Methods of Ethical Decision Making

Some modern writers present approaches to applied ethics that do not directly include the ethical systems described historically. The imperative principle directs a decision maker to act according to a specific, unbending rule.
The first principle is to examine one’s obligations and duties and what one has promised to do by contract or by taking on a role (this is like ethical formalism’s focus on duty). The utilitarian principle determines the ethics of conduct by the good or bad consequences of the action.
The generalization principle is based on this question: “What would happen if all similar persons acted this way under similar circumstances?” The third principle is to evaluate the act to determine if it would result in good consequences (this is utilitarianism). Understanding how ethical decisions are made is critical to law enforcement professionals.

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What is the most critical step in decision making??