Moral Frameworks
in Ethics
Abihail B. Pielago BSIT-1A
Objectives
• LEARN ABOUT MORAL FRAMEWOKS
• THEORIES OF MORAL FRAMEWORK
• HOW TO SOLVE A PROBLEM ETHICALLY
• APPROACHES TO MORAL FRAMEWORK
• ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
• WHAT ROLE DOES MORAL FRAMEWORK PLAY IN SOCIETY
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What exactly is Moral Framework?
An ethical framework is a set of that an individual uses to guide his
or her behavior. Ethics are what people use to distinguish right from
wrong in the way they interact with the world. So based on your
moral judgment what you think is the best solution for a particular
problem is moral framework.
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Why is it necessary?
Moral values help in improving behavior, instilling respect and
enhancing relationships with others. Knowing what is right or wrong is
an important element in life that shapes the character on an individual.
Good moral values allows a person to make the right decisions and
improve their interactions with other people.
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Ethical Theories
Ethical Theories are often broadly divided into three types:
Non-
Consequentialist Agent-centered
consequentialist
Theories Theories
Theories
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Consequentialist Theories
◉ The Utilitarian Approach
◉ The Egoistic Approach
◉ The Common Good Approach
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The Utilitarian Approach
To analyze an issue using the utilitarian approach, we first identify the various
courses of action available to us. Second, we ask who will be affected byeach
action and what benefits or harms will be derived from each. And third, we
choose the action that will produce the greatest benefits and the least harm. The
ethical action is the one that provides the greatest good for the greatest number.
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The Egoistic Approach
One variation of the utilitarian approach is known as ethical egoism, or the
ethics of self- interest. In this approach, an individual often uses utilitarian
calculation to produce the greatest amount of good for him or herself.
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The Common Good Approach
This approach to ethics underscores the networked aspects of society
and emphasizes respect and compassion for others, especially those who
are more vulnerable.
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Non-consequentialist Theories
◉ The Duty-Based Approach
◉ The Rights Approach
◉ The Fairness or Justice Approach
◉ The Divine Command Approach
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The Duty-Based Approach
The duty-based approach, sometimes called deontological ethics. The
ethical action is one taken from duty, that is, it is done precisely because
it is our obligation to perform the action. Ethical obligations are the same
for all rational creatures.
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The Rights Approach
The second important approach to ethics has its roots in the philosophy of
the 18th-century thinker Immanuel Kant and others like him, who focused on
the individual's right to choose for herself or himself . what makes human
beings different from mere things is that people have dignity based on their
ability to choose freely what they will do with their lives, and they have a
fundamental moral right to have these choices respected.
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The Fairness or Justice Approach
• This approach stipulates that the best ethical action is that which protects
the ethical rights of those who are affected by the action. It emphasizes the
belief that all humans have a right to dignity.
• Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in
the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply
as a means to an end.
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The Divine Command Approach
As its name suggests, this approach sees what is right as the same as what
God commands, and ethical standards are the creation of God’s will.
Following God’s will is seen as the very definition what is ethical. Because God
is seen as omnipotent and possessed of free will, God could change what is
now considered ethical, and God is not bound by any standard of right or
wrong short of logical contradiction.
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Agent-centered Theories
◉ The Virtue Approach
◉ The Feminist Approach
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The Virtue Approach
The virtue approach to ethics assumes that there are certain ideals
toward which we should strive, which provide for the full development of
our humanity. These ideals are discovered through thoughtful reflection
on what kind of people we have the potential to become.
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The Feminist Approach
In recent decades, the virtue approach to ethics has been supplemented
and sometimes significantly revised by thinkers in the feminist tradition,
who often emphasize the importance of the experiences of women and
other marginalized groups to ethical deliberation.
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Frameworks For Ethical Decision- Making
The Consequentialist
The Virtue Framework
Framework
The Duty Framework
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The main contrasts between the three framework
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Applying Ethical Framework in Cases
◉ Recognizing an Ethical Issue
◉ Consider the Parties Involved
◉ Gather all of the Relevant Information
◉ Formulate Actions and Consider Alternatives
◉ Make a Decision and Consider It
◉ Implementing the Decision
◉ Reflect on the Outcome
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Role of Moral Framework in Society
◉ Family
◉ Education
◉ Media
◉ Government
◉ Religion
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Evolution of Ethics
As efficient actions reveal themselves to an evolving society, its
people develop the means to make productive choices between one
type of action and another. Some choices are decidedly better than
others. This prioritizing of human actions into efficient hierarchies
establishes the foundations of rule systems which later refine
themselves into more sophisticated systems of morals.
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