CORE GATEWAY COLLEGE, INC.

1ST Semester 2020 - 2021

LEARNING MODULE
in

GE 8
(ETHICS/ETIKA)

Prepared by:

Hazel Joyce DC. Paulo

Teacher Education Program
 ETHICS/ETIKA
Credit Hour: 3

Instructor information
Instructor: Hazel Joyce DC. Paulo
Email: hazeljoyce_paulo@yahoo.com
Phone: 0975-919-7351
Institution: CGCI

@2020 R.C. Garcia

Copyright Notice: This course pack may be used for the CGCI College Department’s educational purposes.
It includes extracts of works from outside sources which are duly cited and acknowledged on this material.
You may not copy or distribute any part of this course pack to any other person. Where this course pack is
provided to you in an electronic format you may only print from it for your own use. You may not make a
further copy for any other purpose.
All rights reserved.

Course Description

Principles of ethical behavior in modern society at the level of the person, society, and in interaction with the
environment and other shared resources./ Mga simulain ng ugaling pang-etika sa makabagong lipunan sa
antas na pantao at panlipunan at sa ugnayan ng mga ito sa kalikasan at sa ibang kolektibong yaman.

Course Scope

This course is designed to achieve the TEACH format – Think, Experience, Assess, Challenge, and Harness.

Course Objectives

 Provides notes that will get the readers to think about the learning theories within an educational setting.
 Includes illustrative examples on how the theories are applied in the actual classroom experience.
 Poses questions that assess the readers’ understanding of the Think and Experience contents.
 Challenges the readers to answer questions and do activities that allow self-reflection.
 Requires the readers to engage in an activity that harnesses creativity.

Course Delivery Method – First Semester (August – December 2020) due to COVID – 19 Pandemic

This course will be delivered via distance learning that will enable students to complete academic work in a
flexible manner, completely online which includes *synchronous and asynchronous activities. Course
materials and assess to an online learning management system will be made available to each student.
Students should respond to Forum questions in a given account (accomplished in groups through threaded
forum). Virtual class lectures through video conferences will be conducted via Google Meet. Online
assignments or activities will be submitted on the accounts given by the instructor. Faculty will assist and
support the students on the use of online resources throughout this course.
Course Materials

Couse textbook and Related Readings:

A Course Module for ETHICS Foundations of Moral Valuation. Rex Book Store
Oscar G. Bulaong Jr.
Mark Joseph T. Calano
Albert M. Lagliva
Michael Ner E. Mariano
Jesus Deogracias Z. Principe
Authors

Evaluation Procedures

 Quizzes or assignments will be submitted once in a week at the school but students should follow the
protocol given by the school and the faculties.
 Quizzes or assignments will also be submitted through an email account or messenger but students
should follow the format given by the teacher.
 The correct answer based on their activities will be sent to them via email or messenger after it is
checked.

Grading System

Examination 40%
Quizzes 20%
Individual Case Analysis/Reflection Paper 20%
Group Case Analysis/Reflection Paper 10%
Requirements 10%
TOTAL = 100%

Policies

 Please see the Students Handbook for full reference on all College policies.

Course Outline
Preliminary Period
WEEK TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES READING/S ASSIGNMENT/S
1 -2  The Ethical  Identify the ethical aspect Chapter I: Answer page 14
Dimension of of human life and the The Ethical Answer pages 21-
Human scope of ethical thinking Dimension of 22
Existence  Define and explain the Human Existence Answer pages 25-
terms that are relevant to 26
ethical thinking
 Evaluate the difficulties
that are involved in
maintaining certain
 commonly-held notions
on ethics.

 Discuss the basic

3 -5  Utilitarianism principles of utilitarian Chapter II: Answer pages 39-
ethics Utilitarianism 40
 Distinguish between two Answer pages 43-
utilitarian models: the 44
quantitative model of
Jeremy Bentham and the
qualitative model of John
Stuart Mill
 Apply utilitarianism in
understanding and
evaluating local and
international scenarios.

Midterm Period
WEEK TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES READING/S ASSIGNMENT/S
6-9  Natural Law  Recognize how Thomas Chapter III: Answer pages 61-
Aquinas made use of Natural Law 62
ancient Greek concepts to Answer pages 63-
provide a rational 64
grounding to an ethical
theory based on the
Christian faith
 Identify the natural law in
distinct from, but also in
relation to, the other types
of law mentioned by
Aquinas: eternal law,
human law, and divine
law
 Apply the precepts of the
natural law to
contemporary moral
concerns

Semi -Final Period

WEEK TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES READING/S ASSIGNMENT/S
10 – 11  Deontology  Discuss the basic Chapter IV: Answer page 78
principles of deontology Deontology Answer pages 79-
 Apply the concepts of 80
agency and autonomy to
 one’s moral experience
 Evaluate actions using the
universalizability test.

