1.

Why is it we called ethics = Ethics is only possible because we can act against our nature,
based on our conscience. It stops us from simply describing what is likely to happen, and allows us to
make judgements about what should happen.

2. What does the word ethics mean to you? = Ethics is based on well-founded standards of
right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations,
benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. ... "Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs."
"Being ethical is doing what the law requires."

3.What is “ETHICS”?
The term ethics is derived from the Greek word ethikos which itself is derived from the
Greek word ethos, meaning custom or character. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is
“good.” The field of ethics or moral philosophy involves developing, defending, and recommending
concepts of right and wrong behavior.

What is a simple definition of ethics?

Ethics is defined as a moral philosophy or code of morals practiced by a person or group of people.
An example of ethics is a the code of conduct set by a business.

ETHICS is based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to
do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.
Manuel Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S.J., and Michael J. Meyer
Some years ago, sociologist Raymond Baumhart asked business people, "What does ethics mean
to you?" Among their replies were the following:

1."Ethics has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or wrong."

2. "Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs."
3. "Being ethical is doing what the law requires."
4. "Ethics consists of the standards of behavior our society accepts."
5. "I don't know what the word means."
6. “Put it in simple words, Ethics is the study of what is morally right and what is not.”
7. “being a student of Social Ethics, I find this article very instructive.”

These replies might be typical of our own. The meaning of "ethics" is hard to pin down, and the views
many people have about ethics are shaky.
Like Baumhart's first respondent, many people tend to equate ethics with their feelings. But being
ethical is clearly not a matter of following one's feelings. A person following his or her feelings may
recoil from doing what is right. In fact, feelings frequently deviate from what is ethical.
Nor should one identify ethics with religion. Most religions, of course, advocate high ethical standards.
Yet if ethics were confined to religion, then ethics would apply only to religious people.
But ethics applies as much to the behavior of the atheist as to that of the devout religious person.
Religion can set high ethical standards and can provide intense motivations for ethical behavior. Ethics,
however, cannot be confined to religion nor is it the same as religion.
Being ethical is also not the same as following the law. The law often incorporates ethical standards to
which most citizens subscribe. But laws, like feelings, can deviate from what is ethical. Our own pre-
Civil War slavery laws and the old apartheid laws of present-day South Africa are grotesquely obvious
examples of laws that deviate from what is ethical.
Finally, being ethical is not the same as doing "whatever society accepts." In any society, most people
accept standards that are, in fact, ethical. But standards of behavior in society can deviate from what
is ethical. An entire society can become ethically corrupt. Nazi Germany is a good example of a morally
corrupt society.
Moreover, if being ethical were doing "whatever society accepts," then to find out what is ethical, one
would have to find out what society accepts. To decide what I should think about abortion, for example,
I would have to take a survey of American society and then conform my beliefs to whatever society
accepts. But no one ever tries to decide an ethical issue by doing a survey. Further, the lack of social
consensus on many issues makes it impossible to equate ethics with whatever society accepts. Some
people accept abortion but many others do not. If being ethical were doing whatever society accepts,
one would have to find an agreement on issues which does not, in fact, exist.
What, then, is ethics? Ethics is two things. First, ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and
wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to
society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the
reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical
standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. And, ethical
standards include standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury,
and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported
by consistent and well-founded reasons.
Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards. As mentioned above,
feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is necessary to constantly
examine one's standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded. Ethics also means, then,
the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure
that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-
based. This article appeared originally in Issues in Ethics IIE V1 N1 (Fall 1987). Revised in 2010. Jan 1, 2010

4. How did ethics begin? If one has in mind ethics proper—i.e., the systematic study of what is
morally right and wrong—it is clear that ethics could have come into existence only when human
beings started to reflect on the best way to live. ..... Accordingly, ethics began with the introduction
of the first moral codes.

5. What is the root of the word ethics? The root word for Ethical is the Greek "ethos," meaning
"character." The root wordfor Moral is Latin "mos," meaning "custom." Both words are broadly
defined in contemporary English as having to do with right and wrong conduct.

6. Where does the word ethics come from? The term ethics is derived from the
Greek word ethikos which itself is derived from the Greek word ethos, meaning custom or character.
In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is “good.” The field of ethics or moral philosophy
involves developing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.

7. What are examples of ethics? Examples of societal ethical behavior can include such things
as: Respect for another's property. Refraining from violence against another.

8. Who invented ethics? Kantian ethics

Immanuel Kant, in the 18th century, argued that right and wrong are founded on duty, which issues a
Categorical Imperative to us, a command that, of its nature, ought to be obeyed.

