Ethics is the moral philosophy or code of conduct practiced by an individual or a group which are acceptable in society. Its purpose is to limit the actions of people to differentiate between right and wrong. In philosophy, the word ethical behaviour refers to “good actions”. It is further defined as the moral philosophy which involves developing, defending and recommending two main types of behaviors such as right and wrong behaviour (Brall & Schröder-Bäck, 2016). These concepts never change according to the desires of the person, as they are not relative to the situations. Here we will discuss the utilitarian and libertarian approaches to ethics and its role in the sports.
The utilitarian approach to ethics
This approach basically assesses actions in terms of its results and outcomes. According to this approach, all these actions are right which produce happiness for a large number of people in society. If a person is doing something that is morally wrong however that is legal, it will result in the least happiness. This theory belongs to normative ethics which is concerned about a specific action whether that is good, bad, moral or immoral. Utilitarianism believes an economic analysis to answer these questions and focuses on the welfare and prosperity of humans happiness is greater than the other, and people can experience a lower state of pleasure and higher happiness.
Libertarian approach of Ethics
Libertarianism refers to the liberty and rights of a person to choose what to do with his or her life. This approach basically states that a person should have the freedom and autonomy to think and choose whatever they want and feel. It is a political philosophy and its emphasis on the individual liberty and use of their private property. For instance rights of abortion with a pregnant woman, least government and societal pressure on a person (Epstein & Osborne, 2017). According to this approach, all the people should have autonomy and freedom to the well-lived life.
Ethics in sports
In sports, the role of ethics and morality is essential because it is a positive activity that can entertain millions of people every day around the world. Sportsmanship spirit refers to the ethical actions and behavior during the game regardless of the results your actions must be right. Sometimes international players are involved in certain unethical actions to achieve better results and entertain their fans. These unethical activities include doping, tampering of instruments, misbehave with opponent players and cheatings. Here we will analyze doping and the concepts of utilitarian and libertarian of ethics. Doping is the use of certain drugs that can boost the energy of an athlete but there are certain other health risks associated with the utilization of these drugs. These medicines have a short term benefit of improving the mass of muscle, improve the cognition and a person feels better and energetic. Such players are violating ethical codes of conduct, according to the utilitarian concept of ethics a player must follow ethics and avoid all the forbidden things. It will provide a positive and environment and all the players will play according to their natural skills and energies. At the same time, the player is using his libertarianism and doing what he wants with his body. However, according to this concept players have the freedom to make their decision, at the same time they are liable to follow all the laws and ethical standards of the sports. Most of the sportsmen are celebrities and they have millions of fans around the world, so their actions can inspire masses. Due to this fact, sportsmen are required to follow ethics and promote righteous actions.
References
Brall, C., & Schröder-Bäck, P. (2016). Personalised medicine and scarce resources: a discussion of ethical chances and challenges from the perspective of the capability approach. Public health genomics, 19(3), 178-186.
Epstein, A., & Osborne, B. (2017). Teaching Ethics with Sports: Recent Developments. Marq. Sports L. Rev., 28, 301.
