Personal and Professional Ethics

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Personal and Professional Ethics

Introduction

Ethics is a concept that is very meaningful, both personally and in the professional field. By Ethics enables a personal nature and, also, this raises a public policy in general. This leads directly to a fair and equitable system for all, in regard to the thinking of every individual. With the absence of this factor in each of the different ways in which we live, it would create a series of problems not only to the individual involved but to the entire society (Levinson, 1978). Considering the significance of morality in personal and professional out fronts, it is important to reflect on self evaluation and determination of personality traits, strengths, weakness, qualities, flaws and capabilities and shaping them for professional associations. In this paper I will pay considerable importance personal moral development and preparing ethical code of the conduct in professional life.

Personal and Professional Ethics

The word ethics comes from the Greek language and has two meanings. The first term comes from the ethos, meaning custom or habit. Later this originated from the word culture which means way of life or character. Following are certain theories on Ethics (Martin, 2002).

Immanuel Kant

Kant's theoretical reflections on the ethics consist of three elements: the moral good, the assumption of freedom of the will and the universal maxim of the categorical imperative.

Morality is the moment of reason, which is focused on practical action. It is a regulative idea, which is a priori present in man.

Man is independently able to reason from sensual to think too impulsive influences and decide. Man is not heteronomous (other-directed), but autonomous (self-determined). This means that the ethical decision lies in the subject.

The independent will (the reason) commands so the morally good act. The reason shall submit to the people on the duty to follow the dictates of morality.

Kant is well aware that the claim of morality is an ideal, and that no man can meet at any time. Nevertheless, he believes that every person in the scale of morality has, and knows what he should do under the law of morality.

The categorical imperative of Kant describes the general principle that every person can judge his actions morally. In the practical application must be found consistent in his maxim, and to match the actual will.

Aristotle

Aristotle argued that every action we perform is directed towards some purpose that it tries to achieve something. He then argued that there are superior and subordinate aims. Subordinate aims are what we have to achieve first, before we achieve superior aims, for example, if you are hungry (which might be a superior aim) you need to make a sandwich to achieve that aim. Making the sandwich becomes a subordinate aim.

Initially the philosophy of Virtue Ethics, deals with the some of the means in which an individual should spend his life, has confused philosophers from its instigation. Some of the interpretations are very divergent relating to how an individual should spend his/her life in the most excellent ...