It seems everywhere you turn, someone is screaming something about unethical behavior. "Ethic" is defined by Meriam-Webster as "a set of moral principles : a theory or system of moral values". Using this definition requires examination of the word "moral", defined as "of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior". Now, you have to look at right and wrong. What's right to one person may not be right to another. Popular examples: homosexuality, capital punishment, abortion. Everyone has an opinion on these things. Some view them as perfectly fine, others think they are atrocities. Therefore ethics are a tricky beast. Some things most everyone knows is wrong: killing, raping, child abuse and the like.
People in the medical profession are bound by a code of ethics established by the National Board of Medicine. A number of other professions also have ethics established by some type of governing body. These include but are not limited to: politics, law, & law enforcement.
But then, there's this tricky business of relationships. Whether it be a friendship, a familial relationship or a romantic relationship. Who makes up the ethics to those? Answer: Each of us make up our own. There are things we simply will and will not do.
Some hypothetical examples (NOTE: See how I used the word "hypothetical"? That means I'm not talking about anyone in particular. If you examine your own behaviors, you more than likely WILL find that one of these applies to you, but I'm not talking about you or to you, so get over it.):
1. Is lying to help a friend unethical? Does your opinion change if the friend is in some sort of danger and you lie to him/her to help protect them?
2. If you decide that lying to protect a friend is ethical, how about if the person you're lying to is another friend or a family member?
Doesn't one of the first two have to be unethical because by protecting one person, you're lying to another, unless lying in your opinion is ethical.
3. Is it unethical to withhold information from a friend because you're afraid of the consequences you could be faced with, even though that information may be vital to your friend's well being? What if the information you're withholding is protecting another friend?
4. Is hot-chatting on the internet with someone who is not your significant other considered cheating? Does it make a difference if it's someone the chatter has never met in person?
5. Is asking your husband/boyfriend to get any ideas of butt sex with you out of his head unethical? What about if you've promised to remain open to new ideas? Is it unethical for him to keep asking if you say no?
What do you think?
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