Professional ethics is a moral system normative of profe-ssional behavior. It consists in the special moral requirements for professional groups and individuals. On the one hand, there are thousands of professions in contemporary modern society and every professional is in a position to benefit. As this can lead to conflicts between professionals and society there is need for a professional ethics to guide professional behavior. On the other hand, individuals and society all expect professional behavior to be excellent which also calls for a professional ethics. In sum, professional ethics is a guarantee both for the individual’s elite life and for the stability of society; it is then a very important part of social life.

Professional ethics also is an important embodiment of the values of human life. Professional behavior is the center of human practice, as adults spend nearly a third of their time in their pro-fessional activities. So, having good professional ethics means that one succeeds in living values, as business ethics is formulated upon the requirements of social and business practice. If every pro-fessional, from the president and managers to the common workers, all observed professional ethics, surely the ethics of the whole society and of any business would be good. Further, ob-serving professional ethics not only calms one’s conscience, honors duty and protects one’s reputation, but also helps avoid legal troubles. Hence, law is the powerful force inducing pro-fessionals to observe professional ethics.

Every profession has its own detailed professional ethics formulated by its social unit or business according to the moral requirements of that social unit, but several moral norms are common and applicable to all professions. They are:

(1) Service to other individuals and society

(2) Respect for one’s profession

(3) Loyalty to one’s duty

(4) Honesty and trust

(5) Constant improvement of one’s technique

(1) Service to Other Individuals and Society

The core of professional ethics is to serve other individuals and society. One has a profession not only to obtain money for one’s own, but also because one has a duty to serve other indi-viduals and the society.

The ancients lived in a natural economic society, and could satisfy their needs only by themselves. Now we live in a mo-dernized society with a strict social division of labor. As every profession is only a small part of the whole society, the inter-dependence of individuals and society increases day by day. Everyone needs other individuals: society offers numerous ser-vices and at the same time each person offers her or his own service for others and society. Professional ethics is formulated for this purpose. If everyone offers excellent service according to the ethics of their profession, human life will improve and society will be more safer.

It is not enough to act only according to the professional rules and regulations; every professional must love other individuals and love society. Then one will serve other individuals and the society with enthusiasm.

(2) Respect for One’s Profession

To respect one’s profession means that every professional must respect and love the profession in which one is engaged if one is to offer excellent service for other individuals or society.

A society has many different professions. In some minds these are divided into noble and humble, higher and lower, usually according to incomes and reputation. Hence, they have their own standards of professional choice and are not always based upon their professional work. We must respect the right of free pro-fessional choice, but all professions are needed. If only one pro-fession ceases to operate, as in a strike, individuals feel the incon-venience in life, and society will be unstable. Only if the understand the significance of their profession can they respect and love their professions, work hard and offer excellent service. If one works to the best of one’s ability one is moral and noble-minded, even though one is only a common worker with a low income.

Respect for one’s profession has the following characteristics:

A. A strong sense of professional responsibility

B. A high sense of professional honor

C. A firm defense of one’s professional dignity

(3) Loyalty to One’s Duty

To have a profession means that one also has a duty to serve other individuals and society. This duty is not abstract, but entails many concrete requirements beyond the rules and regulations formulated by each business and unit. Every professional must exert great effort to attain these requirements, which include working hard, keeping secrets, etc. The most important is to avoid corruption, not to accept money for non-professional conduct. Corruption now is the big problem in professional ethics and is wide-spread in the world from top authorities to common people. Professional ethics must be strengthened in order to overcome corruption.

(4) Honesty and Trust

"Honesty and trust" is a most important part of professional ethics. Professionals have many relations and must pay special attention to honesty and trust, because the operation of society and business is based upon these. If professionals lose honesty and trust society will breakdown; businesses will close, which in turn will bring great harm to the professionals themselves. On the other hand, honesty and trust are needed to create one’s own moral figure and assure the success of one’s professional behaviors.

