The Relationship Between Ethics and Law Overview

Introduction

In understanding law, you must first understand the relationship between ethics and the law. It is important to know how ethical decisions are made. In looking at ethical decisions you have to consider what makes a person ethical – what are the characteristics or traits of an ethical person. Ethics drive us to do what we ought to do. Unfortunately, people do not always do as they should. This behavior is what makes law necessary. In this module, we will take a look at the sources of law and the differences between crimes, torts, contracts, and statutory law. We will also review some of the consequences of unethical and illegal conduct. Lastly, we will extend these topics into understanding how ethical concepts play an important role in the business environment.

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

Relationship between Ethics and Law
In this lesson, we will take a further look into ethics and how they relate to the process of making decisions.

Major Sources of Law
There are five major sources of the law – constitutional law, English common law, statutory law, court decisions (or precedent law), and administrative/regulatory law. In this lesson, we will take a look at the establishment of law.

Differentiate among Crimes, Torts, Contracts, and Statutory/Regulatory Schemes
In this lesson, we will take a brief look at a number of legal concepts that may impact our lives.

Consequences of Unethical and Illegal Conduct
In this lesson, we will review some of the consequences of unethical and illegal conduct.

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