The ethical judgment It consists of making the most appropriate decision in the face of a dilemma in which the one that is most in line with morals and ethics must be chosen. It is an individual decision, although it is related to the moral values of society.
To decide properly, the person must use reason and choose which is the best option, based on his knowledge about what is right or wrong. For example, a person has an ethical judgment when having to choose whether to return a wallet full of money or keep it.
Although it is a tool that humans have used since their appearance on the planet, the use of the concept dates back only to the 18th century. However, Ethics has been studied since the time of ancient Greece.
It is convenient not to confuse this type of judgment with the moral one because, although they share similarities, they have different features. The main one is that, while in the ethical judgment it uses reasoning to make the decision, the moral makes evaluations about the actions or behaviors.
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The term "ethics" has many centuries of history. It comes from the Greek word "ethos", which means custom. Ethics - as part of philosophy - studies good and evil, and their relationship with the human being.
Another meaning attributed to it is the total of customs and norms in human behavior.
Regarding the concept ethical judgment, it is much more recent. It began to be used in the 18th century as a way to solve interpersonal or social problems.
Ethical judgment is defined as the reasoning necessary to be able to choose the most convenient action or attitude among those that arise in a given situation.
This decision must be based on social norms, or on the set of values that society considers correct. In this way, this type of judgment seeks to help solve any ethical dilemma that appears..
Thanks to him, the different options available are analyzed and the one that best suits the situation is taken, without breaking moral norms, whether social or personal..
Some of the main characteristics of ethical judgment are the following:
-To do this, abstract moral principles are taken into account.
-It is not biased in judging the rights of others, but rather they are respected.
-The individual is placed first in front of social relations.
-It is only a way to achieve a fair result, without prejudging the results.
-The important thing is the procedure used.
-All human beings use it for their entire lives, even if the end result is harmful to themselves..
-It is about using a concept of universal justice when making decisions.
The object, the end and the circumstances are the three axes that determine whether an act complies with ethical standards. If all three meet the criteria of goodness, the judgment to which the person acting is exposed will be positive. These elements also apply to moral judgments.
Answer the question of "What should I do?" The object refers to the act that the individual performs regardless of the circumstances.
The end refers to what the individual wishes to obtain with the performance of his action.
They are the conditions that go hand in hand with the act (place, space, time, context, etc.). These influence to justify why it was acted in one way or another.
A young man hits the back of a friend of his with force, causing him momentary damage. A priori, this would trigger a very negative ethical judgment, since it caused harm without reason.
However, if the young man, after careful thought, hit his friend (object of act) because he had a spider on his back (end) and it was potentially poisonous (circumstances), then the ethical judgment will be totally different, since that was acted with kindness.
In practically every important decision that a person makes during his life he uses this type of judgment. Training the individual to be able to do them is one of the bases of education.
In general terms, it can be pointed out that when it is decided not to commit a criminal act, it is a great example of these trials.
It is not a choice due to fear of punishment, but because it contravenes the moral codes accepted by society. The consequences for the social group and for loved ones are taken into account.
1- A politician who has been caught lying about something person loses his credibility and ceases to be trusted in his public activities.
2- When seeing one person treat another person badly, everyone ends up judging him and thinking that his action is not correct.
3- Those who mistreat animals receive a severe judgment by those who are aware of it. This abuser is often classified as a cruel person. His performance is even extrapolated thinking that he can also harm humans.
4- The one who copies in an exam stops having the confidence of his teachers. He also gets the blame from peers who have tried too hard.
5- Harassment at school supposes, apart from the criminal consequences, a severe ethical judgment on the part of the whole society.
6- Anyone who throws a waste or a cigarette butt on the ground can be exposed to be judged as an unhygienic person and not empathic with the environment
7- The young person who does not give up a seat to an elderly person or with mobility problems can be judged and identified as a selfish or without compassion.
8- Anyone who uses their car after drinking alcohol is exposed to being judged by their environment for their uncivil attitude and may lose friends.
Morality is a field that has been studied since the times of classical Greece..
Although there have been different definitions throughout the centuries, today it is considered as the set of rules that human beings living in society must follow in order to maintain harmony and good coexistence..
Although there may be people outside this common morality, the vast majority are immersed in the codes that it dictates..
In both ethical and moral judgment, there are a series of rules or perceptions about how the behaviors of each one should be.
When speaking of morality, norms have been transmitted by the culture of society, with a teaching that goes from generation to generation. Ethics is how the individual has adapted morality to their own way of being and thinking.
One of the main differences between the concepts of morals and ethics is the scope of development. While the first may vary depending on society and culture, ethics is much more personal, even if it comes from morality itself..
Thus, ethics needs a greater individual intervention, since it is the individual who must internalize it and use it in their judgments. In this way, it can be affirmed that ethics is born from individual thought, from conscience, from each person.
As mentioned, morality is external, social and has a greater burden of obligation if you want to maintain a good coexistence in the community in which you live..
Precisely for this reason, moral obligations are much more coercive.
In certain societies, for example, a pregnant single woman is going to be judged harshly by community morals. Even if it does not have criminal punishment, it can mean that the future mother is socially withdrawn and despised.
Meanwhile, it is the intellect and rationality that count most in the personal ethical sense. Although it is influenced by social morality, the individual must adapt it to their thoughts and beliefs.
In the previous case of the single mother, someone may ethically judge that the attitude of despising her and giving her shelter and help is wrong, even if it contravenes the general moral.
Given the above explanation, the differences between ethical judgment and moral judgment are easily deductible. In the first, reason fundamentally comes into play.
It is the individual who must rationally consider the consequences of actions. All this process is done according to the rules of society, but there is also room for own rules.
In the case of moral judgment, individual options are more limited. It is simply a matter of assessing whether the action is positive or negative.
To do this, it takes into account the set of rules that society has defined as correct or incorrect. It can be said that it is much stricter than the ethical.
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