Professionals face an ethical dilemma when a higher au-thority orders them to do something to deceive others. If they do this the professionals will damage their reputations; if they do not they may lose their jobs. A professional who has a sense of justice surely will refuse the order.

(5) Constant Improvement of One’s Technique

For the aim of offering excellent services to other individuals and the society desire is not enough; a professional must also have great skill and superb technique, especially in a society where techniques develop very quickly. Where many services depend upon a variety of techniques and technical equipment, new pro-duction, new techniques and new equipment are all in a constant process of development. Hence, every professional must con-stantly learn new techniques in order to keep up with the progress of technical development throughout his or her life; a Chinese proverb says, "Live and learn until death".

Mechanisms for building professional ethics:

(1) Educational Mechanism

Professional ethics is not innate; it changes and enriches its norms in step with economic and social development. Hence, there is need for a continuous education process to inculcate professional ethics. Such education must concern one’s whole professional be-havior from beginning to the end.

(2) Binding Mechanism

Not all the professionals will observe professional ethics conscientiously, so there must be a mechanism to enforce pro-fessionals to observe professional ethics. This includes two major elements: One is to help the professionals to follow rules and regulations, to follow and to avoid their violation. Another is the system of supervision which contains two aspects: internal and external. The internal system is the role of supervisors in the business or unit; the external includes that by the media regarding service rendered -- including a procedure for whistle-blowing in order to supervise professional behavior.

(3) Encouragement Mechanism

A system of rewards and penalties is the heart of this me-chanism. It uses the profit principle to encourage professionals to offer excellent services. Most professionals hope for more money to better their living; that is a human instinct. The system should reward professionals whose behaviors accord with professional ethics and penalize other professionals whose behaviors are not in accord with such norms.

Education together with building and encouraging these three mechanisms should enable society to have good professional ethics; the three mechanisms should work in coordination and supplement each other.

Education is the base: without this people cannot observe professional ethics conscientiously; enforcement is the core of a strong improvement of professional ethics: without it professional ethics will not be observed; encouragement is the key: without this professional ethics will lack internal motive force.

Finally, a professional ethics is realized only through the subject’s professional behavior, closely related to one’s human’s character, mainly at the level of ethics, science and culture. So the fundamental task in building professional ethics is to raise the professionals’ ethical, scientific and culture levels.

expanded: any behavior caring for, protecting and developing life is good. The relation between man and nature should be a close and mutually appreciative as with an organism.

3. Kenneth E. Goodpaster in his work, From Egoism to Environmentalism, holds that the environmental problem is a huge crisis for the 21st century. He emphasizes that humankind must change its attitude from egoism and chauvinism towards nature.

4. In 1986, Prof. Paul Taylor of Princeton University published his work, Respect for Nature, with the subtitle A Theory of Environmental Ethics, in which he put forward a number of basic principles: the natural world as an interdependent system in which humans are members of the earth’s life community. As every living entity as unique and cannot be replaced, therefore we must respect nature, respect life.

5. In 1988 Thomas Berry published The Dream of Earth which holds that humans and nature should co-exist in harmony so as to evolve peacefully on the earth a community for both. This is the promising way to future, as well as a dream of the earth. At the same year, Temple University published Holmston’s (?) masterpiece, Environments Ethics, with a similar viewpoints.

To sum up, the main points are as follows:

1. Human, Earth and Nature make up an organic system of interdependence, or one world or commonwealth. Mankind is a member of the earth’s life of community, expressed as a global village. According to an old Chinese saying, the members of a community should cross a river in the same boat, meaning that people in the same community should help each other.

2. Man and nature should constitute a partnership in which each depends on the other, helps each other, not a relation of conqueror and conquered or master and slave.

3. Natural things do not exist for man, but have their own internal objective. Humans must not substitute their own objectives for those of nature, but must respect nature, respect life.

4. It is necessary to overcome the idea of human egoism and to advocate that everything on earth is equal and in harmony. As Copernicus’ astronomy disclosed that the earth is not the centre of the solar system, the contemporary ecological ethics tells us that humanity is not the center of the earth.

