Suclayin, Arayat, Pampanga

Tel. No. 0925-870-1013

Email address: exact.colleges@yahoo.com

I. NAME OF
Bachelor of Science in Maritime Education
PROGRAM
II. COURSE COURSE CODE
DESCRIPTIVE Module in Ethics
TITLE
COURSE
III. PRE-REQUISITE /
None CREDIT UNIT
CO-REQUISITE
3 Units
Ethics deals with the principles of the ethical behavior in
modern society at the level of the person, society, and
interaction with the environment and other shared resources.
(CMO 20 s 2013).
Morality pertains to the standards of right and wrong that an
individual originally picks up the community. The course
IV. COURSE discusses the content and principles of ethical behavior in
DESCRIPTION modern society, and interaction with the environment and
other shared resources. The course also teaches students to
make moral decisions by using dominant moral frameworks
and by applying a seven-step moral reasoning model to
analyze and solve moral dilemmas: (a) agent, including
context- cultural, communal and environmental: (b) the act:
(c) reason or framework (for the act).

V. MODULE TITLE /
Topic/Chapter 2: Introduction to Course
NUMBER

VI. INCLUSIVE WEEK / Week 4 / Date: September 6-10, 2021

DATE Week 5 / Date: September 13-17, 2021
VII. COURSE OUTCOME
 Suclayin, Arayat, Pampanga
Tel. No. 0925-870-1013
Email address: exact.colleges@yahoo.com

A. Learning Outcome: At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
1. Understand the major branches of philosophy.

VIII. MODULE RESOURCES / REFERENCES

A. Jens Micah De Guzman, 2017, Ethics Principles of Ethical Behavior in

Modern Society
B. https://web.uri.edu/teach/files/PHL-103-Syllabus-Fall-2017.pdf

IX. TEACHING/LEARNING MODALITY

A. Synchronous Class via Google Meet

X. COURSE CONTENT

Chapter 1: Introduction to Course

WEEK 1

Getting to know each other!

Group Activity

Discussion of the mechanics of the course introducing the requirements and

integrative final paper.

WEEK 2

Philosophy comes from the ancient Greek words for wisdom (Sophia) and devotion
(Philo), so traditionally the term meant something like a love of wisdom. Today we tend to
 Suclayin, Arayat, Pampanga
Tel. No. 0925-870-1013
Email address: exact.colleges@yahoo.com

view philosophy as a way of seeking to understand the nature of reality itself, where reality
includes our very way of thinking about it.

Does this sound confusing? It should, because once we call our own perspectives, or
ways of thinking, into question, we get into thorny territory with what we can claim to know
about the world beyond our personal experience. WARNING!!!

Philosophers tend to question common sense and beyond our personal experience.
WARNING!!! Philosophers tend to question common sense and other things that most
people take for granted. In fact, some of you might genuinely be surprised and perhaps
unsettled by the extent to which a little philosophy can undermine much of what we assume
to be normal. Try to keep your mind open as we upend many of the ideas that underpin
everyday life. And remember: common sense once told us that the earth was flat, that the sun
revolved around the earth, and that slavery was an acceptable means by which to operate a
plantation. Common sense, while necessary, is overrated. Philosophy will show you why.

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

Traditionally philosophical problems fall into one of four broad categories, all of
which we’ll cover in some form.

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY?

✓ LOGIC: the study of argument structures and reasoning
✓ EPSTEMOLOGY: the study of knowledge and what we can claim to know
✓ METAPHYSICS: the study of what is real as opposed to what is an illusion
✓ AXIOLOGY: the study of values as reflected in human behavior and
practice

Some sample questions:

Reliable reasoning? If it’s raining, the streets are wet. The streets are wet. Therefore,
it is raining. (Logic) (This is logically invalid by the way: a fallacy known as Affirming
the Consequent)
 Suclayin, Arayat, Pampanga
Tel. No. 0925-870-1013
Email address: exact.colleges@yahoo.com

If a computer generated the world you are now experiencing; could you realize
that fact? (Epistemology)
Are claims about the existence of ghosts
plausible? (Metaphysics)
Can the very same thing be morally right for you but morally
wrong for me? (Axiology – Moral Theory)
You are in the end stages of cancer but your heart is good. Another patient needs a
heart to survive and yours is a match. Is it morally acceptable for your doctor to kill you
right now in order to harvest your heart, since you are going to die soon anyway and the
other person will die without a new heart? (Applied Ethics – part of Axiology)

WHY SHOULD WE STUDY IT?

