Introduction to Ethical Theories

This chapter is an introduction to ethics, and it briefly covers the historical background of the major ethical theories and principles that are useful for analyzing moral problems. It presents eight theories and highlights the importance of each of them for the field of HRD. Four of these theories—Kantianism, utilitarianism, social contract theory, and virtue ethics—can be counted as the most relevant theories to our field. Such ethical theories are attempts to assist HRD students and practitioners in the decision-making process.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

1. University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA Amin Alizadeh
2. University of Texas School of Public Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA Deepu Kurian

1. Amin Alizadeh