ETHICS

Lesson 1: Intro to Ethics

A. BASIC DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY
- Term philosophy came from two Greek words “philein”, meaning love
and friendship and “sophia”, meaning wisdom.
- “love of wisdom”
- Cagayan – “siribayat”. Itawit indigenous vernacular term signifies love
of wisdom.
- Siribayat – “sirib” which means wisdom, “ayat” means love.
- Siriban means to be keen towards reality, that is allowing the “panono”
(itawit that means reflection) to extend its capacity to unveil and
rediscover the true meaning of a reality.
Philosophy is a search for meaning and truth
- This seeking, looking, and finding wisdom and truth is a passionate
search where we surrender ourselves into it.
- Search for meaning is a personal act.
- Emphasis of 3 elements:
1) The object of the search is of real value to the subject.
Object refers to things, subject refers to the person
philosophizing
2) It consumes the whole person – attention, concentration,
interest, effort. A person becomes part of the object
investigation, leading oneself into submission towards the
goal.
3) It is continued without a let-tup until the answer is found or
the answer is not yet found, but the conviction is reached
that for the moment at least this is the best possible
although still imperfect answer. Meaning, a person must
not give up into something he seeks for and must not
surrender until the problem is solved.
- The attainment of truth cannot be the goal of philosophy and the
“search for truth, not the possession of it, is the true aim of philosophy.
Philosophy is also defined as the science that by natural light of reason
studies the first causes of highest principle of all things
- As science, is an organized body of knowledge that involves a
systematic investigation of a reality through the natural capacity of man
to think (light of reason). The endeavor of understanding the prima
causa of everything is not purely experimental nor it has a divine
 intervention, but rather is it purely an experience of the self to the life-
world.
B. MAIN BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
1. METAPHYSICS
- the study of anything that we can think about
- being refers to the realities that we see of metaphysics
- it is the ontology, theodicy, psychology and cosmology study of realities in
life
- deals with human reality and system of human though that seeks to explain
the fundamental concepts of man.
2. EPISTEMOLOGY
- “episteme” – from Greek word
- deals with all aspects of knowledge
- deals with concerning the nature of knowledge.
- truth value of human knowledge
- has sub divisions like agnosticism, skepticism
- investigates the nature, source, limitations, and validity of knowledge.
3. LOGIC
- the study of the methods and principles used to distinguish correct
reasoning from incorrect reasoning
-focuses on the developing the mind to be critical and logical.
4. ETHICS
- a practical and normative science, based on reason which studies human
acts and provides norms for their goodness or badness
- also called moral philosophy which tries to understand the goodness and
badness of a human act. (Three general subject areas: metaethics, normative,
and applied ethics.)
- explores that nature of moral virtue and evaluates human actions.
C. DEFINITION OF ETHICS

 Etymological meaning
 Derived from the Greek word ethikos which is derived from the
Greek word ethos, meaning custom, or character.
 The field of ethics or moral philosophy involves developing,
defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong
behavior. These concepts do not change as one’s desires and
motivation change.
 Functional Definition
  Is a practical and normative science, based on reason, which studies
human acts and provides norms for their goodness and badness.
 Ethics is a branch of philosophy that explores the nature of moral
virtue and evaluates human actions.
 Takes up the meanings of our moral concepts such as right action,
obligation and justice – and formulates principles to guide moral
decisions.
 The ‘general inquiry into what is good’ poses some questions
concerning what sort of actions can bind humans.
 The Material Object of Ethics
 The Human Act/Action
 Things we can moralize or judge if they are good or bad – custom,
cultures, traditions, and other practices of a certain community or
society.
 The Formal Object of Ethics
 The goodness or badness of the human act.
 It is based on thinking, reflecting, and reasoning on the different
moral standards to be used.
 Society’s morality calls for a standard which serves as a ‘guiding
principle’ of all actions which answers the question of what is good
and right or bad and unacceptable.
 Actions are good or acceptable when they satisfy the standards or
ethical codes of a society while they are unacceptable when they
fail to follow its principles. We call these principles, codes, or
standards as moral standards.
 Standards of Behavior
 Ethics must be based on accepted standards of behavior.
 These standards have developed over time and come from a variety
of sources including:
1. The influence of religious writing and interpretations.
2. The influence of philosophical thought.
3. The influence of community (society) values.
 Norms, Values, and the Law
 Ethics deals with well-based standards of how people ought to act.
But it does not describe the way people do act. It deals with the way
people should act.
 Ethical people always strive to make the right decision in all
circumstances. They do not rationalize their action based on their
own perceived self-interests.
 Ethical decision-making entails following certain well-established
norms of behavior.
  Values are basic and fundamental beliefs that guide or motivate
attitudes or actions. It is concerned with how a person will behave
in certain situations whereas ethics is concerned with how a moral
person should behave.

