Portal:Philosophy/Selected article/2006-49

Applied ethics is a discipline of philosophy that attempts to apply 'theoretical' ethics, such as utilitarianism, social contract theory, and deontology to solve actual real world dilemmas. In so doing, it illuminates the potential for disagreement over the way theories and principles should be applied. Strict, principle-based ethical approaches often result in solutions to specific problems that are not universally acceptable. Drawing on medical ethics for an example, a strict deontological approach would never permit the deception of a patient about their condition, whereas a utilitarian approach would involve consideration of the consequences of so doing, and might permit lying to a patient if the result of the deception was 'good'. The example demonstrates that a deontologist can derive a different solution to a dilemma than a utilitarian. Topics falling within the discipline of applied ethics include:
 * Medical ethics / bioethics
 * Business ethics
 * Environmental ethics (e.g. global warming)
 * Human rights issues (e.g. gender ethics / sexism, racism, death penalty)
 * Animal rights issues
 * Legal ethics
 * Computer ethics
 * Media ethics / journalism ethics
 * Research ethics
 * Marketing ethics
 * Education ethics
 * Sports ethics
 * Military ethics (e.g. just war theory)
 * International ethics (e.g. world hunger)
 * Human rights