Stages of Ethical Development

Merrill Chapter 2

Stages of Ethical Development

There are many different theories about ethical development

Developing Internal Standards

Existentialism: Two Voices

Individual ethics recognizes relation to community but responsibility is on person - not on others or society

Ethics: A Basic Duality (Communitarianism vs. Libertarianism)

• Chinese philosopher, T.H. Fang had a theory that involved ethical "layers." In this theory, the higher layers fortified the lower layers.
• Harvard psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg said that people go through seven ethical stages. The very lowest includes a fear of authority, and there are several intermediary stages. The highest ethical stage is beg an ideal person, or a person of principle.
• Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard believed that personal growth in ethics is related to decision-making.
• With that being said, ethical development all depends on a person's desire to be ethical.

• Early 19th - mid 20th century in Europe
• Philosophy of subjectivism, individualism, commitment, action, and personal responsibility
• Rebel against being pigeonholed and seen as common - value personal ethics, staying away from peer pressure
• Freedom as active and positive
• Individual must assume responsibilities of acts without any certain knowledge of right or wrong
• Acting, feeling, and living of human subject
• Danish philosopher Kierkegaard (founder) - being included in a group or community was a rejection of one's "genuine human being" as "cowardly denial of one's true selfhood"

Stephen Holmes

No specific moral codes = no moral compass = false

puts moral decisions in hands of individual

• Communitarians put the society or community development and harmony first.
• Libertarians put the individual and personal ethics and self-development first.

Existentialism:

Two Voices

Suspicion of Group-Mindedness

CONS:

contradictions

divide society

competitiveness

YES? NO? MAYBE SO?

• In today's society, working more in organizations, groups, communities
• Philosopher Karl Jaspers - society becoming a collective sense of cooperation and harmony (less individual initiative)
• Nietzsche - personal creation of values and authenticity: "Become the person you are"
• Focuses more on individualism

Foundational

Ethical Questions

• Some journalists tend to lean toward group-oriented over individual ethics
• Individualism = poor team player

Lewis H Lapham, modern individualist

• What is a legitimate journalist?
• discourages journalists to feel they belong to a specific group/organization/profession

John Stuart Mill

"A person should be free to express any opinions - in speech, in writing, and in behavior - as long as that person does not interfere with someone else's freedom"

Libertarianism

The Communitarian Journalist

HOW SO?

• There are two questions to be asked:
• 1. Why should we be concerned about ethics and doing the right thing?
• 2. How do we know what is the right thing to do?
• How to answer these questions:
• Journalists should be concerned about their ethics because people in general are concerned
• People want ethical journalism
• ethical journalism=journalism that is dependable, credible, truthful, balanced, unbiased, thoughtful, interpretive, considerate, empathetic and realistic
• There is an expectation of journalism (from the audience)
• Journalists should focus on their ethics for self-respect and the satisfaction that comes from doing what's right

Clifford Christains, University of Illinois

• Believed journalistic self-rule rights should be "given up for a politics of the common good"
• News stories: accurate, balanced, relative, complete

*Hutchins Commission

• "non-negotiable principles": truth-telling, public's right to know

Exemplars:

Socrates

Jefferson

Voltaire

Locke

Libertarianism:

Enlightenment Liberals

Individualism

Diversity

Competition

Existentialism

Pluralistic Society

Meritocracy

Maximum freedom of expression

Relative/pragmatic ethics

Personal ethical codes

Personal transformation

"Inner-directed" motivation

Self-enhancement

Self-reliance

Anti-media professionalization

Full-spectrum news

Questions Journalists Should Ask:

What do we want?

What do you want?

Instead of:

What do I want?

The Collateral Question

Emphasizing the Community

How do I know what is the right thing to do?

Personal or Individual Ethics

• Rational Considerations:
• Guiding principles
• Weigh pros and cons
• Consider morals & values, alternate possibilities, personal commitments and loyalties
• Inborn Moral Sense:
• Basic human desire to be ethical
• Personal conscience - clues and hints

Social or Communitarian Ethics

• Communitarian: group-oriented ethicist
• Standards derived from group expectations
• Suspicious of libertarianism in ethical decision making
• Doubt "the average person"
• Enlightenment leads to competition, selfishness
• Universal. absolute ethics that can be enforced

But how?

Emphasis: one's self, self-discipline, self-determination

Goal: to make moral actions habitual

Key: self-respect

Exemplars:

Confucius

Plato

Marx

Communitarianism:

Groupists/Cooperationists

Networking/social cohesion

Conformity/bonding

Cooperation

Absolutism

Universal solidarity

Egalitarianism

Absolute/notmative/universal ethics

Legalistic ethical codes

"Civic transformation"

"Other-directed" motivation

Selflessness

Like-minded worldview

Media professionalization

"Positive"/"Socially helpful" news

David Hume, philosopher (1711-1776)

• Like Aristotle in beliefs of developing one's character
• "crowning attitude": self-respect needed for person to lead moral life
• still gave importance to community

Reinhold Niebuhr

• Believed focus on community could lead to conformity
• "the community becomes the tyrant through the conception of itself projected by the images of the mass media"