12-13  Discuss the meaning and Chapter V: Answer page 95

basic principles of virtue Virtue Ethics Answer pages 97-
 Virtue Ethics
ethics 98
 Distinguish virtuous acts
from non-virtuous acts
 Apply Aristotle’s ethics in
understanding the Filipino
character

Final Period
WEEK TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES READING/S ASSIGNMENT/S
 Identify the different Chapter VI: Answer pages
14-18  Synthesis:
factors that shape an Synthesis: 125-127
Making
individual in her moral Making Informed Answer pages
Informed
decision-making Decisions 129-136.
Decisions
 Internalize the necessary
steps toward making
informed moral decisions
 Apply the ethical theories
of frameworks on moral
issues involving the self,
society, and the non-
human environment.

Lesson
PRELIMINARY PERIOD
WEEK 1 and 2
Chapter I: The Ethical Dimension of Human Existence
At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to:
 Identify the ethical aspect of human life and the scope of ethical thinking
 Define and explain the terms that are relevant to ethical thinking
  Evaluate the difficulties that are involved in maintaining certain commonly-held notions on ethics
Introduction
This chapter discusses the ethical aspect of human life and the scope of ethical thinking. Here, we
recognize ethics as a significant dimension of human existence, and start to explore how we may engage in
careful ethical thinking.

Case Analysis/Reflection Paper

 Answer page 20.

Study Questions
 Answer pages 21-22.

Suggested Readings
 Make a reflection paper about the suggested readings on page 22.

Activity
 Answer pages 25-26.

Summary

In this chapter, we have established the scope and the rationale for a discussion of ethics. We explored
various domains of valuation in order to distinguish what makes a particularly grave type of valuation a
moral or ethical one. We clarified some of the terms that will be used in the study of ethics. We have also
explored a number of problematic ways of thinking of ethics; some give a too simplistic answer to the
question of our grounds or foundations for moral valuation, while the others seem to dismiss the possibility
of ethics altogether.

WEEK 3 - 5

Chapter II: Utilitarianism

At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to:
 Discuss the basic principles of utilitarian ethics
 Distinguish between two utilitarian models: the quantitative model of Jeremy Bentham and the
qualitative model of John Stuart Mill
 Apply utilitarianism in understanding and evaluating local and international scenarios.
Introduction
In this chapter, we will explore a number of different moral theories that have been handed down to
us by the history of philosophy. These are various approaches from thinkers who have presented to us their
own unique way of thinking on how to determine the moral principles that should be maintained. We will
first explore Utilitarianism, which establishes that the best consequences for everyone concerned might be
our measure for determining what is right.
Study Questions
 Answer page 39

Suggested Readings
 Make a reflection paper about the suggested readings on pages 39-40.

Activity
 Answer pages 43-44

Summary

Bentham and Mill see moral good as pleasure, not merely self-gratification, but also the greatest
happiness principle or the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. We are compelled to do
whatever increases pleasure and decreases pain to the most number of persons, counting each as one and
none as more than one. In determining the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers of people, there is no
distinction between Bentham and Mill. Bentham suggests his felicific calculus, a framework for quantifying
moral valuation. Mill provides a criterion for comparative pleasures. He thinks that persons who experience
two different types of pleasures generally prefer higher intellectual pleasures to base sensual ones.

Mill provides an adequate discourse on rights despite it being mistakenly argued to be the weakness
of utilitarianism. He argues that rights are socially protected interests that are justified by their contribution to
the greatest happiness principle. However, he also claims that in extreme circumstances, respect for
individual rights can be overridden to promote the better welfare especially in circumstances of conflict
valuation.

MIDTERM PERIOD
WEEK 6 -9
Chapter III: Natural Law
At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to:
 Recognize how Thomas Aquinas made use of ancient Greek concepts to provide a rational grounding
to an ethical theory based on the Christian faith
 Identify the natural law in distinct from, but also in relation to, the other types of law mentioned by
Aquinas: eternal law, human law, and divine law
 Apply the precepts of the natural law to contemporary moral concerns

Introduction
 In this chapter, we will explore how Thomas Aquinas provides this, emphasizing the capacity for
reason as what is essential in our human nature. This understanding of human nature anchored on our
capacity for reason will become the basis of the natural law theory, a theory which will provide us a unique
way of determining the moral status of our actions.
Study Questions
 Answer page 61.

Suggested Readings
 Make a reflection paper about the suggested readings on page 61.