Lesson 2: Comparison of Ethics and Morality, Ethics and other

disciplines, and the importance of ethics
A. Ethics Vs. Morality
ETHICS

 Derived from the Greek word ethikos which is derived from the Greek
word ethos, meaning custom, or character.
 The field of ethics or moral philosophy involves developing, defending, and
recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.
FUNCTIONAL DEFINITION

 Ethics is the branch of philosophy that explores the nature of moral virtue
and evaluates human actions
 It studies on the morality of human actions
 It explores the nature of moral virtue and evaluates human actions.
Morality

 An encompassing concept that serves as the underlying force for every

action of an individual, even of society.
 Takes the crucial role of formulating, establishing and setting ethical norms
of conduct that govern behaviors and actions of an individual or group of
individual in order to achieve harmony, unity, and order within a society.
 Clarifies the essential features that everyone, who is subject to moral
judgement, determines what kind of actions are normally acceptable and
permissible.
 Establishes the fundamental framework on the true intent and motive
behind every actions and decision.
 Comparing ethics and morality, they both study human acts and their
goodness or badness; they both lay moral norms or principles as how one
ought to act and ought to be; they both use reason, in analyzing,
interpreting, and deciding proper conduct in situations concerning moral
dilemma; they both aim to form a moral person with mature character and
create a just and humane society.
 But what differentiates them is the fact that aside from using reason as the
source of evaluating validity of choice amidst a moral decision making,
 only morality also uses Divine Revelation or the use of the Bible and other
Church doctrines to support the validity of its moral claims.
B. Ethics and other disciplines
1. Ethics and Psychology
- Many people tend to equate with their feelings. But being ethical is
clearly not a matter of following one’s feelings. Feelings frequently
deviate from what is ethical.
- According to Aristotle, the very goal of human life is happiness. To
reach this is moderation or the avoidance of extremes which includes
the use of his reason and his passion.
2. Ethics and Law
- The law often incorporates ethical standards to which most citizens
subscribe. But laws can deviate from what is ethical.
- Being ethical is not the same as following the law. While ethical people
always try to be law-abiding, there may be instances where your sense
of ethics tells you it is best not to follow the law.
3. Ethics and Sociology
- Ethical standards are sometimes based from social norms but social
norms are not the sole basis of ethical standards. Being ethical is not
the same as doing “whatever society accepts”.
- In any society, most people accept standards that are, in fact, ethical
but standards of behavior in society can deviate from what is ethical.
- If being ethical were doing whatever society accepts, then to find out
what is ethical, one would have to find out to take a survey of Filipino
society and then conform my beliefs to whatever society accepts.
4. Ethics and Religion
- Religion can set high ethical standards can provide intense
motivations for ethical behavior. Yet if ethics were confined to
religion, then ethics would apply only to religious people and that
particular ethical standard only apply to members of a particular
religion.
- It shows that membership to and beliefs in a particular religion does
not necessarily imply that one is ethical.
Importance of Ethics
- Ethics deals with the principles of ethical behavior in modern society at the
level of the society, individual and profession.
1. Individual
 -Personal sense of right and wrong in order to make good decisions.
-Helps employees gain the trust of the people with whom they work.
-Affect this aspect because an individual has its own point of reference,
view, and opinion in dealing with personal situation and occurrences. It
helps the individual develop a sense of obligation in decision making.
-Ethics is very crucial in the person’s inner development since it involves
the improvement of oneself, developing a sense of proper disposition as
he/she situates himself/herself from the society.
2. Company
- Business develops ethics to help them determine how to behave
- With respect to company environment, ethics play a crucial role in the
working setting.
- It control business malpractices among workers, creates a better
relation between employees and employers, improves customer
satisfaction service and issues by having fair and reasonable business
activities, increases profitability, improves business goodwill, better
decision making, and protects business’ reputation.
3. Profession
- Ethics reminds the person of his responsibility and obligation in
relation to his profession. As professional disposes his/her duties,
he/she establishes a strong and corporate ethical culture.
- It helps the person conform to the standards and conduct of his
profession.

Lesson 3: Human Acts

Human Acts

 Are actions that are proper to humans, thus the crucial element of willful
consent and knowledge of the action must be present.
 One must freely use his/her intellect and freewill when acting.
 It reveals the value of responsibility or accountability.
Human Acts and Acts of Man

 Human acts, are acts that we do with the use of free will and intellect. They
are done freely, deliberate and voluntary.
 These actions are proper to humans; thus, the crucial element of willful
consent and knowledge of the actions must be present.
 Acts of Man, are acts that we do without free will and intellect; some are
done by instinct.
  The actions performed without conscious deliberation or knowledge and
with the absence of freewill. Acts of man constitute unconscious and
involuntary actions.
 Human actions are qualified as good or right (moral), bad or wrong
(immoral) or indifferent (non-moral). The quality and standard of a human
act depends on the relationship of the act with the norms of morality (Law:
Eternal; Natural; and Positive Law (divine or human)).
 Both divide and human positive laws are specific application of the Eternal
Law or the Natural Law. If a Positive Law does not adhere or respect the
Natural Law, then it ruins or damages the development of the human
person.
 An act is good when it agrees with the dictates of right reason.
 An act is bad when it disagrees with the dictates of right reason.
 An act is indifferent when it stands no relation to the dictates of the right
reason.

