Ethics and Development

Ethics and Development

LECTURE I: Basic Concepts of Ethics

1. Etymology of ethics
2. Ethics as critical thinking
3. Purpose of ethics
4. Sphere of ethics
- Family
- Civil
- Professional

LECTURE II: Responsible Citizenship

1. Ethics and pluralistic society

2. Human acts and choices
3. Voluntariness of human acts and freedom
4. Norms of morality

LECTURE III: Civil Ethics and National Development

1. Virtue and vices in the society

2. Introduce theological virtues of Faith, Love and Hope
- Expound on the Cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude.
- elaborate the theological virtue of Love and deal with the family institution

LECTURE IV: Leadership Ethics

1. Work
- Participation of workers in work:- partnership and co-determination
- Right to property and its social function
2. The political community
- The state and the common good
- The person and the society
- The leader and the society

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References:

Composta, D. (2000) Moral Philosophy and Social Ethics. Rome: Urbaniana University Press.

Goulet, D. (1995) Development Ethics. London: Zed Press.

Others:

Aristotle (350 B.C.E.) Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by W. D. Ross at Nicomachean Ethics.doc

Gichure, C.W. (2008) Ethics for Africa Today. An Introduction to Business Ethics. Nairobi:
Pauline Publications Africa.

LECTURE I: Basic Concepts of Ethics

Introduction

Ethics aims at helping human beings to understand and appreciate what they are.
The ultimate end of ethics is the absolute truth or absolute goodness. This study of
ethics will lead us to understand how a human person ought to act; to project than
human being is a rational being. Thus ethics is a practical science. The “ought” has
to go with decency i.e. someone cannot decide to put a pair of pants on his/her
head. It ascertains how a human being should assume responsibility and do what a
human person ought to do. Customs also help in this “ought” in our society. Ethics
is a major branch of philosophy encompassing right conduct and good life. It is
significantly broader than the common conception of analyzing right and wrong. A
central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply
satisfying, which is held by many philosophers to be more important than moral
conduct.

The Origin of Ethics and Critical Thinking

Etymologically, the word Ethics is from a Latin word ‘Ethos’ which means customs,
practices, laws or usages. Customs and practices and continues usages developed
to laws leading to customary morality and reflective morality. Ethics comes from
the history of human persons who looked at themselves and are still looking at
their own selves, their experiences and ask questions like who are we? How best
can we live our lives? Is this the right way? Is there no better way of living? It comes

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from Socrates’ adage of “man know thyself.” The systematization of the answers to
these questions projected itself to customs, practices and usages. When it came to
the level of reflection where people systematised those customs, practices and
usages to laws, they moved from being customary morality to becoming reflective
morality. Thus Ethics is the same as moral philosophy or moral theories which is a
result of collective human experience and functional (critical) thinking. It is a
common experience of being human with a human dignity which is ethics in its
right context. Human dignity prompts a human person to do “good” and avoid
“evil” and ethics informs the person what is the right to be done and wrong to be
avoided and it is from this process that laws are formed to deter people from doing
the wrong. This process realises individual’s freedom and personal choices,
however it is also aware that freedom runs from individual to the group (society)
thus it has a limit. The experience of human freedom without a limit is no longer
freedom but a licence.

Purpose of Ethics

From common experience people organized the mores, customs, habits, etc thus
systematizing, structuring so that people could distinguish the right from wrong.
We are aware that qualifying conduct of behaviour is not easy in the present world
as human being is not static; different factors push human being for better or for
worse. However, the purpose of ethics is the desire of man to make the “ought”
clear: DO GOOD and AVOID EVIL; and that is the right conduct. Ethics wants to
systematize the human experience so as to define what is good and what is bad.
Thus the point of view of ethics is always “rightness” and “wrongness”, the
“oughtness” so that human beings can live according to their dignity.

The Sphere of Ethics

The subject matter of ethics is human conduct. The sphere of ethics changes,
individuals know what is good in the family and as they go to a large society, the
sphere of ethics widens. For example, children learn what is good or bad in their
families, but as they grow up they go to a large society and the sphere of good and
bad widens. It can widen for the better or worse depending on what is going
around on that society; whether it affirms the ethics learnt at home or disregards
it. If it affirms it, those individuals will be more grounded in their ethics otherwise
they will be challenged by the society and if they are not strongly grounded, their
ethical norms will slowly be eroded.