9. What is the source of ethics? Ethics in general refers to a system of good and bad, moral and
immoral, fair and unfair. It is a code of conduct that is supposed to align behaviors within an
organization and the social framework. ... Primarily ethics in business is affected by three sources -
culture, religion and laws of the state.
10. Why do we have ethics? Ethics help us navigate the gray area between absolute right and
morally wrong. They provide the structure that helps us make a decision we can be proud of. ...
Without ethics, society would be reduced to the type of animal behaviour that is seen in nature.

Why do we need ethics?

There are times when the right and wrong decisions are obvious, but what about the times where the
outcome is less clear? Situations where, if nobody knew you made the wrong decision, you would
benefit financially, emotionally, or otherwise. Ethics help us navigate the gray area between absolute
right and morally wrong. They provide the structure that helps us make a decision we can be proud of.
For me personally, ethics are the rules that society must adhere to.
Descartes may have said “I think, therefore I am” but it is not only thinking that makes mankind
sentient, it’s the ability to think and act ethically. Without ethics, society would be reduced to the type
of animal behaviour that is seen in nature. Hunt, kill, feed, fornicate. When mankind started to think
about the outcome of their action, or inaction, ethics were born. Mankind demonstrates its difference
from the rest of the animal kingdom by being imaginative enough to follow a concept through the
various possible outcomes, and then deciding on the action that best suits the personal beliefs of the
person in question.
There are many schools of thought to help us make our ethical choices. Epicurus believed if everyone
is honest, prudent, and employs justice when dealing with others, they would be free from retribution
from society. Basically, if everyone is good, everything will be good. John Stuart Mills held a variation
on this belief, but felt it was more pure to remove the pleasure for oneself. Mills Utilitarianism provides
a world where our rewards are not considered in our actions. For Mills, a mantra of “I will cut, you can
choose” ensures that everyone gets a fair slice of the pie.
Immanuel Kant had a different idea about ethics. Kant saw everything as black or white, and mankind
has a “duty without exception.” This view affords no wiggle room on any decision. If the outcome is
bad in any way, then it is ethically wrong. W.D. Ross provided a more lenient view of Kant’s philosophy.
By providing “self-evident duties” Ross helps us navigate the gray areas of the map by providing
guidelines for us to follow. Ross starts with “First – do no harm” but then juxtaposes this with the
second rule of “Make amends if you do harm.” By allowing for violations of the first rule, Ross allows
mankind to make the decisions that suit their personal beliefs.
The argument against the previous philosophies is they are based on people, society, having an
inherent understanding of what is good or bad. John Rawls developed a theory of justice that creates
a “veil of ignorance.” By framing the ethical question in a way that the asker doesn’t know if they will
benefit or be the victim within the equation, a true answer will develop. The understanding is that if
you don’t know if you will benefit or suffer from the decision, you will create a more “fair” outcome for
either party.
Just like humanity, ethical situations are evolving. Decisions that were considered ethical ten years ago
are reevaluated because society has decided the original decision was not the correct one. We need to
continue to explore the decisions from our past and determine if the answer we came up with is still
acceptable today. Ethics are not static, but if we are consistent in our application of the above
philosophies, we can ensure that we are able to carefully evaluate our decisions and further progress
in our march away from our past mentality of hunt, kill, feed, and fornicate.
– Jason

