COURSE OUTLINE: MIDTERMS
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
LESSON 1:
DEFINING ETHICS AND MORALITY
● The term ethics finds its etymological root
from the Greek word “ethos” which
means “character” or “custom”.
● The Greeks also had the term “ethikos”
which refers to “customary or habitual
character”.
● Marcus Tullius Cicero is credited with
ascribing the latin equivalent of the term
“ethikos” to the word “mos” which means
“one’s disposition”.
● The term “mos” also happens to be the
root of the word ”mores” which also
refers to custom or habit. From these
terms eventually evolved “moralis” and
“moralitas” which refer to “proper
manner, behavior, and character of a
person in society”
● Both pertain to the habitual or
customary disposition towards proper
behavior and distinguishing between
right and wrong, good and bad. Often
these terms are used interchangeably
with a few distinctions depending on
where the settings in which the terms
are used such as in the academe, legal,
religious or philosophical discourses.
● Distinctions are often made in terms of
looking at morality from a “personal or
normative” perspective and ethics as
being the actual standards of what is
good/ bad, right/ wrong, acceptable/
unacceptable, or praiseworthy/
punishment worthy behavior in a particular
social setting.
● The terms ethics and morality form the
heart and soul of Moral Philosophy.
Moral Philosophy is the branch of
Philosophy that deals with the study of
right and wrong.
● It does this by first, asking and clarifying
concepts and beliefs on morality; second,
providing frameworks that prescribe what
we “ought to do” and what we “ought
to not do”; and lastly, applying all these
in more practical terms like how people
should live their lives in relation to others
and to examine issues affecting society.
● Aristotle said that ethics and morality
are necessary in attaining
“eudaimonia”, which is a Greek word
that loosely translates to “happiness”.
○ “eudaimonia” is a state of not just
existing but of “flourishing” or
“thriving” in one’s day-to-day
life.
● The study of Ethics teaches us various
steps and frameworks in deciding on
human acts.
○ it is the first step towards
internalizing the desire to live a
moral life by first knowing what
ethics we need to abide by.
○ a lifelong process for all of us as
we continue to develop in terms of
our moral judgments. It entails a
process of continually examining
and reflecting on what we value
and believe vis-à-vis the
relationships that we have with
others and the society and
environment in which we live
ETHICS AND CIVILIZED SOCIETY
● Human societies have come a long way in
terms of going from “uncivilized to
“civilized” but throughout history one thing
is apparent.
● For humans to live together in relative
harmony, groups of people agree to
common goals and behavior that are
enforced through systems or “rules”.
○ A rule is “an accepted principle
or instruction that states the
way things are or should be
done, and tells you what you are
allowed or are not allowed to do.
● We live in a world of rules. In fact, we
have rules for everything: home, school,
church, organizations, sports, cities,
nations and the global society.
● Rules and moral standards form the
collective ethics to which societies abide.
Why Study Ethics?
1 I
 LESSON 2: MORAL AND NON-MORAL
STANDARDS

MORAL STANDARDS
● Humans have a built in “moral compass”
or sense of right and wrong. Moral
standards differ from other rules in life.
● As we develop and mature we learn that
some rules hold larger consequences
as compared to others and are not
dependent on external authority or
individual or organizational interests;
these codes of right and wrong that have
no reference to specific behaviors or
beliefs are known as Moral Standards.
● Different societies might have different
rules that govern their behavior but their
moral standards are held in common by all
societies regardless of their varying
beliefs.
● Moral standards are upheld regardless of
culture or beliefs and are believed to be
universal.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL STANDARDS