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Ethics is related to other human sciences but it has a different method and
objectives. Ethics touches all the spheres: social, political, economical,
environmental, etc. That is why we have social ethics, environmental ethics,
medical ethics, etc. which means the conduct of that particular science. This is
what is referred as professional ethics. Professional ethics could be defined as the
analysis of the nature and social impact of a certain profession and its
corresponding formulation and justification of policies for the ethical use of such
profession (modified from Moor, 1985). This sense of the word ‘ethics’ is linked
directly to the original sense of the Greek word ‘ethos’ which meant ‘customs’ as
did ‘mores’ in Latin root of ‘morals’. Ethical problems arise most often when there
are differences of judgment or expectations about what constitutes the true state
of affairs or a proper course of action. Professionals may be faced with contrary
opinion from within the firm, the client, from other firms within the industry, or
from government. Individual makes ethical decisions, in their capacity as members
of different groups. Therefore, when faced with a moral/ethical dilemma, a
professional must be able to make rational and well-motivated decisions. Courses
in Ethics can help professionals by offering tools and methods helpful in such
situations.

The basic principles of ethics are constant, no matter in which area they might be
applied. The principles of medical ethics, legal ethics, computer ethics,
environmental ethics, etc are not different from one another. Similarity is always
relative. Two things that are similar are always similar in certain respects.
Uniqueness is a matter of focus and context. Looking at the set of all possible
ethical problems, different patterns can be recognized permitting their grouping
into medical ethics, political ethics, legal ethics, business ethics, etc. It is therefore
the social importance of a certain profession together with its specific features that
give rise to new ethical problems. Professional ethics will be dealing with special
ethical problems and issues that arise for practitioners of professions.
As noted, the principles of ethics are the same, what usually change is the context
in that regard teaching of specialized ethics will not only guide candidates in their
profession, but it will add to the stock of ethics knowledge in the society.
Individuals who are well versed whether professional ethical values will always
know what to do and not to do outside his/her area, for example:

• Confidentiality,
• Observing standards,
• Following order and principles
• The effects of underperformance, etc.

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It is important to note that all sectors, sub areas, etc in the Economy/society are
connected or related in a way. If all observe their respective codes of ethics, the
response is that the stock will be different. Therefore, we will address the problem
that the country is experiencing in many forms like corruption, lack of patriotism
among the citizens, lack of commitment to particular ethical values in different
professions like medicine, learning-teaching, engineering, etc. just to mention a
few.

Ethics is different from experimental sciences, though it is a science itself. In real life
you cannot experiment life. Its quality of science is from being a systematized body.
Similarity lies in that it weighs, assesses, analyses and draws conclusions just like
any other science. If we compare with arts, ethics too considers the sense of
beauty (aesthetic), it has some tastes: good and bad conducts. It is also normative
in that it establishes criteria for judging things.

BASIC CONCEPTS

STANDARDS-BASED ETHICS

Under this theory you determine if an act or rule is morally right or wrong if it
meets a moral standard. This is sometimes called the "deontological" theory or
"duty ethics" or simply duty-based ethics or deontological ethics. The Greek word
deon means duty or obligation. The main proponent of this ethical framework was
the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). Kant was a German
philosopher who developed a "universal test" to see if a rule could be a universal
standard. If a rule can be made universal without contradiction, then it is morally
good; if a rule cannot be made universal without contradiction, then it is morally
bad. He believed that there are higher principles that are good in every time, every
culture, and every situation. Not keeping your promise is morally wrong because
you cannot make it a universal law that everyone can knowingly make promises
with no intention of keeping them. Kant felt this was a contradiction in terms.
When you say "I promise." while you are thinking you do not intend to keep your
promise, you are contradicting yourself. When faced with an ethical dilemma, he
believes we should ask ourselves: “To whom do I owe an obligation (duty) and what
obligation (duty) do I owe them?”

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To answer these questions, Kant proposed that we use reason to

identifyy the higher principles we should live and act by. He named
two principles, or categorical imperatives, that would guide all our
actions in this ethical framework:

• Universal applicability. We should not act one way in some

situations or with some people and another way in others. Our
actions should be consistent across the board.

• Respectful of others. In Kant’s view, the fact that human beings

can reason gives us greater value than anything else. Never
treat people as a means to an end, even if you believe the ends
are positive. For example, if you acted in accordance with
dutybased ethics, you would never lie about one candidate in a
political campaign because you believed the other candidate is
a better person and should be elected.

Ethics is defined as the study of the moral value of human behavior. Ethics as a
division of philosophy uses the methods of philosophy, not the methods of religion.
In other words, it is not faith in the writings of religious figures which is used to
develop ethical positions; it is the application of human reasoning to ethical issues.

The questions of ethics are many:

• What method do we use to determine moral standards?

• Why be moral at all?

• Are there moral standards which are common to all humanity?

• Is free will a necessary condition for moral praise or blame?

• Is the language of ethics different from other uses of language?

RESULTS-BASED ETHICS

How do you determine if a rule or act is morally right or wrong? This theory states
that the moral goodness or badness is determined by the results or consequences
of an act or rule. This theory is sometimes called "consequentialism"; it is similar to

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some definitions of "teleological ethics". Telling a lie is morally wrong because of

the damage this lie will cause; both to the liar and to society which depends on
honest relationships.

