DEFINITION OF ETHICS
Theorists have tried to define ethics. Some of the definitions are
as follows:
a. Ethics focuses on
the care for the soul.
The focus is spiritual. Unlawful, unethical, and immoral acts and forbearances
are considered as elements of sins that contaminate the otherwise virtuous soul.
Cybersex. Online Prostitution. These acts are not good, and are therefore
unethical, or morally wrong.
Is woman's soul that less,
we let her sell it?
Is her dignity that low, we others them buy it?
Prostitution is itself an unethical act. Using
the newest technology to advertise it makes it even worse.
b. Ethics is
an area of philosophy that deals with man's pursuit of the "good life".
Ethics is used as a
means to reach a particular end - good life.
Software Piracy.
It
is the illegal copying, distributing or reproduction of licensed software.
If it is unethical for one to gain
profit from licensed software, through illegal reproduction, how much more is that of a pirate who pirates the pirated
copy?
Like Mr. Pete who owns a computer shop in the nearby city. He sells pirated software and even displays them.
Whenever a customer chooses the 'displayed fake' product, he makes 'another pirated copy' (CD). The latter is then given
to the customer.
c. Ethics is
the study of the morality of human actions.
Ethics basically
concerns human actions. An act is judged as ethical or unethical depending on the circumstances surrounding the same,
and based on certain standards generally accepted by a paticular community or group of people.
An example is a real-life
case when Mr. Peter required his class in OS to develop a program which would illustrate CPU scheduling, compute for throughput,
etc.
Richie and his group
thought the requirement was difficult. Although they tried to do it, it wasn't that enough. His group later decided to
copy their instructor's program without the latter's consent, modified it, and passed it as their project.
What
the group did was unethical. Using something that is not permitted by the owner is morally wrong.
The case may seem
trivial to some. But, don't big things come from little?
APPLIED ETHICS
While
there is no universal definition of ethics, a relative perception of what is correct or not, or right or wrong, is usually
adopted and used to guide people's actions in various human concerns. This is what we call applied ethics.
One applied ethics is Bioethics. It is the study which deals with man's pursuit of preserving life.
One of its concerns is 'abortion'.
- Spontaneous abortion: An abortion due to accidental trauma or natural causes. Also known as
a stillbirth or miscarriage.
- Induced abortion: Deliberate (human induced) abortion. Induced abortions are subcategorized
into therapeutic abortion and elective abortion.
-
- Therapeutic abortion: An abortion requested because the pregnancy poses health risk to the
pregnant woman.
- Elective abortion: An abortion requested for any other reason by the gravida.
Throughout the history of abortion, induced abortions have always been a source of considerable debate
and controversy. An individual's personal stance on the complex ethical, moral, and legal has a strong relationship with that individual's value system.
Abortion debates, especially pertaining to the legal effect of abortion laws, are often spearheaded
by advocacy group. These groups tend to fall into one of two camps,
with people in favor of legal abortion being described as pro-choice, while those against legal abortion are described as pro-life.
The central dilemma in the abortion debate is the clash of presumed or perceived rights. On one hand is the fetus' presumed right to life, and on the other is a woman's right to control her body.
Bioethics saves life, even that of the unborn child.
