ETHICS
THE STUDY OF ETHICS
PHILOSPHY
Etymological Definition: from the Greek word
philosophia which means love of wisdom.
Technical Definition: study of general and fundamental
questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason,
mind, and language.
ETHICS
● Greek word ethikos which means relating to
one’s character.
● Ethos which means character or moral nature.
● Latin: ETHICA, French: ethique.
● Deals with studies that constitutes good and
bad conduct, right and wrong values, and good
and evil.
Etymological Definition is the origin of the word or the
word history.
Technical Definition is the one that describes or
explains a terminology.
FOUR MAIN DIVISIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
METAPHYSICS
● Meta which means beyond or after.
● Phsika which means physical or nature.
● The study of things beyond physical concepts or
things that cannot be experienced.
● Concerned with fundamental nature of
existence or reality.
● study of the most general features of reality
such as existence, time, objects, and their
properties, whole and their parts, events,
processes, and causation, and the relationship
between mind and body.
● considers physical universe and nature of
ultimate reality.
o Law of Nature
o Law of Inertia
o Law of Relativity
EPISTEMOLOGY
● Episteme which means knowledge or
understanding.
● Logy which means study.
● Branch of philosophy that considers how people
come to learn what they know.
● Philosophy of knowing about knowing.
● investigates the origin, structure, methods, and
integrity of knowledge.
● FOUR MAIN BASES OF KNOWLEDGE:
o Divine Revelation which is the alleged
instances of divine speaking or special
divine acts in history. It is in any means
of divine self-disclosure, for example
through nature.
o Experience is the practical contact with
and observation of facts or events.
Encounter. Undergo.
o Logic which is the study of correct
reasoning and reason which is a cause,
explanation.
o Intuition which is knowledge that
cannot be acquired either by
interference or observation, by reason
or experience.
LOGIC
● the branch of philosophy that studies the rule of
interference that allows one to deduce
conclusions from true premises.
● the science of correct reasoning and argument.
● DEDUCTIVE REASONING
o general to specific observation.
o All birds are flying, an eagle is a bird,
thus an eagle can fly.
● INDUCTIVE REASONING
o specific to general observation.
o Aristotle is a human, human drinks
water, thus Aristotle drinks water.
AXIOLOGY OR VALUE THEORY
● Axios which means worth or value.
● Logos which signifies logic or thesis.
● branch of philosophy that considers the study of
principles and values.
● addresses topics such as goodness, beauty, and
justice.
● concerned with categorizing things as good and
how good they are.
● works on comprehending nature and arguing
about what is valued.
● TWO TYPES:
o Aisthetikos which means sense of
perception.
▪ Aesthetics is the examination of
what is beautiful to the eyes,
enjoyable, or tasteful.
o Ethics which is a philosophical and
practical science that deals with the
study of morality of human act or
human conduct.
RELATED ANALYSIS ON DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
MORALITY
● one’s personal sense of right and wrong.
● it is not imposed by anyone; it is what you think
is good and bad personally compared to ethics
which is a general considered standards of right
or wrong.
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ETIQUETTE
● is the set of conventional rules of personal
behavior in polite society, concerns with right or
wrong actions.
TECHNIQUES
● proper way or right way of doing things.
PRUDENTIAL REASONS
● relates to our personal reasons for doings
things.
LEGALITY
● in discussions about ethics do be wary of talking
about legal issues. Much often, such points will
be irrelevant.
SCOPE OF MORAL PHILOSPHY
3 MAIN BRANCHES OF ETHICS
● METAETHICS
o prefix meta which means beyond.
o is the study of how we engage in ethics
and concerns with the moral language.
o asks how we understand, know about,
and what we mean when we talk about
what is right and what is wrong.
o focused on questions regarding how
ethical study works.
o Cognitivism or descriptive suggests that
what makes our moral statements true
or false is whether they accurately pick
out or refer to. True when our
descriptions are accurate and false
when they are inaccurate.
o maximizing any form of utility,
o Non – cognitivism or non – descriptive
is a view that when we judge something
as morally right or wrong, this is neither
true nor false. We may only be
expressing our feelings. This concept
holds that the psychology behind our
non-truth moral expressions is majorly
based on desires, preferences,
emotions, intentions, etc.
● NORMATIVE
o concerns what ought to act.
o focuses on providing the framework for
deciding what is right or wrong.
o focuses on the creations of theories
that provide general moral rules
governing our behavior.
o examines standards for the rightness
and wrongness of actions, while
metaethics studies the meaning of
moral language and the metaphysics of
moral facts.
o Normative ethics is also distinct from
descriptive ethics, as the latter is an
empirical investigation of people's
moral beliefs. To put it another way,
descriptive ethics would be concerned
with determining what proportion of
people believe that killing is always
wrong, while normative ethics is
concerned with whether it is correct to
hold such a belief. Hence, normative
ethics is sometimes called prescriptive,
rather than descriptive.
o 3 COMPETING VIEWS ON HOW MORAL
QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED:
▪ Virtue Ethics advocated by
Aristotle, supported by Saint
Thomas Aquinas, focuses on the
inherent character of a person
rather than on specific actions.
