GEC008 – Ethics

Technological Institute of the Philippines

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES (SYNTHESIS)

We have studies the different Ethical Principles in our search for the morality of human acts. These are the following:

1.) Cultural Relativism

2.) Divine Command Theory
3.) Ethical Egoism
4.) Utilitarianism
5.) Deontology
6.) Social Contract Theory
7.) Virtue Ethics
8.) Feminism

YOUR TASK:
Of all these principles, pick out which of them is:

Most acceptable to you

If I were to pick one ethical principle which I think is most acceptable to me that would probably the Divine
Command Theory because all throughout my existence into this world, the morality that this principle
proposes has been ingrained and continues to live in my heart and my mind as a Roman Catholic. The idea
that there is a higher above us all provides me with direction and peace of mind in this challenging and
chaotic life. Here are some reasons why I strongly believe in this principle:
1.) Religion answers the questions that Science cannot answer – in relation to the creation of everything,
Science most known theory, the Big Bang Theory states that everything came from an atom but the
question is where does this atom came from? In here, our belief that a higher being must be the one
behind for all of these.
2.) I believe in conscience or inner goodness of us, humans. Even before laws and policies were created,
conscience has been innate to all of us dictating that killing for instance is intrinsically bad.
 3.) I believe in the existence of miracles and not just mere coincidence. There are things that happened in
my life that I believe is according to God’s plan and grace and one of them is when I met an accident
when I was 10 years old and I luckily survived.

Impossible to happen

The word “impossible” I think is not the most appropriate word to describe any of the principles because in
the first place, Philosophers have thought of them therefore, for them it existed but if I were to be asked what
principle would least likely to happen and be accepted in our society that would be the Ethical Egoism which stands
firm to its belief that morality is based on self-interest. Ethical Egoist like Ayn Rand believed that man should not
sacrifice himself for others and should not sacrifice others for himself either. She also believed that the achievement
of his own happiness is man’s highest moral purpose. To simplify this, ethical egoists believed that a moral act is an
act that satisfies oneself and the act of altruism denies the value of the individual making the one who benefitted
more important. I think this principle is the least likely to be accepted by most of us because we have instilled in our
minds that there is such thing we call “genuine goodness” like what Mother Theresa had shown in the famished and
impoverished children in Calcutta, India. In addition, if we are to take into account the charity and help that we give to
other people who are in need, the thing that runs into our heads in doing that is we are helping because we see our
responsibility towards them. In addition, the mere idea that we are just acting out of self-interest sounds to me that
we humans are selfish and if we are going to accept this, we humans already not far from the attitude of animals who
only thinks of what would be beneficial to it. To sum it all up, help is help and no matter how other people sees this
act, what matters most is that we are spreading or passing goodness to everyone like what was shown in the movie,
“Pay it Forward.”

Most challenging to learn

I have two primary reasons why I chose Deontology to be the ethical principle which I am really challenged
to learn and that would be as follows: 1.) It is new to me and 2.) Difficult to be applied in my daily life most especially,
when we are talking about the argument on lying
Deontology is an ethical principle that suggests actions are good or bad according to a clear set of rules. It
was introduced by Immanuel Kant that says that we ought to do an act because it is our duty to do so and intentions
do not matter. In addition, it also states that we only act upon that maxim which you can, at the same time, will that is
should be universal law. I see this ethical principle to be challenging because I do not have schema about it and the
idea that we would only be considered moral persons if we comply with our duty is somewhat challenging to me
because as a human I am vulnerable to committing mistakes and sins though I also believe that this should not be
used an excuse in breaking promises or not complying with our duties.
Moreover, one great topic that was discussed under this principle was Kant’s argument on lying and this to
me seems a very challenging thing to do and already close to impossible to be complied always. Kant believed that
we should NEVER lie whatever reason or intention we have but on the other hand, I believe that though lying should
not be universally accepted due to its adverse effects, I still believe in white lies because what if the person whom
you are talking to has bad intentions for knowing the truth would you still say the truth? Most probably, you would lie
because it would cause innocent people put into danger.

Most Credible
In choosing the most credible ethical principle I took into consideration the following questions:
1.) Is it being applied or addressed currently?
2.) Does it seem reasonable to be followed?
3.) Did it make our current lives better?

By this, I have chosen three (3) ethical principles which I consider credible and these are: Virtue Ethics, Cultural
Relativism and Social Contract Theory.

As for Virtue Ethics, I do believe that all of us possess certain virtues like prudence, benevolence, compassion,
honesty, self-discipline, generosity, and many other more which guides to achieve the so-called Eudaimonia in life.
Virtue Ethics proposes that our virtues in life serve us our guide in doing good and it also puts emphasis not so much
on what a person does, but more on the lifelong development of a person’s character, on who that person will be. I
consider this ethical principle to be credible because it still believed to exist up until at present. Virtues are seen
when our law-making bodies create and administer laws and policies because in the first place if they aren’t wise,
compassionate with the welfare of people and judicious people, then the society would not have benefitted from
these laws. Another, in every institution, virtues are still present in line with the institution’s goals, mission, and vision.
These virtues should be possessed by the people who are part of such institution or community.

Secondly, I also think that Cultural Relativism is a credible ethical principle because despite having different cultures
and set of beliefs, we managed to respect one another and see that no culture is superior to that of the other. People
at present became more adaptive and open-minded to these differences.

Lastly, I also perceive Social Contract Theory as somewhat credible in view that moral and political beliefs and
responsibilities are dependent upon a contract or agreement which could either be implicit or explicit between
persons who see that a community or state can only be formed and maintained that way. If we are to compare the
community or society before without laws being promulgated with the society we belong right now, I must say, laws
and policies have taken a major role in maintaining peace, order and discipline among all of us. By this, social
contract serves us our limiting factor in every action that we do and people in effect, would not act with impunity.

Mind –Boggling

Among all other ethical principles, I think Feminism made me ponder and somewhat confused me because
this has strong supporters but it also has strong oppositions.

As for Feminism, it has been said that men and women do think differently. This idea has strong supporters
because our society has drawn already a line between two sexes. If you are a man, you must think and act tough
and you are perceived to think more rational than women because you do not incorporate much of your emotions
when you decide and if you are a woman, you are expected to act with finesse and demureness and you tend to
show greater empathy compared to men because you are sensible with your own and other people’s emotions. On
the other hand, if we are to assess carefully, up until now, we could not provide a definite consensus proving the
difference between the two and some people opposing this would then argue that this difference is very limiting and
could not be applicable at all times because as time passes by, both men and women learned to adapt to the
environment. Women started to break the patriarchal era and men became accustomed already to some feminine
activities like doing household chores.

Summary:

“All in all, the greatest lesson that I’ve learned in studying all these ethical principles is that what matters most is at
the end of the day, we should live our lives doing good to ourselves, loved ones and other people because that is the
only key to achieving happiness, peace and harmony in our lives. Yes, we may have varied beliefs and virtues in life,
but these differences should not be a hindrance for us to become a better person. We should always be optimistic to
change and be open-minded with other people’s beliefs. Lastly, we should always take note of the Golden Rule in
every action that we do.”