PHILOSOPHY 1-

ETHICS
ETHICS – MODULE
 OBJECTIVE:
1.1
 Demonstrate an ability to apply
IDENTIFYING THE personal values and ethical principles
ETHICAL ASPECT as basis for identifying, analyzing and
managing ethical issues.
OF HUMAN LIFE
AND THE SCOPE OF
 Identify the ethical aspect of human
ETHICAL THINKING. life and the scope of ethical thinking.
OUTLINE :

I – ETHICS Meaning
• Ethics and Morality
• Moral Principles
II – Descriptive and Normative Study of Ethics
III – Moral Evaluation
III – Seven Step of Moral Reasoning Model
IV – Moral Standards
• Sources of Authority
V – Why Study Ethics?
• The Role of Freedom in Ethics
V – Conclusion
ETHICS
 Ethics is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending and
recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.
 The branch in philosophy that deals in the study of the standards for judging
whether things are good or bad, and the analysis of concepts like justice,
virtue, morality, and responsibility—thus seeking to resolve questions on
human morality.
 Determining the grounds for the values with particular and special
significance to human life.

 From Ancient Greek words ἠθική (ēthikḗ), from ἠθικός (ēthikós, “of or for
morals, moral, expressing character”), from ἦθος (êthos, “character, moral
nature”)

“What makes one’s action as right or wrong?”

Ethics and Morality

 Morality is a system of beliefs about what is right behavior or wrong

behavior.
 It deals with how a person relates with others and with the world to promote
what is good.
 Latin mōrālis (“relating to manners or morals”) and from mos (“manner,
custom”)
 Ethics and Morality are used interchangeably.
 Ethics is focused on the general principles, rules and theories on determining
what is right or wrong.
 Morality is the practice or praxis, the application of those principles.

 THUS, Ethics is both a theory and a practice.

DESCRIPTIVE AND NORMATIVE STUDY
OF ETHICS

1. Descriptive Study – how people, particularly groups,

make their moral valuations without making any judgement
either for or against these valuations.
 Often the work of the social scientists:
 1. HISTORIAN – studying different moral standards over time.
 2. SOCIOLOGISTS or ANTHROPOLOGISTS – studying different moral
standards across cultures.
DESCRIPTIVE AND NORMATIVE STUDY
OF ETHICS
 2. Normative Study – often done in philosophy of
moral theology, engages the questions:
 What could or should be considered as the right way of
acting?

A normative discussion prescribes what we ought to

maintain as our standards or bases for moral valuation.
 Kinds of Acts
Act of Man Human Act
Refers to those acts Refers to those actions EssentialElements:
which man has no which are within the
control (i.e, instinctual) control of man (i.e., 1. Knowledge
rationality)
These are acts shared in These are proper to
2. Freedom
common by man and human beings
other animals.
3. Will
Involuntary act, by Voluntary act, by
instinct conscience

e.g., breathing, e.g., walking, talking,

For a man to be morally
emotions, blood thinking, eating, biting,
accountable of his/her act, it must
circulation, digestion, etc.
be done knowingly, freely, and
willfully.
etc.
Knowledge

 Where the doer is aware of what

he/she is doing.
 One cannot hold a person fully
responsible for something that he or
she is not aware of.
 Without knowledge of the doer,
the act is ordinarily taken as a
act of man.
 But if one does an action with
awareness, then the issue of moral
responsibility is inevitable.
 RE: the action has been acted upon
within the level of the person’s
awareness, and thus what he/she does
is a human act (which can either be
moral or immoral).
Freedom

 In which the act is not done by force.

 It is a state of being unrestricted from
internal impulse and external pressures.
 A human act is a free act.
 Without freedom in the performance of
the act, a person can never be held
responsible for his action.

Philosophical insights on Freedom

▪ Freedom is a Gift
▪ Freedom is complementary to reason
▪ Freedom is Absolute
▪ Freedom demands Responsibility
Will

 Which the doer has given his/her consent

to the doing of the act.
 Unless the act is done with consent, no
action can be considered a human act.
 The approval or disapproval of the
will can make an act a human act.
 Related of the doer’s voluntariness, i.e,
the act of the will.

Four Kinds of Voluntariness:

1. Perfect voluntariness
2. Imperfect voluntariness
3. Simple voluntariness
4. Conditional voluntariness
Square of Moral Evaluation
How can we evaluate the morality of one’s action?
4 Determinants:

Act Itself Intention

Circumstances End or Result

 a. The Act Itself

 This pertains to the Human Action

alone
 This refers to the deed done by
the doer of the action.
 An act can either good or bad.
 E.g., the act of giving; the act of
killing; the act of sharing
 Two natures of the Act Itself:
 Intrinsic value – the embedded
essence of the act.
 Extrinsic value - the external act
or value derived from the
external act.
 b. Intention

