Ethics

Ethics is described as the branch of  HYPERLINK httpdictionary.reference.combrowsephilosophy philosophy that deals with morals. Ethics is concerned with distinguishing between good and evil in the world, between right and wrong, the virtuous and non virtuous characteristics. Personal ethics are the moral foundation on which people build their lives.  Ethics represents the core value system for everyday problem solving. They create a framework for determining right versus wrong.
Critical thinking is what causes our ethics to be fluid.
Critical thinking is an effort to make reliable, rational decisions about what is reasonable for us to believe and disbelieve. It makes use of the tools of logic and science because it values reason over faith, science over pseudoscience, and rationality over wishful thinking. Critical thinking does not guarantee the arrival at truth, but it does make it much more likely to reach the goal. Raymond S. Nickerson (1987), an authority on critical thinking, characterizes a good critical thinker in terms of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and habitual ways of behaving. Any situation where we question or figure out stuff is critical thinking. In productive  HYPERLINK httpwww.asa3.orgASAeducationthinkcritical.htm l problems problem solving by generating ideas creatively and evaluating them critically.
HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwindex.phptitleEdward_Glaseractioneditredlink1 o Edward Glaser (page does not exist) Edward Glaser writes that the ability to think critically involves three things
1. An attitude of being disposed (state of mind regarding something) to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of ones experiences,
2. Knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, Ethical living  
3. Some skill in applying those methods.Any one of these tools would not help in decision making. I have used a combination of all in day to day life. Be it during examinations, specially math and science or personal decisions. for example recently I saw an advertisement in which Nutri-Marketing advertised its Dream-Away diet pill, as a product that would allow a person to take one pill before going to bed and then wake up slimmer and trimmer. And they had a study done by a medical clinic to prove it. I wondered if that was the whole truth. By doing some research, I found out that Nutri-Marketing did indeed spend 30,000 to have an independent medical clinic round up sixty people for the test. But the clinic put half the people on the Dream Away pill and a 1200 calorie a day diet. The other half of the people were given a placebo (inert medication) and no diet. Amazingly enough, the people on Dream Away and the 1200 calorie diet lost more weight than the ones on the placebo and no diet. Theres a difference between truth and whole truth.

Major branches of ethics include

1.  HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiMeta-ethics o Meta-ethics Meta-ethics, about the theoretical meaning and reference of moral propositions and how their  HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiTruth-value o Truth-value truth-values (if any) may be determined

2.  HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiNormative_ethics o Normative ethics Normative ethics, about the practical means of determining a moral course of action

3.  HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiApplied_ethics o Applied ethics Applied ethics, about how moral outcomes can be achieved in specific situations

4.  HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiMoral_psychology o Moral psychology Moral psychology, about how moral capacity or moral agency develops and what its nature is and

5.  HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiDescriptive_ethics o Descriptive ethics Descriptive ethics, about what moral values people actually abide by.These branches are further divided into Deontological, Consequentialism, Postmodern I try to follow Deontological ethics. In contemporary moral philosophy, deontology is an approach to  HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiEthics o Ethics ethics that judges the morality of an action based on the actions adherence to rules. I believe very strongly in doing the right thing. Even when its more work, or is unpopular. Those choices are easy, even if the actions arent.They are the path shown by god and respect the rights of all humans. Lord Krishna states in the Bhagwad Gita Do your karma (work) honestly, do not worry about the outcome. I think that if the intention and the work done is good, the consequence will definitely be good.
The world in the 21st century is very different than that of centuries before. In todays world it is definitely difficult to live by ethics. Many people who follow the age old theories are often scoffed at or looked down upon. It is also difficult to stick to your Principles religiously as the demands of life have increased. Many of the ethics are considered impractical too. For example, ethics say that it is always wrong to lie  even if a murderer is asking for the location of a potential victim. Reason and emotion come into conflict, while reasoning and intuition go hand in hand while making judgments. Reasoning is often done by the mind and the emotion arises from the heart. In most situations either one can be right. Aristotle said that we use reason to determine the best way to achieve the highest moral good, while emotion often distracts us from the chosen path. For example, if someone wants to join the army during war, it would be ethical to join, but the emotions for the near and dear ones would not let a person do so. I had to go through a similar situation during the time of my grandmothers demise. All her internal organs had failed, except for the heart. It was the familys choice, to either keep her on the ventilator or to accept fate. In such situations, even intuition has no value.

         I conclude that Ethics are ever changing and depend on many things like religion, era, area, field, etc, but a person must definitely follow the path of humanity as it is the biggest ethic.