Morality and

Other Normative
Subjects
Prepared by Raphaella Elaine Miranda
Objectives:
1 Identify different sources of morality;

Distinguish morality from its commonly

2
assumed sources:
Etiquette;
Law; and
Religion

Ethically reexamine one's own moral

3
standard.
 Regulators of Human Conduct

Etiquette Law Religion

Morality and Etiquette
Etiquette – "set of rules or customs that
determine the accepted behavior in a
particular social group." (Evangelista and
Mabaquiao, 2020)
More culture-based and arbitrary than
morality
Violations of these etiquette guidelines
doesn't make a person immoral but can
lead him to be considered as impolite or
uncivilized
Examples:
Slurping while eating is considered
ill-mannered in some cultures
Communicating informally in a
professional setting is considered
rude
Morality and Etiquette
According to Shaw (2002), following
social etiquette can mask social
issues
Example:
Racial segregation practices
Prohibiting women from driving
The relationship between etiquette
and morality is once a certain form
of etiquette has been adopted by a
certain culture, it becomes the basis
of morality
Morality and Law
The presumption of law is that
it is based on morality
It codifies morality through
punitive measures
Law is not always moral or just
Examples:
Breaking traffic laws in
cases of medical
emergencies
Immunity for
whistleblowers
Legalization of abortion
 Morality and Religion
Religion has been the greatest
influencer of morality
"Do the gods love goodness because it
1
is good, or is it good because the gods
love it?
Morality and Religion
Problems with with equating religion
and morality:
General and imprecise: does not
address specific moral dilemmas
Example: Dictum of "Thou shall
not kill" gives rise to problems
about:
Death penalty
Legalization of abortion
Euthanasia of people in
vegetative states
Morality and Religion
We can't be sure about what
Gods wants us to do.
Example: Religion has different
views on certain topics, such as:
marriage
worship practices
Morality and Religion
Human rationality necessitates that
we follow our reason: following
Kant's motto, "Sapere aude!"
Example of church practices that
are now considered problematic:
Persecution of heretics
Crusades and inquisitions
Anti-homosexual sentiments
Stance against artificial
contraception
 Does that mean that we
shouldn't follow the moral
teachings of these
institutions?

No. It just means that we

have to be critical about
them so that we can have an
authentic sense of moral
judgment.
 References
Evangelista, Francis Julius N. and Mabaquiao,
Napoleon M. Ethics: Theories and Application.
Mandaluyong City: Anvil Publishing Inc., 2020

Shaw, William H. Social and Personal Ethics.

4th Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2002.
And we're done!
Thanks for listening.