▪ Deontological Ethics argues
that decisions should be made
considering the factors of one’s
duties and one’s right. Examples
are Immanuel Kant’s categorical
imperative which roots morality
in humanity’s rational capacity
and asserts certain inviolable
moral laws.
▪ Consequentialism argues that
the morality of an action is
contingent on the action’s
outcome or result.
consequentialism, referring to
all theories that promoted
not just those that promoted
maximizing happiness.
● APPLIED ETHICS
o is a discipline of philosophy that
attempts to apply ethical theory to real
- life situations.
o refers to the practical application of
moral considerations.
o It is the study of how we should act in
specific areas of our lives; how we
should deal with issues like meat-eating,
euthanasia or stealing.
o PARTICULAR FIELDS OF APPLICATION:
▪ Bioethics is the study of
controversial ethics brought
about by advances in biology
and medicine. Includes cloning,
gene therapy, human genetic
engineering, and abortion.
ETHICS
o But even if everything is doing it, means
▪ Business/Corporate Ethics is a
it’s right.
form of applied ethics or ● Norm of expediency.
professional ethics that o You set the standards based on
examines ethical principles and usefulness.
moral or ethical problems that o Not everything that is useful to
arise in a business environment, someone means it is right.
including fields like medical ● Norm of preference.
ethics. ● Situation ethics.
▪ Political Ethics is the practice of ● Evaluation.
making moral judgements HOW MORAL STANDARDS ARE FORMED:
about political action and
political agents. ● Moral principles we accept as a part of our
upbringing.
ASSUMPTION OF ETHICS ● Values passed on to us through heritage and
legacy.
● Man is a rational being.
● The religious values that we have imbibed from
● Man is free.
childhood.
OBJECTS OF ETHICS ● The values that we were showcased during the
period of our education.
● The physical object of the doer of the act. ● The behavior pattern of those who are around
● The non-physical object or the act done by the us.
doer. ● The explicit and implicit standard of our culture.
MORAL STANDARDS ● Our life experiences.
● Our critical reflection on these experiences.
STANDARDS
We can shift from being subjective to having an
● needs guidelines to have standards. objective moral standard.
● basis of comparison.
● criteria, expectations, measurement, quality. MORAL REASONING
● evaluate by comparison. ● the study of how people think about right and
MORAL STANDARDS wrong and how they acquire and apply moral
rules.
● We put moral implications in the quality or ● It is a subdiscipline of moral psychology that
criteria we set. overlaps with moral philosophy and is the
● used to measure right and wrong. foundation of descriptive ethics.
● are those concerned with or relating to human ● ‘What reasons do we give to decide or to judge
behavior, especially the distinction between that a certain way of acting is either right or
good and bad behavior. wrong?’
● involves the rules people have about the kinds ● acting according to principle.
of actions they believe are morally right and ● bringing yourself to a higher understanding of
wrong. moral standards and decision making.
● Because we are individuals, we have a different
nature and upbringing, we all have different MORAL THEORY
moral standards.
● is a systematic attempt to establish a validity of
DIFFERENT BASIS OF MORAL STANDARDS maintaining certain moral principles.

● Norms are purely internal. MORAL FRAMEWORK

o You made your feelings or what is
● as a theory of interconnected ideas, and at the
within you as a basis on judging
same time, structure through which we can
whether an action is right or wrong.
evaluate our reasons for valuing a certain
o Based on what you feel or what your
decision or judgement.
conscience dictates.
● Norms based on current opinions and customs. MORAL STANDARDS
o Your moral standards are based on what
other people do or the existing customs ● are those concerned with or relating to human
of the place. behavior, especially the distinction between
good and bad behavior.
ETHICS
● involves the rules people have about the kinds
of actions they believe are morally right and
wrong.
● deals with matters that can seriously harm or
benefit human beings.
● its validity depends on the sufficiency of the
reasons that support and justify them.
● based on impartial or unbiased considerations.
● associated with special – usually strong
emotions.
Question of objective norm or standard morality: Why is
it that some actions are worthy of being chosen, and
what is it which gives them the quality and which
accounts for the characteristic?
Norms are purely internal.
● These internal norms, such as conscience, only
makes sense if they are based on something
outside of us as individuals.
Norms based on current opinions and custom.
● This is reflected in the not uncommonly heard
phrase everybody is doing it.
Norms of expediency.
● Other people regulate their actions in
accordance with what’s useful at them now
rather than what is objectively right or wrong.
Norm of preference.
● There are still others who act in accordance
with what is desirable, what one prefers doing
rather than what is right or wrong.
Situation Ethics
● I must always do what I feel is right for me. I
must not impose my views of right and wrong
on you, and you must not impose your views in
right and wrong on me. For after all, who is to
say who is right?
● I must always act in what I perceive tri a loving
way, by letting the situation in all its uniqueness,
speak to me.
