CHAPTER 1
have no information about him.
The Scope and Meaning of
Ethics
Ethics or Moral Philosophy is a branch of
philosophy that involves the systematizing,
defending, and recommending the concepts
of right and wrong conduct.
Ethics
The word “Ethics” is derived from a Greek
word “ethos” which means “characteristics
way of acting”, “habit”, or “custom”. The
Latin equivalent is mos, mores, from which
come the word moral and morality.
Ethics covers the following
dilemmas:
Importance of Ethics
It satisfies basic human needs. Being fair,
honest, and ethical is one of the basic human
needs. Everyone desires to be such himself and
to be fair and ethical in his practices.
It creates credibility. An individual that is
believed to be driven by moral values is
respected in the society even by those who may
It unites people and leaders. An individual
driven by values is revered by other people.
It improves decision making. A man’s destiny is
the sum total of all the decisions that he takes
in the course of his life. Decisions are driven by
values
It brings long term gains. Individuals guided by
ethics and values profit in the long run, though
in the short run they may seem to lose.
It secures the society. Often, ethics succeeds
because there is a law in safeguarding the
society. Lawyers and public interest litigations
may not be a great deal but ethics can.
Ethics Compared to Other
Sciences that Deal with Man
Ethics and Psychology
Psychology is a descriptive philosophy that
treats of man’s intellect, free will, and
conduct while ethics guide man’s intellect
to know moral truths and man’s will to
translate his intellectual knowledge of
moral truths into action (conduct).
Ethics and Sociology
Sociology deals with human relations.
Human relations, however, presuppose
proper setup or order in society. This proper
order postulates the observance of proper
laws. These proper laws postulate the moral
laws or order of right and wrong action,
which is ethics.
Ethics and Logic
Logic is the branch of philosophy that deals
with man’s correct thinking. Ethics, on the
other hand, deals with man’s correct doing
and correct living.
Ethics and Anthropology
Anthropology deals with man’s origin and
the behavior of primeval man. Ethics, on the
other hand, deals with the principles of
right conduct as applied to all men at all
times.
Ethics and Moral
Theology
Moral Philosophy (Ethics) and Moral
Theology presuppose God’s existence; they
too have the same end, i.e., the attainment
of man’s ultimate goal: God. They have the
same means towards the attainment of this
end, i.e., right living.
Three Approaches to Ethics:
Basic Types of ethical
Theories
Virtue Ethics
 This is the most ancient of these
three types.
 Focuses upon character
 Aristotle is perhaps the most famous
proponent
 Those who look at ethics through
the lens of character ask, “What sort
of person should I aim to be and
what do I need to do to fulfil that
goal?”
 The main point of this approach is
individual integrity.
Consequentialist Ethics
 Focuses on psychological traits such
as affection, sympathy, a moral
sense, intuition, etc.
 Scotsman David Hume (1711-1776)
is the earliest leading philosopher of
this approach.
 Since consequentialist are observing
things as they are, they are led to
ask the question, “What is the result
of what I did?”
Principled Ethics
 Relies upon rationality and obligates
a person to live consistently with
what reason requires.
 Immanuel Kant is the leading
philosopher.
 Those who base their ethics upon
principle and rationality and search
for valid generations ask, “What
does reason morally require me to
do?”.
17
CHAPTER 2
The Idea of Good, Value, and Virtue
Good
Deontologist. Goodness lies in an action itself.
Consequentialist. Goodness lies in the consequences of an
action.
“The goodness of an action lies in the action itself
whatever consequences it may occur.”
Theory of Ergon:
“So the goodness and performance of man would
seem to reside in whatever is his function.”
Value
Value
Values are individual beliefs that motivate people to
act one way or another. They serve as a guide for
human behavior.
Virtue
It is a disposition or character that enables it’s
possessor to perform a noble or good action
according to the mean as determined by practical
wisdom.
Characteristics of Virtue
1. It is a character realized in an action. It is character
formed and integrated in us when we do good
actions (eupraxia) repeatedly (habit), as much as
when a bad action is done over and over it gradually
becomes a vice.
2. Help young people to identify their values. Virtue
enables its possessor to perform a noble or good
action. It is only in having a good character that a
person performs a good action. That’s why it is very
important that a person is taught of good during
childhood.
3. It is through practical wisdom that a person can
become virtuous because it is through practical
wisdom that we may have a clear understanding of
what is good and it is the enabling virtue that put us
into action.
CHAPTER 3  Technical valuation(or right and wrong technique
THE ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF of doing things) may not necessarily be an ethical
one as these examples show.
HUMAN EXISTENCE

Valuation
 The process of giving a value to an object,
situation, etc.

 Determining the value of something can

help make important decisions on different
activities associated with it.
Morals Ethics

specific beliefs or the discipline of studying

attitudes that people have and understanding ideal
or to describe acts that behavior and ideal ways
Kinds of Valuation people perform of thinking

Aesthetics
 The word “aesthetics” is derived from the Greek
word aisthesis (“sense” or “feeling”) and refers
to the judgments of personal approval or
disapproval that we make about what we see, Normative Descriptive
hear, smell, or taste.
engages the question: reports how people,
 In fact, we often use the word “taste” to refer to What could or should be particularly groups, make
the personal aesthetic preferences that we have considered as the right their moral valuations
on these matters, such as “his taste in music” or way of acting? without making any
“ her taste in clothes”. judgment either for or
against these valuations.