11. What is a simple definition of ethics? Ethics is defined as a moral philosophy or code of morals
practiced by a person or group of people. An example of ethics is a the code of conduct set by a business.
12.Why Do We Need Ethics?
The Pathway to Principle-Based Decision Making
I recently wrote a blog on my Workplace Ethics Advice site on Principle Centered Leadership. Basic principles of
ethics can help us lead a more fulfilling life whether on a personal or professional level. However, our
commitment to act in accordance with ethical principles is often challenged because of pressures to do otherwise.
Peer pressure can make it more difficult for young people to act in a proper manner when conflicting interests
exist. Workplace pressures may cause us to react in a way that is inconsistent with our values. Pressure from a
superior may threaten our commitment to do the right thing.
Ethics is a system of principles that helps us tell right from wrong, good from bad. Ethics can give real and
practical guidance to our lives. Ethical values (i.e. honesty, trustworthiness, responsibility) help guide us along
a pathway to deal more effectively with ethical dilemmas by eliminating those behaviors that do not conform to
our sense of right and wrong – our best rational interests – without sacrificing others.
Ethics is all about the choices we make. We constantly face choices that affect the quality of our lives. We are
aware that the choices that we make have consequences, both for ourselves and others. We are aware of the
responsibility we have for our actions.
Let’s assume you have discovered through a reliable third party that your best friend is cheating on his wife.
Your wife asks whether you know anything about it after seeing your friend with another woman at a restaurant.
Would you:
1. Confide in her that the cheating is going on.
2. Deny you know anything about it.
3. Tell her your friend hasn’t said anything to you about it.
Honesty requires that you tell your wife that a reliable third party informed you of the cheating. You may think
it is best to say that you have no direct knowledge of the cheating, which is technically correct, but it’s a lie by
omission. Denying you know anything about it is an outright lie – a lie by commission. Your primary responsibility
is to the truth. You may rationalize saying nothing out of loyalty to your friend. However, loyalty is generally a
secondary value to honesty. If it were not, then one could rationalize doing something wrong or failing to act
out in the right way out of loyalty to another party.
Why do some people lack ethics? One thought is they have “blind spots” where ethics is concerned. Max
Bazerman and Ann Trebrunsel describe blind spots as the gaps between who you want to be and the person
you are. In other words, most of us want to do the right thing but internal and external pressures get in the
way.
Let’s assume we approached our best friend about the cheating. He may swear us to secrecy and remind us of
a past situation where he was loyal to our interests above all else. We want to be an honest person, but don’t
want to get our friend in trouble. A classic ethical dilemma ensues.
Ethics is about character -- the sum of qualities that defines a person. These qualities include a person’s intellect,
thoughts, ideas, motives, intentions, temperament, judgment, behavior, imagination, perception, emotions,
loves, and hates. In virtue ethics, character is all about what a well-intentioned person with good character
would do. Character counts, as the saying goes, and it is the sum of who we are. What we stand for.
Virtue ethicists place less emphasis on learning philosophical rules and instead stress the importance of
developing good habits of character – dispositions to do the right thing in the right place at the right time in the
right way. Cardinal virtues are wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. These virtues inform ethical decision
making because they provide a foundation to make good judgments when faced with an ethical dilemma.
We need to be ethical because it defines who we are individually and as a society. These are norms of behavior
that everyone should follow. Our society might fall into chaos if we accept that each of us could pick and choose
what the right thing to do is. Some people may lie; others may not do what they say they will do; still others act
irresponsibly and engage in harmful behavior.
There is nothing wrong with pursuing one’s own interests. However, an ethical person must be willing – at least
sometimes – to place the interests of others ahead of self-interest, because of our responsibility to a civil society.
This is the moral point of view.
Derrick A. Bell said in Ethical Ambition: Living a Life of Meaning and Worth: “Courage is a decision you make to
act in a way that works through your own fear for the greater good as opposed to pure self-interest. Courage
means putting at risk your immediate self-interest for what you believe is right.”
Blog posted by Steven Mintz, aka Ethics Sage, on March 28, 2017. Follow me on Twitter. “Like”
my Facebook page. Sign up for my Newsletter at: http://www.stevenmintzethics.com/.
Posted at 06:00 AM in Civility, Philosophical ethics | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: civility, ethical decision making, personal ethics, philosophical ethics, societal norms, virtue ethics,
workplace ethics

13. What is the purpose of ethics? The purpose of ethics is to define acceptable human behavior through
knowing the types of actions, its consequences, and the limits of both humans and actions, as well as their
acceptability.

14. What is the purpose of ethics?

Palkesh Asawa (पपपपपप पपपपप), An inquisitive reader

Originally Answered: What is the aim of ethics?
In my view, ethics is about upholding order and stability. Without ethics, there would be chaos all around. When
you have a set of individual human beings, everyone capable of feeling and thinking, there are bound to be
conflicts. These conflicts stem from having various different approaches towards a common thing.
Due to these conflicts, the sentient human beings react in different ways. And that is bound to create confusion
and chaos. Therefore, it would be good if they all agree on certain things or standards that we should uphold in
order to maintain stability.
Now, there may be various different ways in which you could resolve a conflict, and depending on whatever
way most people choose, the society can agree to adopt that as the “should be” way of living life. What exactly
should those standards be?
I urge you to open your mind a bit and imagine, in a hypothetical world, that stealing was perfectly fine. We
actually think that stealing is wrong because it is not ethical, or because most people seem to agree with it.
Imagine now that most people agree that stealing is fine, and therefore picking other people’s stuff without their
consent is cool.
You will agree that it would create a lot of fuss, jealousy, insecurity and paranoia. Thus, ethics are not just about
having a common code of behaviour that most people agree with, it is also something that makes the most
sense.
Hence I believe that ethics talk about two fundamental issues:
1. Something which most people agree should be the right way to do things
2. And it should also make sense to most people, to actually uphold stability
So much for the ‘aim’ of ethics. This is what we believe ethics are intended to do. However, any such code of
conduct must always be subjected to scrutiny, debates and amendments. That is something which we have
actively ignored for many, many years now.
In establishing those ethics, we forgot that those ethics were supposed to ensure stability and uphold peace in
the world. Nobody told us that strictly adhering to them, at the cost of what they were trying to do in the first
place, would be disaster.
I include everything here. Everything we believe that shows the right ways (including religion, morality, legality,
spirituality) has, in my view, a common intention of preventing chaos. But we are stupidly letting this create
further chaos amongst ourselves.
It calls for a complete overhaul of the ethics and rules. Something that few people dare to speak, because we
have also, stupidly, written in the rules (or interpreted from them) that changing the rules is equal to not
following the rules.

