Journalistic Principles and Ethics

EXAMINATION10 QUESTIONS

Examination Questions1. What is ethics?2. What is ethical relativism?3. Does God love goodness because it is

good?4. Is it good because God loves it?5. What is morality?6. What are the purposes of morality?7. What is virtue?8. What is character?9. What is personality?10. Explain “duty ethics”?

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Examination Questions1. What is ethics? Ethics, Greek, ethos, meaning “character”

(Thiroux and Krasemann, 2007, p. 517). Sometimes, “ethics” is used interchangeably with

“morality,” except in philosophy, ethics means “the study of morality” (Thiroux and Krasemann, 2007, p. 517).

“Ethics” is often used to refer to the SECONDARY ACTIVITY (after knowing what is right or wrong) of reflecting on, reasoning, justifying, and criticizing such [moral] conduct and considerations (Paul F. Camenisch, 1986, p. 497).

Moral reasoning (ibid., p. 498) Rules of Conduct

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Examination Questions In another sense, ethics refers to

moral beliefs, i.e., to what an individual or group actually believes about moral matters.

In yet another sense, “ethical” means “morally desirable” (Mike W. Martin, 2001, p. 8).

It has strongly positive connotations, pointing to admirable character traits and morally correct judgments and acts (ibid.).

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Examination Questions2. What is ethical relativism? Ethical relativism is the doctrine that

the moral rightness and wrongness of actions varies from society to society and that there are no absolute universal moral standards binding on all men at all times. Accordingly, it holds that whether or not it is right for an individual to act in a certain way depends on or is relative to the society to which he belongs” (John Ladd in Louis P. Pojman, 2002, p. 24).

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Examination Questions3. Does God love goodness because it

is good?4. Is it good because God loves it?

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MORALITY: QUALITY5. What is morality? In Latin, habits are morae or mores, giving us words

like “moral” (Nicomachean Ethics in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicomachean_Ethics).

Morality, Latin, moralitas, moral quality or character; the quality of conforming to the principles of good conduct; moral or virtuous conduct.

“Morality” often refers to actual moral choice and conduct and to those considerations such as moral values, considerations, and commitments which directly shaped them (Paul F. Camenisch, 1986, p. 497).

Morality is something that is learned through clarification of our values and application of these values to cases (Darryl Macer, 2008, p. 3).

Morality provides us reasons for action (Peter Singer, 1991, p. xiv).

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Morality: Quality Morality is a matter of respecting human rights;

morality is fulfilling our duties to others; morality concerns the most important values which should override all others (such as the values of art); morality is obeying God’s commandments; morality centers around the happiness or self-fulfillment of all persons.

6. What are the purposes of morality?

Morality has at least 4 related Purposes:

1. To keep society from falling apart;2. To eliminate or reduce human suffering;3. To promote human flourishing; and4. To resolve conflicts of interest in “just” way.

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Virtue7. What is virtue? Latin, virtus, (Greek, aretê) manly excellence,

strength, courage, worth, virtue [vir, man]. Moral excellence or goodness; conformity of conduct to moral laws; any praiseworthy quality or trait.

Virtues are “human excellences” and consist of those traits of character that should be fostered in human beings, such as honesty, loyalty, courage, wisdom, moderation, civility, compassion, tolerance, and reverence.

(Thiroux and Krasemann, 2007, p. 86)

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Virtue Virtue is defined as “moral excellence, righteousness, responsibility, or other exemplary qualities considered meritorious” (Thiroux and Krasemann, 2007, p. 85).

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CHARACTER

8. What is character? Repeated Action = HabitRepeated Habit = Character

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Character “Morality is internal. The moral

law . . . has to be expressed in the form “be this,” not in the form “do this.” . . . The true moral law says “hate not,” instead of “kill not.” . . . The only mode of stating the moral law must be as a rule of character” (Leslie Stephens in Louis P. Pojman, 2002, p. 159).

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Character Essential to Ethics is the quality of a

person’s habits, or in other words, their character.

Character is or should be the ultimate end of all social activity, but because social institutions are more or less imperfect, the character produced by them is fragmentary and inconsistent.

Good human being

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Character In Greek, habitual character is êchê, the

root of the words “ethics, ethical, and ethos” (Nicomachean Ethics in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicomachean_Ethics)

In Latin, the habits are morae or mores, giving us words like “moral.”

A man of excellence (or more generally anything of excellence) is said to have virtue (Greek, aretê), and this in its highest forms is associated with the potential for happiness (ibid.).

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