One example of this theory is called "utilitarianism". It was started by Jeremy

Bentham (1748-1832) an Englishman who, in trying to reform some of the unfair
laws in England developed his theory that the morally correct rule was the one that
provided the greatest good to the greatest number of people.
ETHICAL INTUITIONISM

Under this view an act or rule is determined to be right or wrong by appeal to the
common intuition of a person. This intuition is sometimes referred to as your
conscience. Anyone with a normal conscience will know that it is wrong to kill an
innocent person.

ETHICAL EGOISM

This view is based on the theory that each person should do whatever promotes their own
best interests; this becomes the basis for moral choices.

VIRTUE ETHICS

This is ethical theory that ethics should develop character traits or virtues in a
person so that person will do what is morally right because they are a virtuous
person. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was a famous exponent of this view. Aristotle felt
that virtue ethics was the way to attain true happiness. EMOTIVISM

This ethical theory is based on a study of the type of language used in ethical
sentences and discussion. Notice, for example, how people get emotional about
ethical issues. On this view ethical pronouncements are a type of language which
attempts to evoke similar emotions in the hearer that the speaker has.

SUBDIVISIONS OF ETHICS

There are a number of specialties in ethics which deal with specific problem areas. These
include:

- Medical Ethics: This specialty, often called biomedical ethics, or bioethics,

focuses on ethical issues that arise from the application of the biological and
medical sciences.

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- Business Ethics: There are a number of ethical issues and problems that
are found in the workplace. Issues of honesty and equity are discussed here. There
are internal ethical issues such as those that occur in the relationships between
employers and employees. Then there are external ethical issues which concern
the relationships between a company and the society of which it is a part.

- Environmental Ethics: This specialty deals with a cluster of problems that

relate to the use of the environment. There are ethical issues involved in pollution
and waste; and there are ethical issues involved in the conservation of natural
resources for future use.

LECTURE II: Responsible Citizenship

Ethics and pluralistic society

If we all search for the good, then the good can only be one. As rational beings, we
can have different approaches but we will arrive at the same good. We have
variations of the good but still it is the good. Different values contribute to the
good. Variations are for mutual help, enhancement, strength and use. Variations
are thus source of unity. Ethics is a pure natural science, a purely philosophical
science; pluralistic is thus a strength and not weakness. Ethics uses human
rationality to arrive at the good. Using our rationality we can understand what is
good and what is bad. Actions and judgments flow from the nature of the being
and human being’s nature is rationality.

Human acts and choices

Conducts or behaviour are the actions we do every day from morning to evening,
the recurrence of the pattern is what we call conduct or behaviour. At this level of
doing, we are not different from other animals. It is pattern of responding to
different impulses. At the level of acts of man, we are no different from animals, at
the level of human acts, we use of reasoning power which other animals do not
have. Actions both voluntary and involuntary together form a human conduct. At
the level of acts of man, like any other animal we are responding to external
stimuli, an instinctive response of self-preservation (i.e. self defence) e.g. we are

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hungry, we look for food just like any other being. At the level of human acts, we
deliberate the acts; we weigh the actions before taking a decision to undergo the
act. Thus human acts are reasoned human deliberations.

Voluntary acts are those acts that a human being consciously and deliberately
perform and thus can be held responsible. They are acts that involve our intellect
and the will, so they are done with full knowledge. These are consciously decisions
we make. Involuntary acts are those acts that we do without our consciousness and
deliberation so we cannot be held responsible.

It is clear therefore that choices we make have to do with voluntary acts. Choice is
responsible to transform involuntary acts to voluntary. Human acts a result of the
interplay between will and intellect. It is the integral human person discerning,
asking what is good and what is bad, decides (making a choice) to do the good and
avoid the bad.

Voluntariness of human acts and freedom

An act is human in so far as it is known and willed. When there is knowledge and
will in a particular context, we can begin to consider the degree of
accountability/answerability, thus we can either blame or praise an individual. A
voluntary act is one that proceeds from the will with full knowledge of the end or
goal to which the act leads; in this case the will acts in full knowledge and full
consent. Therefore full knowledge in goodness and full consent in goodness will
magnify the degree of praise, while full knowledge in evilness and full consent in
evilness will magnify the blameworthiness. Though partial knowledge and partial
consent will reduce the degree of praiseness or blameworthiness (thus degree of
accountability); one cannot let him/herself be misinformed or inattentive because
that is already a sign of irresponsibility.