15. Why being ethical is important? Ethics concern an individual's moral judgements about right and
wrong. Decisions taken within an organisation may be made by individuals or groups, but whoever makes them
will be influenced by the culture of the company. ... Ethical behaviour and corporate social responsibility can
bring significant benefits to a business.
16. Why do we need study ethics? Ethics provides for a stable society.
When people live ethical lives, they tell the truth, avoid harming others, and are generous. Working with such
people is easy. On the other hand, callous and insensitive people are distrusted, so it's difficult for them to be
integrated well into social arrangements.

17. Why Study Ethics?

By Christopher Panza, Adam Potthast

Ethics is a central component of any happy, healthy, and mature life. But some critics still question the value of
studying ethics and living an ethical life. After all, if you ignore ethics, you can just focus on yourself, right? Not
so fast. Some great reasons to resist those critics include the following:
 Ethics allows you to live an authentic life. An authentic and meaningful life requires you to live with
a sense of integrity. Integrity is making commitments and sticking to them through thick and thin — no
matter how much violating them may benefit you. Having a firm character or set of principles to guide
your life and the choices you make is what ethics is all about.
 Ethics makes you more successful. You may think that ethics can hold you back in all kinds of ways,
but the truth is the opposite. Ethical people embody traits that unethical people have to work at to fake
— they’re honest, trustworthy, loyal, and caring. As a result, ethical people are perfectly suited not only
for interpersonal relationships generally, but also more specifically for the kinds of interactions that make
for thriving business. Unethical people generally don’t do so well at these things.
 Ethics allows you to cultivate inner peace. Lives that are lived ethically tend to be calmer, more
focused, and more productive than those that are lived unethically. Most people can’t turn off their
sympathy for other human beings. Hurting people leaves scars on both the giver and the receiver. As a
result, unethical people have stormier internal lives because they have to work to suppress their
consciences and sympathies to deal with the ways they treat others. When they fail to properly suppress
their sympathies, the guilt and shame that comes with harming or disrespecting one’s fellow human
beings takes deep root within them.
 Ethics provides for a stable society. When people live ethical lives, they tell the truth, avoid harming
others, and are generous. Working with such people is easy. On the other hand, callous and insensitive
people are distrusted, so it’s difficult for them to be integrated well into social arrangements. A stable
society requires a lot of ethical people working together in highly coordinated ways. If society were
mostly composed of unethical people, it would quickly crumble.
 Ethics may help out in the after life. Some religious traditions believe ethics is the key to something
even greater than personal success and social stability: eternal life. No one can be sure about an eternal
life, but people of faith from many different religions believe that good behavior in this life leads to
rewards in the next life.

18. How important are ethics in today's society? Ethics is important to every society as it plays a
critical role in shaping the individuals behaviours within a society. ... Ethics of the old days has been polluted
and are inadequate for business self-governance due to changes in the environment and cultural norms. In other
words, ethics in today's society has eroded.

