UNIT I – UNDERSTANDING MORALITY AND MORAL STANDARDS

OVERVIEW:
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that studies morality or the rightness or
wrongness of human conduct. Morality speaks of a code or system of behavior in
regards to standards of right or wrong behavior. In this subject the two terms(ethics and
morality) are oftentimes used interchangeably.
As a branch of philosophy, ethics stands to queries about what there is reason to
do. Dealing with human actions and reasons for action, ethics is also concerned with
character.
This unit will attempt to expound on moral standards and how it differs from other
rules of life. It will cover topics about moral dilemma and its three levels, the importance
of freedom in making moral decisions and the advantages of owning moral standards.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the unit, the students should be able to:
1. Define ethics, morality, dilemma and moral standards and dilemma..
2. Discuss the the importance of the study of ethics.
3. Name the different moral distinctions.
4. Diffirentiate the levels of moral dilemma.

COURSE MATERIALS:
Lesson 1. IMPORTANCE OF RULES
1. Rules are important for social beings. Without rules there would be disorder and
chaos.
2. Rules are meant to set order. In order to organize chaos, you have to put order
into it. It is meant to give man a common observance of practices and actions.
3. Rules are not meant to restrict freedom. Its primary purpose is to help you grow
in freedom. If you follow the rules, you are able to act and do what is expected of
you. We all reach a point in our lives wherein we follow rules not because we
have to but because we have to act that way.

Benefit of rules to social beings

1. Rules protect social beings by regulating behavior. Rules build boundaries
that place limits on behavior. One of the reasons people follow accepted rules
is to avoid negative consequences.
2. Rules help to guarantee each person certain rights and freedom. Rules form
frameworks for society. Nations are generally nations of laws and the
governing principles are outlined in what is called constitution. Rules on
divisions of power and checks and balances further protect individual liberty.
3. Rules produce a sense of justice among social being. Rules are needed in
order to keep the strong from dominating the weak, to prevent exploitation
and domination. Rules generate a stable system that provides justice, in
which the richest and most powerful have limitations on what they can do.
4. Rules are essential for a healthy economic system. Without rules regulating
business, power would centralize around monopolies and threaten the
 strength and competitiveness of the system. Rules are needed to ensure
product safety, employee safety and product quality.

Lesson 2. MORAL AND NON-MORAL STANDARDS

Not all rules are moral rules. That is, not all standards are moral standards.

Ethics – the science of the morality of human acts.

Importance of the study of ethics

1. To sharpen the moral nature of the learners by inculcating the moral norms.
2. To make learners become aware of the moral principles and laws governing
an actions.
3. To help the learners become aware of the intimate relation between their
moral nature and laws.
4. To show the learners that acting in accordance with his rational and moral
nature could lead them to the supernatural destiny, God.
5. To develop in the learners a morally upright living.
6. To let the learners realize that people cannot live togerher harmonously in
society without the ethical norms and laws applied or followed.

Morality – may refer to the standards that a person or a group has about what is
right and wrong or good and evil. It is choosing ethical codes, values or
standards to guide us in ourl daily lives. Morality is the quality of human acts by
which they are constituted as good, bad or indifferent. It is the foundation of
every human society.

Moral distinctions

1. Moral actions – that which are good and permissible actions. Those actions
which is in conformity with the norm of morality.

2. Immoral actions – that which are bad or evil and are not permissible actions.
Those actions which are not in conformity with the norm of morality. An
immoral person is one who does not act or behave in conformity.

3. Amoral actions – that which are indifferent. Those actions which stand
neutral in relation to the norm of morality. They are either good nor bad in
themselves. An amoral person is one who does not have the ability to
distinguish between what is morally good act and what is morally evil one and
he cannot identify and accept moral norms.

Moral standards - are those concerned with or relating to human behavior,

especially the distinction between good and bad behavior. It involve the rules as
well as the values they place on the kinds of objects they believe are morally
good and morally bad. Some ethicists equate moral standards with moral values
and moral principles.
 Characteristics of moral standards
1. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits. It deals with
matters which can seriously impact, injure or benefit human beings.
2. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values. It has overriding
character. If a moral standard states that a person has the moral obligation to
do something, then he is supposed to do that even if it conflicts with other
non-moral standards.
3. Moral standards are not established by authority figures. It is not invented,
formed or generated by authoritative bodies or persons.
4. Moral standards have the trait of universalizabilty. It means that everyone
should live up to the standards.
5. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations. In does not evaluate
standards on the basis of the interests of a certain person or group.
6. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.

Classification of moral standards

1. Consequence – depend on an outcome or result.
2. Non-consequence – is derived from the natural law or the law of God

Non-moral standards – refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical

considerations. Either these standards are not necessarily linked to morality or by
nature lack ethical sense.