Constituents of Human Acts

1. Human acts must be known and deliberate
- As individual, the moral agent, has full knowledge in doing a
certain action.
- There is a prior knowledge and a deliberate evaluation whether to
fulfill an action or not.
2. Human acts must be free
- An individual as the moral agent is free from any external factors as
well as internal pressure to do an act.
- He/she is neither forced nor intimidated to do or not to do
something.
- There is obvious absence of constraint from within and outside of
the individual.
- He/she is free to do the influence of an outside factor and personal
pressure from within.
- He/she does the act so independently and not because of shame,
request or control from someone else nor from the emotional
disturbance.
3. Human acts are voluntary
- The action proceeds from the willingness of an individual to
perform action with a perceived knowledge of the end.
- He/she wills to perform the act with the understanding that he/she
knows consciously where his/her actions are leading into.
Freedom and Responsibility
 1. Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
- Man is condemned to be free, because there is no God.
- Whether he likes it or not, man is doomed to freedom, as he himself
is freedom.
- Man is the only being whose existence precedes his essence.
- There is no such thing as God-given essence or nature of man,
insofar as man alone has to create himself and develop his own
essence through his freedom.
- Sartre is telling us that man is condemned to be free, because once
thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. It is
up to you to give (life) a meaning.
- Sartre believes that, “existence precedes essence”. Man is nothing
else but what he makes of himself.
- He tells us that the human person becomes responsible for the
projection of one’s life.
2. Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)
- Heidegger contends that this emphasis on freedom enables us to
understand philosophy as a “going-after-the-whole” that is at the
same time a “going-to-our-roots”.
- We must search for the essence of human freedom in the constant
presence of being in the world that precedes and grounds
philosophical thinking.
- “Da – there”; “Sein – being.
- He challenges us to understand the meaning of Dasein (of what it
means to be there).
- He claimed that mas is Dasein but does not necessarily mean man.
- This mean that being there has to be made. We have to create our
being as persons.
- Our mere existence does not presuppose that we are living as a
person already.
- Like Sartre, we are responsible in projecting our lives. This is what
makes Heidegger “very interested in the problem of being rather
than merely in the problem of human existence”.
Impediments to Human Acts

 Human actions, though naturally a product of will and reason, are

sometimes influenced by certain factors, which are called impediments to
human actions. These factors intervene and bar one’s actions from being
human or contribute to the reduction of the quality of a certain action.
A. Ignorance
- Pertains to the lack of pertinent information, circumstances and
effect of a certain action.
 - It takes place when an individual consciously proceeds to act on a
certain matter without due consideration of the relevant or necessary
information related to it.
a. Invincible Ignorance
- Totally ignorant of things surrounding his/her action and
there is no way to remove/dispel it.
b. Vincible Ignorance
- Lack of required knowledge to determine the goodness or
badness of a certain action, but this can be dispelled or
learned through ordinary efforts, conscientiousness and
proper diligence.
i. Affected Vincible Ignorance
- one is pretending to be ignorant since he/she just wants to
gain approval of the other for his/her wrong action.
ii. Supine or Crass Ignorance
- It happens when a person exerts little effort to know
something.
B. Concupiscence
- a situation where one’s inordinate passion hinders one to
exercise correct reason, thus also affects his/her action
- passions means our emotional elements.
a. Antecedent Concupiscence
- a spontaneous/sudden inordinate passion influences an
action before it has been controlled by the will.
b. Consequent Concupiscence
- This happens when one is aware of the inordinate passion
and the will chooses to arouse the said passion to perform
the bad action.
- The passion has already pass through intellect and
controlled by the will, but still, the individual performs the
human act.
C. Fear
- Affects the performance of a human act since the individual is
threatened by the impeding dangers.
- The presence of danger and intimidation affects his/her thought
processes in determining the goodness or badness of his/her actions.
a. Light Fear
- The threat/imminent danger confronting a person is not so
serious or grave to influence or force one to do a certain
act.
b. Grave Fear
 - the threat is so serious or grave that it can really influence
or force one to do a certain act.
D. Violence
- You must exert all the efforts needed to defend yourself in
extreme cases where your life or your dignity is at stake.
- Self-defense is a classic example in the face of aggression
wherein one has to protect himself/herself from the
attacker.
- Conditions of self defense:
1. The aggression must be unjust.
2. The aggression must be actual.
3. Use minimum violence/it must be proportional.
E. Habit
- A firm and stable behavior pattern of acting.
- An individual naturally and consciously performs an actions as
result of its repetitive performance through time. One acts based on
his/her repeated responses on situations.
- Good moral habits are call virtues while bad habits are vices.