Dictionary Series: What do we mean when we talk about Ethics?
#GlobalEthicsDay2021
Today, ethics matters more than ever. But maybe just “mattering” isn’t quite enough.
Global Ethics Day, taking place on the third Wednesday of every October, is an annual moment to empower ethics through the actions of both individuals and organisations. It is an opportunity for us to come together to identify and address the most critical issues facing society, including the COVID-19 pandemic, attacks on democracy, racial injustice, climate change and more.
This Global Ethics Day we’re delighted to launch the first piece in our DCC Dictionary series – all about ethics. We hope this empowers others to think about how they engage with ethics in both their personal and professional lives.
What do we mean when we talk about ethics?
As with many things in philosophy, there’s not an easy answer to this question. Generally, we seem to have a common understanding of what ‘ethics’ is – it’s related to doing the right thing, being moral, a method of labelling people, organisations, and products. We know, roughly, what others mean when they call something ‘ethical’ or ‘unethical.’ In general, most people feel more familiar with ethical and moral issues than they do with other philosophical concepts and theories. We are able to give examples of when we’ve had to make an ethical decision or moral judgement quite easily – as it’s something we do all the time. However, this doesn’t seem to make it any easier to qualify what makes an ethical issue distinctive! So why do we find it so hard to put into words what ‘ethics’ really is?
“When we think about all of the possible ways we could choose to act, which one should we choose? Why? ”
Let’s start at the beginning. The word ethics stems from the Greek word ethos, which captures a sense of custom, habit and character. Ethics is largely entwined with the choices we make, helping us to make judgements about how we should act and enabling us to take responsibility for our actions. This in turn develops our character and sense of self.
We all think about what it means to live a good life. Ultimately, what helps us to achieve this is the choices we make throughout our lives. When we think about all of the possible ways we could choose to act, which one should we choose? Why? Think about where you are right now. How did you get there? What choices did you make and why did you make them? Having the freedom to choose how we act and the ability to consider multiple options underpins what it means to ‘do ethics.’
It’s important to note that whilst ethics is a particular branch of philosophy that focuses on how we distinguish right and wrong, ethical theories are not meant to act as a prescriptive set of rules. People can make ‘ethical’ decisions and come to very different conclusions. That’s why it’s important to look more holistically at the various components that can shape our concepts of ethics.
How do I know how to make an ethical decision?
When faced with any decision, often the first question we ask ourselves is ‘what should I do?’
This triggers the start of the ethical decision making process. Even just taking that moment to stop and reflect on the possible choices available to you means that you’re on the way to making a moral judgement. Being able to acknowledge our gut instinct and emotional responses to a problem gives us the freedom to choose to act against them. We are in a position to judge all possible outcomes and pick what we deem to be the best one.
“Ethical theories don’t aim to provide you with the right or best answer to every problem. They can help to provide a sense of clarity in circumstances of moral ambiguity, but we shouldn’t rely on ethics to give us firm answers. This takes away from our sense of responsibility and ownership over our actions. ”
As previously mentioned, our personal code of ethics can be shaped by a number of external factors that make up who we are and what we value. The Ethics Centre distinguishes three key components that help us when we’re making ethical decisions:
Values:
What is good - helps us to choose the option we think is best
Our values are what we consider to have intrinsic worth. They are based upon our attitudes and beliefs, and are largely determined by what we deem to be desirable rather than what is right.
Some values are more universally accepted than others, such as freedom or good health. However, other values can be more bespoke to the individual. Certain cultural practices can shape how we prioritise our values, and in turn how we express them. An obvious example of this is the variety of religious norms and practices across the world.
Values are a good way to help us define what we think is good. Our values ground how we make decisions, and so it is easy for us to justify a choice in our own minds if it aligns to what we believe in. Our values can change over time as we prioritise different aspects of our life.
Principles:
What is right – helps us determine the right way to achieve our values
Our principles serve as the tools that outline how we can best achieve our values.
There are often multiple ways that we can live out our values, and these options exist on a sliding scale. Some ways of getting to our values might not feel as good as others. This is why, even if we value honesty, we’re all capable of telling white lies from time to time!
Principles take the form of guiding questions, such as:
What would happen if everyone else acted like this?
Would I like it if I was treated in that way?
Would I still make this decision if it were to be front-page news tomorrow?
One of the most commonly used principles, and one you are likely familiar with, is ‘treat others how you would like to be treated.’ This statement serves as a tool that helps us to rationalise our decisions. Principles can be used across any set or combination of values – they are value-neutral. Different people will apply the same principles in different ways, to justify a range of different actions.
Purpose:
Our reason for being - helps us to choose our values and principles
How do we know what our values and principles are? Moreover, how do we choose which ones we should live by?
Often, we don’t consciously decide which values and principles we have. They are largely influenced by the culture we grow up in, and shaped by our family and community.
