Ethics or morality poses questions about how we ought to act and how we should live. It asks, "According to what standards are these actions right or wrong?" It asks, "What character traits (like honesty, compassion, fairness) are necessary to live a truly human life?" It also asks, "What concerns or groups do we usually minimize or ignore? And why might that be?" Admitting our blindness is the beginning of vision. (See also Morality in Decision Making.)

Recognizing a Moral Issue

• Is there something wrong personally, interpersonally, or socially? Is there conflict that could be damaging to people? to animals or the environment? to institutions? to society?
• Does the issue go deeper than legal or institutional concerns? What does it do to people as persons who have dignity, rights and hopes for a better life together?

Get The Facts

• What are the relevant facts of the case?
• What individuals and groups have an important stake in the outcome? What is at stake for each? Do some have a greater stake because they have a special need (e.g., those who are poor or excluded) or because we have special obligations to them? Are there other important stakeholders in addition to those directly involved?
• What are the options for acting? Have all the relevant persons and groups been consulted? If you showed your list of options to someone you respect, what would that person say?

Evaluate The Alternative Actions From Various Moral Perspectives

• Which option will produce the most good and do the least harm?
• Which option respects the rights and dignity of all stakeholders? Even if not everyone gets all they want, will everyone still be treated fairly?
• Which option would promote the common good and help all participate more fully in the goods we share as a society, as a community, as a company, as a family?
• Which option would enable the deepening or development of those virtues or character traits that we value as individuals? as a profession? as a society?

Making A Decision

• Consider which option is the right (safe, compassionate, responsible) thing to do.
• If you told someone whom you respect why you chose this particular option, what would that person say?

The Utilitarian Perspective

• Focuses on the consequences that actions or policies have on the well-being ("utility") of all persons directly or indirectly affected by the action or policy.

• This principle states: "Of any two actions, the most ethical one will produce the greatest balance of benefits over harms."

• For more on this topic, see at SCU's website:
  "The Utilitarian Perspective"
  "Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics"

• Many other scholarly sources on utilitarianism may be found at:
  http://ethics.acusd.edu/theories/Utilitarianism/
  http://www.utilitarianism.com/

The Rights Perspective

• Identifies certain fundamental civil, political and economic rights that merit protection or respect because they pertain to the dignity of the human person.
• Each person has a fundamental right to be respected and treated as a free and equal rational person capable of making his or her own decisions.
• Examples of rights that are traditionally recognized in this approach include: the right to privacy, autonomy, the right to subsistence, freedom of conscience, the right to physical integrity, etc.

• This principle states: "Act in ways that respect the dignity of other persons by honoring or protecting their legitimate moral rights."

• For more on this topic, see at SCU's website:
  "The Rights Perspective"
  "Rights"

• Many other useful sources on rights may be found at:
  http://www.hrw.org/
  http://www.freedomhouse.org/
  http://ethics.acusd.edu/theories/rights/

The Fairness (or Justice) Perspective

• Focuses on how fairly or unfairly our actions distribute benefits and burdens among the members of a group.
• Fairness requires consistency in the way people are treated.
• Examples of what is offered as morally justifiable reasons for treating people differently: need, merit, effort, fault, etc.

• This principle states: "Treat people the same unless there are morally relevant differences between them."

• For more on this topic, see at SCU's website:
  "The Fairness (or Justice) Perspective"
  "Justice and Fairness"

• Many other scholarly sources on fairness/justice may be found at:
  http://ethics.acusd.edu/theories/kant/
  http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/d/duties.htm
  http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/p/primafac.htm
  http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/o/

The Common Good Perspective

• Presents a vision of society as a community whose members are joined in a shared pursuit of values and goals they hold in common.
• The community is comprised of individuals whose own good is inextricably bound to the good of the whole.

• This principle states: "What is ethical is what advances the common good."

• For more on this topic, see at SCU's website:
  "The Common Good Perspective"
  "The Common Good"

• Other resources on the common good are cited at:
  http://www.abc.net.au/civics/

The Virtue Perspective

• Focuses on attitudes, dispositions or character traits that enable us to be and act in ways that develop our human potential.
• Examples: honesty, courage, faithfulness, trustworthiness, integrity, compassion, etc.

• This principle states: "What is ethical is what develops moral virtues in ourselves and our communities."

• For more on this topic, see at SCU's website:
  "Ethics & Virtue"               "Can Ethics Be Taught?"
  "Conscience & Authority"    "The Virtue Perspective"

• Many other scholarly sources on virtue may be found at:
  http://ethics.acusd.edu/theories/aristotle/
  http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/v/virtue.htm

The above is an adapted version of Practicing Ethics: Decision Making: A Framework For Ethical Decision Making.
Reprinted with special permission from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in California, USA.

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