Lesson 3. DILEMMA AND MORAL DILEMMA

Dilemma – refers to a situation in which a tough choice has to be made between
two or more options, especially more or less equally undesirable ones.

Moral dilemma – also called etchical dilemma. These are situations in which a
difficult choice has to be made between two courses of actions, either of which
entails transgressing a moral principle. A moral dilemma involves conflicts
between moral requirements. It is a problem in the decision-making between two
possible options, neither of which is absolutely acceptable from an ethical
perspective.

Features of moral dilemma

1. The agent is required to do each of two actions.
2. The agent can do each of these actions.
3. The agent cannot do both of the actions.

Levels of moral dilemma

1. Individual – are those experienced and resolved on the personal level.
2. Organizational – refer to ethical cases encountered and resolved by social
organizations. It includes moral dilemmas in business, medical field and
public sector.
3. Structural – refer to cases involving network of institutions and operative
theoretical paradigm.
Types:
1. Differential vs. Integration – conflict of perspective of sectors, groups
and institutions that may be affected by the decision.
2. Gap vs. Overlap – refers to the gap or overlaps in roles and
responsibilities especially if key responsibilities are not clearly
assigned.
3. Lack of clarity vs. Lack of creativity – conforming to prescribed roles
and protocols, there is rigidity in following a set of expectations, work
responsibilities of job description.
4. Flexibility vs. Strict adherence to rules – too much autonomy summons
isolation whereas too much interdependence summons unnecessary
coordination.
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS

I. Fill in the blanks, write the word/s of the correct answer.

1. Ethics the science of the ___________ of human acts.

2. Morality may refer to the standards that a person or a group has about what is
right and ___________ or good and evil.
3. Moral standards are those concerned with or relating to human ___________,
especially the distinction between good and bad behavior.
4. ___________ refers to a situation in which a tough choice has to be made
between two or more options, especially more or less equally undesirable ones.
5. Moral actions are good and permissible ___________.
6. Moral ___________ also called ethical dilemma.
7. Organizational refer to ethical cases encountered and resolved by ___________
organizations.
8. ___________ actions are bad or evil and are not permissible actions.
9. Individual are those experienced and resolved on the ___________ level.
10. Non-___________ standards refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical
considerations.

II. List down the following.

Levels of moral dilemma

1.
2.
3.

Classifications of moral standard

1.
2.
UNIT II. FREEDOM, CULTURE AND VALUES
OVERVIEW:
This unit will explore the impact of one’s culture in shaping and defining one’s
moral behavior. It is commonly said that culture is all around us. Culture appears to be
an actual part of our social life as well as our personality.
The term culture is so complex that it is not easy to define. In one sense, culture
is used to denote that which is related to the arts and humanities. But in a broader
sense, culture denotes the practices, beliefs and perception of a given society. It is in
this sense that culture is often opposed with savagery; that is being cultured is seen as
a product of a certain evolvement from a natural state.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the unit, the students should be able to:
1. Define freedom, culture and values.
2. Name the different kinds of values.
3. Diffirentiate cultural and moral relativisms.

COURSE MATERIALS:
Lesson 4. FOUNDATION OF MORAL ACTS
Freedom – the foundation of moral acts. It pertains to opportunities wherein we
can choose. We, humans are capable of higher order thinking. We have the free
will that helps us decide on options presented before us. It is important to
understand the dilemmas, only applies to us since we have the freedom of
choice.
Morality requires and allows choice, which means the right to choose even
differently from out fellows. Everyone who wishes to function morally and
rationally in a society has to make choices. The sum of our choices can be said
to define our specific morality.

Lesson 5. CULTURE IN MORAL BEHAVIOR

Culture – refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes,
meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts
of the universe and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of
people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.
It is the sum total of the learned behavior of a group of people that are generally
considered to be the tradition of that people and are transmitted from generation
to generation.
In its broadest sense, culture is cultivated behavior; that is the totality of a
person’s learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted behavior
through social learning.

Culture’s role in moral behavior

It is not hard to pinpoint the role of culture in one’s moral behavior. A
culture is a way of life of a group of people and this so called way of life actually
includes moral values and behaviors, along with knowledge, beliefs, symbols that
they accept without thinking about them and that are passed along by
communication and imitation from one generation to the next.
 Culture is learned as children grow up in society and discover how their
parents and others around them interpret the world. In our society we learn to
classify and perform different kinds of acts and even evaluate what is morally
good nd bad and to judge when an unusual action is appropriate of inappropriate.
Many aspect of morality are taught. People learn moral and aspects of
right and wrong from transmitters of culture. Observing or watching them, people
develop a set of idea of what is right and wrong, what is acceptable and what is
not.