Norms of morality

Norms govern our ethical life. Norms of morality are extremely valuable source of
ethical wisdom, serving as source of ethical life. These can be considered as
summaries of human moral experience which have developed gradually over the
centuries. Norms of morality promote the values and behaviour that enhance the
human well being while prohibiting those that seem destructive. Norms offer
shortcuts to the values and behaviours consistent or not consistent with authentic
human lifestyle. Norms can be positive as “do this” or negative as “avoid that”
consistent or not consistent. While norms do not resolve all moral dilemmas, they
do provide the moral agent with some guidelines. Some norms are general

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guidelines while others are specific guidelines e.g. Take care of the marginalised
(specific), do not use filthy language (general).

Put it in another way, norms of morality play a much larger role than just simply
being a summary in the life of an individual and community at large. An individual
finds out in the moral norms growth-points and incentives for ethical development.
In the norms one finds dynamics, the individual solves the dilemma of if I should
not do this, what should I do? What am I doing? Norms of morality are not just
principles which serve to identify certain actions as right or wrong, but which give
ethical colour and direction to one’s life. Thus a just person is not the one who
happens to perform just actions but one who acts from a sense of justice.

Norms of morality introduce order and pattern into person’s life and correct
arbitrariness and tendencies to bend with self-interest. Above all they act as
beacon drawing the person forward to become a person he/she should be. It
avoids the tendency of “even the pope (priest, sheikh, minister, president) does it!
Pope is just a person like any other. A thing is bad despite the fact of who does it.
This conviction should be distinguished from the pharisaitic self-satisfaction.

LECTURE III: Civil Ethics and National Development

Virtue and vices in the society

Virtue has something to do with ethically good acts; it applies to something good,
rightness that is why the opposite is a vice. Virtue refers to repetitive acts,
successive acts and not just a single act. Virtue is a process, building up gradually
and thus becoming a habit. The first stages will be difficult but later it becomes
easier and thus come spontaneously. Aristotle understood virtue as a constant,
habitual inclination towards ethically good life. It is an operative habit which
disposes a human person well towards the performance of ethically good acts.
Virtue is therefore a permanent inclination and facility to perform ethically good
acts. Facility is the power, a potential to perform what is ethically good. Virtue is
not a habit given by nature but an acquired habit. It results from repeated acts
which produce in the human person permanent inclination and facility towards the
good. Virtue is potency; therefore it needs to be activated.

There are two categories of virtue, theological virtues and cardinal virtues.
Theological virtues are faith, hope and love while the cardinal virtues are prudence,

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justice, temperance and fortitude. It is not the aim of this paper to discuss
theology; therefore we will only look at the theological virtue of love as it is
involved in the family life. Let us start by talking about the cardinal virtues.

 Prudence is the intellectual virtue which enables the intellect to judge

correctly in matters patterning to ethical order. Here a person is able to
judge correctly in each individual case what the ethical order demands of
him/her. Prudence is concerned with the adaption of the proper means
required to realise the ends of human person in all his/her relationships.
Prudence inquires into the nature of the end sought and the various means
capable of realising it. Prudence then judges the best means under the
concrete situation of the case. Prudence then commands the will to
employ those means with precision and promptly to realise the end in
question. For example, the lining of the former East African Community
workers at Salander bridge area and the means used to disperse them. Was
it prudent? Was it the proper means to realise the end of removing them
from the road? The grudges citizens have against the state affects national
development, as it makes people lose morale for the course.
Note: the wide usage of the term prudence has nothing to do with ethics.
Popularly prudence is used to mean cunning, it can even be misleading to mean
evade the law.
 Justice is the ethical virtue which inclines the will to render or give to each
one what his/her due in every conceivable respect. It is about giving people
their rights. Justice has two dimensions. The first dimension takes justice as
a virtue which extends to all cases where one gives another his due. The
second dimension conceives justice as a virtue which has as its object the
due which is given in equivalent of value e.g. if I am given money to teach, I
should teach for a time equivalent to the money I was given. In this part it
is important to point to a popular term, social justice. Today, society has
become complex and so are the matters patterning to it. Due to the
complications of our time ethics scholars have come up with a new
classification of justice focussing on social issues. This is ethics discussing
questions or matters patterned to our social life. It is justice with particular
reference to the economic, social, political, cultural welfare of the society
in the cooperation with various social groups and classes active within the
framework of the state. It is concerned with the share of all in the fruits of
their social, economic, cultural and political activities. It simply means
equitable share of social benefits of the society. Three things are involved
in justice. First is that justice must be directed towards another person, it is
concerned with people. Second is that justice must render to another