Ethics Is Important To Every Society Philosophy Essay

Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect the views of UK Essays.
Ethics is important to every society as it plays a critical role in shaping the individuals behaviours within a society.
Since the dawn of human civilization, men have sought to keep human conduct in check to preserve the peace
of society. Where written law is used to govern official businesses and happenings, ethics act as a self-governing
system to keep human self-interest and the good of society at equilibrium because the eyes of the law are not
always available (Duska, 2012).
However, as with everything in life, nothing is perfect. Ethics and human conduct are no exception to this rule.
Ethics of the old days has been polluted and are inadequate for business self-governance due to changes in the
environment and cultural norms. In other words, ethics in today’s society has eroded. As cited by (Gino &
Bazerman, 2008), managers and leaders in modern organizations lack strong ethical standards (Andrews, 1989;
Longnecker, 1985; Molander, 1987; Pit t& Abratt, 1986) or are willing to abandon them in the face of economic
incentives or competitive pressures (Gellerman, 1986; Hosmer, 1987).
Humans have always been thought of as selfish creatures, and this just further proves it. Colleagues bad
mouthing each other behind their backs to increase chances of promotion shows a lack of professional ethics in
order to gain economic advantage can be seen as unethical, but logical. Unfortunately, some acts such as
littering the streets and using the cell phone in a cinema despite being told repeatedly not to do so, is not just
unethical, it is downright absurd.
However, erosion of ethics is not just limited to the business world. It has spilled over to every aspect of society,
such as athletes cheating or taking drugs, and the previously unheard of bribing of Olympics organizing selection
committee (Cordeiro, 2003).
There are very serious impacts to the society if the erosion of ethics is not kept in check. The public, whether it
is business, friendship or any kind of interaction, functions because humans rely on a varying level of trust,
respect for others, and cooperation (Cordeiro, 2003). If erosion of ethics continues to worsen, nobody will have
any trust in others, at all. In the end, society will cease to function like it presently does and everyone will either
lock themselves at home, or walk around heavily armed.
Unfortunately, it is not just the actual erosion of ethics, but the people’s perception of the erosion that has to
be addressed as well. As cited in Cordeiro (2003), Morgan (1993) states that people are judgmental and will
choose not to commit to any activities when they perceive that the other parties are unethical.
Ethical norms are ever changing because it is contextual and affected by culture, technology, religion and politics.
What is ethical in one country may not be ethical in another. This just makes the evaluation of what is ethical
and what is not, an even more difficult question to answer than it presently already is. However, this does not
mean that the world should just give up and surrender. There are ways to at least draw the boundaries of what
is acceptable and what is not.
It would seem that one of the more logical solutions to this problem would be to practice an ethical system
based on common sense and reason, rather than religious dogma or punitive legislation (Verschoor, 2001).
However, this would probably work on men and women who subscribe to reason and logic only. However, with
every human being in society seeking to maximize every opportunity available, the very idea may backfire, for
when the reason is self-benefit, and ethics not written in black and white, it is never easy to say what is right,
and what is wrong.
2.0 Content
2.1 Definition of Ethics
It is important to define clearly what ethics is before erosion of ethics can be explained.
As a backbone to the society, ethics play an incredibly important role to the society because it arises from the
conscience or a sense to determine right and wrong. Pettifor & Jean (1996) defined as rightness and wrongness
of human behaviour. Other than that, Bart (2011) also defined ethics as moral principles and rules of conduct
to judge human behaviour.
However, ethics does not develop itself without moral philosophy, sociology, psychology. Ethics primarily exists
in interaction of individual and society. In another word, there is a relationship between sociology and ethics.
Sociology is an essential foundation for ethics because it makes way to develop human life, individual and social
to create greater richness and greater harmony in society. Through the interaction with human, ethics can help
to people to build trust and intimate relationship in society (Girard, 1998). Hence, individuals in the society will
expect others to behave ethically and do not hurt others for personal benefit.
Furthermore, individual do not all share the same understanding of right and wrong. Based on Donaldson (1994)
there are two general views of ethics: relativist and Universalist. From the relativist of view, the right or wrong
is judged based on situation and dependent upon the culture. In contrast a Universalist view of ethics believes
all activities should be judged based on same and unified standards, no matter what the situation or culture is.
Therefore, ethics had been polluted and erosion of ethics had been dramatically increased nowadays due to
peoples have different of views in judging different situations.
The Oxford dictionaries define erosion as “… the gradual destruction or diminution of something.” Henceforth,
erosion of ethics is the gradual destruction or diminution of ethics, and in the case, in the society. With ethics
determining an individual’s sense of right or wrong, an erosion of ethics in society means that members of
society are no longer, or less and less willing, to make decision that are socially acceptable, because the only
motive seems to be self- advancement without caring about other people’s pain and suffering.
2.2 Factors That Cause the Erosion Of Ethics
Role models play a huge impact in the development of an individual’s life (Perry & Nixon, 2005), and the
development of one’s ethical thought and behaviour is no exception. With the emergence of mass media such
as television and especially the internet, role models are becoming an even bigger influence today than ever
before. Subsequently, if one views a very ethical individual as a role model, he or she will definitely grow up to
uphold a high standard of ethics. On the other hand, if one’s role model is of questionable ethical practice,
consequently they will have a higher chance of practicing unethical methods.
Those who identify community leaders such as religious figures, university counsellor or advisors as role models
shows less willingness to adopt questionable ethical behaviour in most situations. However, those who use
journalists and spouses as role models tend to be more agreeable to questionable ethical behaviour (Zekos,
2004). It can be deduced that the emerging power of journalist’s articles, especially on the internet, can play a
very strong role in shaping the coming generation’s perception of ethics, be it reinforcement of ethics or erosion
of ethics.
On the other hand, globalization also plays a strong role in affecting the ethical behaviours of the masses.
Globalization is a transnational community in which geographical boundaries are nothing more than a political
nuisance (Zekos, 2004). Globalization creates a breeding ground for erosion of ethics, especially in developing
countries. This is because developing economies are in dire need of foreign investments and are in a weak
bargaining position compared to more wealthy countries. As a consequence, local enforcement lacks the
motivation to enforce any kind of corruption, and basically look the other way even if they discover them, as
this may mean turning away potential investments in the country. This breeds a very unhealthy culture where
tendering of projects is merely a façade, and it is really the bidder who pays the most illegitimate funds or
provide the most gifts that will win a project.
In a situation like this, it is really up to the investors themselves to uphold a high standard of ethics. If none of
the investors participate in the corruption, the local economies will have nothing to be corrupted with in the first
