5C - Reader 5 Professional Ethics

Reader 5

Not knowing much about ethics before researching for task 5B and reading the 5th reader; i found this really helped me learn about the separate groups of ethics.

Personal
Professional
Organisation
Society

There are many different theoretical ethics...
Some people are Consequentialists (JS Mill) - they believe that you can do something that isn't necessarily seen as 'correct' as long as it maximises the good. 
Then there are Deontologists (Immanuel Kant) - They feel that 'Lying' for example is always wrong. The motive behind an action determines whether or not it is morally right. 
Last of all the Virtue Ethicists (Plato and Aristotle) - being rather than doing, virtue ethics emphasises the character of the moral agent rather than the rules or the consequences and what actions taken reveal about one's character. 

I personally feel that depending on the situation I'd react differently. I would say that I am most definitely more of a consequentialist rather than a virtue ethicist or deontologist. I feel that though you may do something that might not be abiding by the rules of your job, for example, if it is correct in the circumstance that you're in then you should do it. 

Religion and Law ethics - Laws exist to provide societies with a framework for a civil and ordered society. The religious ethics basically my own personal ethics and the way I live day to day. I am christian and one of the 10 commandments 'Thou shalt not kill' just so happens to be an act of the law here in the UK. 'Thou shalt not steal', also illegal which is one of the main codes of practice used in all businesses and work places over here. There are some commandments that are not a Law here in the UK, for example, 'Thou shall love thy neighbour', but religious people would follow these types of ethics and that creates the kind of person they are. 

Ethics and Morals - Comparative Ethics
Professional Ethics - by law teachers are not allowed to touch children which I completely understand and agree with, though I know that many teachers would have to disagree with this and feel that to teach a physical subject like dance (especially ballet) you simply have to correct a pupil by moving their arms and legs etc.
At my work there is a rule about leaving children if their parents are late to pick them up. I abide by this rule and leave the children at the after school club though I feel bad and would rather just sit and wait with them. Sometimes pupils get upset about things and naturally I would give them a hug which shouldn't be done. I think this is an example of work ethics going against my morals. In case study2, the photographer that left the African girl to die, perhaps because his job required him not to touch anything that he was photographing; this is an example that I personally feel is wrong. How can you leave a person, a human being to die when you could have helped. If I was ever in a situation like that, I know that my instinct and own personal ethics would take over. 

Normative and Descriptive inquiry questions. 
This part of the reader helped me to learn and focus on how I will word my questions surrounding my inquiry.  
Normative questions - examines principles that people use when they make moral choices. 
Descriptive questions - (factual) reasons behind moral choices and values in society. 

Case Study 5 is a clear example of a bad inquiry. The language used was inappropriate. I could tell that the writer was biased in the way that they described some groups of people, I would consider calling an older generation of people 'old dears' quite offensive. I know that I need to be very careful when directing questions and when writing about people.  I must not show any opinion or seem biased in anyway.