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person what is strictly his/her due. For example, human rights and duties
are some of these dues. Third is that there must be a real equivalency
between what is the due and what is rendered. When parents sacrifices for
his children what is their due, is a temporal suspension. A worker who is
sick is given a day-off but is not taken out of that day’s salary. A man who is
sent to buy a new aeroplane from Europe, he takes 10 percent of the
money and buy an old one, is he just to the fellow citizens?
 Temperance is an ethical virtue which makes a person ready to submit the
desires for sensible pleasures to the control of reason. For example in
national development the immediate cost of self-reliance and greater
economic independence and transformation will not be necessarily slower
but less current consumption. Thus there bound to be higher taxes, high
prices for relatively inferior domestic goods and services, and the luxurious
consumption for the few will be deliberately cut short. But reason would
tell us that this is both necessary and desirable for future prosperity and
sustainability.
 Fortitude is an ethical virtue which regulates the human sensible pleasure
(nature) to the demand of human reason in the face of obstacles which
endanger the ethical good. One might be faced with a situation whereby
he/she is called to sign a bogus contract for his/her country and get a
powerful, expensive car or sign beneficial treaty and continue using the
bicycle he/she has. The ethical good would be to sign the contract that
benefits the country; therefore the individual will be called to forfeit the
human sensible pleasure of luxurious car.

Love

Human love in its fullest sense is an experience of intersubjectivity (I-You

relationship). It goes beyond the “I-It” to “I-You”. Love is thus for a person and
it focuses on that person. There is also refocusing as love is two way traffic
(reciprocity). Love is being present for the other, thus love is personal as the
whole person is in it. In this case the person cannot be an object. Love has the
following qualities:

1. Love is silent: There are times when we cannot give reason why we love.
Love is for its own sake i.e. you are my friend come what may.
2. Love is communion: It unites two lovers (I-You) without destroying any
one’s identity. The two (I-You) make an effort to make the other realise
him/herself. In love the two complement each other (love is not a

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fusion), love makes one grow by acquiring from the other what he/she
lacks.
3. Love is presence: It is a living experience of being present for the other.
And deeper implies “I” going to penetrate the “You” and live there, and
the” You” too penetrating the “I” and staying there.
4. Self-giving: Love makes the “I” a gift to the “YOU”. It is directed to the
completion of the other and in the process the “I” fulfils itself. Far from
subjectivity the other to the self, love helps the “You” to become the
self in the full exercise of self directing freedom.
5. Love is creative: It is vigorous commitment towards the fulfilment of the
other. It influences and helps the other to grow.
6. Love is reciprocal: It brings the “I” and the “You” in communion and the
two become “We” or “Us” of love.
7. Love is supreme value: All values fuse without losing their identity. It
animates all other values i.e. a worker who works for love accomplishes
the task better and more than the worker of salary.

Family

It is generally agreed that all people accept that family is an institute basic
and fundamental to human beings. Human being is asocial being and this
aspect starts here in the family institution. Our being already presupposes
a family which is well founded reality. Human sexuality inclines to a union
of man and woman in love. This union called marriage is not an accident;
the union leads the two to have children who further strengthen the union
of husband and wife. On this ground marriage has been considered as a
natural institution. Today, this natural institution is widely questioned, the
phenomenon of divorce alone is a proof that people’s attitude towards
marriage has vigorously changed.

Traditional understanding of marriage is between man and woman; this

can be a man and many women (polygamy) or one woman and many men
(polyandry). Traditionally, there were a number of reasons for marriage:

1. To control sexual activities and relations.

2. To provide a stable setting for the generation of children and for the
continuation of the society.
3. Marriage was to raise and integrate the children into the society.

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4. Marriage was to nourish and develop the adults emotionally (maturity). It

is believed that celibate people are so aggressive because they miss what
is in marriage and thus load it on others. It was believed that celibates can
be so uncharitable as a result of their missing marriage life.
5. Marriage was to furnish the settings of the economic activities. The two
collaborate in the economic activities.
6. Marriage was to assign social status to its members i.e. Mr and Mrs.

Today these functions are challenged and subjected to change. The

factors that contribute to this challenge are:

1. Movement of the society: A married man from Tanzania working in

South Africa is temporarily separated from his wife.
2. Questioning of sex roles: A person is born a man and wants to become a
woman or a woman wants to become a man. A woman conceiving
marriage as submission to the man.
3. Urbanization.
4. Industrialization which brings urbanization.
5. Technological advancement: contraceptives, cloning, bottle children
(sperm banks, test tube children).

Recently, we have witnessed new forms of families which include

families in which both parents and their children live together in the
same home (house). Single adults without children as a family: a single
man without a woman or a child, a single woman without a man or a
child and they call it a family. Single parents: a woman or a man with a
child or children without a partner. This can be deliberate act or a
result of divorce. Remarried couples: either both or one is after a
divorce, without children. Childless couples: can be deliberate or a
result of sterility. Experimental family forms: two families sharing the
same household also called integrated family.

In our society today, marriage is becoming more of a personal choice

rather than a societal imperative. Traditionally marriage was
understood as a societal imperative and never a personal choice.
Today, there is a deliberate search for alternatives to the traditional
image of monogamous marriage and nuclear family. More women and
more men are choosing to postpone marriage or to remain single due
to various factors. Many young adults live together prior to or instead

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of marriage (trial marriage). There is a growing trend towards having

fewer children or a tendency towards deliberate child-free marriage.
Some couples reject sexual exclusiveness as essential to marriage and
seek intimate sexual relationship within a limited group as positively
supporting both their marriage and personal growth.