While philosophy is an old discipline, its topics and methods still form the
foundation of other subjects.
Epistemology grounds the sciences, concerned with issues like whether our
perceptions are reliable, whether other people have minds like ours, what
constitutes acceptable evidence, and whether past patterns of data provide sufficient
support for future predictions. Drug trials, for example, rely on good models of
testing before approval; controversies about Artificial Intelligence involve whether
machines can “think.”
Metaphysics questions the foundational truths of existence, such as the origin of the
universe, evidence for supernatural phenomena, and whether God exists. Cultures
have gone to war over disagreements about what they take to be religious truths;
some people
spend a lot of money to have psychic readings done, or communicate with dead relatives.
What do you take to be “real” and, conversely, how might your beliefs be inconsistent,
ungrounded, naïve, or gullible?
Moral Theory reflects on what we value as right/wrong, or good/bad, and asks
whether morality can exist without God, if all morality is relative to culture, and
whether we see moral issues through a social lens of bias. Controversies such as female
genital mutilation or whether assisted suicide is permissible demonstrate how complex
moral thinking is once we think our way through different perspectives on the same
 Suclayin, Arayat, Pampanga
Tel. No. 0925-870-1013
Email address: exact.colleges@yahoo.com

problem.
Applied Ethics investigates how to use moral thinking in real--‐world situations. Should
we separate conjoined twins knowing that one will die, when failure to separate means
both will die? Should we eat meat? Should we use technology to design better babies?
Very recently, for example, the gene manipulation mechanism known as CRISPR has
made it possible to correct defects such as the inherited blood disorder beta--‐thalassemia
in human embryos. This has ethicists sitting up and taking notice: should such
“corrected” embryos be implanted in the womb? What happens to human society when
only the rich can afford to manipulate embryos before implanting? Worse still, what if
CRISPR is used commercially to create embryos with things like higher intelligence,
better athleticism, and artistic ability? How we identify moral values and regulate
institutional – and individual – practices in relation to them are very urgent and ongoing
challenges for humanity.

WEEK 3

KEY CONCEPTS IN ETHICS

ETHICS is the branch of philosophy that studies morality or the rightness or wrongness
of human conduct. Morality speaks of a code or system of behavior in regards to
standards of right or wrong behavior. In this book, the two terms (ethics and morality),
especially their adjective form (ethical and moral), are oftentimes used interchangeably.

As a branch of philosophy, ethics stands to queries about what there is reason to do.
Dealing with human actions and reasons for action, ethics is also concerned with
Character. In fact, the word 'ethics' is derived from the Greek ethos, which means
'character, or, in plural, 'manners
Some questions that are ethical in nature are: What is the good? Who is a
moral person? What are the virtues of a human being? What makes an act
right? What duties do we have to each other?
Also called 'moral philosophy, ethics evaluates moral concepts, values,
principles, and standards. Because it is concerned with norms of human conduct
ethics is considered a normative study of human actions.
Clearly, ethics and morality necessarily carry the concept of moral standards or rules with
regard to behavior. So as a way of introducing moral rules, let us discuss why rules are
 Suclayin, Arayat, Pampanga
Tel. No. 0925-870-1013
Email address: exact.colleges@yahoo.com

important to social beings.

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF RULES TO SOCIAL BEINGS

Rules benefit social beings in various manners:
a. Rules protect social beings by regulating behavior. Rules
build boundaries that place limits on behavior. Rules are usually coupled with
means to impose consequences on those who violate them. One of the
reasons people follow accepted rules is to avoid negative consequences.
b. Rules help to guarantee each person certain rights and
freedom. Rules form Frameworks for society. Nations are generally nations of
laws and the governing principles are outlined in what is called constitution.
Because the majority has agreed to follow and consent to be governed by
such a constitution, the freedoms outlined exist. One of the advantages of
such a system is that each person is guaranteed certain rights as the
government is limited in its power to ensure that it does not become powerful
enough to suppress liberty. Rules on divisions of power and checks and
balances further protect individual liberty.
c. Rules produce a sense of justice among social beings. Rules
are needed in order Keep the strong from dominating the weak, that is, to
prevent exploitation and domination. Without rules, schemes in which those
with the power control the system, would take over. In effect, rules generate a
stable system that provides justice, in which even the richest and most
powerful have limitations on what they can do. If they transgress rules such as
laws and ordinances and take advantage of people, there are consequences
both socially and criminally.
d. Rules are essential for a healthy economic system. Without
rules regulating business, power would centralize around monopolies and
threaten the strength and competitiveness of the system. Rules are needed to
ensure product safety, employee safety, and product quality. Copyright and
patents help protect people's intellectual property. Rules and regulations also
keep the banking system stable so as to avoid depression and the like.

