- pertains to the

rights and wrongs

of human conduct.
 Each person has standards that are defined by
their personal values which come into play when
the person faces certain dilemmas or decisions.
occur as a result of
individual
interpretation of a
subject or event,
or may be political
or religious in
nature.
Most human behavior has
consequences for the
welfare of others, even for
society as a whole.
Individuals are able to act in such
as way as to enhance or decrease
the quality of the lives of others,
and generally know the difference
between helping and harming.
 ETHICAL
REASONING
HOLDS TWO
ROLES IN LIFE:
 Highlighting acts that enhance the
well-being of other people.
 Highlighting acts that harm the well-
being of other people.
 When an act
enhances the well-being
of others, it is worthy of
praise from others, when
an act harms or
decreases the well-being
of others, it is worthy of
criticism.
 For many people,
the desire to receive
these responses from
others guides the
development of their
personal set of
ethical standards.
.

WHY ETHICAL REASONING?

Ethics makes clear
to us why one act is
better than another
Ethics contributes an orderly
social life by providing
humanity some basis for
agreement, understanding
some principles or rules of
procedure
Moral conduct and ethical
systems, both of the past
and the present, must be
intelligently appraised and
criticized.
Ethics seeks to point
out to men the true
values of life
 2 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF ETHICAL REASONING:
..

Man is a
Man is free to
rational being
make choices
 ETHICAL REASONING:
A Key Capability
The ability to reflect on moral issues in the
abstract and in historical narratives within
particular traditions.
The ability to identify, assess, and develop
ethical arguments from a variety of ethical
positions.
 ETHICAL REASONING:
A Key Capability
One that integrates ethical questions into the
intellectual work.
Ethical questions concern judgments of right
and wrong, good and bad, as well as
matters of justice, fairness, virtue, and social
responsibility.
ETHICAL REASONING will foster the ability to reflect
rigorously on ethical issues and to apply ethical
reasoning to choices in private and public life.

Courses in ethical reasoning will not require that

students adopt any particular ethical position,
but will encourage students to begin to develop
a defensible ethical position of their own.

THIS MAY BE ACHIEVED BY:

THIS MAY BE ACHIEVED BY:
giving serious consideration to more than one side of personal or
1
policy dilemmas;
helping students to identify various conflicting values in order to
2
assess and employ various strategies for resolving value conflicts;
identifying good, compelling reasons from personal, arbitrary or
3
prejudicial reasons;
exploring ethical reasoning in a historical or cross-cultural
4
perspective.
teaching students how to distinguish ethical claims from descriptive and
5
other sorts of claims, how to evaluate the evidence used in support of such
claims, and how to test the consistency of a position and its coherence
with other moral commitments;
 Can be defined as the
process in which
individual tries to
determine between
what is right and what
is wrong in a personal
situation by using
logic.
Applies critical
analysis to specific
events to
determine what is
right or wrong, Both philosophers
and and psychologists
what people ought study moral
to do in a reasoning.
particular situation.
 It typically applies logic and moral theories, such as
deontology or utilitarianism, to specific situations or
dilemmas.

However, people are not especially good at

moral reasoning. Indeed, the term moral
dumbfounding describes the fact that people
often reach strong moral conclusions that
they cannot logically defend.
.
Deontology (or
Deontological Ethics) is an
approach to Ethics that
focuses on the rightness or
wrongness of actions
themselves, as opposed to
the rightness or wrongness of
the consequences of those
actions or to the character
and habits of the actor.
Utilitarianism is a
version of
consequentialism,
which states that the
consequences of
any action are the
only standard of right
and wrong
8 STEPS OF MORAL REASONING MODEL

GATHER RELEVANT
STEP 1: INFORMATION
STEP 2: STATE THE PRACTICAL PROBLEM

IDENTIFY THE ETHICAL

STEP 3: ISSUES AND QUESTIONS

STEP 4: SELECT THE ETHICAL

PRINCIPLES AND/OR
FRAMEWORKS TO BE
CONSIDERED
8 STEPS OF MORAL REASONING MODEL
CONDUCT AN ANALYSIS AND
STEP 5: PREPARE A JUSTIFICATION
CONSIDER ONE OR MORE
STEP 6: COUNTERARGUMENTS
EXPLORE THE OPTIONS
STEP 7: FOR ACTION

STEP 8: SELECT, COMPLETE

AND EVALUATE THE
ACTION
 STEP 1: GATHER RELEVANT
INFORMATION
IN THIS STEP YOU ARE IDENTIFYING RELEVANT INFORMATION
THAT CONSISTS OF THE FACTUAL ELEMENTS OF THE CASE OR
TOPIC.
 “Factual” information may also include assumptions about
specific outcomes based on common experience or statistical
likelihood.
 When considering a broad topic, rather than an individual case,
the relevant informationfalls into similar categories but is applied
on a broader scale.
 STEP 2: STATE THE PRACTICAL
PROBLEM
THIS STEP INVOLVES STATING THE PROBLEM IN TERMS OF THE
DECISIONS THAT MUST BE MADE IN
ORDER TO TAKE ACTION.