Social learning - is the process by which individuals acquiere knowledge from

others in the groups to which they belong.

Enculturation or socialization – is the process by which infants and children

socially learn the culture, including morality.

Lesson 6. CULTURAL RELATIVISM AND UNIVERSAL VALUES IN ETHICS

Cultural relativism – the most famous form of moral relativism. A theory in ethics
which holds that ethical judgments have their origins either in individual or cultural
standards.
Cultural relativism, the most dominant form of moral relativism, defines “moral” as
what is socially approved by the majority in a particular culture. It maintains that an act
is ethical in a culture that approves of it but immoral in one that disapproves of it. Most
cultural relativists place the notion of right in the folkways and consider the tradition as
morality’s warrant. What is deemed moral withing one group may be totally despicable
to the members of another group and vice versa. It is conclude that morality differs in
every society as concepts of right and wrong vary from culture to culture.

Moral relativism - fundamentally believes that no act is good or bad objectively

and there is no single objective universal standard through which we can evaluate the
truth of moral judgments. It submits that different moral principles apply to different
persons or group of individual. Moral relativists view all moral norms as equally true and
morals as mere preferences.

Universal values – those values generally shared by cultures. The existence of

the so-called universal values is a strong proof that cultural relativism is wrong. If certain
values exist both in Western and Eastern cultures despite the distance, then cultural
relativism’s claim that cultures’ moralities radically differ from each other is mistaken.

Values – enables man to change, to establish self-control and self-direction.

Kinds of values
1. Biological values- these are necessary to the physical survival of man as an
organism.
2. Social values – these are necessary to the sensual needs and fulfillment.
3. Rational values – these are necessary to the functions and fulfillment of intellect
and will.
Moral values – are those that directly pertain to the function of intellect and will:
those choices, decisions and actions by which man’s rational faculties are
involved and perfected.
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS

I. Identify the following, write the word/s of the correct answer.

_______________1. refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, beliefs, values,

attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations,
concepts of the universe and material objects and possessions acquired by a group
of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.
_______________2. enables man to change, to establish self-control and self-
direction.
_______________3. the most famous form of moral relativism.
_______________4. the foundation of moral acts.
_______________5. are those that directly pertain to the function of intellect and
will: those choices, decisions and actions by which man’s rational faculties are
involved and perfected.
_______________6. is the process by which infants and children socially learn the
culture, including morality.
_______________7. those values generally shared by cultures.
_______________8. is the process by which individuals acquire knowledge from
others in the groups to which they belong.
_______________9. these are necessary to the sensual needs and fulfillment.
_______________10. these are necessary to the functions and fulfillment of intellect
and will.

II. Enumerate and expalin the kinds of values. You can cite some examples seen in
everyday life.
UNIT III. THE MORAL AGENT
OVERVIEW:
Pholosophers usually think that moral character traits, like other personality or
psychological traits, have an irreducibly evaluative dimension, that is, they involve a
normative judgement. The agent is morally responsible for having the moral character
trait itself or for the outcome of that trait. Hence, a certain moral character trait is a trait
for which the agent is morally responsible.
Moral character, in philosophical sense, refers to having or lacking moral virtue. If
one lacks virtue, he may have any of the moral vices or he may be marked by a
condition somewhere in between virtue and vice.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the unit, the students should be able to:
1. Define moral agent.
2. Discuss the development of moral character of the moral agent..
3. Name the stages of moral development.

COURSE MATERIALS:
Lesson 7. MAN AS A MORAL AGENT
Moral agent – a being who is capable of those actions that have moral quality
and which can be properly denominated good or evil in a moral sense.
To be a moral agent means to have a capacity to conform to moral standards, to
act for the sake of moral considerations, that is for the sake of moral law. A moral
agent’s action is moral if it realizes his God-given potentials which brings him
closer to his ultimate goal.

The development of moral character of the moral agent

Moral character – refers to the existence or lack of virtues such as integrity,
courage, fortitude, honesty and loyalty. To say that the person has a good moral
character means that he is a good person and a good citizen with a sound moral
compass.

