What is Ethics?
Ethics are principles that define behavior as
right, good or proper.
Such principle do not always dictate a single
moral course of action but provide a means of evaluating and deciding among
competing options.
The terms ethics and values are not
interchangeable.
Ethics
are concerned with how a moral person should behave, whereas values are the
inner judgments that determine how a person acts or behaves.
Values concern ethics
when they pertain to beliefs about what is right and wrong.
Most values, however, have nothing to do with ethics. For instance, the desire for health and wealth are values but not ethical values.
Why Be Ethical?
People
have many reasons for being ethical:
There is inner benefit.
Virtue is its own reward.
There is personal
advantage. It is prudent to be ethical. It is good business.
There is approval. Being
ethical leads to self-esteem, admiration of loved ones and the respect of
peers.
There is religion. Good
behavior can please or help serve a deity.
There is habit. Ethical actions can fit in with upbringing and training.