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Making Ethics Part of Practice: Developing a Code of Ethics

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Ethics for Social Impact

Abstract

Now that we have discussed several different ethical frameworks, the question arises: How do we integrate these theories into practice? The thinkers’ ideas may seem very abstract, or perhaps like “ideal” cases for living when, in actuality, real life is much messier and more complex. For example, most of our students point out that it is all well and good for Kant to write about the “categorical imperative,” but they are reluctant to apply his logic to real-world dilemmas since this ethical framework results in impractical solutions they feel uncomfortable pursuing. You may feel similarly. How, then, do we make this leap from the very conceptual, idealized world of ethical theory to the very real, difficult situations that we face in our work as nonprofit students and practitioners?

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Handy, F., Russell, A.R. (2018). Making Ethics Part of Practice: Developing a Code of Ethics. In: Ethics for Social Impact. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75040-8_4

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