Part 3: Ethical Duties
32 What is an “ethical framework”?
An “ethical framework” is a synonym with several other terms, such as “ethical lens” and “ethical perspective”. Each of these describes a certain way one may view an ethical situation or steps one might follow to resolve an ethical dilemma. Each offers a systematic or principled way of organizing one’s thoughts around an ethical issue which may help in decision-making. We will consider several of these “frameworks”, “lenses”, or “perspectives”: (1) utilitarianism, (2) deontology, (3) virtue ethics, (4) the core values model, and (5) social contract theory. Each of these offers a widely different, but valuable approach to considering ethical questions.
We should also note that differing ethical frameworks will often agree in conclusion, if not in reasoning. Sometimes, however, differing ethical frameworks may point to different conclusions. After studying several major frameworks we will consider what happens when they disagree at the conclusion of this Part.
For more reading, see A Framework for Ethical Decision Making, from the Markulla Center.
Exercises
- For the ethical essay you visited in the prior Question, which framework, or frameworks (lenses), were applied?
- Would the solution have been different under a different framework?
