ETHICS MID-TERM REVIEWER

LESSON 1: UNDERSTANDING ETHICS / UNIT 1 WHAT IS ETHICS

I. TERMS

1. The English word ethics is derived from the Ancient Greek word ēthikós (ἠθικός),
meaning "relating to one's character".
2. "What makes an inquiry a philosophical one is reflective generality and a style of
argument that claims to be rationally persuasive." Williams describes the content of this
area of inquiry as addressing the very broad question, "how one should live".
3. Ethics can also refer to a common human ability to think about ethical problems that is
not particular to philosophy.
4. As bioethicist Larry Churchill has written: "Ethics, understood as the capacity to think
critically about moral values and direct our actions in terms of such values, is a generic
human capacity."
5. Ethics can also be used to describe a particular person's own idiosyncratic principles
or habits.
6. Ethics can be defined as the scientific study of moral judgments.
7. Normative Ethics- actions are judged by their merits, allowing societies to develop code
of conduct for behavior. The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them
unto you.” is a classic example, since you’re determining morality through your actions.
8. Descriptive Ethics- does not actually claim that things are right or wrong, but simp
studies how individuals or societies define their morals. Morals are seen as part of
greater system that is not objective of unbiased but is created by culture, like language.
9. In classical tradition, Ethics is moral Philosophy and is distinguished from Moral
Theology.
10. Value is something a person cherishes as important to him, like things, ideas, and
experiences.
11. Religion is a system of beliefs and practices based on faith or revelation.
12. Religion provides both direction and motivation for the moral life of people.
13. Law requires that we perform the required action regardless of our feelings towards
such action.
14. Ethical norms cover thoughts and feelings.
15. Law do not judge man’s thoughts and desires.
16. Ethical science is particularly concerned with the study of man and human conduct and
is, therefore, especially related to all those sciences dealing with the study of human
nature and human living.
17. Logic is the science of right thinking.
18. Psychology studies how man behaves while ethics studies how man ought to
behave.
 19. Sociology deals with human relations in a society, but human relations are based on
proper order, and proper order comes only with the proper observance of moral laws
and principles which regulate the actions of men in a community.
20. Economics deals with topics such as wages, labor, production and distribution of
wealth.
21. Branches of ethics (2)

LESSON 1: UNDERSTANDING ETHICS / UNIT 2 EXAMINING ONE’S PREDISPOSITIONS OR TENDENCIES

I. TERMS

1. Predisposition (predilection) - a disposition in advance to react in a particular way.

2. Predisposition comes from the Latin prae meaning "before," and disponere meaning
"put in order, arrange, distribute." If you have a predisposition to think or act a certain
way, you can anticipate your reaction before it happens.
3. Tendency is a natural or prevailing disposition to move, proceed, or act in some
direction or toward some point, end, or result: the tendency of falling bodies toward the
earth.
4. In the Consequentialist framework, we focus on the future effects of the possible
courses of action, considering the people who will be directly or indirectly affected.
5. In the Duty framework, we focus on the duties and obligations that we have in a given
situation, and consider what ethical obligations we have and what things we should
never do.
6. In the Virtue framework, we try to identify the character traits (either positive or
negative) that might motivate us in a given situation.
7. Recognizing an Ethical Issue One of the most important things to do at the beginning of
ethical deliberation is to locate, to the extent possible, the specifically ethical aspects of
the issue at hand.
8. Consider the Parties Involved - Another important aspect to reflect upon are the various
individuals and groups who may be affected by your decision.
9. Gather all of the Relevant Information - Before taking action, it is a good idea to make
sure that you have gathered all of the pertinent information, and that all potential
sources of information have been consulted
10. Differentiate predisposition and tendency.
11. 3 broad framework that guide ethical decision making.
12. Process on Decision Making (7)