Is being ethical being honest?
Abiding by the law and being honest are two core principles of ethical conduct.
Honesty or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness, including straightforwardness of conduct, along with the absence of lying, cheating, theft, etc. Honesty also involves being trustworthy, loyal, fair, and sincere.
However, in the long term, honesty carries the day, gains stronger support from employees and allows the right solutions to be applied to resolve problems. Another important outcome from honesty is that it builds trust, one of the most critical elements of solid leadership activities.
Ethics and morals relate to “right” and “wrong” conduct. While they are sometimes used interchangeably, they are different: ethics refer to rules provided by an external source, e.g., codes of conduct in workplaces or principles in religions. Morals refer to an individual's own principles regarding right and wrong.
Finally, being ethical is not the same as doing "whatever society accepts." In any society, most people accept standards that are, in fact, ethical. But standards of behavior in society can deviate from what is ethical. An entire society can become ethically corrupt.
Acting with integrity means understanding, accepting, and choosing to live in accordance with one's principles, which will include honesty, fairness, and decency. A person of integrity will consistently demonstrate good character by being free of corruption and hypocrisy.
Definition of 'ethical'
Ethical means relating to beliefs about right and wrong.
Someone doesn't need to be moral to be ethical. Someone without a moral compass may follows ethical codes to be in good standing with society. On the other hand, someone can violate ethics all the time because they believe something is morally right.
A moral action can also be unethical. A lawyer who tells the court that his client is guilty may be acting out of a moral desire to see justice done, but this is deeply unethical because it violates the attorney-client privilege.
The notion of truth is same in ethics and science. However, the data in science and ethics are different. In science we rely on observation, in ethics we rely on considered moral intuitions. There is little agreement about when we should trust our ethical intuitions.
Why are ethics not absolute?
Normative ethical relativism theory says that the moral rightness and wrongness of actions varies from society to society and that there are no absolute universal moral standards binding on all men at all times. The theory claims that all thinking about the basic principles of morality (Ethics) is always relative.
Action can be legally wrong but ethically correct. For example: In the 20th century India, social reformers urged citizens to disobey laws in order to protest what they regarded as immoral or unjust laws. Peaceful civil disobedience was an ethical way of expressing political viewpoints.
Lies are morally wrong, then, for two reasons. First, lying corrupts the most important quality of my being human: my ability to make free, rational choices. Each lie I tell contradicts the part of me that gives me moral worth. Second, my lies rob others of their freedom to choose rationally.
- Respect for others. No matter the relationship between two people and what they agree or disagree upon, people within an organization should always respect each other. ...
- Open communication. All successful businesses communicate effectively. ...
- Responsibility.
In general, absolute truth is whatever is always valid, regardless of parameters or context. The absolute in the term connotes one or more of: a quality of truth that cannot be exceeded; complete truth; unvarying and permanent truth.
Ethics are the set of moral principles that guide a person's behaviour or that of a group. Truth is the set of things that are real and factual, or those things that are accepted as true. Does that clear it up? Things that are true can be part of an unethical set of beliefs put together by immoral people.
Ethics is what guides us to tell the truth, keep our promises, or help someone in need. There is a framework of ethics underlying our lives on a daily basis, helping us make decisions that create positive impacts and steering us away from unjust outcomes.