Bullying: A Position Paper Addressing its Unethical

Dilemma and Ethical Principles

Republic of the Philippines

Mindanao State University – General Santos City

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

1ST Semester, SY 2022-2023

A Final Requirement in

Ethics (Position Paper)

Presented to

PROF. Pakat Najifa

Adviser

by

MARIA ELLAH M. LUBAT

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

BSEEN- 17.1K
 January 2023
Bullying is a common form of violent behavior; it is characterized by assertive,
purposeful, and mean behavior that happens repeatedly over time and in the specific situation of
an imbalance of power. For years, bullying has emerged as a serious issue in schools. Student
bullying was just as prevalent in the 18th century as it is now. After all, of course, bullying was
now well identified but little recognized at the time. What is considered violent action nowadays
could not have been at the time. Although bullying in schools continues to be an important
concern, many happenings and pieces of research have occurred in recent years that have had a
massive impact on the issue and have continued to expand its definition in several aspects.
Bullying was widely accepted as the norm in both behavior and attitude at the time. But
nonetheless, as bullying has become more common, it has drawn the interest of researchers who
want to understand more about this issue. Even so, until now bullying is still commonly ignored,
dismissed, treated lightly, and overlooked, despite the fact that it is widely spread. It was and
often still is regarded as a normal, natural part of growing up, which also frequently leads to the
issue being overlooked. According to studies, bullying is harmful and can cause significant
social and emotional concerns for a student. A student who is bullied relentlessly or traumatized
has a higher tendency to impose threats on themselves or someone else. These social and
emotional issues have the potential to infiltrate a student’s educational experience. The fact that
the “Anti-Bullying Act” (RA 10627) was enacted into Philippine law in 2013, with the goal of
preventing such incidents and further protecting students’ “learning rights,” there was still
nevertheless a rising tendency in bullying at school that has become noticeable despite the
measures implemented. This may give the appearance that bullying is still a major issue that is
still currently occurring.
The concept of “bullying” wasn’t really widely used before a well-known publication
wrote an article about it. After nearly seventy-two days of publication, The Times published their
first article on bullying in 1862, when they revealed that a soldier had allegedly died as a result
of bullying (Koo, 2007). The New York Times was the first to raise the crucial problem of
bullying and the harmful complications that can result. The author emphasized how the soldier
was subjected to “structured bullying” and was handled as an “object of continuous sufferings
and threats” (Koo, 2007). The article may have shocked numerous people since society at the
time did not consider the actions that led to this death to be harmful. The mid-1970s marked one
of the most major turning points in bullying history. Dan Olweus, a psychology research
professor, became the first to undertake a thorough survey on bullying among students,
employing his own methodological approach (Koo, 2007). He designed the Olweus Bullying
Prevention Program (OBPP), which was efficacious in decreasing school bullying (Hazelden
Foundation, 2007). Olweus’ initiatives made a significant contribution to the battle over bullying
since they brought attention, inspired other professionals to support experiments, and
significantly broadened the scope of bullying. Olweus’ efforts have had a significant impact on
educational violence and have managed to reduce it. Meanwhile in the Philippines, Rep.
Margarita Nograles of the Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta party list has introduced House Bill 2886
(Stop Bullying Act of 2022) in the House of Representatives, which will modify the Anti-
Bullying Law (Republic Act 10627) by widening its protection beyond school grounds through
tougher provisions like connecting sanctions and big fines and aiming to cover all different kinds
of bullying throughout all genders and age groups and not just children. According to Nograles’
proposition, the actions of the defendant constitute bullying: unwanted physical contact between
both the bully and the victim; any conduct that causes injury to a victim’s mental or emotional
stability; any false and defamatory remark or allegation that causes the victim excessive
emotional trauma; cyberbullying, including any behavior culminating in abuse, coercion, or loss
of dignity; gender-based bullying; and social bullying. Furthermore, in the study of Dvorak et al.
(2019), pro-bullying bystander behavior is by no means inoffensive. Bullying is much more
prevalent in classroom settings where bystander pro-bullying behavior is prevalent, and assertive
students are more likely to participate in bullying in such classroom. Socially excluded and
anxious children are more likely to be bullied whenever a significant number of their fellow
students participate in pro-bullying bystander behavior. Despite the overwhelming evidence
affecting pro-bullying bystander behavior in bullying continuation, little has been recognized
about its advancement. As a result, the present study used a short-term survey strategy to explore
the determinants of pro-bullying bystander behavior in late adolescence, when protective
behavior patterns decline and, at least for some teenagers, pro-bullying bystander behaviors rise
(Salmivalli and Voeten, 2004). To clarify, pro-bullying bystander behavior is the result of
