1. Ethical Theories Compared

2. Three Secular Philosophies • Existential Ethics • A matter of human inwardness • Not motivated by external reward • No standard outside ourselves • Ethical behavior is an expression of what a person is • Sartre denies objective, external value and adopts “authenticity”

3. Teleological Ethics • Telos: end or goal • The actions we should perform are those that produce the most happiness or good • Linked to an empiricist theory of knowledge • The end justifies the means • Dutch: viagra more important than a cure for cancer • Good for all: Utilitarianism

4. Deontological Ethics • An ethic of duty or obligation • A person is obliged to do certain actions “for duty’s sake” – Kant • Seeks to get beyond the ethics by Gallop poll mentality • Categorical imperative: Kantianism

5. Christian Ethic: John Frame • Existential Perspective • Who I am informed by scripture • Situational Perspective • Examine the situation as the milieu into which God’s norms are to be applied • Deontological Perspective • Scripture identifies the “duties”

6. How to make an ethical judgment • Questions to consider: • What people and organizations are affected? • What courses of action are possible? • What will the impact be on the stakeholders? • What are the responsibilities of the decision makers and rights of the stakeholders? • Which courses of action are unethical, which obligatory, and which OK but not required?