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Are women less ethical than men?

JoshuaHale 4 Dec 15
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Hmmm...well, people in general look out for their own self-interest. Even 'love' is a selfish emotion at it's base. So in that regards, no - they are just being human and taking advantage of situations providing a better opportunity to survive. And not everyone is the same, so no need to straw man the argument "I would never steal, lie, cheat, etc. - so that proves you're wrong". Some people in the world both past and present are honest, some are dishonest - sex is as relevant in that regards as eye color, or relative size of 2nd toe to big toe, which means none.

As far as cultural, are they programmed or raised in a society (I'm speaking about western/USA culture that I am most familiar with) that doesn't enforce the same ethics standards on them as it does men? There could be an argument made that western women do have more ethical leeway in general than men; that men are held to a higher standard due to old norms that we still cling to. But again, I don't think women are biologically lacking the 'ethics' gene, so to speak. I think on average, we all lack it or have it to the same extent, but societal norms today skews generally in favor of women a bit more than men.

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Since it's obvious some people don't know what a question mark is, this question was based off an article I read in Psychology Today. I thought there may be a few philosophically minded people on here.
Imo, women, that I've known, including my ex wife and her 4 sisters, are only concerned with what can be provided for them. When I became disabled and didn't have as much , my wife left.

1

Some studies suggest yes some studies suggest no.

Women are different but as a generality, more or less ethical then men?

Not a clue. My sample size and lack of time researching reliable sources, is far to small to make that assessment.

0

If true, then it would be that women understand that ethics are not immutable. They change given time.

0

Are some people less ethical than other people ... yes if judged subjectively against a commonly held standard of ethical behaviour within a culture or society.
Is one generalisation less ethical than another generalisation, impossible to say without a common definition of ethics applicable to both, or an agreed quantifiable scale of ethical behaviour to use as a frame of reference in such a particular case.

3

The concept of ethics is purely subjective. Men and women do behave in somewhat different ways at times, but there must be natural reasons for that behavior. There’s no need to make the judgment.

4

Tons of research on it, go find it and please use well respected academic journals if possible. I don't know you but if this is meant to be an inflammatory post, then shame on you.

I hope it isn't, but yes, there is research out there. The fact that OP just posted a 6 word question without a link, or any explanation about why he has the question ("I read recently that research suggests women are blah blah blah..." ), it does make you wonder if it wasn't designed to be inflammatory - perhaps for point whoring? 😟 😕

@jondspen After the fact I came to the conclusion he's a point whore

3

How would we find out? Look at crime statistics? Well, what are the most unethical things you can do? Kill somebody? Rape? Starting a war? You name it. Which gender commits more of those crimes?
But it's not as easy as that, right?

Dietl Level 7 Dec 16, 2018

Thank you.

Well...those are things in your opinion that are the "most unethical", and you also don't give any context for most of them, although I will agree rape is flat out unethical. Killing might be ethical b/c a person is in pain (assisted suicide). Starting a war against a government committing genocide seems like it's ethical also. Lying to get custody, or a person thrown in jail, or stealing a man's sperm to force him into financial servitude for 18 years is pretty unethical also.

@jondspen You are grasping at straws, you know that, right?
(On the right comment this time 😉 )

@Dietl I don't think stating actual events that have shown up in the news multiple times is grasping at straws. Looking at crime statics - drug possession is very high on the list, but many would agree while it's illegal, it's not unethical. Studies find women are more violent in the home but cause less physical damage - that fact and the pro-women attitude of LEO, they are way less likely to be arrested, charged, or sentenced. Crime stastics could be considered inaccurate and incomplete. I do agree with part of your OP, "But it's not as easy as that, right?" - both men and women do some horrid shit. It comes down if you put more importance on the quantity vs quality (a few murders/rape outweigh the thousands of lying and extortion in the family court system). Sure murder is worse than an man being extorted for alimony/child support. Then again, it could be the sexism in family courts that push an unstable man over the edge where he then goes and murders his ex-wife after the divorce/child custody hearing. Our actions don't live in a vacuum.

@jondspen Well, the crime statistics show that a pretty overwhelming majority of those crimes I mentioned are committed by men. It's not even close. The original question was if women were less ethical than men and if you purely look at the data there is a clear answer to that. Of course there are exceptions and other small details you can fill in but that doesn't say anything about men or women in general. That's what I meant with grasping at straws.
The point I really wanted to make is not than men are less ethical but that it is much harder to argue that they aren't, with all the data available. I would argue that men are also just the products of a system they have no control over. They are also victims of prejudices and often that has an effect on the outcome. As you say often men are disadvantages in certain areas. So I wouldn't say one gender is inherently more ethical than another. Put in the same context men and women probably wouldn't act so different I would argue.