 Intention is the purpose or reason of

the doing the act.
 Otherwise known as premediated
motivation, it is covertly present in
the mind of the doer, only him/her
knows the end target of the act.
 As the intention is initially present
in the mind of the doer, only he/she
knows the end target of the act.
 Relating to the Act Itself in moral
evaluation, some act may be
considered as good in its surface
level.
 c. Circumstances
 This involves the situations that surrounds the
commission of the act.
 5W&H
 In ethics, circumstances is understood as the
prevailing and prompting condition or situation
behind the doing of the act.
 Four types of moral circumstances:
 Aggravating – done by a doer in different
situation when there is an element of
added factor(s) contributing to the first
or initial action.
 Mitigating – understood as the lessening
the supposed moral gravity of the crime
or action.
 Justifying – the act is justified “as if no
moral offence is committed”
 Exempting – the element of rationality,
freedom, consent, voluntariness is
hampered or absent.
 d. The End

 The is the End or Result of the

action.
 Does the end justify the means?
 No matter how good the result is
but the means on how it is
achieved is done thru a bad way,
it does not diminish its moral
culpability.
Matrices

 The Act Itself vs. Intention

 The Act Itself vs. Circumstances

 Intention vs. Circumstances

 Act Itself vs. The End

 Intention vs. The End

Moral Dilemma

 A dilemma is a situation in which a

difficult choice has to be made
between two or more alternatives
especially undesirable ones.

 You find yourself facing a problem but

the solutions available to you will
create another problem or worse
create more problems.

 Three Levels of Moral Dilemma

1. Personal
2. Organizational
3. Structural
7- STEPS OF MORAL REASONING
(Pasco, Suarez and Rodriguez,2018) – Ensure the rationality and impartiality of
moral decisions. These can also serve as a guide in making choices of moral
import:
 1. Stop and Think – before making decisions, it is best to take a moment
to think about the situation itself.
 2. Clarify Goals – short term and long term aims.
 3. Determine Facts – enough information is gathered before making a
choice or decision. An intelligent choice is the one that is supported by
verified facts.
 4. Develop Options – Come up with alternative options to exhaust all
possible courses of action.
7- STEPS OF MORAL REASONING

 5. Consider Consequences – filter your choices and separate

the ethical from the unethical choices bearing in mind both your
motives and potential consequences of your action. Think long-
term consequences and act in accordance with the principles of
justices and fairness.
 6. Choose – make a decision. Try consulting others. Find people
with a virtuous character and compare your reasoning
with your analysis.
 7. Monitor and Modify – enough monitor what happens after your
decision and have enough humility to modify your action or
behaviours as necessary.
Moral Standards
 Moral standards are codes of what is right and wrong without reference to specific
behaviors or beliefs These deal with matters that the person thinks have serious
consequence.
 E.g., etiquette, policy, law, commandment.

Six CHARACTERISTICS of Moral Standards:

1. Moral standards involve behaviors that seriously affect other people’s well-being.
2. Moral standards take a more important consideration than other standards (including
self-interest)
3. Moral standards do not depend on any external authority but in how the person
perceives the reasonableness of the action.
4. Moral standards are believed to be universal
5. Moral standards are based on objectivity
6. Moral standards are associated with vocabulary that depicts emotions or feelings.
Moral Standards

Merely abiding moral standards vs. owning moral standards

 Ethics are presumed as moral rules on how a person should act.
 However, is ethics just about following rules of do’s and don’ts?
 E.g. “everyone is obligated to act in ways that uphold human dignity for all
people.”
 Moral principles like these guides the practice of various professions (i.e.
professional ethics).
Moral Principles

The guidelines that people live by to make sure they are doing the right thing.
 Moral principles must have the following characteristics:
1. Prescriptivity
2. Impartiality
3. Overridingness
4. Autonomous from Arbitrary Authority
5. Publicity
6. Practicability
SOURCES OF AUTHORITY
 1. Authority of Law – from the laws created by legislature and
enacted, and enforce by police power.

 2. Authority of Religion – from the sacred or religious texts or

doctrines, and religious leaders or communities

 3. Authority of Culture – from the shared beliefs, values,

behaviors and practices common to a particular group or
community.
Why Study Ethics?

 Between animal and men, animals behave instinctively while human behavior is rational.
 Rational behavior is a decision-making process, and is tied to moral standards.
 The human person is free to decide what to do and free to act on his/her decisions.

 Only human beings can be ethical because only humans have the capacity for free moral
judgment.
the Fleet of Ships analogy
 Though each ship must sail well on its own, each must also coordinate with the other ships
at all times to stay in formation and avoid collision.
 The fleet must have a destination for the journey.
 Fleet of Ships vs. Human person.
 A ship is under the captain’s command, but a person is free to decide the his/her course.
The Role of Freedom

 The personal aspect of morality is about developing virtue.

 So that thinking morally, performing moral acts, and choosing what to do what is
good becomes a habit.
 Then… What is virtue? Who is a virtuous human person? What is the ultimate
good or aim of a human person?

Philosophical Insights of Freedom:

❖ Freedom is a Gift
❖ Freedom is Complementary to Reason
❖ Freedom is Absolute
❖ Freedom Demands Responsibility
Conclusions:
 Ethics as a moral philosophy.
 Ethics teaches how people or group make decisions.
 It hones our moral compass to make better and sound judgments for the general
welfare.
 Making decisions based on authority, in general.