Ethical Evaluation: Our contemporary search for the new

understanding and forms of marriage and forms of family must be
evaluated carefully bearing in mind that history is an ongoing process
that includes institutional changes resulting from human decisions in
response to differing human beings. But, let us also not mistake change
for process. From an ethical point of view marriage is a contract and a
state. As a contract is an agreement in which a man and a woman on
the basis of their personal love relationship exchange vows or promises
publicly and formally to love, to honour and cherish one another
exclusively and permanently. Marriage is also a state resulting from the
contract which is a means to arrive at the state. Marriage is a voluntary
contract (meeting) of two minds concerning the transfer of rights and
assumptions of duties. Marriage contracts a husband and wife,
transferring obligations and rights. The essential rights in marriage are:
the right to perform sexual intercourse exclusively with the other, co-
habitation, mutual support and sharing of goods. Failing these rights
invalidate the contract and by its very nature contract requires mutual
free consent and absence of error and fear.

Marriage assures or rather safeguard responsible parenthood. The

need and duty of responsible parenthood has never been so urgently
as in our time, and it is recognized by all cultures at all times. Parents
are obliged to give care to their children so that they can cope with the
material and spiritual need. Irresponsible parenthood brings a burden
to the state/society as they are a number of kids in the streets who are
raised without ethical codes. The health of the parents, spiritual and
material welfare of the family and interests of the society also serve as
a basis for responsible parenthood. The reasons are vast, some are: the
danger to the mother’s health and life, considerations of serious
genetic disorder in cases of hereditary defects or inability of the
mother to deliver a live child, economic difficulties such as low income
in the family, continuing danger of unemployment, lack of housing
space, the long lasting dependence of children on account of ever
increasing length of the education period, pedagogical difficulties i.e.

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costs of higher education demands of industrial society (now even

LDCs). National needs, conditioned by limited resources. Some nations
are already too densely populated, others (esp. LDCs) may find it
impossible to support rapid increasing population with sufficient
means and social assistance. Thus responsible parenthood includes the
policy of prudent spacing of the birth of children.

Means to responsible parenthood

We have two means, natural and artificial. Natural Family Planning

(NFP) includes calendar, rhythm Method, temperature method, etc.
Artificial means are divided into four categories, mechanical,
hormonal, operative and Abortion. Mechanical includes devices like
condoms, intra-uterine devices (IUD –coils, loop), vaginal diaphragm,
chemicals such as antiseptics (e.g. the spermicidal jellies, suppositories
–pills inserted into the vagina). Hormonal means which include the
combine pills, the mini pills and the Norplant which is inserted by
surgery under the woman’s skin. Operative means include temporary
or permanent tubilogation for women and vasectomy for men. The last
means is abortion which any ethical standard is murder and thus
unacceptable.

The Relationship between Demography and Ecology

The preoccupation here is the numbers, that we have things to use and
we need to keep them in existence but how many are we? Can we use
and still keep for those who will come after us? Our technology uses
nature, are we over-using nature or not? Demography explosion or
also known as population boom (or simply the baby boom) is
considered a serious threat to humanity future. Since when population
increases it comes with more demands in forms of questions such as
where are going to live? What are going to wear? What are going to
eat? and many more. It is argued that population is increasing due to
the fact that infant mortality rate is going down. we want more food
production to cater for the increasing population, so we use fertilizers
which in turn destroy the small living organisms and ultimately destroy
the soil. We get sick, we take drugs which later introduce hypertension
in us. Production in industries pollutes the environment, so are our
dumping of wastes. The problem of ozone layer, the change of climate,
the rising of temperature, desertification, etc. The question is what are
ethical decisions to be taken? Do we reduce the population? Do we

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stop marriage? We stop relating? Take the road to homosexuality (gays

and lesbians)?

The population is growing and the environment is degrading, ethical

decisions would demand that we rectify the mistaken policies e.g.
avoid the evils of industries, build only less hazardous industries, in
production use only recycle materials, replace the trees that we cut,
correct consumption patterns of everything (not only food), use non
polluting techniques of production (use leguminous plants, manure to
enrich the soil fertility, stop the use of poisonous chlorine to purify
water and use boiling and sand, adaptation of appropriate
technologies e.g. African and Chinese herbs in treatment. Ethics would
call for responsible use of natural resources e.g. trees, mining,
extensive farming, etc.