In Chinese traditional philosophy there are a great many similarities to the main standpoint of modern ecological ethics. Ancient Chinese philosophy sees a unity of humans and nature, assuming that nature, humans and all things on earth are accessible to each other and hence unified. Thus the Confucian School claims that the man who knows nature is qualified as a Confucian disciple. The humanism of Confucianism did not reject nature; but sought a supreme state of unity of man and nature. believes that four things on earth are great: natural law, heaven, earth and humankind. The theory asserts that humanity is as great as nature, and that the two are interdependent.

Ancient Chinese philosophy holds that the whole of nature is infused with vitality: "Dao is present everywhere. Everywhere on earth, be it large or small, whether alike or lifeless, has a reason for existence. Therefore we should respect to life and nature and everything on earth should be treated equally.

The view that everything on earth contains is affirmed even more clearly and thoroughly in Buddhist doctrines. There is an old Chinese saying: The stone nods. According to Buddhism, even stones have a soul, and hence can nod. Master Dao Sheng of Dao Sheng Buddhism who was well informed on Zhuang’s philosophy had a deep faith on the adage. "Dao is present everywhere." Before Da Ban Yi Ban Yin ( ) was translated into Chinese, he had already considered Buddha to be present in everyone’s soul. All creatures are alive; even a stone has life. At that time, to the mind of some of Xiao Cheng’s disciples this view seemed fallacious. But when the translation of Da Ban Yie Ban Yin ( ) came out it confirmed that Buddha is present in everything with no exceptions, even of a stone. It is said that Master Dao Sheng travelled widely to disseminate Buddhist doctrine. The story that once he went to Hangzhou to give a sermon, and the stone in the pool bowed to him survives to the present day. Though only folklore, it implies an ethical principles for environmental protection. The stone, if viewed merely as a stone, certainly is lifeless, but in Chinese philosophy the Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist schools all believe that everything is infused with life and is equal so that even a stone had a reason for existence and its proper soul.

Chinese Da Sheng Buddhism holds that everybody and everything has the Buddhist spirit and can turn into Buddha and display its splendid life value in the world. The idea of ecological ethics that everything in nature has equal life value, equal right and equal dignity in nature is very similar to what Chinese Da Cheng Buddhism calls the Buddha soul and spirit. It is claimed in Da Ban Yin Ban Yin ( ) that all things have an equal right to survive and evolve. This is similar to the theory of modern ecological ethics which also upholds that everything on earth has the right to exist and develop.

Modern ecology requires us to change nature and protect it. The co-existence of the objectives of nature and humanity requires that we adopt a policy of both changing and protecting the nature.

Humankind cannot use nature’s objective to replace his own, but he be at the mercy of nature. For the same reason, we cannot supplant nature’s objective by that of humanity. We must acknowledge and respect nature’s objective, and protect its ecological balance, structure and reproductive capacity. At same time, under certain conditions, we must transform nature, change the course of realizing its objective, and enable the human objective to be realized. From this starting point, we must draw upon the treasures of ancient philosophy and strive vigorously to construct and develop ecological ethics.CHAPTER XX

The development of an ideal personality is a necessity for every human and is a topic of philosophical research. In history there is a parallel between the development of the personalities of both men and a women, but the difference between the two is much more conspicuous. Generally speaking, the molding and improvement of women’s personality is more difficult and requires more attention. Of course, the forming of personality is influenced by many elements, among which is the economical activity. From the point of view historical materialism this is the primary and the most immediate factor. This study concerns the relation between development of economics and of the personality of women.