1. Moral character and virtues

Character – derived from the Greek word “charakter”. It came to mean a
distinct mark by which one thing was distinguished from others.
When we speak of a “virtue” or an excellence of moral character, the
highlighting is not on mere distinctiveness or individuality, but on the blend of
qualities that make a person the sort of ethically admirable individual he is.
Moral character, in philosophical sense, refers to having or lacking moral
virtue. If one lacks virtue, he may have any of the moral vices, or he may be
marked by a condition somewhere in between virtue and vice.
2. The circular relations of acts and character
In the process of moral development there is the circular relation between
acts that build character and moral character itlself. Not all acts help to build
moral character, but those acts which emanate from moral characters
certainly matter in moral development. Thers appears the apparent circular
relationship between individual acts and moral character. A person’s actions
 determine his moral character, but moral character itself generates acts that
help in developing either virtue or vice.
3. Moral characters as disposition
The moral character traits that constitute a person’s moral character are
characteristically understood as behavioral and affective dispositions.
Dispositions are particular kinds of properties or characteristics that objects
can possess. Among human beings, moral character traits – either virtues or
vices – are considered as dispositions. Moral character traits are those
dispositions of character for which it is suitable to hold agents morally
responsible. A good moral character is practically a disposition to do virtuous
acts. Opposite, a bad moral character is a disposition to do vicious deeds.

Lesson 8. STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT (Lawrence Kohlberg)

1. Level 1 – pre-conventional morality; lowest form of moral development, moral
code is controlled by the standards set before them and the implications of
not following these standards.
Stage 1. Obedience - punishment orientation – one does good because of
avoidance of punishment.
Stage 2. Instumental relativist orientation(individualism and exchange) – right
behavior is defined by whatever the individual believes to be in his best
interest.

2. Level 2 – conventional morality; sense of morality is tied to personal and

societal relationship.
Stage 3. Good boy or nice girl orientation(good interpersonal relationships) –
seeks the approval of others and act in ways to avoid disapproval. There is
heavy emphasis on good behavior in order to be seen as good by others.
Stage 4. Law and order orientation(maintaining the social order) – increased
awareness of the wider rules of society. Judgment concerns obeying the rules
in order to uphold the law and avoid guilt.

3. Level 3 – post-conventional morality; level of full internalization, morality is

completely internalized and not based on external standards, judgment based
on self-chosen principles, moral reasoning is based on individual rights and
justice.
Stage 5. Social contract orientation – awarenesss that while rules might exist
for the good of the greatest number, there are times when they will work
against the interest of a particular individual.
Stage 6. Universal ethical principle orientation – have developed their own set
of moral guidelines which may or may not fit the law. Have developed
judgment based on universal human rights.
Moral development facilitates the growth of conscience. In Kohlberg’s stages
of moral development, conscience can be found in the post-conventional
stage.
Conscience – an act of the practical judgment of reason deciding upon an
individual action as good and to be performed and as evil and to be avoided.
Sometimes refer to as “little voice of God”.
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS

I. Compare and contrast by giving true to life examples, the stages of moral
development.
UNIT IV. THE HUMAN ACT
OVERVIEW:
Man no doubt is creative because he possesses tremendous bodily and spiritual
powers. Every minute of his life, he acts, transforming himself and the world around
him. Action constitutes a person, an individual in control of himself and accountable to
himself. What a person is and what becomes of him depend largely on the type of
actions he performs during his life-time.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the unit, the students should be able to:
1. Discuss the different modifiers of human act.
2. Name the different kinds of human act.
3. Diffirentiate human acts and acts of man.

COURSE MATERIALS:
Lesson 9. HUMAN ACT DEFINE
Human acts – are those actions which man performs knowingly, freely and
voluntarily. These actions are the result of conscious knowledge and are subject
to the conrol of the free will. We refer to the actions as deliberate, intentional and
voluntary.

Acts of man – are those actions which happens in man. They are instinctive and
are not within the control of the will. Such actions are biological and physiological
movements of man. It ois one that is not dependent upon intellect and free will.

Virtuous – person who has the habit or inclination to do good.

Vicious – one who has the habit of doing wrong.

Elements of determining morality in human act

1. The act itself(object of the act) – pertains to the thing done.
2. Purpose or end – the end being pertained here is not merely the end result
but rather the intent of the agent.
3. Crcumstances – refers to the time, place and person’s contribution to
determining the morality of an act.

Lesson 10. KINDS OF HUMAN ACT

1. Elicited acts – are those performed by the will and are not bodily externalized.

Wish. The tendency of will toward something, whether this be realizable or

not.
Intention. The tendency of the will towards something attainable but without
necessarily committing oneself to attain it.
Consent. The acceptance of the will of those needed to carry out the
intention.
Election. The selection of the will of those means effective enough to carry
out the intention.
 Use. The command of the will to make use of those means elected to carry
out the intention.
Fruition. The enjoyment of the will derived from the attainment of the thing he
had desired earlier.

2. Commanded acts – are those done either by man’s mental of bodily powers
under the command of the will. It could either be internal or external actions.

