MORAL VS NON MORAL STANDARDS

If you say that it is

wrong to steal
because God says it
is or because your
parents taught you
that it was, that is a
MORAL STANDARD.
On the other hand, it you ask why your
parents believe that stealing is wrong, or
why God says that this is wrong, you are
examining the philosophy and, that,
determining ethics
The difference between MORAL STANDARDS AND NON-MORAL STANDARDS
Please see attached video… The question here is, what distinguishes moral standards from
non-moral standards?
1. Moral standards deal with matter that can seriously injure, harm or benefit human
beings. (e.g. theft, rape, fraud, slander, murder.) Moral standards involve behaviors that
seriously affect other people’s well being. Example, feeding the hungry, treating people with
respect, killing people and stealing. This is the reason why not all rules can be considered as
moral because it does not pertains to the idea of right and wrong.
2. Hence, the validity of moral standards rests on the adequacy of reasons of majority or
authoritative bodies. E.g. telling the truth does not depend on how many people will vote
neither on it nor on the legislative. Philosophical Reasoning is necessary that is why the world
needs philosophy. Moral standards do not depend on any external authority but in how the
person perceives the reasonableness of the action.
3. Moral standards are to be preferred from other values, including self-interest. Example,
honesty is to be preferred than cheating, although cheating can make a student graduate.
However, some would adhere to the statement “it’s better to cheat than to repeat”. Are you
going to do the same? In ethics you don’t need to do it. Just be wise, meaning possess
wisdom in dealing with things so that you can make a better and comprehensive judgment.
That is the essence of philosophy, to philosophize and think critically in matters pertaining to
practical situation that entails moral decisions making. Why do other people cheat? Simply
because, they don’t live to the TRUTH about cheating, that it is wrong. Therefore, if they do
that they cannot be considered as wise.
• 4. In addition, moral standards are based on impartial considerations. Another
way of expressing this is “universalized” or taking the point of view of an “ideal
observer”. Moral standards are believe to be universal. Impartiality here means
free from prejudice and biases that may affect your moral judgment. (kung baga
trabaho lang walang personalan). Example, telling the truth, honesty is the best
policy.
• Moral standards are associated with vocabulary that depicts emotion or
feelings.
• 5. Hence, impartiality must be balanced with partiality towards those we have a
special relationship (family, friends, relatives) and the poor and the disabled.
Here, if you are going to look at it, the moral problem arises as evident in the
political system that Filipinos practices. This is the very reason that graft and
corruption are impossible to eradicate simply because of the problem of
impartiality or oftentimes we render judgment partially. Moral standards are
base on objectivity. This is precisely a challenge, as somebody quoted “KUNG
EDUKASYON ANG SAGOT SA KAHIRAPAN, BAKIT PURO EDUKADO ANG MGA
MAGNANAKAW SA KABAN NG BAYAN”. In essence, there is really a need to
examine our life, our value system in order for our life to be worth of living. As
Socrates said, “the unexamined life is not worth living”. I think this is good point
to ponder as a student. On the end, Moral Standards are associated with special
emotions such as guilt, shame, remorse, praise, indignation. Meaning to say if
you do well/good, you will receive merits, but if you do badly you will received
demerits. How many times you have noticed ordinary people who returned lost
items? There are only few to mention. What will you do if found a money in the
street or an Iphone inside the taxi? Are you going to return it or used it after all
you need it. The answer depends precisely on the moral standards or values
that you possessed.
Others Rules in LIFE
• Policy – a clear, simple statement of how an
organization plans to handle its services, actions, or
business.
• Law – a rule created and enforced by the
government and its agencies to maintain order,
resolve disputes, and protect a person’s liberty and
rights.
• Commandment – a rule that is to be strictly
observed because it was said by a divine entity.
• So, what is common to all 6 Characteristics of Moral
Standards? None other than SOCIETY taken in its
broadest sense, or in philosophical terms, the OTHER
are common to those characteristics. In other words,
INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY CANNOT BE TAKEN IN
ISOLATION FROM SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Take a look
about the pertinent issue about freedom of expression.
Though it is a right but don’t forget with that right
comes also the duty and the responsibility. Since, non-
compliance with MORAL STANDARDS seriously injure,
harm us as human beings. In tagalong, NABABAWASAN
AND PAGKATAO KO. So, every time HUMAN commits
wrong doing, he or she degraded the very essence of
his/her being HUMAN. It is because of these actions
that we can boldly say and I quote “MADALING
MAGING TAO, MAHIRAP MAGPAKATAO”.
• The challenge of moral standards is that IN
VIOLATING THEM, EFFECT IS NOT ALWAYS IMMEDIATE
AND VISIBLE.
It is in this case, that you should know MORALITY AND ETHICS (see video already).
Morality pertains to standards of right and wrong, usually inherited from
community. It is kind of application or execution of ethical theories. Ethics studies
standards of right and wrong, the act of making decision, and the nature of the
agent who makes the decision. According to Habermas, the questions concerning
right and wrong are procedural meaning standard is optimality/efficiency, ethical
