Discussant: LONTIONG, NAVERIAN R.

How do I know
what is right
or wrong?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
determine the origin and definition of
ethics;
identify the nature of ethics; and
Appraise the objects of ethics as a
foundation of one’s choices in life.
 Ethics or moral philosophy:
• As an academic discipline
• As a critical examination of something normative in
real human behavior
Ethics is a personal
and lifelong
commitment.
Man is given
free will to
choose.
The Origin
of Ethics
Greek word “ethos”, meaning character.

In ancient Greece, ethics was concerned with the

development of virtuous and moral character.

Morality is the normative moral code of acceptable or

prohibited behavior.
The Greek moralist Socrates was the first to recognize
the value of questions that affect how a person should live.

Socratic Method
The Socratic Method consists of asking people questions
about the ideas that they apparently know about.

The process of Socratic Method continues until others

realize that what they believed to be right is wrong.
 Socrates demonstrated the
importance of applying the critical
method of rational inquiry.
 He never told people what to believe;
he simply asked questions and left them to
realize the errors embedded in their own
judgment.
 For Socrates, the pursuit of truth
through the critical methods of rational
inquiry is the way human beings ought
to live their lives.
 To Socrates, an unexamined life
is not worth living.
 Ethics
Defined
 'Ethics' names a field
of inquiry, while 'morality'
names the object of that
inquiry.
Ethics is mainly known as the principle of moral conduct.

It is a branch of knowledge that governs the right and

wrong conduct .

It is at the core of people's professional and personal lives.

 L. R i c h
Ka r e n
Nature of
Ethics
 Ethics is critical
▪ Ethics can also be defined as a critical, systematic, and
reflective analysis of what makes an act good or bad.

▪ Ethical inquiry is characterized by looking into the very

ground or foundation of our actions,
 Ethics is practical
▪ It is primarily directed to those that are found in the actual
conduct of human beings.

▪ Moral principles serve as practical action guides in the

conduct of one's concrete life.
 Morality and its justification
▪ Ethics, or morality, has to do with rules and principles of
conduct.

▪ Ethics is concerned with the delicate (and even

controversial) question of justification.
 Morality and its justification
Actions need to be rationally justified for them to deserve
the title of "human actions".
➢ What separates the human being from the rest of creation is his
or her capacity to think and reflect before he or she acts.
IMPORTANCE
of
ETHICS
Discussant: Yrl Franz Harvy A. Gonong
 LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the students can:
define what is ethics;

discuss the importance of ethics; and,

value the crucial role of ethics in person’s life.

 What is Ethics?
Ethics are the character
builders. They are the set of
behavior one uses when
tested by difficult situations.
Why we study ethics?
1. We study "ethics" because society
cannot function without a series of
commonly accepted moral codes that
define boundaries of acceptable
behavior
Why we study ethics?
2. We study ethics because of
the choices and decisions that
we make every day that
affects the kind of life we live.
Why we study ethics?

3. Making moral decisions is

oftentimes difficult.
Why we study ethics?
4. The study of ethics can provide us
with certain moral paradigm or
perspectives that will, in anyway,
guide us in determining what is right
and wrong under such condition.
Why we study ethics?

5. The study of ethics will also enable

us to reason out our moral beliefs and
of why we hold them.
References
1. https://www.powershow.com/view0/8746e7-
ZjUyN/Importance_of_values_and_ethics_powerpoint_ppt_pre
sentation

2. https://www.slideshare.net/sayak007/importance-of-ethics

3. https://www.scu.edu/mobi/resources--tools/blog-
posts/ethics-in-life-and-business/ethics-in-life-and-
business.html
THANKS
 CHAPTER 1 -
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS

Foundations of Ethics as
Critical Discipline
Discussant: Lovelyn N. Fojas
 Lesson Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students can:

a. discuss the foundations of ethics as a critical
discipline;
b. explain why man is a rational being and free; and
c. appraise the importance of being morally and
ethically guided individual.
Foundations of Ethics as Critical
Discipline
Ethics and Law
Ethics is Prescriptive
Ethics is Normative
✓ Ethical rules are necessary even if we have the laws that are
implemented by civil authorities since legality is not identical with
morality.

