These four principles help break contradicting opinions down into a more factual and evidence-based structure that can effectively explain the ethics and morality that society has towards certain issues. Each principle states that people have an obligation and a duty towards a certain person. According to Theodore Gracyk, an accomplished author and director of the philosophy department at Minnesota State University, the first principle is known as the principle of respect for autonomy; it states that people have an obligation to respect the decisions that others make concerning their lives and beliefs (“Four Fundamental Ethical Principles”). For example, if a person makes the decision to start exercising in order to lose weight, then others have to respect that decision and interpret it as a means of trying to improve their lifestyle. Another principle is known as the the principle of beneficence and it states that people have an obligation to bring about good in all their actions (Gracyk, “Four Fundamental Ethical Principles”). For example, if a student studies for an exam, then that student is bringing good by being able to understand the concepts that are going to be tested. A third principle states that people have an obligation not to harm others, also known as nonmaleficence (Gracyk,
These four principles help break contradicting opinions down into a more factual and evidence-based structure that can effectively explain the ethics and morality that society has towards certain issues. Each principle states that people have an obligation and a duty towards a certain person. According to Theodore Gracyk, an accomplished author and director of the philosophy department at Minnesota State University, the first principle is known as the principle of respect for autonomy; it states that people have an obligation to respect the decisions that others make concerning their lives and beliefs (“Four Fundamental Ethical Principles”). For example, if a person makes the decision to start exercising in order to lose weight, then others have to respect that decision and interpret it as a means of trying to improve their lifestyle. Another principle is known as the the principle of beneficence and it states that people have an obligation to bring about good in all their actions (Gracyk, “Four Fundamental Ethical Principles”). For example, if a student studies for an exam, then that student is bringing good by being able to understand the concepts that are going to be tested. A third principle states that people have an obligation not to harm others, also known as nonmaleficence (Gracyk,