place, and erosion of ethics may be contained.
Ethical issues rapidly arise because of conflicts among individuals’ personal moral philosophies and values
(Ferrell, John, & Linda, 2010). Ethics are a person’s concept of right and wrong, a system of moral principles,
and the rules of conduct that are recognized in human actions. So, ethics comprises the principles, values and
standards to guide behaviour of peoples but not everyone share the same understanding of right and wrong.
Values are the universal concept or one of the components to guide somebody’s behaviour and use to develop
norms that is socially enforced. In other words, value is the tool to restrain people’s behaviour. Moral values also
are a standard to make the judgments on behaviour whether that action is right or wrong (Navran, 2010). Some
examples of moral values include honesty, fairness, integrity, trust and etc.
In an ever changing world where cultures and people collide and interact, especially in the modern era where
the internet and television acts as a strong medium to deliver foreign values and ideas, this issue is especially
pervasive and ethics are more susceptible to being eroded, because information and ideas are so freely available
and without proper guidance, individuals may come to an incorrect or unethical conclusion on their own. Worst
still, they may actually perceive these unethical behaviour as ethical, and carry out unethical activities without
any guilt.
Honesty is also synonymous with truthfulness or trustworthiness and its antonym is lying, cheating and stealing.
To tell the truth to the best of your knowledge without hiding anything can be defined as being honest. If an
individual is lack of integrity, then the person is dishonest and that will cause damage or harm to others, such
as risky driving (Blankenship & Whitley, 2000), theft from employers (Hilbert, 1985), alcohol abuse (Kerkvliet,
1994) and cheating on income taxes (Fass, 1989).
In a rapidly globalizing world, honesty seems to be in scarce supply as the trend seems to be individuals seeking
maximum self-interest without any care for others. This decline can be attributed to factors such as selfish
foreigners and expatriates not paying attention to local laws and norms because they will not stay for long.
2.3 Religious and folk belief’s perspective on the Erosion of Ethics
From the perspective of Christianity, among all of God’s creations, human beings are the most highly evolved
species and they play a vital role as the house keeper of this world. According to the Genesis in the Bible, “Be
fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” So, humans are able to present their
glorious personalities as beautiful and peaceful angels as they are born in the image of God (Genesis, n.d.)
Erosion of ethics exists because humans are naturally born with selfish and self-preservation thoughts. To argue
whether humans are naturally born unethical because of natural sin, would be an interesting topic to discover.
From Christianity point of view, the first ancestors of humans, Adam and Eve, went against God’s order when
they ate the forbidden fruit on the sly. This crime they committed is considered by christianity as the human’s
original sin. Therefore, God believe that everyone has sin when they are born (Choong, 2009). That is also the
reason God send Jesus to rescue people and help them to cleanse their sin. For this, the doctrine of Christianity
is that everyone commits an original sin.
From a religious point of view, those who do not subsribe to religion maybe more prone to unethical behaviour,
due to lack of fear of divine punishment. Some children are seen as greedy when there is no one to teach them
the right way. Even when they are young, a child already know the techniques to lie in order to get what they
want. This would be the point that erosion of ethics exist naturally, leading to humans behaving unethically.
Therefore, the issues of pollution of ethics become even more serious day by day when the influence of religion
continues to decrease in today’s society, due to the modern non-religious way of living.
However, the traditional Chinese’ theory on human’s origin is utterly different from the Christianity view. Chinese
believe that man is kind when they are born (Sun, 2005). According to Buddhism, all living creatures have the
nature of a Buddha, so a man cannot commit an original sin. It is also supported by the Chinese traditional
saying, that an evil idea is caused by misfortunes and not other factors, leading to humans commiting crime
(Sun, 2005).
2.4 The Impact of Erosion of Ethics to Society
First of all, erosion of ethics can have harmful effects on innocent people. It is because, when people wants to
get more benefits, they act unethically without concern for others, committing acts such as cheating, fraud, and
breaking of rules. All this may bring harm to the innocent. Sometimes, people erode their ethics and sacrifice
the minority of people in order to satisfy the needs and happiness of the majority (Jessica, 2005). Ultimately,
society is in a lower state of harmony due to distrust, as a result of having harm inflicted on them even though
they did no bad deeds themselves.
Relationships are built on one fundamental principle, and that principle is trust. However, erosion of ethics has
affected the level of trust between people (Hill, 2009). This is pervasive and everything from friendships to
business transactions is severely constricted. This is due to the feeling of uncertainty and doubt between each
other. As a consequence, businesses will be caught in tons of red tape and bureaucracy and the growth of
economy will be retarded.
Apart from that, there is concern that, if people know that everyone else is cheating or are dishonest, they
themselves will be more likely to cheat and consequently self-inflict erosion of ethics (McCabe, Treviño, &
Butterfield, 1999; McCabe & Trevino, 1993). Likewise, when one engages the masses of society and feels that
cheating is commonplace and acceptable, at long last, people may also engage in unethical behaviour due to it
being a norm, and as a result, erosion of ethics increases (Cole & Smith, 1996; Mangan, 2006). Ultimately,
people erode ethics to gain personal interest.
Moreover, breaking rules or irregularities invariably is one of the negative consequences of erosion of ethics.
Breaking rules can lead to penalties such as fines and imprisonment. Often, some of the unethical behaviour can
be hidden by others. However, after a period of time, society could be adversely affected (Janette, 2011). Erosion
of ethics is like the spreading of virus; if it is not stopped it will spread and become more and more severe.
Families may be torn apart after they find out one of their members are involved in criminal acts. The involved
individuals may not only tarnish their own reputation and image, but of their family’s as well.
3.0 Conclusion
In this study, ethics is shown to play an important role in moulding one’s behaviour to identify what is right and
wrong to do in a society, as it is a belief and standard that helps to create a harmonious and conforming
environment. Not only that, in order to eradicate erosion of ethics among society one need to understand why
ethics play a vital role to everyone as a whole, and not being bias to only a part of the community.
Through this study, tons of knowledge is learnt and seems to be very useful as an early detection of how, when,
who and why erosions of ethics could happen as on many occasion the importance of ethics tend to take a “back
sit”.
There is no universal definition of what exactly ethics is, but amidst all the troubles in the world, ethics still acts
as a guiding force to dictate an individual’s sense of right and wrong, and the erosion of ethics is becoming
increasingly troubling and if not stemmed out soon, will definitely spell trouble for all civilization, because the
rapid rise of globalization meant that everyone on this planet is connected to one another.
Religion, be it the doctrines itself or the strict religious leaders, seems to have an impact on the followers of the
religion. Whether there is a direct relationship between a strong faith and high ethical conduct remains to be
seen, but what is certain however is that all mainstream religions pushes for good and kind behaviour to the
general public, and that is in no way a bad thing.