Imputability of human acts

A human act is done by a person who is in control of his faculties: intellect
and will. A person is like a captain of a ship who assumes full responsiblity and
accountability for his decisions.
The imputability of a human act means that the person performing the act
is liable for such act. It involves the notion of guilt or innocence. Thus, actions are
either praiseworthy of blameworthy. Actions are attributed to the doer as their
principal cause.

Lesson 11. MODIFIERS OF HUMAN ACT

Modifiers – can reduce the moral character of the human act, which in turn would
diminish the responsibility and imputability in the agent.

1. Ignorance – is the absence of knowledge which a person ought to possess. In

the realm of morals everyone of age and reason is expected to know at least
the general norms of good behavior.

Vincible ignorance – can easily be reminded through ordinary diligence and

reasonable efforts.
Affected ignorance – the type which a person keeps by positive efforts in
order of escape responsibility or blame.
Invincible ignorance – is the type which a person possesses without being
aware of it or having awareness of it.

2. Passion – or concupiscence, are either tendencies towards desirable

objects(positive emotions) or tendencies away from undesirable or harmful
things(negative emotions). Passions are psychic response.

Antecedent passion – are those that precede an act. It predispose a person to

act.
Consequent passion – are those that are intentionally aroused and kept. It is
said to be voluntary in cause, the result of the will playing the strings of
emotions.

3. Fear – the disturbance of the mind of a person who is confronted by an

impending danger or harm to himself or loved ones. Fear is an instinct for
self-preservation. We even fear new experiences or situations.
4. Violence - refers to any physical force exerted on a person by another free
agent for the purpose of compelling said person to act against his will.

5. Habit – is a lasting readiness and facility, born of frequently repeated acts, for
acting in a certain manner. These are acquired inclinations towards
something to be done. It assume the role of a second nature, moving one
who has them to perform certain acts with relative ease.
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS

I. Write true if the statement is correct otherwise write false.

_______1. Virtuous are person who has the habit or inclination to do bad.
_______2. Violence is a lasting readiness and facility, born of frequently repeated
acts, for acting in a certain manner
_______3. Elicited acts are those done either by man’s mental of bodily powers
under the command of the will.
_______4. Virtuous is one who has the habit of doing wrong.
_______5. Human acts are those actions which happens in man.
_______6. Inviincible ignorance can easily be reminded through ordinary diligence
and reasonable efforts.
_______7. Passion is the absence of knowledge which a person ought to possess.
_______8. Modifiers can reduce the moral character of the human act, which in turn
would diminish the responsibility and imputability in the agent.
_______9. Human acts are those actions which man performs knowingly, freely and
voluntarily.
_______10. Circumstances refer to the time, place and person’s contribution to
determining the morality of an act.

II. Name the modifiers of human act

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
UNIT V. FRAMEWORKS AND PRINCIPLES BEHIND MORAL DISPOSITION
OVERVIEW:
A framework is an essential supporting structure. Theories are grounded on well
researched, studied and developed framework. An ethical framework therefore is a set
of codes that an individual use to guide his best behavior. An ethical framework may
also refer to as a moral standard, serves to determine the moral object of an action.
The term framework can be defined as a basic structure underlying a system or
concept. Contextually in ethics, it refers to a set of assumptions, concepts, values and
practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the unit, the students should be able to:
1. Define virtue ethics and law.
2. Explain the primary types of law.
3. List down at least ten virtues..
4. Diffirentiate the three types of love.

COURSE MATERIALS:
Lesson 12. VIRTUE ETHICS(Aristotle)
Virtue ethics – is a moral philosophy that teaches that an action is right if it is an
action that a virtuous person would perform in the same situation. It puts
emphasis on developing good habits of character and avoiding bad character
traits or vices. It focuses on the character of the agent and describes right actions
as those chosen and performed by a suitably virtuos person.
Virtuous person – is someone who acts virtuously and people act virtuously if
they possess and live the virtue.
Virtuous actions – those which the person with wisdom would choose because
what is good is obvious to such a person.
Virtue – is a moral characteristic that an individual needs to live. These are the
freely chosen character traits that people praise in others.

Virtue ethicists, like Aristotle, hold that people live their lives trying to
develop their faculties to the fullest extent. Such faculties to develop are
intellectual, physical, social, moral and so on. Developing one’s moral capacity to
the fullest is pursuing ethical excellence, which is displayed by the virtues.

