ABSTRACT
This chapter offers highlights along the evolution of ethical development in the theory of public relations, particularly focusing upon turning points or changes of how ethics were viewed or incorporated in the body of knowledge. Historical and applied challenges in public relations are discussed. Moral philosophy is traced in application to public relations in the normative philosophies of virtue, consequentialist, and deontological frameworks of ethics. From ancient rhetoric to a modern tri-analytic approach to moral autonomy based on objectivity, ethical concepts are traced, as their development generated more sophisticated and complex applications of moral philosophy. Primary frameworks for rigorous ethical analyses are introduced, and future challenges are posited. Social media and the rapidly changing information environment offer numerous ethical challenges for public relations—such as information warfare—that need a critical thinking, and rational analytic ethical approach for creating a responsible function and society.