19. Why do we need study ethics? Ethics provides for a stable society.
When people live ethical lives, they tell the truth, avoid harming others, and are generous. Working with such
people is easy. On the other hand, callous and insensitive people are distrusted, so it's difficult for them to be
integrated well into social arrangements.

20. What is a simple definition of ethics? Ethics is defined as a moral philosophy or code of morals
practiced by a person or group of people. An example of ethics is a the code of conduct set by a business.

21.Where does the word ethics come from? The term ethics is derived from the Greek word ethikos
which itself is derived from the Greek word ethos, meaning custom or character. In
philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is “good.” The field of ethics or moral philosophy involves
developing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.

22. What are the 3 types of ethics? The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing,
defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Philosophers today usually
divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: metaethics, normativeethics, and applied ethics.

23. History of Ethics. The known history of pure ethics or ethics (moral) theories begin with ancient Greek
philosophers (Sophists, Socrates, Socratic schools, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Stoics) and after recovered by early
English positivists has been the main topic of discussions in the Medieval times in Europe.

24. What are the ethics in general? At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how
people make decisions and lead their lives. Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society
and is also described as moral philosophy.

25. What is general ethics?

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At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how people make decisions and lead their
lives. Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society and is also described as moral
philosophy.Jun 19, 2017
1. What are the 7 principles of ethics?
2. What are the 3 branches of ethics?
3. What are the types of ethics?
4. What are the six ethical theories?

Ethics - Introduction to ethics: Ethics: a general introduction - BBC

www.bbc.com/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml
Ethics are a system of moral principles and a branch of philosophy which defines what is good for individuals
and society.
What is ethics? · What use is ethics? · Ethics and people · Are ethical statements ...
Ethics - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Et...

Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, ...... Vendemiati,
Aldo, In the First Person, An Outline of General Ethics, Rome, Urbaniana University Press, 2004. John Paul II,
Encyclical Letter Veritatis ...

Related Questions
 What are general ethics?
 How do general ethics differ from special ethics?
 What the difference between ethics in general and professional ethics?
 What is the difference between general and special ethics?
 What is the difference between general ethics and special ethics?

