Ethical Theories

Introduction

Moral issue requires moral valuation as to whether the situation requires

the agent to act “rightfully” or “wrongfully”.

Example: a situation wherein a person cannot afford a certain item, but

then the possibility presents itself for her to steal it.

Moral Decision refers to an act wherein the agent is in a situation and

confronted by the choice of what act to perform.
Example: “I choose not to take something I did not pay for.”
 Introduction

Going beyond the matter of choosing right over wrong, or good

over bad, and considering instead the more complicated situation wherein
one is torn between choosing one of two goods or choosing between the
lesser of two evils – this is referred to as a moral dilemma.

Example: A mother may be conflicted between wanting to feed her hungry

child, but then recognizing that it would be wrong for her to steal.
 Introduction

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.
 Introduction

First moral theory that we will explore is Utilitarianism, which

establishes that the best consequences for everyone concerned might be our
measure for determining what is right.
Consider the situation below:

On January 25, 2015, the 84th Special Action Force (SAF) conducted a
police operation at Mamasapano in Maguindanao. Also known as Oplan
Exodus, it was intended to serve an arrest warrant for Zulkifli bin Hir or
Marwan, a Malaysian terrorist and bomb-maker. This mission eventually
led to a clash between the PNP SAF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom
Fighters (BIFF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Although
the police operation was ‘successful’ because of the death of Marwan, the
firefight that ensued claimed 67 lives including 44 SAF troopers, 18 MILF
fighters and 5 civilians.
Consider the situation below:

In one of the Congress investigations that followed this tragic mission, then
Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senator Francis Escudero debated the
public hearing of an audio recording of an alleged conversation that
attempted to cover up the massacre of the PNP-SAF commandos. Drilon
questioned the admissibility of these recordings as evidence under the Anti-
Wire Tapping Law whereas Escudero cited the legal brief of the Free Legal
Assistance Group (FLAG) arguing that the Anti-Wire Tapping Law
protects only the recording and interception of private communications.
Consider the situation below:

Can the government infringe individual rights? If it is morally permissible

for the government to infringe individual rights, when can the government
do so? Does it become legitimate to sacrifice individual rights when
considering the greatest benefit the Filipino people?
 Utilitarianism

If we calculate the costs and benefits of our actions, then we are considering
an ethical theory that gives premium to the consequences of actions as the
basis of morality and as such is utilitarianism.

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that argues for the goodness of pleasure

and the determination of right behavior based on the usefulness of the
action’s consequences.
Its root word is “utility” = refers to the usefulness of the consequences of one’s action or
behavior.
This means that pleasure is good and that the goodness of an action is
determined by its usefulness.
 Utilitarianism

Going back to the example, when we argue that wiretapping is permissible

because doing so results in better public safety, then we are arguing in a
utilitarian way.

It is utilitarian because we argue that some individual rights can be

sacrificed for the sake of greater happiness of the many.
Utilitarianism = The Greatest Happiness of the Greatest
Number

Jeremy Bentham
Their system of ethics emphasizes the consequences of
actions. This means that the goodness or the badness of
action is based on whether it is useful in contributing to a
specific purpose for the greatest number of people. This
means that the moral value of actions and decisions is based
solely or greatly on the usefulness of their consequences; it is
the usefulness of the results that determines whether the
action or behavior is good or bad. The utilitarian value
pleasure and happiness; this means that the usefulness of
John Stuart Mill actions is based on its promotion of happiness.
 The Principle of Utility

An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation:

Jeremy Bentham begins by arguing that our actions are governed by two
“sovereign masters” – pleasure and pain.
These “masters” are given to us by nature to help us determine
what is good or bad and what ought to be done and not; they
fasten our choices to their throne.
The principle of utility is about our subjection to these sovereign masters.
1. It is like saying that in our everyday actions, we do what is pleasurable

and we do not do what is painful.

2. The principle also refers to pleasure as good if, and only if, they produce

more happiness than unhappiness.

 The Principle of Utility

John Stuart Mill supports Bentham’s principle of utility. Mill explains that if
we find our actions pleasurable, it is because they are inherently pleasurable
in themselves or they eventually lead to the promotion of pleasure and the
avoidance of pain.

For Bentham and Mill, the pursuit for pleasure and the avoidance of pain
are not only important principles – they are in fact the only principles in
assessing an action’s morality.
 Bentham’s Method

In determining the moral preferability of actions, Bentham provides a

framework for evaluating pleasure and pain – felicific calculus.

Felicific Calculus is a common

currency framework that calculates
the pleasure that some actions can
produce.

In this framework, pleasure and pain can

only quantitatively differ but not
qualitatively differ from other
experiences of pleasure and pain.
 Mill’s Method

Mill dissents from Bentham’s single scale of pleasure. There is a difference

between quantitative and qualitative pleasures. He thinks that there are higher
intellectual and lower base pleasures. As moral agents, we are capable of
searching and desiring higher intellectual pleasures more than any other
beings.

For Mill, human pleasures that man must seek are qualitative pleasure.
Quality is more preferable than quantity. An excessive quantity of what is
otherwise pleasurable might result in pain.
 Mill’s Method

In defending further the comparative choice between quantitative and

qualitative pleasures, Mill offers an imaginative thought experiment.

“It is better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates

dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion,
it is because they know their own side of the question. The other party to the
comparison knows both sides ”
Case Study and Utilitarianism

When considering the moral permissibility of wiretapping, we calculate the

costs and benefits of wiretapping. If we calculate the costs and benefits of
our actions, then we are considering an ethical theory that gives premium to
the consequences of actions as the basis of morality and as such is
utilitarianism.
Mamasapano Incident and the Senate

The Senate inquiry proceedings raised questions on the possibility

or wiretapping and the intrusion to one’s right to privacy. While the 1987
Philippine Constitution does protect one’s right to private communication,
it did provide some exemptions. These exemptions include a lawful order of
the court and/or issues involving public safety and order. RA 4200 (Anti-
Wire Tapping Law) and RA 9372 (The Human Security Act of 2007) both
provided exemptions to the inviolability of the right to privacy in instances
of treason, rebellion, and sedition.