MMSU CAS Philo 01: Ethics 1

Lesson 2: If we are moral, why is there evil?

Lesson Overview

In lesson 1, you learned that human beings are moral by nature as moral agents who have
the innate capacity and natural concern for the distinction between good or bad, right from
wrong, in matters that could potentially harm or benefit others. We can do this because we have
a set of moral standards as basis for our moral discernment and deliberation. We call this
personal set of moral standards as morality. Our moral nature is actively using these moral
standards every time we are confronted with moral situations when actions or choices have to
be discerned as either good or bad. Remember that we all are taught to do good and avoid evil…
The important question that has to be raised now is, if we do have these set of personal
moral standards called morality that guide us in making moral judgments, and if we are moral by
nature, such that, we can always identify what is wrong from what is bad using these moral
standards, then why is the world still plagued by evil persons and evil deeds?
The only possible answers to this question are the following:

• There are evil or bad persons who do evil or bad things.

• Maybe morality—your personal set of moral standards—is not perfect.
• Maybe your morality is guided by standards that have nothing to do with what is
morally right or wrong at all.
• Maybe there are times when your idea of good or bad is not the same with another
person? That means what you consider good may be bad from another’s view, or
what they consider as bad may be good for you.
• If this is the case, then whose morality is the right one? Yours? Mine? Theirs?

In this lesson, we will explore the answers to these questions by clarifying what morality
really is and by identifying the sources of our moral standards. First, this lesson will discuss how
we acquired and developed these standards. Second, this lesson will identify the basic factors
that determine these standards. And third, clarify the difference between moral standards and
non-moral standards.

MMSU CAS PHILO 01: ETHICS | RAlejandro

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Lesson Goals

At the end of this lesson, the learner must be able to:

1. Define morality and its necessary and sufficient conditions;
2. Identify the various types of standards that we normally use;
3. Distinguish moral from non-moral standards; and

Expected Time spent for this lesson: 1 hour

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Essay. If humans know what is right or wrong, and we do have a set of moral standards
that guide us in our moral discernment and value judgments, then why is the world still plagued
by evil persons and evil deeds? (Refer to our class mVLE for submission instructions and grading
rubrics.)

How did I come to know that something is good or bad?

Did you know what actions are good or bad from birth, or you gradually learned the
difference as you grew up? You were taught since you were a child that there are acts which are
good and there are those that are bad. That means, while we, as moral agents (Lesson 1), do
have a built-in mechanism that enables us to distinguish what is good from bad, it does not follow
that we also have a built-in set of standards
that guide our moral discernment. You,
rather, acquired these set of standards in
one way or another as you grew up.
Perhaps, you will still learn some more of
this as you grow older.
If you noticed, there were acts in the past which you considered to be clearly bad but now
you consider to be, in some ways, acceptably right in certain situations and conditions. The
distinction was so clear cut when you were younger. A bad act, like telling lies, is and will always
be bad all the time, and there could be no instances when it can be considered good. A good act,
like helping your mother clean the house, is and will always be good all the time, and there could
be no times when helping another is bad. But as you grew older, good or bad is no longer as clear
as white or black. There is a grey area that eventually expands as it were. Right? There are white
lies, so to speak, when lying to a killer can save a friend’s life. Or helping another is not always
right as in the case of giving alms to street children who work for crime syndicates.
At an early age, you most likely received quite a list of what is right and wrong. Try to
recall why these actions are labeled as right or wrong. One basic reason is, you somehow grew
up in a community that says so and you simply accepted this as such without question. In
Tagalog, “Nakalakihan mo na ito.” In Ilokano, “Nakadakkelanyon dagitoy a kadawyan.” Another

MMSU CAS PHILO 01: ETHICS | RAlejandro

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reason you may think of is, you obeyed persons in authority regarding these matters and you
trusted them to tell the truth about these matters. These persons are usually your elders
including your parents and relatives who tell you how things are ought to be done according to
tradition; the police who can put you to prison; the teacher who can punish you at school as
cleaners in the afternoon; the priest or the pastor who quotes verses in the Bible to tell you how
God punished evildoers; and many more. Let us further identify these factors in the following:
First, your morality was formed from the family you grew up in. At home, your parents
and relatives taught you what is good and what is bad. This was your first education in good
manners, right conduct, and principles of etiquette. As a consequence, you learned here the
unique values your family adheres to, including the cultural values of the people you are born
into. In our case, we refer to Filipino values and Ilokano values to be more specific.

Second, your personal morality was reinforced by your teachers, by your friends, and by
the books you have read at school. Recall here the values education (or religion) classes you had,
and the points given to you for good behavior. Perhaps you even received the Conduct Award or
the Most Behaved Pupil of the year award.
Third, the movies you loved to watch, your favorite K-dramas, the social media posts you
came across with on your newsfeeds, your exposure to different types of people as you continue
to grow, the kind of friends you hang out with, and the like are all contributory factors to the
development of your personal morality.
Fourth, much of your morality is determined by the religion you adhere to. Religion is a
very strong force that determines our understanding of what is good and what is bad. The
standards each religion follows are claimed to have come from God himself. Following such
standards ensure the salvation of your soul after death, while disobedience means perpetual
torment in the fires of hell. But no two religions have the same standards. In fact, other religions
claim that non-members cannot be saved until they get baptized to their faith, which they also
claim as the true faith, as it were.
What about your conscience? Is it God’s voice that speaks to you in the depths of your
soul? Is it a perfect standard on its own that guides our actions? On the contrary, this is not truly
the case. Conscience can be formed as well by various factors and hence can be wrong
sometimes. Notice that when you were younger, it was so difficult for you to lie to your parents.
But as you grew older, you managed to silence that inner voice you call conscience whenever
lying seems to be an acceptable option to save you from further complications in telling the truth.
Therefore, we do not just have a personal standard acquired from our family and
relatives. We also share common standards with other people. You share common standards of
good and bad with your friends. A people who belong to the same culture and tradition share
common standards and laws as well. Religious groups as well have their own set of moral
standards.

MMSU CAS PHILO 01: ETHICS | RAlejandro

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But that also means that there are persons who do not share your standards of what is
good or bad. There are cultures which have different standards, tradition, norms, and even laws.
The same goes without saying regarding how religions differ with other religions. History is
replete with records of atrocities committed in the name of religion already.
These factors are the major contributors to the development of your set of standards
which you always use or refer to whenever you make value judgments on whether a certain
action or behavior is good or bad, right or wrong.

But not all standards are about morality. It is therefore important to differentiate moral
standards from other standards out there that are not about being moral. What makes a
standard moral?

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