✓ We can be good in terms of what the law requires but we may

still fall short of becoming a “moral” or “ethical” person.

✓ Morality - a particular system of values and principles of conduct,

especially one held by a specified person or society.
✓ Ethics is not identical with the law.
✓ Laws are only concerned with actions that are usually
“public” actions that in a way often harmed those
around us.
✓ Our laws are usually product of a collective agreement.
✓ Morality precedes legality
 Ethics is Prescriptive
✓ Prescriptive - giving exact rules, directions, or
instructions about how you should do something.

✓ Ethics is a philosophical study that attempts to

critically and systematically assess or evaluate the
morality of human conduct as to whether they
conform to certain ethical rules and guidelines.
✓ Prescriptive discipline, therefore tells us what we
ought to do or not to do, what actions we are
supposed to perform and avoid.

✓ In short ethics is concerned with the very ground

and foundations of morality.
 Ethics is Normative
✓ Norms are standards.

✓ Ethics as a normative discipline, attempts to

find out the standards of right or wrong in
terms of human conduct. It leads human to
choose which of these are more reasonable and
consistent.
✓ Ethics makes the value of judgments through ethical norms it
has developed. Value and prescriptive judgment may be both
called normative judgments to distinguish them from purely
descriptive and factual statements about something. They
usually express or presupposed norms or standards that are
rather than simple and objective descriptions about something.

✓ Thus, a normative statement expresses a value judgment of

some kind. Its correctness is essentially determined by
reference to a norm or standard, which in ethics we call
ethical/moral norms (Holmes, 2003).
 Man as a
Rational Being
and Free
 Man as a Rational Being

✓ This means that man is rational and acts with a

purpose, unlike brutes who merely act out of
instinct and reflex.

✓ Man is capable of knowing both the intentions and

the consequences of his actions and is capable of
judging them as right or wrong, or as good or bad.
 Man is free

✓ Ethics assumes that man is free to act

according to his will and he has the power to
act, speak or think if he chooses to without
restraints.
 Thank
you for
listening!
 References
Maestrecampo 2023, Introduction to Ethics. Retrieved from CHAPTER-I
(studylib.net)
Sudan et.al., 2020, Meaning, Nature and Scope of Ethics. Retrieved from
https://www.distanceeducationju.in/pdf/BA%20Sem%20III%20Course%20No%20P
L-301%20Philosophy.pdf
Spring 2013, Can Human Beings Truly Be Considered Free? Retrieved from
https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context
=science_religion_2013
Mittal 2017, To Be Is To Be: Jean-Paul Sartre On Existentialism And Freedom,
Retrieved from https://yourstory.com/2017/06/jean-paul-sartre-philosophy-
existentialism-freedom
The objects of ethics
 The principal cause of action is usually attributed to the doer.

A person in control of his or her faculties, e.g., intelligence

and will, is judged moral if he or she performs an act that
observes a particular standard of morality and immoral if he
commits an act that violates any given moral standard.
 There are two distinct ethical objects:
the doer of an act and the act done by the doer.

The physical object of

ethics The nonphysical
The doer of an act is the object of ethics
physical object of ethics (e.g., The action taken by a
a moral agent). moral agent is called the
nonphysical object of ethics.
 Chapter Summary
✓ Ethics comes from the Greek word ethos, meaning character.
✓ The assumptions of ethics are man is a rational being and man is free.
✓ The doer of an act and the act done by the doer are two different objects of
ethics.
✓ Ethics helps us understand why one act is better than another. It is basis for
agreement, understanding some principles of rules of procedure. It also
seeks to point out to men the true values of life.
References:
Agapay, Ramon (1991). Ethics and the Filipino. Mandaluyon, National Book
Store Ariely, Dan (2010). Predictably Irrational: The hidden forces that
shape our decision.
New York: Harper Perennial.
Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by J. E. C. Welldon. Amherst:
Prometheus Books, 1987.
Articulo & Florendo. 2003. Values and Work Ethics. Philippines: Trinitas Publishing,
Inc. Augustine, (1995). De doctrina Christiana. Edited and translated by R.P.H.
Green.
Oxford Clarendon.
Babor. 1999. ETHICS: The Philosophical Discipline of Action First Edition. Manila:
Rex Bookstore, Inc.