Action
Where the consequences of an action affect only the individual who decides to undertake that action, this decision is outside the scope of ethics. (8/8/10)
An action that has only positive or beneficial consequences is to be considered "right" by the standards of ethics, and the decision to undertake such action is to be considered sound. (8/11/10)
An action that has only negative or harmful consequences is to be considered "wrong" by the standards of ethics, and the decision to undertake such action is to be considered unsound. (8/11/10) However, if the harm is done only to the actor, it is of no interest to ethics (10/29/10).
An action that has neither positive nor negative consequences is ethically neutral, and that when no action is taken, ethics cannot be applied. (8/12/10)
When an action must be undertaken to perform another actions, those two actions must be considered as an ethical unit. (8/14/10)
Ethics is based upon reason. An action that is not the result of a reasoned decision is not subject to ethical evaluation, except inasmuch as we can assess that reason could or should have been applied. (8/17/10)
Any action that has no consequence to a party other than the actor is of no concern to ethics. The same may be said of actions that have no significant consequences to any party other than the actor, though there is some argument over what constitutes a "significance" (10/23/10)
Ethics
The purpose of ethics is to enable an individual to consider the consequences of action in light of their consequences and choose the action that has the most positive outcome (7/9/10). Furthermore, all of the consequences of a given action must be taken into consideration in order to have a complete assessment of ethics (7/24/10).
Ethics is based upon reason. An action that is not the result of a reasoned decision is not subject to ethical evaluation, except inasmuch as we can assess that reason could or should have been applied. (8/17/10)
Organizations
An organization comprised of people who are gathered under the pretense of acting cooperatively to accomplish a given purpose. (8/23/10)
An organization is incapable of making decisions or undertaking actions. In any instance where it is suggested that an organization "did" something, it was done persons within the organization. A person made a decision, others consented to support it by their action. (8/29/10)
Motivation
The motivation to undertake an action is the desire to effect a change in situation (9/19/10), presumably to effect a change in a situation that delivers value to the actor.
Action is primarily motivated by self-interest. We take it for granted that individuals will seek to fill their own needs, and ethics merely helps consider the options for achieving these goals. (10/23/10)
Property
All material goods are property, in the sense that an individual or organization claims certain items as "owned" and maintains the right to use them or grant permission for others to use them. (11/19/10)
Conflicts over property that neither party owns, but which both have been granted permission to use, are to be settled by the owner of the property (11/22/10).
Society
The obligation for an individual, in a social context, to refrain from doing harm to others, is taken as an axiom. Arguments to the contrary thus far considered or presented are plainly absurd. (11/10/10)
Value
Human life is the basis for all value (10/20/10), and all other values derive from life as a source (10/14/10).
