Question

What kind of enterprise or study is ethics? Is it about facts or values? List a few of the facts and values about some crucial current public issue. For example, state the values or facts supporting what you think should be done about crises such as global climate change or controversies such as those over policing in minority neighborhoods. Explain how facts or values, or both, in specific ways, apply.

Answer 1

Ethics, in psychology is defined as a set of CORRECT RULES OF CONDUCT that one must follow in order to undertake a valid, reliable and credible research. Ethics are values based on facts. The following example will facilitate your understanding better:-

While undertaking a reseach/ experiemnt it is ethical to seek a written consent from the participant, where it is mentioned that the participant can lieave the experiment/ activity / interview if he/she feels uncomfortable. If a participant is not breief about this option, he/she might give anwers (interview) or perform an experiment under the pressure to complete it. In such a condition, the results generated will not be accurate and such a sitution might have detrimental effects on the participant.

Therefore, it is a fact that if the correct code of conduct (which is based on values) is not followed, both the participant nd the reaearch findings might get adversly effected.

In the case of Global Climatic Change, there are some ethical values and correct code of conduct that we must follow as it is the duty of evry individual to contribute towards saving the planet. Example of some of these are; carrying your own bag when you go out, one must segragate dry and wet waste, plant trees and make use of public transporation whenever possible and teach others, especially chikdren the same. These values that are to be inculcated or the need to incorporate tis code of conduct is based on scientific facts that prove that if something is not done in this respect, the global cimatic changes might turn fatal soon.

Therefore, ethics can be explained as a correct code of conduct based on facts.