unethische

Unethische is a term used in German-language ethics to describe actions, policies, or norms that are judged to be unethical. The word is formed from un- (a negating prefix) and ethische, the adjective for ethical, yielding unethical. When capitalized as Unethische, it may function as a label or name for a theoretical category or movement within ethical debates.

In philosophical and policy discussions, unethische is used to classify practices that violate widely accepted moral standards, such as harming others, exploiting power, deception, or violating consent. The scope is broad and contested; some accounts distinguish individual unethische Handlung (unethical acts) from systemic or institutional unethische Strukturen (unethical structures). Different ethical theories offer varying explanations of why something is unethische: deontological approaches emphasize violations of moral duties, consequentialist views focus on harmful outcomes, and virtue ethics highlights failures of character. The term carries evaluative force and can be criticized as culturally contingent or normative.

In contemporary discourse, Unethische has appeared in debates on business ethics, technology, and public policy, including topics such as data privacy, labor rights, and informed consent. Some scholars caution that labeling something as unethische without specifying the moral framework can obscure distinctions between different kinds of wrong or harm. As a practical label, it is often used to prompt ethical scrutiny, policy reform, or accountability, while its precise meaning depends on the normative assumptions underlying a given discussion.