Applied ethics

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Applied ethics is a sub-field of philosophy that takes a theory of ethics, such as utilitarianism, social contract theory, or deontology, and demonstrates how the major principles of a theory might influence a particular set of circumstances and practices. Typical examples include applied fields such as medical ethics, legal ethics, environmental ethics, computer ethics, corporate social responsibility, or business ethics. Many considerations of applied ethics also come into play in human rights discussions.

Applied ethics seeks to overcome the chief difficulty with formal, theoretical ethics: the potential for disagreement over what constitutes the proper theory or principles to apply. Strict, principle-based ethical approaches often result in solutions to specific problems that are not universally acceptable to all participants. For example, a strict deontological approach would never permit us to deceive a patient about his condition, whereas a utilitarian approach would have us consider the consequences of doing so, and thus might permit lying to a patient if the result of the deception was good. Given the same facts of a case, a deontologist will often come up with a very different solution than would a utilitarian.

One modern approach which attempts to overcome the seemingly impossible divide between deontology and utilititarianism is case-based reasoning, also known as casuistry. Casuistry does not begin with theory, rather it starts with the immediate facts of a particular case. While casuistry makes use of ethical theory, it does not view ethical theory as the most important feature of moral reasoning. Casuists, like Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin (The Abuse of Casuistry 1988), challenge the traditional paradigm of applied ethics. Instead of starting from theory and applying theory to a particular case, casuists start with the particular case itself and then ask what morally significant features (including both theory and practical considerations) ought to be considered for that particular case. In their observations of medical ethics committees, Jonsen and Toulmin note that a consensus on particularly problematic moral cases often emerges when participants focus on the facts of the case, rather than on ideology or theory. Thus, a Rabbi, a Catholic priest, and an agnostic might agree that, in this particular case, the best approach is to withhold extraordinary medical care, while disagreeing on the reasons that support their individual positions. By focusing on cases and not on theory, those engaged in moral debate increase the possibility of agreement.

Contents

1 List of subfields of applied ethics
2 See also
3 Bibliography

3.1 Anthologies
3.2 Journals

4 External links

List of subfields of applied ethics

Medical ethics / bioethics
Business ethics
Environmental ethics (e.g. global warming)
Human rights issues (e.g. gender ethics / sexism, racism, death penalty)
Animal rights issues
Legal ethics
Computer ethics
Media ethics / journalism ethics
Research ethics
Education ethics
Sports ethics
Military ethics (e.g. just war theory)
International ethics (e.g. world hunger)

Bibliography

(monograph)

Anthologies

Journals

[Ethics] (since 1890)
[The Journal of Ethics]
[Journal of Applied Philosophy]
[International Journal of Applied Philosophy]
[International Journal of Philosophical Practice]

External links