psychological, ethical, and cognitive functions, as well as conceptions of collective norms and
behaviors. Bystander behaviors, in particular, are the outcome of a combination of cognitive
processes that include representations and analyzing social signals, picking objectives, producing
possible answers, and choosing and implementing a selected psychosocial approach (Crick and
Dodge, 1994). Every one of these methods is determined by the nature and resilience of the
person’s extreme response to the incident, as well as prior encounters such as abuse and
disapproval in the past, beneficial interpersonal confrontations, interpersonal conceptual
frameworks, and social competencies (Arsenio and Lemerise, 2004; Crick and Dodge, 1994).
Lastly, bullies exist for a variety of reasons, including the desire to get noticed. They may
believe that bullying is a means of gaining popularity or just getting what they desire. The
majority of them are attempting to elevate their status. Picking on others can make them feel
compelling. Some bullies come from households in which everyone is frustrated and constantly
yells. They may believe that just being mad, calling individuals names, and moving people
around would be acceptable behavior. They’re even imitating what they’re seeing others do.
Some individuals have bullied themselves. They may be aware that what they’re doing or saying
is causing harm to others. Many bullies, on the other hand, may be unaware of how damaging
their behavior can indeed be. However, most of them don’t comprehend or are concerned about
other people’s emotions. They frequently target someone over whom they believe they possess
authority, and they may target children who are emotionally fragile or who have difficulty
standing up for themselves. Getting a big response from somebody can give bullies the feeling
that they have all the authority they desire. Bullies may target someone that is wiser than them,
different in certain ways, or simply pick on a child for enjoyment.
Bullying is a serious ethical issue that currently affects everyone, including the bully and
the bullied, as well as those who witness bullying. It is a threat and has been associated with a
range of negative outcomes, including suicidal behavior, emotional and social concerns, and the
psychological behavior patterns of those associated, which lead to suicide. Victims of bullying
frequently suffer from low self-esteem that can last a lifetime, as well as social awkwardness,
isolation, physical ailments, and threats or attempts at self-harm. They find it difficult not only to
socialize but also to keep healthy friendships. Due to bullying, some students who missed school
have had their academic results drop or even disappear entirely. Bullying that is verbal, social, or
relational is just as damaging as physical bullying. It is an attitude that can have long-term
negative consequences for an individual. If not under control, children may eventually develop
“learned helplessness,” which indicates that the victims of abuse assume they have no control
over a situation. As an outcome, they quit attempting, and the downward spiral into depression
worsens. This causes desperation and the belief that there isn’t any way out. Bullied children
may find it difficult with actualization as grownups, have troubles establishing and establishing
friendships, and avert sociability. They could also experience difficulty trusting others, which
could have an influence on both their professional and personal lives. They may even end up
believing falsehoods regarding bullying, like persuading themselves that it was not as terrible as
they remember, and might even criticize themselves. In addition, bullying is more prevalent in
the Philippines than in other South-East Asian countries, with an estimated 47.7% of students
reporting having been bullied (Chiu and Vargo, 20022). According to the Philippine Institute for
Development Studies (2021), bullying is continuously inversely correlated with standardized
tests across all subjects (Math, Science, and Reading). According to the 2018 round of the
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 65% of pupils in the Philippines
reported having been bullied at least several times per month, compared with 23% globally. The
findings on sexual identity and the frequency of victimhood were blended. On the one hand,
research has discovered that the frequency of victimization does not vary dramatically between
boys and girls (Malecki et al., 2015), whereas on the other hand, boys have a higher self-reported
recurrence of someone being bullied than girls (Nansel et al., 2001). Furthermore, on Kantian
deontological, or duty-based ethics is concerned with duties as universal principles. It is rooted in
imagining how well humanity could very well operate if everybody engaged in an ethically
prohibited action. Bullying is unethical in any sense because the bully treats some other
individual as a means to an end. Negative impact schemes, aggressive behavior, trickery, as well
as other bullying behavior patterns aimed directly at others just became a means to desired end.
Bullies, for example, may threaten or intimidate the bullied into doing additional work on a
specific project in order to further the bullies’ preferences. This violent behavior toward others
turns them into a means to an end, which violates deontological ethics. Bullies in the school
setting are becoming an end in themselves when they initiate their hurtful attempts toward others
in order to acquire power, acknowledgement, or materialistic things, such as in the particular
instance of instrumentally attacking many children. In the specific instance of provocative
victims who may raise bullying, the bully’s goal might be to end the bothersome behaviour, yet