Reasonability- Moral standards appeal directly

to the intellect and reason, common sense

2 I
and experience. Right actions entail that feelings
and emotions are guided by proper reasoning
and sound judgment.
Impartiality- Moral standards are neutral, fair
and unbiased in determining right of wrong.
Moral standards also do not favor the interests
of any specific groups of people regardless of
their gender, status, financial circumstances
or their cultural, social, political and religious
affiliations.
Prescriptivity- Moral standards should clearly
allow us to determine “what we ought to do”
and “what we ought not to do”
Overridingness- Moral standards have a
predominant authority in such a way that they
have the ability to override other kinds of
principles; and take precedence over other
norms and rules.
Autonomous from Arbitrary Authority- Moral
standards are able to stay independent from
the influence of any form of authority. Moral
standards are not dependent on “who is in
power” or “who is giving the orders''. When it
comes to moral standards, “the rule of numbers”
does not apply. Something is right or wrong
regardless of how the majority decides, does and
says. “A wrong thing is wrong, even when
everyone else is doing it and a right thing is right
even when you are alone doing it’. This is one
reason why standing alone in fighting for what is
right proves difficult because humans have the
tendency to give in to the external pressure that is
brought about by people in authority and the rule
of majority.
Publicity- Moral rules and principles are known
to and upheld by society because they are
publicly held to be the moral rules and
principles that serve as clear guidelines to
human actions. A person cannot do the right
thing if he does not know what to do, so before
action can be performed, we must first know what
needs to be done. Moral standards would not be
performed if they are not known to the public.
Practicability- Moral rules should be “doable”
and not be beyond what can be done by
human beings. Other synonyms to this
characteristic include performable, actionable and
realistic. If a standard was not workable, it would
lose its meaning and would be unachievable and
become a burden for people.
Universalizability- A moral rule or principle must
be applicable to everyone, without exception
given the same situation and context. This
also echoes the famous Golden Rule “Do not do
unto others what you don’t want others to do unto
you.”
NON-MORAL STANDARDS
● Standards of behavior that vary from
social group to social group depending
on their own shared values, beliefs
and/ or goals are referred to as non-
moral standards.
● Etiquette is a set of conventional rules
on behavior and manners in polite
society. It usually comes in an ethical
code that outlines what is expected and
accepted social behavior in line with
norms of politeness and proper demeanor.
● Examples:
○ In some countries like Africa, the
Middle East and Asia for example,
using the hands for eating is
considered proper. This is not
practiced in Western Countries
where etiquette dictates the use of
eating utensils as proper.
○ In the European social circles of
the 18th century, etiquette was
given extreme importance and was
made symbolically identified with
members of the educated and well
mannered members of the
aristocracy.
● Policy. Another type of non- moral
standard is the policy, which is a
statement that is adopted and
implemented as a matter of procedure
or protocol by a group of people in
order to assist in managing daily
activities, operations, decision-making
and governance.
● Policies can also be understood as
political, managerial, financial, and
administrative mechanisms arranged to
reach explicit goals.
○ Examples of policy include
Presidential executive orders,
corporate privacy policies, and
parliamentary rules of order are all
examples of policy.
● Law. If policies are enforced within
institutions and organizations, the Law
or laws is a system of rules that society
3 I
 through governments and its agencies
create, develop and implement within
their jurisdictions in order to regulate
behavior and aid in governance.
● Laws encompass many social matters and
relationships such as crime, business,
commerce, and industry among many
others. Old laws may be amended to
ensure their relevance, and duly elected
representatives of the people propose
new laws to address behaviors that they
think should be regulated or legislated for
the sake of the greater good.
● Laws are promulgated to be followed by
everyone regardless of their stature and
therefore become an instrument of justice
by serving as an equalizer for people in
society.
● According to Rudolf von Ihering, well-
written laws guaranteed good living
conditions for people assured by the State
itself. One might argue that laws are
coercive, because they control human
behaviour however when laws are crafted
with the greater good in mind and
implemented in proper consultation with
the public, it aids in cooperation in
members of a society and helps in
resolving potential conflicts, bringing about
order.
● Commandment. Another standard for
behaviour is the commandment, which is
a strict rule for behaviour as an
imposition of the will or law of God or
Divine being.
● Since commandments are believed to be
the edict of the Divine, punishments vary
depending on the belief of the social group
concerned.
LESSON 3: MORAL EXPERIENCES AND
MORAL DILEMMAS
Moral Experiences and Moral Dilemmas
● Moral experiences are situations
wherein human beings are actively
engaged in examining, evaluating and
eventually applying their moral values.
● Moral experiences can happen even while
we are going through the simplest of tasks
where a person is confronted with a
choice on doing right or wrong or even
when we choose what opinion to hold with
regard to a particular issue.
● Moral dilemmas are situations where
there are two or more moral choices
that can possibly be pursued, with all
options having their own moral reasons to
be chosen as a course of action and only
one course of action can be ultimately
chosen.
○ This often leads to conflicting
feelings and thoughts on what to
do.
● Overcoming a moral dilemma entails deep
reflection and discernment and weighing
of our own personal values in an effort to
determine what is ultimately important
before making a choice to be acted upon.
LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMAS
● Moral Dilemmas can confront us
individually or collectively at various
societal levels.
● A personal moral dilemma is a moral
conflict that is centered around an
individual, whether with himself/ herself
or with another person or group of people.
● At this level, the moral dilemma stems
from the role of an individual and its
direct impact on their own lives.
● Decisions required in this situation usually
have bearing on the individuals own life
choices and their direct implications on
their own future and their relationships
with others.
● An organizational dilemma is a moral
conflict when an organization has to
make difficult moral decisions that
have direct implications on some of its
4 I
 members or on the organization as a
whole.
● This often stems from the role of the
organization in greater society and
relationship with other stakeholders
and not just its own members.
● Moral dilemmas at the organizational level
can also manifest in its decision
making process, its practices, and its
structures.
● A structural moral dilemma is a moral
conflict that comes about when leaders
or people who hold high positions in
society have to make difficult decisions
that have systemic or societal
implications.
● These decisions could affect people of a
particular demographic or
geographical location such as an entire
state, region, city or country or such
decisions can affect the entire humanity.
● Governments often face this type of
dilemma when laws and governmental
agreements with other nations alter
people’s way of life.
The levels of moral dilemmas also show how the
ability to act ethically has far reaching effects.
MODULE SUMMARY
● Ethics and Morality pertain to the
knowledge and practice of “proper
manner, behaviour, and character of a
person in society”. Both pertain to the
habitual or customary disposition towards
proper behaviour and distinguishing
between right and wrong, good and bad,
acceptable/ unacceptable, or
praiseworthy/ punishment worthy
behaviour in a particular social setting.
Essentially both Ethics and morality flow
from each other, forming the heart and
soul of Moral Philosophy, which is the
branch of Philosophy that deals with the
study of right and wrong.
● The study of Ethics teaches us various
steps and frameworks in deciding on
human acts. Therefore, the study of Ethics
is the first step towards internalizing the
desire to live a moral life by first knowing
what ethics we need to abide by in a world
that depends on such rules for order and
harmony.
● Moral Standards form the human moral
compass comprised of values and
principles and codes of right and wrong
that have no reference to specific
behaviours or beliefs. They stand apart
from non- moral standards or other rules
in life, which are specific to cultures and
societal settings. Non- moral standards
include etiquette, policies, laws and
commandments, which all spring from
specific needs or goals and are mutually
agreed upon by people who share
particular social relationships.
● Human Experience is the central concern
of the study of Ethics because knowledge
without action renders its study useless.
Human beings will encounter moral
experiences countless times during the
course of their lives wherein moral values
are affirmed or challenged in the interest
of taking proper actions. There will also be
situations wherein a human person will
experience a moral dilemma wherein he/
she is confronted with a situation that
forces them to make tough moral choices.
5 I