Ethics

Course Code: Hum 103

Prelim
Module 1. The Moral Standard

Moral standards involve the rules people have about the kinds of actions they believe are
morally right and wrong, as well as the values they place on the kinds of objects they believe are morally
good and morally bad. Some ethicists equate moral standards with moral values and moral principles.
Non-moral standards refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical considerations. Either
these standards are not necessarily linked to morality or by nature lack ethical sense. Basic examples of
non-moral standards include rules of etiquette, fashion standards, rules in games, and various house rules.
Technically, religious rules, some traditions, and legal statutes (i.e. laws and ordinances) are non-
moral principles, though they can be ethically relevant depending on some factors and contexts.
Characteristics of Moral Standards
a. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits. - Moral standards deal with matters
which can seriously impact, that is, injure or benefit human beings. It is not the case with many non-moral
standards. For instance, following or violating some basketball rules may matter in basketball games but
does not necessarily affect one’s life or wellbeing.
b. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values. - Moral standards have overriding character
or hegemonic authority. If a moral standard states that a person has the moral obligation to do something,
then he/she is supposed to do that even if it conflicts with other non-moral standards, and even with self-
interest.
c. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability. - Simply put, it means that everyone should live
up to moral standards. To be more accurate, however, it entails that moral principles must apply to all who
are in the relevantly similar situation. This characteristic is exemplified in the golden rule.
Universalizability is an extension of the principle of consistency, that is, one ought to be consistent about
one’s value judgments.

d. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations. - Moral standard does not evaluate
standards based on the interests of a certain person or group, but one that goes beyond personal interests
to a universal standpoint in which each person’s interests are impartially counted as equal. Impartiality is
usually depicted as being free of bias or prejudice. Impartiality in morality requires that we give equal
and/or adequate consideration to the interests of all concerned parties.

Moral Dilemmas

Moral dilemmas are situations 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.

How to Solve an Ethical/ Moral Dilemma?

The biggest challenge of an ethical dilemma is that it does not offer an obvious solution that would
comply with ethics al norms. Throughout the history of humanity, people have faced such dilemmas, and
philosophers aimed and worked to find solutions to them.

The following approaches to solve an ethical dilemma were deduced:

  Refute the paradox (dilemma): The situation must be carefully analyzed. In some cases, the
existence of the dilemma can be logically refuted.

 Value theory approach: Choose the alternative that offers the greater good or the lesser evil.

 Find alternative solutions: In some cases, the problem can be reconsidered, and new alternative
solutions may arise.

The Three Levels of Moral Dilemma

 Personal Dilemmas - Simply put, these personal dilemmas are those experienced and
resolved on the personal level. Since many ethical decisions are personally made, many,
if not most of, moral dilemmas fall under, or boil down to, this level. We can give many
other examples of personal moral dilemmas. If someone makes conflicting promises, he
faces a moral conflict. When an individual must choose between the life of a child who is
about to be delivered and the child’s mother, he faces an ethical dilemma.

 Organizational Dilemmas - Basically, ethical cases encountered and resolved by social

organizations are organizational moral dilemmas. This category includes moral dilemmas
in business, medical field, and public sector. Moral dilemmas also arise in professional
work. Administrative bodies in business are confronted with situations in which several
courses of action are possible but none of them provide a totally successful outcome to
those affected by the decision or actions taken.

 Structural Dilemmas - These structural moral dilemmas pertain to cases involving

network of institutions and operative theoretical paradigms. As they usually encompass
multi-sectoral institutions and organizations, they may be larger in scope and extent than
organizational dilemmas.

