INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF
ETHICS
“Ethics is a code of values which guide our choices and actions and determine
the purpose and course of our lives.” –Ayn Rand, novelist and philosopher
Ethical Situations
Dilemma: a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more
alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable. (Source: Oxford Dictionaries Online)
The questions below are examples of ethical dilemmas faced all over the world. People can
have all kinds of opinions about these situations. Is it ethical:

For a woman to become pregnant and deliver a child in return for money?

Not to tell a person that he or she is dying?

To transplant animal organs into humans? To raise animals solely to use their organs
this way?

To spend large amount of money on dying patients? To withhold treatment from
dying patients?

For doctors to help people kill themselves?

For a professional to break rules of confidentiality? Should those rules be different
for priests, doctors, or lawyers?

For dying people to use experimental drugs?

To treat patients who develop AIDS because of risky behavior?

To treat patients who develop lung cancer because of risky behavior?

To allow tobacco companies to sell cigarettes?

To base the quality of health care on how much money a patient has
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Rules and laws
Rules and laws aren’t ethics, though they normally exist to help people know what to expect
from each other. They can be created to protect the safety and well-being of the population in
a country or religion. Rules guide a person’s, group’s, or society’s beliefs about what’s normal
and acceptable.
Schools have rules. For example, violence, destruction of school property, or possession of
weapons are against the rules. Imagine that a student sells drugs at school. The student might
be expelled, or the school might even have the student arrested.
Families often have rules. For example, unmarried women are not allowed to leave the house
alone in some families. Like most rules, family rules often are meant to keep family members
safe.
Sometimes, however, rules may seem unfair. For example, slavery was legal in the United
States before the Civil War. Some religious groups believed slavery was wrong. Their ethics
drove them to help runaway slaves. Most people agree that laws allowing slavery are bad.
Some people’s ethics may cause them to break such rules or laws.
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Self-Assessments and Ethics
Self-assessments are tests that can help us know ourselves better. There are many kinds of selfassessments. Some ask questions about knowledge, attitudes, or behavior. Some selfassessments might look at a person’s risk for lung disease, alcoholism, or depression.
By assessing yourself from time, you can see how you change. The key to self-assessments is
that only you interpret the information. Young people developed the following selfassessments, which shows what they believe is important regarding ethics.
Read items 1-14 below. Choose a number after each item that describes you best. Write it on a
sheet of paper. Use this scale:
1 = Rarely
2 = Sometimes
3 = Most of the time
1. My behavior is acceptable.
1
2
3
2. I contribute to my personal health.
1
2
3
3. I contribute to the health of my family.
1
2
3
4. I contribute to the health of my friends.
1
2
3
5. I contribute to the health of my community.
1
2
3
6. I treat people fairly.
1
2
3
7. I face rather than ignore ethical dilemmas.
1
2
3
8. I can resolve ethical dilemmas.
1
2
3
9. I set moral guidelines for myself.
1
2
3
10. I follow my moral guidelines.
1
2
3
11. I respect the feelings of others.
1
2
3
12. I believe that the feelings of others matter.
1
2
3
13. I am responsible.
1
2
3
14. I know or can find out the right thing to do.
1
2
3
Add up your points. The closer your total is to 42, the more ethical behavior you probably
practice. If you scored 1 or 2 on any items, think of ways you can improve in those areas.
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