The theme here is that both males and females are subjects of a creative society, but under different socio-economic forms which imply that the female has a specific experience. During economically primitive times women held a higher position as authorities of families and society, but were not self aware in this regard. In agricultural economies, women’s authority collapsed and they lost their whole personality, manifesting thereby the antinomy which can exist between the development of the economy and of women’s personality. The development of the industrial economy and the establishment of the system of democracy awoke and helped evolve women’s personality. However, backwardness of thought regarding the development of the economy and consequent male behavior created difficulties for women’s personality development. A modernized economy will enrich the female subject’s personality and open the possibilities for women to rediscover their self and improve their personality.

Almost every nation has undergone a time when they worshiped female goddesses and had beautiful legends concerning their authority. Female goddesses could not only repair heaven and make the earth, but could also create and multiply human beings. The worship of female goddesses reflects the authoritive position of female in material things and in producing human beings during primitive economic times. With respect to material production, their level then was very low. Women collected natural fruit, while men hunted for animals, but because of poor instruments men often came back with nothing, whereas the collection of fruit by women was the main source of food. In their state of group marriage, everyone knew his or her mother without knowing the father; child bearing was considered the business of women alone. In both material and human production women occupied a dominant position and were respected by everybody. With men they worked hard for the development of humankind, but did not ride roughshod over people by means of their position. Hence, their personalities were sound and beneficial. In such a time women had both position and personality, but they could not be said to have had independent individual personalities. They were conscious of a heavy dependence upon nature and human beings; there was no place for a sense of independent personality.

Progress in productive tools changed the natural division of labor. The rise of agriculture and livestock provided a new productive force. In addition, individual marriage replaced group marriage so that people knew their own parents. Child bearing was no longer a holy affair, but a burden binding women in the family. Men came to occupy the authoritive position in society originally held by women. With the establishment of the system of private property, women no longer had an independent personality, but became an exploited and oppressed part of men’s property.

The development of economy and the progress of the marriage relation need not have led to the loss of women’s personality, but the fact is just the contrary. We have seen several antinomies above: first, women invented primitive agriculture, contributed to the invention of fire and livestock farming, and helped to bring about the development of the economy and progress in history. At the same time, women showed themselves less competent than men in such productive activities as agriculture and livestock farming, which made them subordinate to men; second, women contributed to the continuation of the human race, but child bearing bound them in families and deprived them of the opportunity to take part in social activities; third, males created the culture and value system and made themselves subjects of the society, while treating females as object and tools. Although these are historical antinomies, they were inevitable for human beings in their efforts to free themselves for the bonds of nature. In a society of low productive power, it is an axiom that the weak are prey to the strong. The backwardness of production and its corresponding feudal system and culture could not provide room for an equality of both sexes. Therefore, for the progress of the economy it was unavoidable that women’s personality would be sacrificed. In the dark ages in China as well as in the West women could not participate in politics and the praiseworthy characters of the female were also distorted: women become jealous due to living together with their husband’s concubines; they became self effacing due to being subject to maltreatment; and they became narrow-minded through living for a long time in the boudoir without going out. In the meantime, the distortion of the male personality was manifested in another way. Many men were subordinate to other men due to the social system which gave primary to the father’s rights so that they had no personality of their own. In the family, marriage for the sole purpose of child bearing and expression of the sexual impulse without love alienated the human essence of males.

The industrial economy destroyed the natural sense of the family as the basic unit. Great quantities of labor were needed by large industry. This created opportunities for women to enter social life, to participate in economic activities, to earn salaries, and hence no longer to be the property of others. This provided a good basis for their positions as social subjects. In addition, the democratic system, corresponding to the industrial economy, promoted such ideas as "all are equal in terms of money"; "all are equal before the law", "all are equal before God". This gave rise to public opinion favorable to the independence of women as regards their personality. All this was helpful in awakening women’s personalities as subjects. In industrial society women actively fulfilled their obligations while seeking their legitimate rights and interests in activities which constantly improve their personality. However, the following elements in industrial society frustrated the development of women’s personality or even subjected it to certain deviations.

First, industrial production places the machine at the center; it aims at producing material objects and is determined by the investment of human power and other resources; it emphasizes physical labor and operational technology, and the proportion of physical labor is much greater than that of mental work. This situation is unfavorable to women; they suffer sexual discrimination in seeking a job, which hinders the establishment of women’s personalties as subjects.