Activity
 Answer pages 63-64.
Summary
In this chapter, we have seen how the natural law theory is instrumental to an ethics is rooted in the
Christian Faith. In elaborating this, we explored how Aquinas had synthesized concepts of the ancient Greeks
to put forward an intellectual grounding that can overcome the limitations of a simplistic divine command
theory. Instead, we are provided an objective basis for ethics: our own natural inclinations. Since these are
given by God, they provide us the path toward our perfection. Our natural inclinations as enumerated by
Aquinas include the desire to preserve our being, the sexual act and its fecundity, and our use of reason.

SEMI-FINAL PERIOD

WEEK 10-11
Chapter 4: Deontology
At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to:
 Discuss the basic principles of deontology
 Apply the concepts of agency and autonomy to one’s moral experience
 Evaluate actions using the universalizability test.

Introduction
In this chapter, we will explore Deontology, which will argue that it is unreliable to base ethics on
consequences or on a supposed intrinsic nature; however, reason is able to determine through its own
exploration of itself what our moral duty is.

Study Questions
 Answer page 78.
Suggested Readings
 Make a reflection paper about the suggested readings on page 78.

Activity
 Answer pages 79-80.
Summary
Deontology is based on the “light” of one’s own reason when maturity and rational capacity take hold
of a person’s decision-making. Reason is depicted as having its own light in contrast to our long experience
of “paternalism” in human history, in which we find dictatorship and authority figure that claim to be
benevolent, but have proven to be oppressive and exploitative of those who do not have political power. With
deontology, particularly the method of universalizability, we can validate and adopt those rules and laws that
are right and reject those that are irrational, thus impermissible because they are self-contradictory. This is
then the practical value of deontology in our moral reflection: we are encouraged to have courage to think on
our own, to use our rational will against external authorities as well as internal base impulses that tend to
undermine our autonomy and self-determination.

WEEK 12-13
Chapter 5: Virtue Ethics
At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to:
 Discuss the meaning and basic principles of virtue ethics
 Distinguish virtuous acts from non-virtuous acts
 Apply Aristotle’s ethics in understanding the Filipino character

Introduction
In this chapter, we will explore Virtue Ethics, which requires us to think of our concept of reason
within the larger context of the development of a moral character.

Study Questions
 Answer page 95.

Suggested Readings
 Make a reflection paper about the suggested readings on page 95.

Activity
 Answer pages 97-98.
Summary
 To sum up, moral virtue, according to Aristotle, is a “state of character” which habitually acts
according to the middle measure that practical wisdom identifies as the moral choice that should be acted
upon, given the concrete situation that presents to the person. The goal of virtue ethics is to promote the
maturity of the character of the person. Building a good character is a task and responsibility of every person.
FINAL PERIOD

WEEK 14 and 18
Chapter 6: Synthesis: Making Informed Decisions
At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to:
 Identify the different factors that shape an individual in her moral decision-making
 Internalize the necessary steps toward making informed moral decisions
 Apply the ethical theories or frameworks on moral issues involving the self, society, and the non-
human environment

Introduction
In this chapter, we will clarified several notions: (1) These questions of what the right thing to do is
and why are questions that all human beings—regardless of race, age, socioeconomic class, gender, culture,
educational attainment, religious affiliation, or political association—will have to ask at one point or another
in their lives; (2) Neither the laws nor rules of one’s immediate community or of wider culture or of religious
affiliation can sufficiently answer these questions, especially when different duties, cultures, or religions
intersect and conflict; (3) Reason has a role to play in addressing these questions, if not in resolving them.
This last element, reason, is the power that identifies the situations in which rules and principles sometimes
conflict with one another. Reason, hopefully, will allow one to finally make the best decision possible in a
given situation of moral choice.

Study Questions
 Answer page 125.

Suggested Readings
 Make a reflection paper about the suggested readings on page 125.

Activity
 Answer pages 129-136.
Summary
Making informed decisions in the realm of morality entails first understanding who one is, in order to
account for reasons that one comes up with as the agent who must choose in a moral situation. Reyes
explains that one’s self is a cross-point of many forces and factors that shape one’s choices but do not dictate
upon them. The mature moral agent must understand how her society, history, culture and even religion
shape who she is. She must also realize though that her choices in the end cannot simply be a mere product of
these outside forces, but must be made in the spirit of freedom. Kohlberg teaches that one’s realization of her
own freedom to determine her own moral principles, free from all conventions, happens in a process of
maturity. An essential element in maturity is the realization that one’s choices, even in the realm of ethics,
cannot simply be a function of rational thought but are inevitably shaped also by the feelings. Thus, there is
the additional responsibility of cultivating one’s feelings as well as one’s reason. The moral agent must be
mature enough to be able to cultivate the necessary steps to ensure a sound, well-informed moral decision.
With the aid of the different ethical theories or frameworks discussed in the previous chapters, the morally
mature agent will be able to appreciate her responsibility toward herself, her society, and her environment.