The focus of this statement is on what specific action

should be Taken rather than the reasons why or the
justification for a course of action. Although this
Sounds easy to identify, it is not.
 STEP 3: IDENTIFY THE ETHICAL
ISSUES AND QUESTIONS
IN THIS STEP, YOU ARE IDENTIFYING THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ETHICAL ISSUE
IN THE CASE OR TOPIC, AND
STATING THIS ISSUE IN THE FORM OF ONE OR MORE ETHICAL QUESTIONS.

In this process, you are likely to identify a variety of ethical

issues and questions. Once you have identified what you
believe to be the one or two central ethical questions of
the case or topic, you can also list secondary ethical
issues and questions to be considered.
 STEP 4: SELECT THE ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
AND/OR FRAMEWORKS TO BE
CONSIDERED
THE ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND/OR ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS SELECTED IN THIS
STEP BECOME THE BASIS FOR
YOUR ETHICAL ANALYSIS OR ARGUMENT.
An argument can be generally defined as a course of
reasoning intended to prove the rightness or wrongness of a
particular action or position.
By extension, the counterargument is an alternate course of
reasoning that challenges the logic, consistency and/or the
basic assumptions of a particular argument.
 STEP 5: CONDUCT AN ANALYSIS
AND PREPARE A JUSTIFICATION
USING YOUR ETHICAL QUESTION(S) AS THE BASIS, YOU CAN FORMULATE AND
TEST POSSIBLE ANSWERS
USING THE PRINCIPLES AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES SELECTED IN STEP 4.

 Focus first on your primary question(s) and then on any

secondary questions that you feel further enhance your position.
Your argument is essentially a statement explaining how a
particular principle or theory can be applied, in this case or
topic, to answer the ethical question posed.
 STEP 6: CONSIDER ONE OR MORE
COUNTERARGUMENTS
A COUNTERARGUMENT IS AN ANALYSIS THAT DIRECTLY CHALLENGES
YOUR INITIAL ARGUMENT. IT’S A BIT
LIKE ARGUING WITH YOURSELF OVER WHICH PAIR OF RUNNING SHOES
TO BUY.

In this step you are testing the analysis completed in Step 5
by arguing against your original position. Point out the
weaknesses of your argument and consider the
circumstances under which you might abandon or
otherwise alter the position reached in Step 5.
 STEP 7: CONSIDER ONE OR MORE
COUNTERARGUMENTS
THIS STEP IS DELIBERATELY PLACED NEAR THE END OF THE DECISION
MODEL. OUR NATURAL TENDENCY
AS PROBLEM SOLVERS IS TO JUMP TO POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS EARLY IN
THE PROCESS

Your goal here is to brainstorm a wide range of action

steps and then test each action against the arguments
presented in Steps 5 and 6.
Options may also include different time frames, after which
re-evaluation is needed.
 STEP 8: EXPLORE THE OPTIONS
FOR ACTION
THIS FINAL STEP INVOLVES SELECTING AND IMPLEMENTING
ONE OR MORE ACTIONS.

In order to complete the process, you must also reflect on

the situation and consider whether the action remains
justified once it has been implemented.
 Reflection might include the following questions:
THIS COMPLETES THE PROCESS OUTLINED
IN THE MODEL.
Were there
Did I How might I viable options
identify and approach a for action that
similar Did I correctly I did not
consider all
relevant situation in identify and consider?
the future? frame the primary Would I
information Were there make the
? Did I correctly ethical issue(s) important ethical
same
identify and and question(s)? principles and decision
frame the perspectives I
practical again?
failed to
problem?
consider?

Failure to give adequate attention to any one step of the

model limits the quality and integrity of your final decision.
MPARTIALITY
 MPARTIALITY
(also called evenhandedness or fair-
mindedness) is a principle of justice holding that
decisions should be based on objective criteria,
rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or
preferring the benefit to one person over
another for improper reasons.
Research so far among various sources related to media shows
that many traits have been suggested to be elements of
impartiality. They include –

1.Accuracy 7.Inclusion of alternative view,

2.Even-handedness range of perspectives
3.Rigor 8.Objectivity
4.Balance
5.Self-awareness
6.Context
Research so far among various sources related to media shows
that many traits have been suggested to be elements of
impartiality. They include –

9. Completeness 13. Transparency

10. Fairness 14. Not promoting particular
11. Truth views
12. Decision-making on news 15. Neutrality
values only (sometimes called
‘good editorial reasons’)
Research so far among various sources related to media shows
that many traits have been suggested to be elements of
impartiality. They include –

16. Absence of the effects prejudgement (sometimes,

of conflicts of interest ‘without preconceptions’)
(sometimes called 19. Not expressing personal
‘independence’) views
17. Distance
18. Absence of