Mark Rusch, former A simple carpenter ,attorney - in- fact

I am just a simple man. I read and I think . My belief upon general Ethics would be described as having a moral
compass and feeling compelled either morally or professionally to do what is right. Now the problem in today's
world would be ; who or what is defining what is morally or professionally ethical? Words are not just semantics.
There is a reason each word is the combination of letters that comprise it. And purely that is because they
represent DIFFERENT THINGS OR IDEAS . So what is needed today is to teach the true meanings of words and
than to not let other entities blur their true meaning in an attempt to manipulate ones principals and core moral
beliefs. So how do we stop the pigs from changing the writing on the wall (from animal farm) take special care
in paying attention to the thoughts and ideas being taught to our children, teach our cultural ideals and morals
to our children by celebrating our differences , and teach our children how to be more than just consumers and
debtors. how rich of a world would we live in if everyone was the same mixed up ,homogenous,group of debtors
and consumers lacking a unique culture with a rich history? It all starts with and ends with the next generation
people.

Peter Charlot, Never understood their scientific foundation.

Wikipedia has a wonderful short answer, so let us use this amazing source of information.
At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how people make decisions and lead their
lives. Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society and is also described as moral philosophy.
Well, now that I read this definition again, I disagree. Ethics attempts to be a system of provable principles that
have more to do with business, jobs, and how we make money
Nathan Coppedge, Philosopher, Artist, Inventor, Poet

The theory of ‘what it is to be good’.

It’s a theory I used to know in my youth, back when I would not write down any theories:
1. What matters is the good and only the good.
2. One should guess the good if thinking is appropriate.
3. If something is suspected to be wrong, one can attempt another theory.
4. The world should not discard theories, as eventually there will be none left.
5. The best things should happen to everyone, or something is wrong, or theories can be improved.
AMENDATION 2018/10/17:
This is obviously one of those too-heavily-weighted questions.
The question is not can smartphones be ethical, it is can society be ethical.
The usual thing to do would be to cheat and add value to technology, or anything else.
That technology is one of the few values suggests technology is ethical.
Have you heard of anyone eating their child alive or stripping the flesh off their cousin recently? Such claims
were common in Ancient Greece, more so because life was so short. Thank goodness for the virtues of
technology, we should think!
The real virtues are:
→Happiness.
→Immortality.
→Significance.
→Luxury.
When any of these go missing, we get sin.
When happiness goes missing we get suffering.
When immortality goes missing we get danger.
When significance goes missing we get addictions.
When luxury goes missing we get crime.
—Do you think the creation of the smartphone was a mistake after seeing its impact on society?
…
When I was 7 years old I decided I was superficial. But it seemed like something good. Since then I’ve tried to
build on the strategy. Superficial is my foundation, because it’s humble enough that no one cares, and it always
allows me to select a higher standard and modify it. Anything pretentious can be reduced to superficiality, and
anything false can be reduced to pretentiousness. Any idea which is not big enough can be reduced to falsity.
Of course, I realize this approach is useless to others, or it would not be useful to me. Out of this, I realize I am
not superficial I am just good-intentioned. And life is complicated for me.
Sometimes I forget I’m superficial and prefer to say that I am selfless and I aim to make a lot of efficiency out
of complexity. But if someone calls me superficial a lot of the time I agree. Yet, what if I am really humble, but
too humble to realize it because it might prove I am not superficial, which would in turn prove I am not humble?
And what really is wrong with selflessly embracing life’s complexity just for the sake of efficiency? I could call
that superficial in my high-minded way, but it does not make me useless, not to me anyway. After all, I am
superficial.

Nathan Coppedge Studies

Related Questions
 What is the difference between general and special ethics?
 What is the difference between general ethics and special ethics?
 What are the examples of general ethics?
  What is ethics?
 What is Ethics I?

Lad Sessions, Ph.D. Philosophy & Philosophy of Religion, Yale University (1971)
General ethics concerns moral principles that apply to everyone everywhere. It is contrasted with more limited
or special or applied ethics that are relevant to particular areas, like medical ethics or journalism ethics. The
latter don’t conflict with the former, but are more particular applications of the fundamental general principles.

Jess H. Brewer, Philosophy helps sometimes.

The good kind? I’m not sure what you mean, hence the question mark. It seems obvious to me that any ethics
that do not generalize are very questionable.

Roshe Daño
Related Questions
 What are general ethics?
 How do general ethics differ from special ethics?
 What the difference between ethics in general and professional ethics?
 What is the difference between general and special ethics?
 What is the difference between general ethics and special ethics?
 What are the examples of general ethics?
 What is ethics?
 What is Ethics I?
 What is the difference between Ethical Issue, Ethical Dilemma, Ethical Conflict and Ethical Challenge?
 What is the difference between general and applied ethics?
 What is non-normative ethics?
 What is the point of ethics?
 What is general objective for most morals and ethics?
 What are the ethics of axiology?
 What is the importance of ethics and morality?