What is ethics? Is an ethical decision easy and clear-cut? Why or why not? List and describe the five widely used ethical standards/frameworks. Evaluate a SINGLE ethical scenario with all five approaches.

Ethics - principles of right and wrong that individuals use to make choices that guide their behavior No because an answer could be different based on the approach chosen 1) Utilitarian approach states that an ethical action is the one that provides the most good or does the least harm; a policeman killing a person who is holding others hostage is best for those being held hostage 2) Rights approach maintains that an ethical action is the one that best protects and respects the moral rights of the affected parties; nobody should be killed because everyone has the right to live 3) Fairness approach posits that ethical actions treat all human beings equally, or, if unequally, then fairly, based on some defensible standard; killing someone who is holding others hostage is fair because people know it isn't right to threaten the lives of others 4) Common good approach highlights the interlocking relationships that underlie all societies; the police being on-scene is for the best of everyone - they have the right to kill under these circumstances 5) Deontology approach states that the morality of an action is based on whether than action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of that action; it is never OK to kill a person even if they are being "bad"