As a concept, Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethikos (meaning 'arising from habit'). Ethikos in turn arose from an older Greek word ethos (which refers to the custom, character, disposition or core values of a given social entity -- which may range from the individual to the corporate group). Ethics is about conduct. Conduct, Herbert Spencer (1892: 10) pointed out, was the opposite of "purposeless actions"; which was straightforward enough, and yet sufficiently intriguing to catch thoughtful attention. But Spencer (1820-1903), whom we should all read these days, worried that attempts to see good conduct as an ethical ideal might degenerate into a tautology, equating it with a purposefulness and perfection of action. Perfection need not be the 'culminating' ideal, but here is the case he made:
"It is strange that a notion so abstract as that of perfection, or a certain ideal completeness of nature, should ever have been thought one from which a system of guidance can be evolved; as it was in a general way by Plato and more distinctly by Jonathan Edwardes. Perfection is synonymous with goodness in the highest degree; and hence to define good conduct in terms of perfection, is indirectly to define good conduct in terms of itself." (Spencer, 1892: 33)
He suggested that there was only one way out of this logjam -- the means-ends way. Thus: "...the notion of perfection like the notion of goodness can be framed only in relation to ends" (Spencer, 1892: 33). In the diverse fields of scientific and emergency management work, the concept of ethics pertains, certainly from the Spencerian perspective, to any or all dimensions of professional conduct in terms of its conformity with, threats to, or violations of, the highest value propositions of a given field of practice.
For present purposes, then, ethics -- or more specifically, professional ethics -- refers to a code of acceptable conduct or practice on the part of an individual, group or corporate entity as guided by the highest normative principles or best traditions, or collective 'hopes', of a discipline or profession. Thus, Weber (1964: 129-130) points out, inter alia, that:
"From a sociological point of view an 'ethical' standard is one to which [people] attribute a certain type of value and which, by virtue of this belief, they treat as a valid norm governing their action. In this sense it can be spoken of as defining what is ethically good in the same way that action which is called beautiful is measured by aesthetic standards. It is possible for ethically normative beliefs of this kind to have a profound influence on action in the absence of any sort of external guarantee. This is often the case when the interests of others would be little affected by their violation."
Weber continued to say that 'ethical beliefs' could also be 'guaranteed' by religion, or firmly adhered to on account of the "disapproval of violations and the consequent boycott"; or by the probability of, or actual, legal action (Weber, 1964: 130).
The entire value-chain of humanitarian response and related emergency and disaster management work is in principle guided by implicit and explicit ethical standards. All these fall under the 'umbrella' goal of delivering "the greatest good for the greatest number" of people in actual or impending distress. A number of key concepts interrogated in the present series speak to certain elements of those standards. Among these concepts are: Climate Change, Contamination, Contingency, Deforestation, Disaster, Emergency, Entitlement, Famine, Hunger, Non-Refoulement, Pollution, Response, The Precautionary Principle and Triage.
NOTE: The bulk of the above text is extracted, with some changes, from a longer discourse on ethics as a pivotal standard of scientific research, as referenced below.