1. MORAL VS. NON-MORAL STANDARDS

“Not all rules are moral rules. That is, not all standards are moral standards.”
MORALITY may refer to the standards that a person or a group has about what is
right and wrong, or good and evil. Accordingly, moral standards are those concerned
 Suclayin, Arayat, Pampanga
Tel. No. 0925-870-1013
Email address: exact.colleges@yahoo.com

with or relating to human behavior, especially the distinction between good and bad (or
right and wrong) behavior.

MORAL STANDARDS involve the rules people have about the kinds of
actions they believe are morally right and wrong. As well as the values they
place on the kinds of objects they believe are morally good and morally bad
Some ethicists equate moral standards with moral values and moral principles.

NON-MORAL STANDARDS refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical

considerations Either these standards are not necessarily linked to morality or by
nature lack ethical sense. Basic examples of non-moral standards include rules of
etiquette, fashion standards, rules in games, and various house rules. Technically,
religious rules, some traditions, and legal statutes (ie. laws and ordinances) are non-
moral principles, though they can be ethically relevant depending on some factors
and contexts.

The following characteristics of moral standards further differentiate them

from non-moral standards:

a. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant

benefits. Moral standards deal with matters which can seriously impact,
that is, injure or benefit human beings. It is not the case with many non-
moral standards. For instance, following or violating some basketball rules
may matter in basketball games but does not necessarily affect one's life or
wellbeing.

b. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values. Moral

standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a moral
standard states that a person has the moral obligation to do something, then
he/she is supposed to do that even if it conflicts with other non-moral
standards, and even with self-interest.

c. Moral standards are not established by authority figures. Moral

 Suclayin, Arayat, Pampanga
Tel. No. 0925-870-1013
Email address: exact.colleges@yahoo.com

standards are not invented, formed, or generated by authoritative bodies or

persons such as nations
‘legislative bodies. ideally instead, these values ought to be considered in the process
of making laws. In principle therefore, moral standards cannot be changed nor nullified
by the decisions of particular authoritative body. One thing about these standards,
nonetheless, is that its validity lies un the soundness or adequacy of the reasons that ore
considered to support and justify them.

d. Moral standards have the tract of universalizability. Simply put,

it means that everyone should live up to moral standards. To be more accurate,
however, it entails that moral principles must apply to all who are in the
relevantly similar situation, if one judges that act A is morally right for a certain
person P, then its morally right for a nobody relevantly similar to P.

This character is exemplified in the Gold Rule, "Do unto others what
you would them do unto you” (if you were in their shoes) and in the formal
Principle of Justice. "It cannot be right for A ta treat B in a manner in which
it would be wrong for B to treat A, merely on the ground that they are two
different individuals, and without there being any difference between the
natures or circumstances of the two which can be stated as a reasonable
ground for difference of treatment”. Universalizability is an extension at the
principle of consistency, that is, one ought to be consistent about one's value
judgments.
e. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations. Moral standard does not
evaluate standards on the basis of the interests of a certain n person or group, but one that
goes beyond personal interests to a universal standpoint in which each person, interests
are impartially counted as equal.
Impartially is usually depicted as being free of bias or prejudice, Impartiality
in morality requires that we give equal and/or adequate consideration to the interests of
all concerned parties.
f. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary
Prescriptively indicates the practical or action-guiding nature of moral standards. These
moral standards are generally put forth as injunction or imperatives (such as, do not kill,
do no unnecessary ham and Love your neighbor') These principles are proposed for use,
to advise, and to influence to action. Retroactively, this feature is used to evaluate
behavior, to assign praise and blame, and to produce feelings of satisfaction or of guilt.
 Suclayin, Arayat, Pampanga
Tel. No. 0925-870-1013
Email address: exact.colleges@yahoo.com

3. DILEMMA AND MORAL DILEMMA

DILEMMA – refers to a situation in which a tough choice has to be made between two
or more actions, especially more or less equally undesirable ones. Not all dilemmas are
moral dilemmas.

ETHICAL DILEMMAS – also called “moral dilemmas” are situations in which a

difficult choice has to be made between two courses of action, either of which entails
transgressing a moral principle. At the very least, a moral dilemma involves
conflicts between moral requirements.

KEY FEATURES
(a) the agent is required to do each of two (or more) actions:
(b) the agent can do each of the actions, but the agent cannot do both (or all) of the actions.
(c) neither of the conflicting moral requirements is overridden.