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Ethics – the Four-Way-Test – and More!
Our subject today is ETHICS — THE FOUR-WAY TEST. Our subject today intends to relate those two subjects more closely to each other.:
* FIRST: Is it the TRUTH?
* SECOND: Is it FAIR to all concerned?
* THIRD: Will it build GOODWILL & BETTER FRIENDSHIP?
* FOURTH: Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
We are assaulted daily in the media with news about ethics, from the corporate and government sectors in particular, but also from athletics, the behavior of both coaches and athletes.The definition is that ethics is decision-making – decision-making based on individual responsibility for making right decisions.Ethics is the choice to do what is right, not because it is required or expected, but because it is RIGHT. That requires making sometimes hard decisions. Allow me to take you through some situations, and consideration of some decisions that will help us put the Four Way Test to an increasingly meaningful application..//170
On your vacation, you and a lifelong friend go on a hiking expedition. your friend falls down a steep slope and lies bleeding and unconscious. You manage to back him up .As you approach the hospital, you recall that your friend has no medical insurance, You are concerned that, with no insurance, he might be sent on to a more distant public hospital. So he is identified by your name, your insurance information goes on the hospital record, and your friend gets the emergency treatment you are convinced he needs. A doctor later tells you that without early emergency treatment he almost certainly would have died.//110
The Essay on Ethics Awareness Inventory and Personal Values
Ethics and values coincide with one another. Values are determined by what is right and what is wrong and ethics is actually doing what is right and wrong. Everyday people are faced with making right and wrong decisions. Ethically we make decisions according to our beliefs, values, and awareness. Every decision should be made to do the right thing according to the situation. In this paper I will ...
Now I pose for you a pair of troubling questions.
Is truth-telling an absolute principle that should not have been violated, even under such circumstances as these? And does the end justify the means? Does saving the life of a friend justify the lie?
To lie, steal is wrong. But if we do not allow for an exception in this instance, your friend might have died.
On the other hand, desirable results may tempt us to argue that the end justifies the means. A life was saved because of a misrepresentation and the acquiring of services that otherwise might have been withheld. But if we universalize this justification, we would then be required to agree to many wrongs, if it could be argued that some good purpose was served.
What I have related is a true story. It happened a few years ago to two friends from New Orleans, and they were convicted of theft by deception. But that was in response to the law. In terms of the ethics of our 4WT, how do we balance questions 1 and 4 — TRUTH and BENEFICIAL?+200
What we have introduced – and what we face almost daily in our professions, our businesses, our personal lives – is the classic struggle between two important ethical considerations in our decision-making – principle and pragmatism.
//However, distinctions between principle and pragmatism often take on much more serious consideration in real life. The world continues to debate the wisdom of what was called a pre-emptive strike against Saddam Hussein. A long-standing principle holds that a civilized society does not start a war and it was argued that Iraq was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, and had already demonstrated its willingness to use them.
Some few months ago, a team of doctors sought to separate 29-year-old twins, congenitally joined at the head. The patients died. Medical ethicists debated whether the doctors were justified in attempting to give them a better life, in spite of the risks. Principle versus Pragmatism.//135
A few years ago, 85 children and their teachers were taken hostage at a School in Tuscaloosa, The governor of the state promised in that if the gunman would come out peacefully without harming the children, he would be granted the press conference he requested and would be pardoned. But when he emerged in response to this promise, he was pinned violently to the ground, handcuffed, and led away to jail, screaming “…but the governor promised….”Was the obvious lie justified, in no physical harm to any of the children? Or were the children taught that the authorities are not to be trusted.Do we stand on principle and insist that truth should have been maintained? How shall we balance TRUTH against BENEFICIAL? +125
The Essay on Walking The Path Of Truth In Life
Mohandas K. Gandhi was born in 1869 to Hindu parents in the state of Gujarat in Western India. He entered an arranged marriage with Kasturbai Ma kanji when both were 13 years old. His family later sent him to London to study law, and in 1891 he was admitted to the Inner Temple, and called to the bar. In Southern Africa he worked ceaselessly to improve the rights of the immigrant Indians. It was ...
Many states have struggled with controversy over legalized gambling, whether casinos, lotteries, race tracks, or bingo. Many believe that gambling is wrong as a matter of principle. Proponents tout its financial benefits, especially when other revenue sources dry up. Still, if gambling is deemed morally wrong, the justification violates principle. How shall we balance FAIRNESS against BENEFICIAL?
Those who identify with the “woman’s freedom of choice” position, may in effect say, “If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have an abortion. But it’s my choice what I believe or do.” This underscores the practicality of individual rightsThe two sides will likely not ever compromise so long as one appeals to an absolute principle and the other to a practical position.
****230So in the first two questions, we find words of principle. TRUTH. FAIRNESS.
These principles call us to an apparently unbending dedication to seek truth, to dedicate ourselves to fairness. As they are not always totally attainable, but they are worthy goals.
The other two questions embrace practicality. GOODWILL. BENEFICIAL.
These are goals usually attainable through the intelligent application of human reasoning. “Leaders do the right thing; managers do things right.” That is a valid definition of ethical leadership. Managers are employed to do the defined things right, in other words to follow. But leaders must be the decision makers, those who determine what is right.
The Four-Way Test can serve us as a trusted ethical guide. We are expected to apply both principle and practicality in an ethically mature way.Our Four-Way Test is not only our call to lofty principles, and to beneficial practicality – it is our challenge to combine them in ethically responsible decisions and actions.
The Term Paper on Pestel Analysis Of Gambling And Tourism Tourism Essay
In the last half of the twentieth century, the first location for gambling tourism was established in Nevada, U.S.A. The distinctive of this tourism is a combination of the peculiar geography of Nevadan region with the benefits of the federal system and their own individualistic esprit to form a prosperous economy. The development of the gambling industry became the main growth factor for Las ...
Today, we are challenged by our Four Way Test to prove ourselves worthy of the obligations we assumed when we accepted the name that we wear with pride, the name “Rotarian.” To wear that name proudly, we must diligently adhere to principles.We must, as Rotarians, be visible examples of ethically right conduct. And we are indeed fortunate to have the Four Way Test as our ethical guide.