Virtue ethics defines a moral person as someone who develops the virtues
and unfailingly displays them over time. The four cardinal virtues(Greeks) are:
1. Wisdom
2. Courage
3. Moderation
4. Justice

Christian virtues
1. Faith
2. Hope
3. Charity
 4. Love

Humanity virtues
1. Grace
2. Mercy
3. Forgiveness
4. Honor
5. Restraint
6. Reasonableness
7. Solidarity

Aristotle posits that an “ethical act is the action of a virtuous person who
would do in the same circumstances. Virtue ethics is person-based rather than
action-based”. Virtue ethics then aims to provide guidance and is not solely for
the purpose of determining the rightness or wrongness of individual actions. It
sees the person’s whole life rather than examining a portion of it.
Virtue ethics is the ethics of behavior which focuses on the character of
the person involved in the decision or action. It does not view a person’s acton
based on a single circumstance but it takes into account the person’s whole life,
the rightness and wrongness of one’s action is dependent on the person’s
character, motivation and intention. It is all about character.

Types of virtue(Aristotle)
1. Intellectual virtues – pertain to the excellence of the mind
2. Moral virtues – pertain to a person’s disposition to act well

Three general descriptions, which are interrelated, can be used to depict

Aristotle’s ethics. First, his ethical system may be termed “self-realizationism”. In
his philosophy, when someone acts in line with his nature or end and thus
realizes his full potential, he does moral and will be happy.

Aristotle’s view is also of a type known as “eudaimonistic”. As such, if

focuses on happiness(eudaimonia) or the good for man and how to obtain it.

Finally, his moral philosophy is “aretaic”, or virtue-based. Whereas act-

oriented ethics is focused mainly on we what should do, a virtue ethics is
interested basically in what should be, that is, the character of the sort of person
we should struggle to become.

Lesson 13. NATURAL LAW ETHICS(Thomas Aquinas)

Properies or characteristics of natural law
1. It is universal
2. It is obligatory
3. It is recognizable
4. It is immutable or unchangeable
 Aquinas believes that all action are directed towards ends and that happiness is
the final end. Aquinas thinks that happiness consists in activities in accordance with
virtue. Aquinas declares that ultimate happiness is not attainable in this life, for
happiness in the present life remains imperfect. True happines, then, is to be found only
in the souls of the blessed in heaven or in beatitude with God.

Law – an ordinace of reason for the common good, promulgated by someone

who has care of the community.

Four primary types of law(Aquinas)

1. Eternal law – refers to the rational plan of God by which all creation is ordered.
To this eternal law, everything in the universe is subject.
2. Natural law – that aspect of the eternal law which is accessible to human reason.
It is the eternal law as far as it is made known by human reason. It refers to the
law for human conduct. It is the remote norm of morality.
3. Human law – refers to the positive laws. It pertains to the laws established by
man according to the decrees of God.
4. Divine law – serves to compliment the other types of law. It is a law of revelation,
disclosed through sacred text or scriptures and the church which is also directed
toward man’s eternal end. Ii is more focused on how man can be inwardly holy
and eventually attain salvation. Simply refers to the decrees of God.

Thomas Aquinas believed that the natural law is a universal formula. God create
man in His image and likeness and man’s final end is to be with God. To ensure we
are directed towards God, God gave the divine law. It is then natural and ethical for
a person to keep the moral order, to observe the right order, to do good and avoid
evil to preserve one’s being. The natural law grounds our morality in God, because
God created the moral order and by following the natural law, our lives will be better.

A law that favors a few or does not equally protect all is not a law, a law that is
not published or made known to everyone in not a law and a law enacted by an
unauthorized person is not a law.

Lesson 14. DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS(Immanuel Kant)

Deontological – is derived from the Greek word, “deon”, when translated means
“duty”.
Kant’s framework is also called “duty framework”. It can be derived that
the central focus of Kant’s framework is on duty, obligation and rights.

Kantian philosophy posits that while we do need our fellow human to

achieve an end, it is important to recognize their autonomy and ability to reason.
Humans are not mere means, meaning objects that can be used and thrown
away afterwards when it cannot serve its purpose anymore.
 Kantian philosophy believes that what is legal must be moral. An action
can be considered legally and morally right if it is in accordance with the
universal law but not all legal action is necessarily moral. To be moral means to
go beyond what the law requires.

Kantian philosophy believes that a person is obliged only to do what he

can where he is. A person ability to perform an obligaition is determined by the
degree of freedom. One can no more responsible that what he can knowingly,
freely and voluntarily do.

Kant categorically rejects that ethical judgments are based on feelings.

For him, feelings even serve as obstruction to our discernment of right and
wrong. His ethical theory instead bases on moral judgements on reason alone.
Reason for him is what deems an action ethical or otherwise.

Kant believes that when we wish to determine tha moral status of an

action, we consult reason. An act either accords with reason or it does not. If it
accords with reason, we must do it, if not, we must avoid it.

Kant teaches that only good will is intrinsically good. A good will is one
that habitually wills rightly. And it is not what good will achieves that constitutes
its goodness. Even if good will accomplishes nothing it remains to be something
with full value in itself. Good will is good in itself.