meaning standard is ethos (Greek custom or character) pertaining to the good life,
moral meaning standard is justice, how others are affected by action.
It is good to reflect, ponder and wonder that the STUDY OF ETHICS:
1. Entails a reflective distance to critically examine standards (know both sides
of the coin.. philosophize. Holistic understanding prior to make moral judgment). It
looks values beneath those moral standards (What or why). Ex. We take for granted
that we should marry in Church. BUT have we asked why? If we do, this will affect
our attitude to divorce. The value perhaps is LIFELONG COMMITMENT and that is
the essence of MARRIAGE.
2. It looks at the agent who makes the moral decision: is the agent mature
enough or is the decision of the agent MATURE? This is the reason that we should
know the level of moral development; (who) in the succeeding discussion.
3. It is about the moral decision making process.(How)
Generally, ETHICS IS NOT ABOUT THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE, BUT APPLICATION OF
THAT KNOWLEDGE, TRANSFORMING IT OT ACTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE. (WISDOM..
the right application of knowledge)..
FIVE CORE VALUES
• HONESTY
• FAIRNESS
• RESPONSIBILITY
• RESPECT
• COMPASSION
THE FIVE WAY TEST (right/wrong)
• The legal test: is the action legal? If not, it may be
unethical.
• The professional standards test: is the action consistent
with the accepted standards of your profession?
• The gut feeling test: how do you intuitively feel about
the action? Does it feel wrong?
• The front-page test: how would you feel if your action
was published on the front page of a newspaper?
• The role model test: would your role model perform
the action?
(Keep in mind that these tests are meant for quick, efficient, problem-solving purposes;some actions that
fail these tests may be moral, and some actions thatpass these tests may be immoral.)
Four Ethical Dilemma Paradigm
• Truth vs Loyalty: Contrasts telling the truth or being honest with
the values responsibility or promise-keeping. “Telling the truth”
most commonly means accurately reporting the facts, whereas
loyalty focuses on allegiance to a friend, a group, or a set of ideas.
• Short-term vs Long-term: involves the immediate needs of the
present conflicting with those of the future.
• Individual vs Community: pits the interests of the individual,
standing all alone, against those of some larger group (to which
the individual also often belongs). Or it could be about the
interests of one person compared to another, or the interests of a
small group compared to those of some larger group.
• Justice vs. Mercy: is a choice between going by the book and
bending the rules. It involves choosing between fairness and
equal treatment of everyone on the one hand, and compassion
and allowing for exceptions on the other hand.
 Decision Principles
• Ends-based thinking or consequentialism: consider the
consequences of your action. The most common form of
consequentialism states that one should do what produces
the greatest good for the greatest number.
• Rule-based thinking or deontology: an action is right only if
it conforms to a universally applicable moral rule. The most
common moral rule that is thought to be universally
applicable is Kant’s categorical imperative: “act only
according to that maxim through which you can at the same
time will that it should become a universal law.”
• Care-based thinking: asks us to empathize with others and
consider their needs. It is most famously expressed as the
Golden Rule: “do unto others as you would have them do
unto you.” These three decision making principles are useful
for resolving ethical dilemmas, which arise when two core
values come into conflict. When this kind of situation
occurs, one must decide between two right
Morals: values or principles which are concerned with what is
good or right
Courage: quality of mind that enables one to face challenges
and uncertainties. Courage is not good in and of itself, unlike
the core values, but is for the sake of achieving some result.
Courage is good when it helps one achieve good results (it takes
courage to rescue the hostage), but it is bad when it is used to
achieve bad results (it takes courage to take someone hostage).
Moral Courage is about not compromising one's character and
core values; it is doing what one knows is right in the face of
real loss. Moral courage is about action—i.e., acting in a way
that corrects a moral problem in one’s community. It is the
willing endurance of significant danger for the sake of
principle.
• Courageous people, may place themselves in harm’s way
in order to protect their valuables; morally courageous
people will place themselves in harm’s way in order to
protect their core values.
Moral courage is readiness to expose oneself to suffering or inconvenience which does not affect
the
body. It arises from firmness of moral principle and is independent of the physical constitution.
--Sir James Fitzjames, 1862
The Elements of Moral Courage
Moral courage is about doing what one knows is right. It is
fundamentally about supporting the core values of honesty, fairness,
responsibility, respect, and compassion. Acting to uphold such
principles is an essential element of moral courage.
Of course, the morally courageous person would not be courageous
if there were not any danger or risks threatening to harm the
individual or the community. So, danger is also an essential element
of moral courage.
Finally, the morally courageous person needs to be able to endure
these dangers and must trust that what they are doing is right. This
trust might be a trust in one’s experience, character, faith, intuition,
or supportive context.
When these three elements intersect, moral courage emerges.

http://www.citadel.edu/root/images/krause_center/leadership_day/ldrs%2031
1%20mctmscb.pdf