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Pinning Down the Definition of Ethics

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Individuals have their own different definitions of what ethics entails. However, one thing that all these definitions have in common is that, ethics deals with knowing what is right or wrong. Ethics can be defined as the body of cognition that is responsible for the study of worldwide rationales that determine right from wrong. Many people are inclined to thinking that ethics revolves around their feelings; what they feel is right or wrong. However, this is not the case. Individuals have their own perception regarding particular scenarios or subject. As a result, one’s feelings may deviate from what is ethical. The main purpose of ethical conduct is to govern and guide one’s behavior. Ethical conduct increases the probability that an individual will behave accordingly in certain ways. This is achieved by partly focusing on the actions of individual characters and penalties for infringement. Ethical conduct encourages organization. Without ethical conduct people would do things in their own way based on their own moral choices, which may not be right. (Preston, 2007)
Possessing the knowledge on ethics is not enough. It is very significant for individual to evaluate their own conduct and that of other people. Evaluation of conduct involves the critical judgment of individual behavior. It serves as a gauge for progress; success and failures. Evaluation of one’s conduct can be based on two categories: formative and summative. The formative category identifies what an

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