Etiquette
 The set of rules or customs that control accepted
behavior in particular social groups or social
situations.
 Concerned with right and wrong actions but
those which might be considered not quite grave
enough to belong to a discussion on ethics.
Technical
 Derive from the Greek word techne means
technique” and “technical” which are often used
to refer to a proper way (or right way) of doing
things.
Issue, Decision, Judgment,
and Dilemma
Moral Issue
• a situation that calls for moral valuation
Moral Decision
• a choice made based on a person's ethics, manners, character and
what they believe is proper behavior
Moral Judgment
• a decision about what one should do in a morally problematic
situation, what is right and what is wrong when deciding what to do
Moral Dilemma
• a situation in which the decision- maker must consider two or more
moral values or duties but can only honor one of them; thus, the
individual will violate at least one important moral concern,
regardless of the decision
fear of punishment or desire for
reward 23

It is the process of using existing knowledge to draw

conclusions, make predictions, or construct
explanations. Situations
Types of Reasoning  A triage nurse analyzes the cases at hand and
decides the order by which the patients should
Logical Reasoning be treated.

 A plumber evaluates the materials that would

 It is a type of problem-solving that involves best suit a particular job.
working through a set of rules that govern a
scenario.
 An attorney reviews evidence and devises a
strategy to win a case or to decide whether to
 This set of rules or steps is referred to as an settle out of court.
algorithm.

 A manager analyzes customer feedback forms

Critical Thinking and uses this information to develop a customer
service training session for employees.

 It’s a process of developing rational thought where

logical connections are made between ideas. Counterfactual Thinking
 It involves extensive rational thought about a specific
 It’s the practice of evaluating the choices that weren’t
subject in order to come to a definitive conclusion.
made.

 It’s often influenced by external factors like language

 Additionally, it’s a common thought pattern that takes
or culture and internal factors like emotions.
you back in time and helps you reflect on decisions
that could have been taken in the past.
 It involves identifying, evaluating, and constructing
arguments.

Law is…
- an ordinance of reason promulgated
by competent authority for the sake
of the common good.
- St. Thomas Aquinas
Law
 Laws are “ordinance of reason” because they are
rational deliberations intended to guide men towards
what is good for them and for society.
 The main objective or purpose of the laws is the
attainment of the common good.

 Laws are “promulgated” – that they are made known

to the people who are bound to observe them.

 Laws are passed by “one who has charge of

society” – because they can only be valid if they
the legitimate exercise of authority. Accordingly,
only those who have the power and
responsibility to govern have the power to enact
the law.
Divine Command Theory
 It is the view that morality is somehow
dependent upon God, and that moral obligation
consists in obedience to God’s commands.
 The specific content of these divine commands
varies according to the particular religion and the
particular views of the individual divine
command theorist, but all versions of the theory
hold in common the claim that morality and
moral obligations ultimately depend on God.

Classifications of Law

Cultural relativism is the ability to

understand a culture on its own terms and
not to make judgments using the standards
of one’s own culture.
Origins and Nature of Theory
According to the English folklore, there was an outlaw named Robin Hood
of Loxley. The story of Robin Hood romanticizes the idea of an outlaw who
steals not for himself but for others. And he usually steals from the rich
people who have been abusive of the poor people. This, in effect makes
him a hero.
 For Bentham and Mill, utility refers to a
Do you think that Robin Hood is wrong in stealing from other people? Or way of understanding the results of
you think it’s okay since he is taking it from bad people anyway? people’s actions. Specifically, they are
interested on whether these actions
Utilitarianism contribute or not to the total amount of
resulting happiness in the world.
 It is an ethical theory that argues for the
 Bentham and Mill understand happiness
goodness of pleasure and the
as the experience of pleasure for the
determination of right behavior based on
greatest number of persons, even at the
the usefulness of the action’s
expense of some individual’s rights.
consequences.

 This means that pleasure is good and that

the goodness of an action is determined
by its usefulness.

 Its root word is “utility”, which refers to

the usefulness of the consequences of
one’s action and behavior.

 Their system of ethics emphasizes the

consequences of actions. This means that
the goodness or the badness of an action
is based on whether it is useful in
contributing to a specific purpose for the
greatest number of people.

 Utilitarianism is consequentialist. This

means that the moral value of actions and
decisions is based solely or greatly on the
usefulness of their consequences.

One’s actions and behavior are good inasmuch as they are

directed toward the experience of the greatest pleasure
over pain for the greatest number of persons.
 Principle of the Greatest Number
 Utilitarianism cannot lead to selfish acts. It is
neither about our pleasure nor happiness alone;
it cannot be all about us. If we are the only ones
satisfied by our actions, it does not constitute a
moral good. If we are the only ones who are
made happy by our actions, then we cannot be
morally good.
 In this sense, utilitarianism is not dismissive of
sacrifices that procure more happiness for
others.

 Therefore, it is necessary for us to consider

everyone’s happiness, including our own, as the
standard by which to evaluate what is moral.

 Also, it implies that utilitarianism is not at all

separate from liberal social practices that aim to
Principle of Utility improve the quality of life for all persons.
Utilitarianism is interested with everyone’s
 This principle refers to the motivation of our happiness, in fact, the greatest happiness of the
actions as guided by our avoidance of pain and greatest number.
our desire for pleasure.
 On the other hand, the principle also refers to
pleasure as good if, and only if, they produce
more happiness than unhappiness.
 Having identified the tendency for pleasure and
the avoidance of pain as the principle of utility,
Bentham equates happiness with pleasure.

 Mills expounds that the right to due process, the

right to free speech or religion, and others are
justified because they contribute to the general
good.

 Extending this concept to animals, they have

Bentham and Mill characterized moral value as utility and
understood it as whatever produced happiness or pleasure
and the avoidance of pain.
rights because of the effect of such principles on
the sum total of happiness that follows as a
consequence of instituting and protecting their
interests.

 A right is justifiable in utilitarian principles in as

much as they produce an overall happiness that
is greater than the unhappiness resulting from
their implementation.