For Kant a good person or a person of good will is the person who acts
from a sense of duty. Kant thinks that acting from a sense of duty means
exhibiting good will even in the face of difficulty.

Lesson 15. UTILITARIANISM(Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill)

Utilitarianism states that what is useful is good and that the moral value of
actions are determined by the utility of its consequences. It is the most influential
consequentialist theory, a subclass of teleological moral theory. Arguing that the
consequences of an act is what make it either moral or immoral, it explain that those
actions that brings about favorable effects are moral while those that produce damaging
effects are immoral. The moral theory of utilitarianism is centered on what they call
“principle of utility”. Utilitarianism determines the moral value of an act by calculating the
sum of pleasure it caused and the amount of pain generated.

Teleological ethical system – judges the rightness of an act in terms of an

external goal or purpose. Its basis in the determination of what one ought or
ought not to do rests exclusively on the consequence of the act.

Consequentialist ethics – proposes that actions, rules or policies should be

ethically measured and evaluated by their consequences not by the intentions or
motives of the agent
 Utilitarian ethics – argued that the right course of action is one that maximizes
overall happiness. It puts forward that an action is right if it amplifies pleasures
and minimize pain. Utilitarian ethics belief lies in that what is ethical is that which
gives pleasure and happiness as a consequence.

Utilitarian framework – focuses o the greatest happiness or the greatest good of

the greatest number.

Utility – means that the property in any object, whereby it tends to produce
benefit, advantage, pleasure, good or happiness or to prevent the happening of
mischief, pain, evil or unhappiness.

Principle of utility – the morally right action is the action that produces the most
good. It states that an action is right insofar as it tends to produce the greatest
happiness for the greatest number.

The greatest happiness principle – states that it is the greates happiness of the
greates number that is the measure of right and wrong.

Two types of utilitarianism

1. Act utilitarianism(particular actions) – considers the consequences of some
particular act. The principle of utility is appied directly to evey alternative act in
a situation of choice.
Right act – the one which brings about the best results or the least amount of
bad results.

2. Rule utilitarianism(general rules) – considers the consequences of some

practice or rule behavior. The principle is used to decide the validity of rules of
conduct(moral standards or principles). Moral and immoral are then defined
as following or breaking the rules.

Lesson 16. LOVE AND JUSTICE(Joseph Fletcher)

Situation ethics posits that love is the absolute norm for determining whether an
action is right or wrong. It tend to ask whether our actions was done as act of loving.
Fletcher’s situational framework roots love in agape.

Three types of love

11. Erotic – constitutes passion
12. Philia – the love felt betwee friends
13. Agape – considered as the highest form of love and may be loosely translated as
charity.

How does love and justice come together in this framework? Justice is just the
minimum of love. To do justice is already an act of love because justice is the minimum
demand of love. Justice is giving what is due by doing one’s own function according to
Plato.
 Social justice – demands an equal access to wealth, opportunities and privileges
within society.

Distributive justice – concerned with the distribution or allotment of goods, duries

and privileges in concert with the merits of individuals and the best interest of
society.

Viewed from distributive justice, it could mean to bring love and disrtribute it to
those who nee it the most. Thus from the love and justice framework, an action is
morally right if it promotes justice.
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS

I. Identify the following, write the word/s of the correct answer.

_______________1. is someone who acts virtuously and people act virtuously if

they possess and live the virtue.
_______________2. concerned with the distribution or allotment of goods, duties
and privileges in concert with the merits of individuals and the best interest of
society.
_______________3. is derived from the Greek word, “deon”, when translated means
“duty”.
_______________4. states that what is useful is good and that the moral value of
actions are determined by the utility of its consequences.
_______________5. an ordinace of reason for the common good, promulgated by
someone who has care of the community.
_______________6. is a moral philosophy that teaches that an action is right if it is
an action that a virtuous person would perform in the same situation.
_______________7. is a moral characteristic that an individual needs to live.
_______________8. pertain to the excellence of the mind
_______________9. considered as the highest form of love and may be loosely
translated as charity.
_______________10. argued that the right course of action is one that maximizes
overall happiness.

II. Choose one framework and explain.

UNIT VI. HUMAN WORK ETHICS
OVERVIEW:
The duty to preserve one’s life implies the duty to work. Work is a creative
process for self-development. When properly combined with leisure, is healthful and
promotes both mental and physical well being.
Wotk is not only a personal activity. It is a social process with the preservaton of
human society as its ultimate purpose. Work therefore has its moral and legal
implications.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the unit, the students should be able to:
1. Define work, graft and corruption.
2. Explain capital and labor.
3. Cite the duties of workers and employers.
4. Diffirentiate the graft and corruption.

