Question

• Provide several examples of legal behavior and ethical behavior. In what instances are the two similar, and in what instances are they different?

Answer 1

Ethical Behavior :- Ethical behavior are standards that are set up to determine the conduct of a person.in nursing code of ethics are established to guide the behavior of nurse to the patient. Medical professionals and practitioners take an ethical oath to harm free treatment of patients.

Legal Behavior :- legal lawsuits are the code of conduct which are prescribed for society by the government or authority in power. Legal behavior are different from ethical behavior in terms of use of power.

1. Laws can be implemented forcefully by the authority. Violation of lawsuits may lead to legal action against the defaulter.

For example :- Smoking in public places is illegal behavior. Exempt from ethical considerations, there are penalties of smoking in public places because it conflicts the legal considerations. Whether or not an individual think it is ethical to smoke in public but reality is that law does not allow such behavior.

2. Just following the laws does not make individual ethical :-

For example :- one of the two neighbors is rich. And one of them has no money for food or clothes or celebrating Christmas. There is no legal law for this situation for wealthy man to help poor neighbor to buy clothes and borrow some food to him. Legal behavior has not involvement in such cases.

3. Many laws does not involve any ethical behavior :-

Walking on the left hand side of the road is necessary to ensure the traffic control and to maintain the traffic discipline on the road. There is no involvement of ethical behavior in this situation.

4. Legal behavior or laws tell us to do certain action or make lawsuits to prohibit certain illegal actions. Legal behavior also tells us about the negative results or legal punishments for not following laws. However ethical behavior teach us to do certain things that are beneficial to individual or positive results of ethical behavior.

For example :- legal laws teach us to not involve in terrorist activities or legal action against the terrorist or punishment of terrorist. However ethical behavior teach us to respect parents , speak truth and help the needy person.

5. The laws are made by the government in action for society . Thus laws are published documents and directed by authority and they are universally accepted. However the ethics do not have global considerations and are not published on documents. Once ethical behavior depends upon the society or culture of community. Ethical interpretation are left to the individual for action.

For example :- Drinking or smoking may be ethical consideration of one group of people but some other community may find it unethical. Thus ethics differs community to community.

6. Legality does not determine the ethics.

For example:- Breaking promises is legal but is considered as un ethical. Also not obeying parents order is legal but unethical, one more example is cheating husband or boyfriend is legal but unethical in society. Thus legality does not determine the ethics