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.