Republic of the Philippines

CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE

F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines Norte – 4600, Philippines

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

GENERAL EDUCATION 7: Ethics

Name: Rodriguez, Janna Mae B Course/Year/Block: BPA 2A

UNIT 1: Ethics and The Moral Person

Chapter 1: Ethics: Basic Concepts and Issues
COURSE LEARNING  To understand the role of humanities and arts in
OUTCOMES man’s attempt at fully realizing his end;
 Clarify misconceptions of art;
 Characterize the assumptions of arts: and
 Engage better with personal experiences of and in
art.
Reference Evangelista and Mabaquiao, Jr., Ethics: Theories and
Application, 1-19.

As rational beings, we are capable of acting freely rather than merely driven
by instinct. Our actions are preceded by an understanding of the value of such acts,
their rightness or wrongness. And because of our rationality, we are inclined to think
about and try to understand the basis of what we believe in, or what we should
pursue in life. (Evangelista, p1).

Let’s Review It Again!

Based on the concepts we encountered from the readings, let us review it
again by answering these questions.

1. Distinguish Ethics from Morality

Ethics is a set of principles developed purposely over time and it deals

with a code of conduct which is what is known as 'good or evil'. In
contrast, morality is defined as having and living with a moral code or
also known as the principles of 'right or wrong'.

2. Identify and differentiate the three general subject areas in ethics.

The three general subjects of areas in ethics are metaethics, normative

ethics, and applied ethics.
First, metaethics also known as analytical ethics, involves an abstract
and detached way of thinking philosophically about morality. It focuses
directly on the question "what is moral?" or the fundamental question
"what morality itself is?” . Second, normative ethics is concerned with
the moral standards to determine right from wrong conduct; also it
involves the formulation of moral norms or rules. This theory's
 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines Norte – 4600, Philippines

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

proposed to answer what moral standards should govern human action

usually fall in three broad categories namely consequentialism,
deontology, and virtue ethics. And last, applied ethics focuses more
on practical concerns of ethics; it uses philosophical methods to
determine the moral permissibility of specific actions and practices. It
attempts to analyze, clarify, and shed light on various ethical issues
with the goal of guiding our moral judgment.

3. How does ethics differ from other studies about morality?

Descriptive ethics is another study of morality and this is not

considered an area of moral philosophy. Descriptive ethics endeavors
us what people think about right and wrong or how they reason about
ethics. it is not considered a philosophical study of ethics since it does
not aim to establish what should be the case, rather it aims to establish
what the cause is. Ethics, on the other hand, tries to answer the
question of whether such practice is right or wrong. Normative ethics
is not descriptive ethics because it asks how people should live, and
anthropology asks how people in fact live.

4. Define ethical relativism and discuss three arguments that support this theory.

Ethical relativism is that the view that holds that everyone moral
principles are valid relative to a specific society or individual. the idea of
ethical relativism raises a contentious issue in metaethics. It argues
that the rightness or wrongness of an act depends on the moral norms
of society or the individual, and no absolute standards exist by which
differing rules or inclinations is judged. There are various reasons given
o support the speculation as expressed in such arguments referred to
as dependency argument, diversity argument, and toleration
argument.

5. Identify and explain the points raised against ethical relativism.

The theory of ethical relativism has been rejected supported the

subsequent points: the fallacy of inferring relativism from the very
fact of diversity, the negative implications of the idea on the
validity of the moral judgment and therefore the idea of ethical
progress, and also the claim that universal moral standards exist.

Note: to answer the review questions above, kindly read first the reading
material of Evangelista and Mabaquiao, Jr.