Module 2. The Moral Agent

The Role of Culture in Moral Behavior

Culture is all around us. Practically, culture appears to be an actual part of our social life as well
as our personality. For some, culture is a quality that some people have more than others: how 'cultured'
somebody is depends on some factors like status, class, education, and taste in music or film, and speech
habits. By attending symphonies, plays, operas, and poetry readings, some show that they appreciate
culture more than others. The term culture is so complex that it is not easy to define. In one sense, culture
is used to denote that which is related to the arts and humanities. But in a broader sense, culture denotes
the practices, beliefs, and perceptions of a given society. It is in this sense that culture is often opposed
with „savagery that is, being 'cultured' is seen as a product of a certain evolvement from a natural state.
Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a groups skills, knowledge, attitudes,
values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society
through its institutions. Defined broadly therefore, culture includes all the things individuals learn while
growing up among particular group: attitudes, standards of morality, rules of etiquette, perceptions of
reality, language, notions about the proper way to live, beliefs about how females and males should
interact, ideas about how the world works and so forth. We call this cultural knowledge.
Based on the definitions of culture above, it is not hard to pinpoint the role of the culture in one's
moral behavior. A culture is a 'way of life' of a group of people, and this so-called 'way of life' actually
includes moral values and behaviors, along with knowledge, beliefs, symbols that they accept, generally
without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one
generation to the next" ('Culture Definition, n.d.). Culture is learned as children grow up in society and
discover how their parents and others around them interpret the world. In our society, we learn to
distinguish objects such as cars, windows, houses, children, and food; recognize attributes like sharp, hot,
beautiful, and humid; classify and perform different kinds of acts; and even "evaluate what is [morally)
good and bad and to judge when an unusual action is appropriate or inappropriate" (Mañebog & Peña,
2016).
Cultural Relativism
Cultural relativism is the view that ethical and social standards reflect the cultural context from
which they are derived. Cultural relativists uphold that cultures differ fundamentally from one another,
and so do the moral frameworks that structure relations within different societies. In international
relations, cultural relativists determine whether an action is 'right' or 'wrong' by evaluating it according to
the ethical standards of the society within which the action occurs. There is a debate in the field on
whether value judgments can be made across cultures. Cultural relativism should not be confused with
moral relativism, which holds that moral absolutes guiding individual behavior do not exist as a matter of
principle.
Moral Development
Moral development is the process by which people develop the distinction between right and
wrong (morality) and engage in reasoning between the two (moral reasoning).

Stages of Moral Development

Kohlberg's theory is broken down into three primary levels. At each level of moral development,
there are two stages. Like how Piaget believed that not all people reach the highest levels of cognitive
development, Kohlberg believed not everyone progresses to the highest stages of moral development.

Level 1. Preconventional Morality

Preconventional morality is the earliest period of moral development. It lasts until around the age
of 9. At this age, children's decisions are primarily shaped by the expectations of adults and the
consequences of breaking the rules. There are two stages within this level:

Stage 1 (Obedience and Punishment): The earliest stages of moral development, obedience and
punishment are especially common in young children, but adults are also capable of expressing this type
of reasoning. According to Kohlberg, people at this stage see rules as fixed and absolute. Obeying the
rules is important because it is a way to avoid punishment.

Stage 2 (Individualism and Exchange): At the individualism and exchange stage of moral
development, children account for individual points of view and judge actions based on how they serve
individual needs. In the Heinz dilemma, children argued that the best course of action was the choice that
best served Heinz’s needs. Reciprocity is possible at this point in moral development, but only if it serves
one's own interests.

Level 2. Conventional Morality

The next period of moral development is marked by the acceptance of social rules regarding what
is good and moral. During this time, adolescents and adults internalize the moral standards they have
learned from their role models and from society.

This period also focuses on the acceptance of authority and conforming to the norms of the group.
There are two stages at this level of morality:

Stage 3 (Developing Good Interpersonal Relationships): Often referred to as the "good boy-
good girl" orientation, this stage of the interpersonal relationship of moral development is focused on
living up to social expectations and roles.6 There is an emphasis on conformity, being "nice," and
consideration of how choices influence relationships.

Stage 4 (Maintaining Social Order): This stage is focused on ensuring that social order is
maintained. At this stage of moral development, people begin to consider society as a whole when
making judgments. The focus is on maintaining law and order by following the rules, doing one’s duty,
and respecting authority.
 Level 3. Postconventional Morality

At this level of moral development, people develop an understanding of abstract principles of

morality. The two stages at this level are:

Stage 5 (Social Contract and Individual Rights): The ideas of a social contract and individual
rights cause people in the next stage to begin to account for the differing values, opinions, and beliefs of
other people.6 Rules of law are important for maintaining a society, but members of the society should
agree upon these standards.

Stage 6 (Universal Principles): Kohlberg’s final level of moral reasoning is based on universal
ethical principles and abstract reasoning. At this stage, people follow these internalized principles of
justice, even if they conflict with laws and rules.

Kohlberg believed that only a relatively small percentage of people ever reach the post-
conventional stages (around 10 to 15%). One analysis found that while stages one to four could be seen as
universal in populations throughout the world, the fifth and sixth stages were extremely rare in all
populations.

References:
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%20situations%20in,concern%2C%20regardless%20of%20the%20decision.
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%20relativism%20is%20the%20view,structure%20relations%20within%20dif
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