LECTURE IV: Leadership Ethics

Work

Generally work implies any human activity whether manual or intellectual. In this
human activity there must be freedom and an inclination of self-determination
(self-realization). In this sense then work includes all that a human person does as
free and responsible subject. In strict sense, work can be divided into two levels,
human labour and work of human hands and mind. Work as labour connotes pain,
suffering, sweat, toils, etc. We labour to satisfy our needs such as food, clothes,
shelter, etc. However, work is not all that negative. Work is also work of human
hands and mind as referring to more creative activities (foresight, Insight and
Creativity –FIC). This would imply to turn the simple into a complex one using our
hands and mind e.g. In computer, the ability to turn from IBM PS 1 to Pentium
processor, the bullet trains, the supersonic jets, etc. This more creative activity is
aiming at bringing about the products so as to meet our human needs.

Participation of workers in work

Workers have the right of and duty to participate fully in social, personal economic
concern of their places of work. Workers should not be reduced to simple, silent
performers in their places of work without any say to decisions that regulate their
activities and without incorporating their views concerning decisions that are made
and thus affecting them.

Partnership and co-determination

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Social ethics clearly distinguishes between two different forms of co-determination

by workers in their places of work. These are co-determination in the social sphere
and question of personnel and codetermination in the economic sphere. Most
workers are generally not interested with the second codetermination but more in
the first form of co-determination. They wish to have more say in the organization
of their work place, transactions of their work and the personnel concerned with
continuous professional training, monetary and non monetary policies, salary
increment, the retrenchment, promotion possibilities, social security and
retirement benefits. Workers are very much interested in being included in the
proceedings which directly concern the above mentioned matters. The second
form of co-determination is strongly controversial. The main argument is that
economic decisions involve property ownership and workers cannot demand
control of another’s private property of which they do not own. The workers just
want to be paid; they do not care where the money comes from. If employers are
granted such right it is necessarily means infringing on the owners right of disposal
which is protected by the principle of natural laws regarding ownership. Economic
codetermination is with harmony with the principle of natural law in the following
instances:

 Co-determination is freely agreed upon by the owners of the undertakings

and the groups comprising them (management). This has proved to be very
successful.
 Co-determination is based on capital investment and thus participation by
the workers in their ownership of their undertakings. The invitation to buy
shares is for the workers and not outsiders (economic co-determination).

In all instances of co-determination, workers must clearly realise that these rights
also imply an obligation. Co-determination is co-entrepreneurship (co-
management). People tend to avoid taking duties. Workers participation in the
property of the enterprise implies sharing in the economic risks that are related to
such property. Concretely workers are more interested in capital that is at their
direct disposal than in owning shares in the enterprises. Workers participation in
the capital of the enterprise would change their role and positive affect their wage
and would also limit their vocational mobility due to increase job satisfaction. They
would also have to abandon the wage to pay for what they did not make; they
cannot even go to professional training for their promotion as they are the ones
running the enterprise. Workers participation in ownership is not possible at all in
services sector like police, army, governmental offices, health sectors, etc.

The Purpose of co-determination

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The purpose of co-determination is the increase of production. It is not primarily

the increase of material productivity, but the management while striving to
increase productivity it equally considers to increase the welfare of the co-workers.
There are two spheres, the material production sphere (the quality and quantity)
and the welfare of the workers sphere. If the management considers workers
welfare, the workers most likely will not mind leaving the purely commercial side of
the business to the competence of their management. For smooth running we
need leadership though it is coresponsibility; leadership working together with us.
This requires management leadership quality which is deeply rooted in the spirit of
service and has a higher regard for the welfare of the workers and profitability of
the enterprise.

The idea of the trade union comes in and the unions should emphasize in
production and welfare of the workers, artisanship-partnership and co-
determination. The trade unions and cooperation should not only look for money
and do not consider where the money comes from e.g. strike is a right for workers
but should be for a just course and considering the end result; negotiations made
earlier.

Right to property
By property here we mean private property. The right to private property derives
from the human person nature and the needs for the society. What we are, already
belongs to us, individuation. Right to property is a natural right. The right to
property can justly be called a natural right on the following reasons:
1. Property is an important means for a person self realization and creative
development. In work there is satisfaction and self realization. Ownership
of material good contributes to the expression of personality. The person
who does not own property cannot use material good necessary for
his/her work. He/she has no experience of taking care of the material good
e.g. in the US a president should be a rich person and must have been a
leader before i.e. a senator.
This is so because it is believed that not owning material goods would negatively
affect his initiative and creativity.
2. Private property secures a person a realm of independence and protects
his/her freedom. If you do not own anything you will depend on others and
you will lose your independence and freedom. As a result you will only
want to please the other part; you cannot even speak out your mind. Those
who are deprived of material goods are to large extent dependent on
others. They are compelled to seek favour on those in power. Ownership
controls the concentration of power on the hands of the few. Ownership is

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a source of security; it enables a person to meet his/her daily needs thus

becoming independent from the uncertain will of others.
3. Private property brings about the better use of the goods available for the
use of all. The hope and possibility of acquiring property fosters
responsibility, diligence and thrift. Ownership counteracts the temptation
to misuse what one owns and to place consideration of prestige above the
prospect of success therefore private ownership of property manages with
the least economic loses.
4. Private property serves to maintain peace in the society and prevent
disputes. While common property raises a problem of who is entitled to
control it, private property provides a demarcation of clear competence. It
has to be noted that private property is not an absolute right. It is right
which is conditioned by the needs of the individual and the need of the
community.

