Fontanilla, Aldrin Gabriel A.

BS Architecture 3-4
GEED 10093 – Ethics
Dr. Michael Roland Hernandez

Activity 1.3 – Introduction to Hinman – Chapter 1

1. Tell us about Hinman’s answer to the question “Why study Ethics?” Is it

convincing? Why or why not?

American philosopher and professor Lawrence Hinman started off his

answer with an analogy or comparison of ethics to nutrition. He stated that there
are things we can get away with not doing, but there are some, such as Ethics,
that is imperative we study, as the ignorance of this subject causes not just us
harm, but also the people around us. I would say that this is convincing, as this
analogy was explained more in the chapter.

2. Why does Hinman assert that moral questions are inevitable? Do you agree
with him?

Hinman sees moral questions as inevitable because as humans in a

functioning society and in constant contact with one another, such questions are
inevitable as our actions ultimately affect one another. We will inevitably hurt our
kind, even if we ignore morality as a whole, but it’ll eventually find a way to be
considered in out choices, as it is a part of our lives.

3. Who do you think are the moral experts Hinman refers to? What’s the role
they are supposed to have for us?
These “moral experts” are professors, modern-day philosophers, and
ethicists. Their line of work consists of responsibilities such as fortifying the
foundations of what we already know about ethics, and providing us with their
findings through their researches and experiments, and they provide us with
reliable consultations and trustworthy, credible references.
4. Does the existence of moral disagreements justify abandoning ethics or
ethical reflection? Why do you think so?
No. In fact, I think moral disagreements encourage ethical reflections,
because these disagreements can lead to investigations, and investigations lead
to discoveries. Such discoveries can pave the way to the advancement and
progress of the field, and the progress of everyone involved in it.

5. How would you explain to someone not taking an Ethic course Hinman’s
point that Ethics is an ongoing conversation? As an ongoing task?
Suddenly spawning in the middle of an Ethics conversation feels like
opening a book in the middle and starting from there. And obviously, the person
would feel lost, and uninformed. Therefore, to explain to someone, or anyone,
that Ethics is an ongoing conversation and an ongoing task is to fedd them the
information they need slowly, little by little and let them implement these small
bits of knowledge one at a time. And eventually, they will then realizes these
facts.

6. How does Hinman differentiate “morality “ from “ethics”? What are your
thoughts form this distinction, e.g. does it make sense to you? Or is it more
confusing?
Hinman differentiates Morality and Ethics as what you “ought to do”, and
“what you should do”. In my opinion, he defined Ethics as a “written code of
conduct” the society sees as correct, while Morality is “the gauge of the ability of
how capable a human is of doing good”, or in this case, abiding to ethical
standards. This way of explaining is understandable, Dr. Hinman basically
summarized the word’s meanings in a few words.

7. What did you discover from the section “public and private moral beliefs”?
That basically, dishonesty is the problem in Ethics. People aren’t typically
honest in their beliefs, in their moral values, which leads to them not being totally
“ethical”. However, this can easily, but not so quickly, by letting people study
themselves ethically.
8. How does Hinman understand “moral health”? Are there other ways of
understanding this? What are they?
Hinman defined moral health with another analogy about nutrition. He
directly compared it to nutrition as being concerned with how us humans can live
a morally sound life, just like how good diets and eating habits will nourish our
physical bodies, by telling us what not eat, and by ethics telling us what not to do.
In my opinon, I think moral health can also be understood through psychology. If
you look at a person’s mind and what runs in it, you can determine approximately
how morally sound they are. History can also be used. Are they raised properly?
What kind of lineage did they come from? Did they come from a family of decent,
well-mannered, law-abiding citizen? Or did they come from the family of crime?

9. For Hinman, what makes an issue a moral issue? Do you think there is
something wrong with his idea?
An issue becomes a moral issue when our values being to harm people.
When our conflicting ideas being to ignite conflicts, and when it starts to infiltrate
other people’s lives.

10. How different is the moral standpoint which Hinman discusses from the
other standpoints you are familiar with?
There isn’t much difference to what Hinman discusses to the standpoints I
am familiar with, as these mentioned standpoints are no different from what is
typically tackled in today’s issues.

11. Hinman argues that there is a two-fold point to undertaking moral

reflection. How would you explain that two-fold point to someone who has
not read the article?
One example of the use of ethics as an evaluation of other people’s
behavior is their political stand. This is quite personal and relevant, therefore it
can better explain the concept of this point. You can see the person’s morals
based where their support is. The other point, The use of ethics as the search for
the meaning of our lives, can also be explained the same way. Ethics can be
used as a search light and as a map for the betterment of ourselves, to become
better people.
12. What is a moral theory and what can we expect from it?
Theories are fruits of the mind that induces ideas, creation, strength, wonder,
new possibilities from what is to exist, and criticism for what exists. Moral Theories,
when explained and expanded, can broaden our knowledge in the field of Ethics. It
can shed light into different inquiries, and thus allowing us correct the false
assumptions of the past, bringing innovations. And most of all, it can help us see
ourselves more clearly, and work on our ethical imperfections.