Ethical frameworks by considering the relationship between ethics and morality.
We begin our discussion about Ethical frameworks by considering the relationship between ethics and
morality.
• There is no philosophically significant difference in ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’, and the terms are often used
interchangeably in the literature (Johnstone, 2015). ‘Ethics’ is derived from the ancient Greek term ‘ethikos’,
which was ‘pertaining to custom or habit’; and ‘morality’ which is derived from the ancient Greek term
‘moralitas’ also pertains to ‘custom or habit’.
• Ethics is considered to be a body of knowledge that tries to make sense of what is “right” and what is
“wrong”.
• An ethical system or framework is based on ethical principles, such as autonomy, nonmaleficence,
beneficence, and justice (Beauchamp & Childress, 2013).
• Moral rules guide ethical behavior and are more focused than ethical principles. Examples of moral rules
would be ‘do not lie’, ‘do not kill’, and so forth (Johnstone, 2015).
• Going back to our earlier discussion on Ways of Knowing, Carper (1978) states that the ethical component of
knowing focuses on what “ought” to be done.
• The development of ethical knowledge comes from who we are and what we believe; knowledge
development is generated when we ask, “Is this right?” or “Is this the responsible way to deal with this
situation?” (Chinn & Kramer, 2015).
• Ethical knowledge can take many forms: rules, statements of duties, the development of “rights” such as the
Patient’s Bill of Rights, theories, and laws. Many professional organizations, such as the American Nurses
Association (ANA) have developed a code of ethics, this too is a type of ethical knowledge development
(Chinn & Kramer, 2015)
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