What exactly is "ethical"?

[ClemsonRunner]

Hey all..on Friday I was sitting in one of my seminar ethics classes and the idea of gene doping was introduced. I was wondering what everybody's opinion is. For those of you who are unsure as to what this exactly is, you can go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_doping
An interesting point that was addressed in my class was how is gene doping any different from all of the technology that is currently used in sport (high altitude training, specific clothes, etc)? I don't think that it should be allowed in sport....there is a therapy versus enhancement argument that underlies this thought (although what exactly is therapy and what exactly is enhancement- how do you draw the line?). I feel that if something is not medically warranted, it should not be used. But then I guess how is that any different from the thousands of people who get cosmetic surgery? hm.....just something to think about!

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[pyrois]

There are many different types of ethics. Justice ethics (all people treated equally/fairly), Duty ethics (upholding personal and professional responsibilities), then there are the Prima Facie Priorities.

Really it's all quite complicated. True ethical behavior has been a hot topic of philosophical discussion for a long time. It's one of those "roundabout" arguments that, in the end, acts on a case-by-case basis.

 

[number77]

The farthest I've ever gone was taking flinstones vitamins . The farthest I'd reasonably expect a competitor to go would be a protein bar. Anything past that is cheating to me (well, even a protein bar is cheating to me, but I won't give anyone grief for using them).

 

[coffeebythelake]

I think that your underlying intentions determine what is ethical or unethical. If the purpose of taking a drug is to gain an unfair advantage over competitors then this is unethical. But if you took the same drug to help alleviate arthritis (or whatever), and its unknown side effect boosted performance, I would think differently.