Second, due to the backwardness of ideas in comparison to the progress of the economy, certain feudal ideas such as "the male has dignity while the female is humble" and "a woman should be subordinate to a man" still fetter women, and influence social expectations regarding their role and value. This gives rise to certain dilemmas for women in seeking their rights and fulfilling their obligations. Many women feel a tension between their role in society and in their family, and in seeking a position in social life while feeling a sense of obligation to be a good wife and mother.

Third, the male culture inclines women to be masculine: as society has long been dominated by men the behavior of successful men in social life is taken as the pattern for all people. As women have not created their own pattern of behavior, they must conform to the pattern of man’s behavior so that their role in social life will more easily be accepted. This stage cannot be surmounted until women fully participate as subjects in society. Although the slogans such as "equality for both sexes" play a great role in freeing women from the fetters of family to become subjects in society, they are harmful to the maintenance of the distinctively female personality. In China, a trend toward the masculinization of women was strong after the 1950s, and reach its height in the 1970s. The "Iron Young Woman" in the 1950s was very similar to the male physique; in the 1970s the dress, even the style of women’s hair, was masculinized. Coming into 1980s, people exclaimed with surprising that "there are no woman in this country"; they began to doubt whether the "strong woman" was perfect in personality. Women refused to be masculinized.

However, people have no answer to the question what is the ideal personality for women? They sink into puzzlement and inertia. Men are afraid of their wives being "strong women", and women themselves fear being "strong women". In order to be thought of as tender, many women do not dare to show their talent, but then they worry about being too feminine; they do not know how to mould their personalities. The solution to the problem requires further development in the economy as well as constant progress in ideology; one is complementary to the other.

The modernized economy is a great revolution over the traditional one and will bring about change in all facets of society. The female personality will be developed and improved in the process of the modernization of society and its ideal will be realized.

First, the productive mode of the modernized economy helps manifest the personality of women as subjects. In modern industry, what determines the production is no longer physical human strength, but the application of a high level of technology, which increases the proportion of mental work. Now in some developed countries, the proportion of mental work versus physical labor approximates 1:1, while the value created by the former far exceeds that created by the latter. Therefore, the application of high level technology will reduce or eliminate the physical inferiority of women in production, and enable women to give play to their superiority in patience, carefulness and nimbleness. This is obviously indicated in developed countries: in the U.K. women have more job opportunities than men.

Second, the operational mode of a modernized economy enables women to choose the job suited to them. The open, dynamic pattern of the economy enables women to find positions of their own in a wider range of social activity. In developed countries, women are exploring molding ideal personalities. They are not the traditional good mothers and wives who sacrifice themselves in a closed family context, nor are they the so-called strong women of industrial times. They develop their own standard and hope to get a valuable job with flexible hours and a good location; they hope to take account of both family and career. Some women give up work and become housewives while bring up their children, but their return to the family is for the purpose of educating their children and giving their children the natural love of a mother so that the children can grow soundly. In the meantime, they engage in further studies to give play to their potentialities or to develop their interests, so that they will be more competitive when they take up a career after their children have grown up. Such exploration is praiseworthy under the conditions of a modernized economy; it advances the civilization of the whole society.

Third, the high educational level of society, the high degree of democracy and the modernization and socialization of house work due to the modernization of the economy will enable women to elevate their quality as human beings, to demonstrate their personality, to strengthen their competitive power in social life, and to realize a sound personality. There will be a day when we need no longer emphasize that the male and the female differ and recognize that there is something common to both sexes. Then the peculiar and varied beauty of the character and personality of the female will demonstrate itself naturally in the world.

Of course, molding the female personality depends not merely on the progress of economy and is not merely a matter for women alone. It depends on the consistent efforts of the whole society; this requires theoretical work by scholars to find the incompatibilities and in time eliminate them.