their positions by using different ethical perspectives and theories. Five of the major perspectives are described here.
• Moral Rules An action is right if it follows certain fundamental moral rules. In Rules-based perspectives, the important feature is that an action itself should be considered, not what happens as a result of that action. This theory emphasizes moral duties and obligations as well as moral rights. Examples of commonly used rules are not to treat people as only a ‘means to an end’ and to ‘treat others as you would like to be treated yourself’. Someone arguing from a rules-based perspective might say that his or her moral rule or duty is to ‘always avoid killing’.
• Virtues An action is right if it conforms to a model set of attributes inherent in a particular community. Virtues-based ethics looks at the overall character that is considered desirable by a community. It then asks, ‘what would the virtuous person do?’