COURSE MATERIALS:
Lesson 17. THE MEANING OF WORK
Work – any activity by man, whether manual or intellectual, whatever its nature or
circumstances, it means any human activity that can and must be recognized as work in
the midst of all the many activities of which man is capable and to which he is
predisposed by his nature, by virtue of humanity itself. It is the legitimate utilization of
our mental and bodily powers for economic gain or profit. It is the exertion of physical
and mental efforts by man in view of producing something he needs in life, at the same
time realizing his dignity and worth as a human person.

The right to work

The right to work is based on natural law. Man has basic needs which
must be satisfied in order for him to survive. This right implies the right to private
ownership. If a person cannot own the means by which he derives his
subsistence, then he cannot provide for his life and for those of his dependents.

Work as a natural duty to oneself

Work is directed to the promotion of life. It is a personal duty since each
one has the moral obligation to take care of himself and not be a burden to
others. This obligation assumes greater proportion as one becomes head of a
family.

Lesson 18. CAPITAL AND LABOR RELATIONSHIP

Capital – refers to the owner or investors of an industry.
Labor – refers to the hired workers employed by the industry.

The labor code of the Philippines defines the relationship between capital
and labor. But no amount of laws can truly harmonize men, unless man himself
accepts that goodness and justice come from within him. The evil that men do
comes from greed and malice. Capital and labor mutually need one another.
Just wage
Just wage – the remuneration which is enough to support the wage-earner in
reasonable and frugal comfort. A family-wage enough to provide the family with
the minimum human standard of living, provide sufficiency of decent food and
clothing to the members.

Minimum wage – daily or monthly pay of workers as prescribed by law.

Unionism: a natural right

Every worker has a right to join a union in order to protect his livelihood
and to cooperate in building social order. Labor, if it is unorganized, can have no
effective voice to protect its rights and to bargain collectively with capital. For as
long as unions are peaceful and seek their objectives by lawful means, they are
beneficial to the members and to society as a whole.

Morality of strike
Organized labor often resort to strikes. A strike is an organized cessation
from work by workers for the purpose of forcing their employers to assent to their
demands.

Condition for a strike to be moral

1. There is a sufficient and just reason for it. A strike should not be
resorted to unless all other means of conciliation had been tried.
2. The intended good results must be proportionate to the evil effects.
The good results must be weighed as against the evil effects.
Prudence dictates that where more harm than good would result, a
strike should be ruled out.
3. The means employed are lawful. Threats, coercion or violence should
never be employed by either labor or capital in settling their
differences. A strike is not a war zone.

Basic duties of workers

1. Work honestly and comply with all agreements.
2. Never injure capital nor steal from the employer.
3. Never outrage the person of the employer.
4. Never employ deceit nor violence in presenting a cause.
5. Never consort with agitator or men of evil principles.
Basic duties of employers
1. Respect the human dignity of the worker.
2. Appreciate their work.
3. Never treat them as slaves for making money.
4. Never assign them task beyond their strength, do not employ them in work
not suited to their age or sex
5. Give them commensurate wages
6. Provide for their health and social recreation
7. Provide them time for the practice of their religion
 8. Instruct them on how to use their money wisely
9. Instruct them to love their family
10. Provide them with the opportunities for promotion.

Lesson 19. GRAFT AND CORRUPTION

Graft and corruption is a form of dishonesty or criminal activity under taken by a
person or organization entrusted with a position of authority, often to acquire illicit
benefit. It may include in the form of bribery and embezzlement though it may involve
practices that may be legal in other countries.

Graft – the acquisiton of goods, money, position and other forms of profit by
dishonest or questionable means, oftentimes by the use of one’s office influence
or position. A social disease that easily contaminates people to corruption. It also
corrupst people.

Corruption – the inducement of an official or office personnel to join or do an act

of graft, the motive of which is to have a share in the spoils.

Forms of graft and corruption

In different sectors:
1. Political corruption
2. Public corruption
3. Police corruption
4. Judicial corruption
5. Corruption in the education system
6. Corporate corruption

Methods of corruption
1. Bribery
2. Embezzlement
3. Malversation of funds
4. Theft
5. Fraud
6. Extortion
7. Blackmail
8. Gift money
9. High percentage
10. Grease money
11. Under the table
12. Ghost project/employee
13. Habitual tardiness
14. Unpreparedness for work
15. Smuggling
16. First salary pay
17. Pay for failing grades
Prevalence of graft and corruption
1. Poverty in the country
2. Family interest
3. Low salary
4. Consumerism
5. Excessive discretionary powers
 ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS

I. Enumerate the following.

Methods of corruption
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Duries of employers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

II. discuss, in what manner can you see graft and corruption.