However, having a better understanding of what we think our defining purpose is can help us to prioritise our values, which can be helpful when making ethical decisions. Some philosophers agree that all people have the same purpose, although they may not agree on what that purpose is! Different branches of ethics prioritise different types of purpose that govern how we should act: fulfilling our obligations, choosing actions that cause the greatest good for the greatest number or practising virtues that allow us to flourish.
It’s quite a difficult concept to think about, but one worth considering! Having a sense of purpose is critical in allowing us to balance the various principles and values at play when we make an ethical decision.
Ethics doesn’t always show us the right answer to that initial question - what should I do? - but our values, principles and purpose are the tools that we can apply to the situation to gain clarity over the problem at hand.
Applying these steps and asking ourselves these questions doesn’t guarantee moral consensus, which can feel frustrating at times. There is no guarantee that everyone will agree with your choices, and that’s okay!
What matters most here is the steps you take to reach your answer. Engaging in the ethical decision-making process and not always acting on emotion allows us to explore difficult questions in a way that is honest and sincere, and gives us an opportunity to justify our decisions and actions.
What’s the difference between ethics and the law?
“People often conflate ethics and legislation. One asks you ‘am I doing this the right way?’ and the other ‘am I doing this for the right reasons?’ Legislation provides concrete guidance to help you answer the former. Ethics helps you to see what a good answer to the latter might look like. ”
The relationship between ethics and the law is important. Both act as rules and guidelines for how we act in society, but they serve different purposes. This distinction is often not clear-cut and the two concepts can be easily conflated.
Ethics
We have already seen how ethics is highly personal - a bespoke set of values and principles that each individual upholds in order to achieve their purpose. It is part of a decision making process that helps us to decide how we should act and answer the question ‘what should I do?’ We try to act in accordance with our values and what we think is right and good. Ethics helps us to shape our individual conscience and character.
We are all able to determine what is meaningful to us and use this to guide how we make ethical decisions. However, it is often the case that we prescribe to some sort of moral system. This may not always be a conscious choice - but it is rare that we start with a totally blank slate. We inherit different values from our families, friends, culture and community.
Think of a moral system as a ‘ready-made’ set of answers to the ‘what should I do?’ question. For example, different religions will all provide a different set of answers to that question based on their values and principles.
Law
This is where the confusion can lie. If we think of ethics as only governing individual behaviour, it is easy to distinguish between ethics and the law. The law is a set of rules and principles set by the authority to govern the actions of society. Ethics are the values and principles we live by to govern the actions of the individual.
However, when we think of moral system and legal systems, the distinction is less clear. Moral systems also are a set of rules and principles that govern the actions of certain groups in society. So what is the difference?
Legal frameworks aim to create a universal standard that applies equally to all members of society. It sets out guidelines to govern our behaviour such that the community will function successfully, focusing less on individual flourishing and more on the success of a society as a whole.
Acting legally doesn’t always equate to acting ethically. Certain situations may call for us to go above and beyond what is required of us legally in order to act in accordance with our own ethical values. Equally, sometimes acting in accordance with the law may conflict with our individual ethical practices.
The law sets the minimum standards for ethical behaviour.
What is data ethics?
Applied ethics is a field of philosophy that is concerned with ethical issues that have tangible practical outcomes. It ranges across various fields such as business, medicine and the environment. Applied ethicists relate traditional philosophical questions and ethical theories to current ethical issues in our society, helping to provide clarity in specific areas of practical concern.
Data ethics is a new and emerging branch of applied ethics that focuses on issues relating to data and data science. As data continues to be used in novel ways across sectors and practices, it is important that we are all equipped to think about the ethical impacts of these applications, both to individuals and society as a whole.
Data ethics relates to good practices around data sharing, collection and use. It is clear that data can be used to help us make better decisions more efficiently. However it can also be used to adversely impact individuals and society. As more and more systems become data-driven and more and more data is collected about us, how can we possibly keep up with who has what and what it can be used for? More importantly, how can we ensure that the human impacts of new technologies are embedded into the design process?
As technology continues to advance at pace, we need data ethics to act as the point of reflection in technological development. Just as we ask ourselves, 'what should I do?’, we need to encourage and educate those working with data to ask themselves ‘should we do this?’ There is increasing pressure in the technology sector to do more, make advancements, move quickly. This can mean that ethical considerations often aren’t given the time and respect that they deserve.
“Moving quickly and breaking things is not the solution. We cannot continue on a trajectory where we retrospectively fix issues that have a detrimental impact on human lives. ”
Enabling ethical literacy in the sector is key to helping us all be able to critically discuss and act on the ethical issues that arise from data-driven innovation. All data has a human element, and therefore all data innovation has societal implications. We need to continue to work on providing tools and education that can help us understand how we minimise the harmful impacts data can have.
I want to learn more! Where do I start?
There are so many great resources online, but here are a few to get started with:
You can find out more about our ethics framework and Responsible Innovation process here.
If you want to get in touch directly about anything discussed in this article, or just want to find out more, you can email us here.