@Dietl You do have a point, but again crime statistics alone can be misleading b/c legality and ethics/morality are two different things. First, women are not held to the same standard as men, so crime stats don't reflect their actions b/c they are never charged with a crime (many domestic abuse cases per research). Also, as ethics and laws are two different things, I am sure if guys could make it a law, lying about being raped would be illegal beyond just a misdemeanor "file false report" charge. So would lying to get pregnant, or stealing a man's sperm from a condom in the trash (rich and pro-athlete men experience this) become felony level charges if men alone had the power to vote men's issues into legislation. Groping by a woman in a bar is also typically no big deal - but let a guy come up and do that to a woman and you might arrested for sexual assault. Flashing in public, while technically illegal for both, is sure not enforced equally. Drunk driver may get life for hitting pregnant woman and killing the baby - but the judical systems ignores the fact the woman was driving to a clinic to have an abortion (aka - legalized murder in some people's view).

So I understand your point, but crime stats can be argued as incomplete, or disconnected to ethics and morality. I do agree with your view about gender being irrelevant (see my post to the OP above) in we are all creatures scratching to survive; we typically take any and every advantage to secure our lively hood regardless of sex.

@jondspen I don't disagree with your main point but a few of your statements are wrong. You can't make sweeping statements like "women are never charged with (domestic absude) crimes" because that's factually wrong. Also when you say women are not held to the same standards you have to admit that in principle they are, the justice system doesn't treat them differently on paper, but that in some cases they tend to be treated differently.
I also disagree with some of your points but that's kind of a different conversation.

@Dietl Ok..you are right, but I did say in prior post "Studies find women are more violent in the home but cause less physical damage - that fact and the pro-women attitude of LEO, they ARE WAY LESS LIKELY to be arrested, charged, or sentenced." And the whole sentence that you picked a few words to quote from said, "First, women are not held to the same standard as men, so CRIME STATS DON'T REFLECT THEIR ACTIONS B/C THEY ARE NEVER CHARGED WITH A CRIME (many domestic abuse cases per research)." You are taking that point out of context. I wasn't arguing women are never charged in any circumstance. I clearly argued the crime stat isn't accurate since when a A CHARGE IS NOT FILED, the stat is incomplete. You could punch me in the stomach 100 times, but if we only count the times you punched me in the face (once)....then the statistics say you only punched me one time. Then we also throw out the times you stabbed me with a knife, ran over me, shot me, and put cigarettes out on me. Now if I was to take you to court, and argue you are a violent person, with extreme anger issues, and have attempted murder - well, the statistics say you only punched me once, which IS wrong, but one punch in the face isn't that bad to charge you with attempted murder. It's obvious I'm over-reacting over just one punch. See...statistics are only good in evaluating a situation if the data collected actually represents full picture of the situation.

As far as in principle or in theory men/women are equal, sure...men and women are suppose to be equal in the eyes of the law/court. But criminal charges, sentencing punishment, length of sentence, as well as 90% child custody granted to women over men...theory of equality doesn't mean shit when the real world is obviously bias. Pre-civil rights (1950s and earlier) separate but equal schools for whites and colored were 'equal' on paper...yet, I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone that would argue they were in reality.

@jondspen So I guess we don't really disagree. It seems that I misunderstood what you meant. I agree with your elaboration but I'd like to point out that it cuts both ways. Crimes of men also get unreported. All we have is what does get reported, everything else is just speculation.
Maybe one day the statistics will show an equal amount of crime for both sexes. But for that to happen our society will have to discard many long held prejudices.

5

how can you generalize about the character of a gender? that is a ridiculous question.

g

WTF My feelings exactly

3

If they are I think a mouse would starve on the difference.

Were you thinking in terms of serious crimes or just in general?

3

My guess is women are more ethical, but there are many areas of ethics and it would be hard to study and get broad enough data to be meaningful. I think most people vary in how ethically they conduct themselves, more ethically in some areas of their life, less in others.

2

I think women are far more willing to compromise. The radical might consider that unethical, I don’t.

Varn Level 8 Dec 16, 2018
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I don't believe ethics & integrity are gender specific

Della Level 6 Dec 16, 2018
2

Not me. And I know two amazing men who set the standard high for the few good men elsewhere that still exist.

0

Ummm first marriage was for 13 years I had 14 girlfriends and everyone one of them knew that I was married but not once did any of them attempt to tell my wife nor stop seeing me.

I hope you're not still married. What's the point? I always wonder why people like this exist.

@SleeplessInTexas Nope got divorced and remarried haven’t cheated once but if you must know I proposed to my first wife with my deployment papers in my hand for the first gulf war.

I realized while over there that I might had made a mistake especially since she quit her job and was wanting access to my savings account and when I returned home I tried to end it and she tried to end herself.

And since everyone pressured me to try to make it work I stayed and she didn’t improve so I played until I had enough and just said fuck it if she does then she does it to herself. Make sense why I exist!?

And funny that you had no opinion towards the other women ????

1

um, no

lerlo Level 8 Dec 16, 2018
2

Highly unlikely.

4

No. Men are definitely less ethical than women. Not that there aren't unethical women, just not near as many.

5

I doubt it. They're--per evolutionary psychology--evolved to be more socially sensitive and interconnected with others, so I would suppose it follows that women are more ethical, if anything, not less. More ethical = more social cohesion. Just spitballin'.

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