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A Quest for Ethics English moral philosopher, Anthony Cooper, the 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, believed that as a race of people we have an innate sense of right and wrong (Bayer et al (Ed.), 1999). These basic principles of right action are called ethics (Read et al (Ed.), 2000). Many professional organizations and institutions such as universities have developed their own set of ethical principles or rules in order to ensure morality. One might suggest that with all these different rules, we have a need to simplify things with a more complete set of universal values. I think not. Defining universal ethical codes is impractical in most situations in this world (LaFollette, 1991). The core values of SLU are excellence, community, respect, personal development, responsible stewardship and integrity (Values-Values Statement, 2003). Many of these values align with the general principles of the APA: competence, integrity, professional and scientific responsibility, respect for people’s rights and dignity, concern for others’ welfare, and social responsibility (Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, 1992). Even though core values of Saint Leo University (SLU) and the American Psychological Association’s (APA) general ethical principles are compatible a majority of the time, certain situations will arise where one will not work for the other making it impossible to have a single ethical law.
Approximate Word count = 687
Approximate Pages = 2.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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