in a manner that disregards the provocative victim’s morality. Lastly, the second principle being
applied to the phenomenon of bullying is virtue ethics. The concept of a mortal divine purpose
rooted in different kinds of essential qualities is central to virtue ethics, which focuses on the
concept of human thriving or well-being. Bullying behavior is not morally upright but rather
demonstrates vice, according to virtue ethics. In classical Aristotelian virtue ethics, bullying
might be viewed as a breach of prudence, restraint, or benevolence, and it doesn't really promote
human greatness by using any of the goods that humans possess. The emphasis in virtue ethics is
on exceptional procedures that both characterize the good and result in people's prospering.
Inability to minimize or remove unethical contact serves to perpetuate dangerous practices and
incentivizes more bullying. Everyone was raised and grown to be different people so in some
terms, different people do not get along which causes problem.
Positive development states that growth can occur as a result of having dealt with a bully
or handling bullying. Helene Guldberg (2010), an early childhood development educator, stirred
controversy when she asserted that someone being bullied can teach a person what to do to
handle conflicts and enhance their capacity to socialize with those around and that educators
should not engage, instead leaving kids to react to the bullying itself. She claimed that if
educators or other people in authority did not intervene, victims would indeed learn to stand for
themselves. Additionally, Dean Kalahar writes in his article "Anti-Bullying Campaign Is Just
"Hate Crime" Legislation for Kids" (2010), that before we made such a big deal about bullying,
children were having to put up with it, not just surviving but also growing stronger. The author
discusses the significance of "bullying" and its advantages. In many ways, he wonders why we're
attempting to repair something that's not damaged. He discusses our animal instincts and how
intuitive it is for living beings to want to be in authority. Furthermore, throughout the book
Developing a Social Psychology of Monkeys and Apes by Chadwick-Jones (1998), the author
says that superiority has never been a minor issue in primate experiments. Hierarchy is therefore
as impactful in social relationships as it is in civilized cultures. Specific benefits for a bully,
according to researchers, usually involve higher self-esteem, better availability of resources, and,
just like with apes and monkeys, evasion of violent moves from others. Some argue that bullying
enables an individual to avert the hostile behaviors of others by becoming forceful themselves.
Some research has found that comparable patterns of bullying behavior occur in wolves and
chimpanzees, among many other animals. This leads researchers to conclude that a seemingly
counterproductive pattern might have had some social value. One theory holds that bullying
occurs for some personal and interpersonal advantage. There would have been no point if there
was no incentive. Bullying traits could only thrive evolutionarily if there had been an advantage
to either expected lifespan or reproductive capacity that made them beneficial to the person who
carries them. In terms of reproductive outcomes, male bullies are thought to be dominant, have
much more physical ability, and obtain as much physical wealth, while female bullies are much
more appealing, which may lead to a higher social standing and more chances for fertilization
and procreation (Volk et al., 2012). Bullies are much more likely to date, get sex, and notify a
higher variety of relationships in early adulthood and adolescent years (Volk et al., 2015). These
studies suggest that bullies emerge to be at an evolutionary advantage because they are sexually
desirable to a greater variety of possible partners, which should boost their reproductive
prospects. In terms of ethical principles, situation ethics is appropriate for this because it informs
that right actions are all those driven by a desire to promote people’s well-being. Bullying people
in this sense means encouraging their capacity to grow into stronger, unique individuals who are
advantageous to themselves or everyone else, such as having contributed to mating and
procreation. Situation ethics teaches that certain kinds of behaviors do not have innate moral
significance; whether they’re beneficial or detrimental is determined by the outcome. And it
appears that in certain cases, it allows a person to commit acts that are normally regarded as
terrible, like bullying, if the outcome is sufficiently positive.
In summary, any type of bullying is unacceptable and unethical and should not be treated
lightly since it contributes to the emergence of psychological disorders. Anyone, regardless of
whether they are adults, children, or victims of school bullying, in the environment, at work, on
the internet, or in their household, can be impacted, and all of us are possible targets. It is neither
a one-time occasion nor does it take place infrequently. It happens constantly, anywhere, at any
moment, with the same person. School ought to be a joyful experience, not a dreadful one. It
should never be a breeding place for bullies or other societal threats. Bullying isn’t a normal
aspect of life, and we need to reject it. Do not simply stand by and accept bullying. Be a
bystander who can intervene to resolve and decrease bullying. We can all help create a society of
compassion at home, at school, and in other social situations. We will all receive the benefits of a
society wherein every individual can prosper if we establish great hopes for respect and approach
it ourselves. 
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