6/19/2020
Lecture 5.c
Ethics and
Moral Philosophy
Jove Jim S. Aguas
Conventional Ethical Relativism
It is the view that there are no objective
moral principles that could be used to
determine the morality of human actions in a
particular social group.
All valid moral principles are justified by
virtue of their social acceptance.
Morality therefore has a social character; it is
relative to the accepted practices of a certain
group or society.
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There is no universal moral law that governs
all cultures and that should bound every
culture to follow.
Therefore, there is no objective standard that
can be used to judge one social code as better
than the other.
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Other Theories
Ethical Relativism
The moral rightness or wrongness of action varies
from one society or social group or culture to
another and that there are no absolute universal
moral standards binding on all men at all times.
It holds that whether or not it is right for individual
to act in a certain way depends on or is relative to
the society or culture to which one belongs.
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Cultural Relativism
It believes that cultures have different moral
codes.
Our sense of right and wrong differs from
culture to culture, for example the practice of
polygamy may be right in one culture and
may be wrong in another.
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Analysis:
• It does not follow that simply because there are
differences in cultures or in what society accepts as good
or bad, there no longer a universal truth about morality.
• If some societies or people do not know the universal
moral truth it does not mean that there is no moral
truth.
• There are some moral rules that societies and cultures
have in common and adhere to because they are
necessary for society and culture to exist.
• What may be relative is the interpretation and
application of those moral principles in a particular
culture or society.
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Ethical Subjectivism
Our moral judgments are based on our feelings and
nothing more; there is no such thing as objective
right or wrong.
Whatever moral judgment we make, we are only
expressing our personal feelings and our emotions,
nothing more.
Hence, morality is based primarily on our feelings,
emotions and prejudices.
An action is good if it arouses in us a good feeling or a
positive emotion; one thing is good if we feel good
about it and one thing is bad if we feel bad about it.
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Ethical Egoism
It holds that everyone must always do what
will promote his own greatest good.
An act or rule of action is right if and only if it
promotes at least as great a balance of good
over evil for a person in the long run as
Everyone should always act in his own self-
interest regardless of the interest of others,
unless their interests also serve his.
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Analysis:
It is inconsistent and cannot provide solutions
to conflict of interests. What happens when
everybody wants to promote his or her self-
interest?
It tends to be arbitrary because it assigns
greater importance on one’s interest than that
of others when there is no general difference
between oneself and others. There is the danger
of falling into a system where people will simply
be manipulated by others just to promote their
own self-interest.
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6/19/2020
It could lead us to conflict and contradiction
when sentiments or feelings conflict. Whose
sentiments or feelings should prevail if there
are conflicting sentiments?
Feelings and sentiments are transitory.
It could not account for reason in ethics, one
must present reasons or else he is not making
a sensible moral judgment.
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Each person ought to pursue his own self-
interest exclusively and individuals have no
natural duties to others. It is one’s moral duty
to promote one’s own interest. Accordingly,
there is only one ultimate principle of conduct,
the principle of self-interest.
Ayn Rand, the proponent of rational ethical
egoism stresses that as rational human beings
we must act on our rational self-interest and
not think about the interest of others.
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The consequences of actions are not always
certain. It is difficult to determine what would
be good consequences for others, and there is
the danger of determining the social worth of
individuals.
Some actions despite their good
consequences are in themselves morally
objectionable. Some acts may involve
injustice, lying, violating a rule, but may result
to some good consequences like increase
sales, getting things done, even helping the
needy.
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Discussion Questions

1. In determining the moral or ethical value or

character of our action, do you think we should
also consider its social character? Why?
2. In a world that is rapidly changing do you think
moral values and principles are still relevant?
Why?
3. Given the current pandemic that we are
experiencing, what valuable insight have you
learned from the different theories?

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