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Summary
Ethics Class 17

THE CLASS STARTED WITH A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS TOPICS (05:01 PM)

RIGHT-BASED ETHICS (05:02 PM)

  • Rights-based Ethics mean 'The moral worth of an action is determined by to what extent, it infringes upon the rights of others'
  • Rights:
  • It is defined as an entitlement that is enjoyed by the individuals, recognized by the society, backed and sanctioned by the state.
  • Natural Rights:
  • These are inherent rights, Universal, inalienable.
  • They exist by virtue of being an individual.
  • Ordained by the nature.
  • Abstract
  • Not codified.
  • difficult to enforce and hold accountable.

HUMAN RIGHTS (05:11 PM)

  • They are defined as basic minimum rights enjoyed by an individual.
  • They are fundamental to the existence of an individual and with respect to a dignified life.
  • The concept emerged in the post-World War period with the passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
  • Contemporary Application of Rights-based Ethics:
  • Development-induced displacement.
  • Forced migration.
  • Media trials.
  • Marital rape.
  • Custodial deaths.
  • Capital Punishment.
  • Naming and Shaming.
  • Human trafficking, etc.
  • One of the famous philosophers advocating rights-based ethics was John Locke.
  • He was an advocate of freedom and governance by consent.
  • According to John Locke, there are three inalienable natural rights:
  • Life
  • Liberty
  • Property

APPROACH FOR ATTEMPTING QUOTATION-BASED QUESTIONS IN ETHICS (05:23 PM)

  • Approach for the quotation-based ethics questions:
  • Introduction:
  • You can either paraphrase the given quote or define the key term in the quote.
  • It mostly consists of an Interpretation of the question.
  • you can give context or premise.
  • You can start with an impactful anecdote.
  • Body:
  • It should have arguments, explanations, and examples.
  • You can include the political, social, and ethical perspectives for a better explanation or elaboration.
  • Conclusion:
  • Penultimate conclusion (Way Forward, Prescription)
  • Ultimate Conclusion. (Inference)
  • Practice Question: Given below are four quotations from great thinkers, What do each of these quotations convey to you in the present context?
  • a) "Judge your success by what you have to give up to get it" Dalai Lama.
  • Approach:
  • You can start with the definition of success.
  • You can mention the various aspects of success and what parameters can be used for judging the success.
  • For Example: Attaining independence was a success for freedom fighters.
  • b) "Every work has to pass through hundreds of difficulties before succeeding, those who perceive will see the light sooner or later" Swami Vivekanand.
  • Approach:
  • In the above statement, Swami Vivekanand highlights the importance of perseverance.
  • In history, there are various relevant examples like Sandeep Singh and his struggle, India's Struggle for Independence.
  • c) "The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer" Mahatma Gandhi.
  • Approach:
  • In this quote Gandhi wants to establish ideal worship is more important than idol worship and kindness is one of those ideals.
  • You can mention a few aspects of kindness in the answer.
  • Conclude as per the context.
  • d) "Do not hate anybody because that hatred which comes out from you in the long run will come back to you. If you love the love come back to you completing the circle" Swami Vivekanand.
  • The quote underscores that our actions have consequences, We should be aware that positive actions will lead to positive rewards and negative will lead to negative rewards.
  • You can support the above points with proper examples.
  • Conclude as per the context. 

APPLIED ETHICS (06:31 PM)

  • Applied ethics, also called practical ethics, is the application of ethics to real-world problems.
  • It attempts to answer the question of how people should act in specific situations.
  • Examples: Applied ethics deals with moral issues like – Abortion, pre-marital sex, euthanasia, the death penalty, LGBTQ rights, war tactics, censorship, etc.
  • Significance of Applied Ethics:
  • It addresses the moral permissibility of specific actions and practices.
  • It deals with difficult and controversial moral issues that people actually face in their day-to-day lives.
  • Applied ethics is more specific than normative ethics, (i.e. how people should behave)
  • It is also different from metaethics, (a branch of philosophy that asks questions about the nature of ethics such as, “What is morality?”)
  • With a practical approach to ethics, people don’t need to agree on a moral theory. Instead, they can agree to solutions to ethical dilemmas by reviewing the facts and related harms of a specific situation. This is one of the key strengths of applied ethics.
  • Applied ethics thus helps make the decision-making process easier, quick, and ethical, particularly in the tricky situations of day-to-day life.

BIOETHICS (06:34 PM)

  • Bioethics is a field within applied ethics that focuses on ethical issues that relate to biology and biological systems.
  • It addresses moral issues pertaining to:
  • beginning of life issues such as abortion and surrogacy;
  • end of life issues such as euthanasia; and
  • medical research such as clinical trials

THE SYLLABUS FOR ETHICS IS COMPLETED.