Book Opener

CHAPTERASSESSMENTSection 1.1 Defining Ethics● Ethical decisions can be made by relying onopinions and feelings, by applying the greatestgood principle, or by following the Golden Rule.● A decision made by applying the greatest goodprinciple leads to an action that will create thegreatest good for the greatest number of people.Although making decisions by using the greatestgood principle may make many people happy,applying this principle does not always bringabout ethical actions.● The Golden Rule is traditionally associatedwith Christianity. However, the Golden Ruleprinciple is present in many world religions.Applying the Golden Rule leads to an ethicaldecision much of the time because it requires aperson to put the interests of others ahead ofpersonal interests. The Golden Rule requires aperson to “do unto others as you would havethem do to you.”● Four ethical character traits are honesty, justice,compassion, and integrity. Honesty is the abilityto be open and truthful in dealings with others. Aperson is said to be just if he or she treats peoplefairly or equally. A person displays compassionwhen he or she is sympathetic to the difficultiesof others and wants to help people with theirproblems. Integrity refers to a person’s refusal tocompromise his or her values, regardless ofpersonal consequences.● Ethics tell us what we should do. However,ethics may be subjective, varying from person toperson. People do not always do what theyshould do. In contrast, laws are defined. Theyprovide an objective standard of behavior.● Law is important because society needs a systemof rules to maintain stability and peace. Peopleneed to know what their rights and duties are sothat they may choose to follow them or acceptthe consequences for failure to follow them.●Ethics and the law can conflict in a variety ofcircumstances. Professional ethics are notalways consistent with the rule of law. In othercases, personal or religious ethics may conflictwith the law.Section 1.2 Sources of Law● A country’s constitution spells out the principlesby which the government operates. The U.S.Constitution, which consists of seven articles and27 amendments, enumerates the fundamentalrights of citizens. It also defines the limits withinwhich federal state governments may pass laws.The Constitution sets forth the functions ofvarious branches of our national governing body.Each state has its own constitution.● A body of cases called common law originatesfrom England. These cases and their offspringcan be applied to interpret statutory law. Thedoctrine of stare decisis, or precedent, is used toanalogize or distinguish a case at hand from aprevious case. Some parts of common law stillexist today in some states’ laws much as they didin England.● Statutory law consists of rules of conductestablished by the government of a society tomaintain stability.● Courts make laws through the common lawtradition, by interpreting statutes, and bydeciding issues of constitutionality. Decisionsmade by the highest court of any state becomethe law of that state.● Legislatures form regulatory agencies, whichhave wide-ranging powers to create, enforce, andadjudicate rules and procedures. However, thereare limits imposed on regulatory agencies. Thelegislative body that formed the agency has thepower to terminate that agency. In addition, anyfinal decision by an agency is always subject tojudicial review.22 Unit 1: Knowing About the Law