Social functions of Private Property

1. Private property has to serve the common good by making it available for the
work of charity, creation of job opportunities, etc.
2. Private property has to assume a minimum of participation of all in earthly
goods according to their respective personal vocation of each.
3. All property must be subordinated to the good, thus to serve the social, moral,
intellectual, spiritual and religious needs of all people and enable them to
realise their existential ends as well as their ultimate ends.

The
political
community
Meaning

Political society or community is a lasting or enduring union/association of people

who are ethically bound to cooperate for the common good. The term society and
community are often used interchangeably with no definite distinction between
them. The term community is preferably used for association of people who are
primarily concerned with the inner development of the group, the building up of
values that are important for the growth of their members and growth of natural
ties of solidarity e.g. family as a community.

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The term society designates associations of people which are characterized by

systematic organizations and external institutions (laws, administrative policy,
governing officials) for the attainment of their common good e.g. the state as a
society. The building force of a society is the shared commitment, ideals and values
of their members. They guarantee the dignity of the people and their freedom,
equality, solidarity, etc. The stronger the affirmation of these values, the stronger
the cohesion of the community.

The state and the common good

The State

The state means the independent or a sovereign political community (social-

political-economic community). It is distinguished from the many smaller
communities which depend on the projection and assistance of the state. State is
geographically the delimited society entrusted with supreme authority for the
establishment of universal common good. In its quality as supreme public authority
possesses the power of ultimate decision which has the primacy over all other
temporal societies in the territory.

The state is termed as a perfect society (in the existential sense of society) because it
possesses all the means necessary for the attainment of its needs and ends and it is thus
independent of other societies.

The Common Good

The common good is the sum of those conditions of social living whereby people
are enabled more readily and freer to achieve their ends (goals) therefore it
comprises of schools, hospitals, social services, energy supply, road network, the
legal order, etc. It also encompasses such conditions as a sound state of physical
and mental health, a sufficient degree of education and schooling of society
members, income opportunities for all, a favourable atmosphere of religious, moral
and cultural life, social justice, freedom and equality of all.

Functions of State

The state has the function of promotion of the common good. It has the ordering
function and the welfare function. State has to establish order and protect the legal
order. It also has the welfare function which consists of the promotion of the
general economic, sanitary, ecological and cultural welfare of all the citizens. The
state therefore exists for the people; it has responsibility/accountability to the
people/society.

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The Person and State/society

The state is for the people, the people are not for the state. However, individuals
are often obliged to sacrifice their personal/private good for the sake of the
common good. This based on the principle of totality. Individuals, therefore have
responsibilities and duties to the state so that the attainment of common good is
possible.

The leader and the society

Leaders are caretakers/guardians of the common good. They exist only for the
common good or else, society would not need them. The Common Good stresses
the need for leadership committed to promoting social welfare, justice, and
opportunity for all. It is here that the understanding that leaders should be held
responsible when they sacrifice the common good for selfish interests comes from.
Even laws should be directed towards the fact of safeguarding the common good.
This is why law is said to be an ordinance of reason directed towards the common
good and promulgated by the one who is entrusted of the care of the community
(Thomas Aquinas). An ordinance means that a law is not a plea but a command,
but that ordinance has to be rational; what it commands has to be in line with
rationality. If a law is contrary to reason, it has no binding force. Law should be
meant to serve the common good; it has to safeguard, to cherish, and to protect
the wellbeing of the people as a whole (each and every individual in the society).
The one who is entrusted of the care of the community (in this case is the leader) is
called to be knowledgeable, volitive (will) and promulgator. He should be
knowledgeable in that what he enacts must be rational, thus he/she cannot enact
law to favour his/her interests or those of his/her friends only.

Amidst scandal in our religious institutions, political chicanery to serve ulterior

motives, and constant reminders of the corruptive influences of power, we want to
illuminate emerging roles and responsibilities of today's leaders. A leader must
display courage, integrity, humility, and the wherewithal to consider the long-term
impact of their decision and actions. Most important, they must engage in dialogue
and recognize that creative solutions to complex problems require collaboration
across sectors and cultures to achieve common goals. In Tanzania now, we should
engage ourselves in provocative and multidimensional exploration of leadership in
troubled and troubling times--but with a hopeful note that individuals,
organizations and country as a whole will rise to the challenges.

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