Evaluation
● Basically, it is a question of principle versus
expediency. Morality is intrinsic, objective, and
unchanging. That is right which is in conformity
with the divine will. It is expressed in our life
through a properly formed conscience.
MORAL REASONING
● is the study of how people think about right and
wrong and how they acquire and apply moral
rules.
● a subdiscipline of moral psychology that
overlaps with moral philosophy, foundation of
descriptive ethics.
● applies critical analysis to specific events to
determine what is right or wrong, and what
people ought to do in a particular situation.
● typically applies logic and moral theories, such
as deontology or utilitarianism, to specific
situations or dilemma.
● usually influenced by emotions.
MORAL DUMBFOUNDING
● describes the fact that people often reach
strong moral conclusions that they cannot
logically defend.
MORALITY, MORAL DILEMMA, AND CULTURAL
RELATIVISM
● Morality is from the Latin word moralitas which
means manner, character, or proper behavior.
o A principle concerning the distinction
between right and wrong.
o Can be a body of standards or principles
derived from a code of conduct from a
particular philosophy, religion, culture,
or it can be derived from a standard
that a person believes should be
universal.
● Morality is the practice of conduct in living that
is found and grounded in culture while ethics
defined, understood, and provides practiced
ingredients on morality.
● Morality is founded from tradition which tells us
what are right and wrong while ethics is a
discipline in philosophy or discipline in scientific
thought that are grounded on reasons.
● Morality is the way of life of a person while
ethics are grounded mainly on reasons and
deals with the questions of what ought to do.
● What is ethical most are normally are moral but
there are moral principles that are not ethical.
WHAT ARE MORAL DILEMMAS?
● A dilemma is a situation where a person is
forced to choose between two or more
conflicting options, neither of which is
acceptable.
● A moral dilemma involves human actions which
have moral implications.
THREE LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMA
● Individual Moral Dilemma
o when your decision in a situation where
there is moral conflict is the cause of
either your own, that another person,
or a group of people’s potential harm.
● Organizational Moral Dilemma
ETHICS
o when a member or members of the
organization is in a situation where
there is moral conflict, and the decision
will potentially harm either some
member of the group or the entire
organization itself.
● Systemic or Structural Moral Dilemma
o when a person or group of person who
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
holds high – level positions in the
society faces a morally conflicting
situation wherein the entire social
system is affected.
CULTURE
● customary beliefs, social forms, and material
traits of a racial, religious, or social group.
(Merriam Webster)
● umbrella term which compasses the social
behavior and norms found in human societies,
as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws,
customs, capabilities, and habits of the
individuals in these groups.
KEY POINTS
● Culture defines the identity of an individual and
a community.
● Varying perspectives are reflections of cultural
persuasions in conflict.
● The diversity of cultures may pose a problem in
ethics, but it is necessary in enhancing ethical
consciousness.
● Moral education is essential in helping ethical
agents understand and resolve ethical conflicts.
● Dialogue is a key tool in resolving conflicts
involving ethics and culture.
FREEDOM AS THE FOUNDATION OF MORAL ACTS
● A person’s freedom ends where another man’s
freedom begins.
● The concept of morality implies freedom to
choose, if no freedom is possible then the
possibility of a moral choice is null.
● Freedom is having the ability to act or change
without constraint. It is the power or right to
act, speak, or think as one wants without
hindrance or restraint. But freedom is not
absolute.
● True Freedom is not doing whatever you want
but doing what you ought.
● “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s
chains, but to live in a way that respects and
enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson
Mandela.
● “May we think of freedom as not the right to
do as we please, but as the opportunity to do
what is right.” – Peter Marshall.
● Sic Utere Tuo Ut Alienum Non Laedas or use
your own property in such a way that you do
not injure other people’s.
● Free will is the ability to choose between
different courses of action unimpeded not the
freedom to do whatever one wants. It is the
freedom to do what one ought.
● Pre – Conventional
o Stage 1 – Obedience and Punishment
Orientation
▪ Focuses on the child’s desire to
obey rules and avoid being
punished.
o Stage 2 – Instrumental Orientation
▪ Expresses ‘what’s in it for me?’
▪ Limited to their own interests.
● Conventional
o Stage 3 – Good boy, Nice Girl
Orientation
▪ Approval of others and act in
ways to avoid disapproval.
o Stage 4 – Law and Order Orientation
▪ blindly accepts rules and
convention because of their
importance in maintaining a
functioning society.
▪ three. If one person violates a
law, perhaps everyone
would—thus there is an
obligation and a duty to uphold
laws and rules.
● Post – Conventional
o Stage 5 – Social Contract Orientation
▪ the world is viewed as holding
different opinions, rights, and
values.
▪ This is achieved through
majority decision and inevitable
compromise. Democratic
government is theoretically
based on stage five reasoning.
o Stage 6 – Universal, Ethical, Principal
Orientation
▪ 6, moral reasoning is based on
abstract reasoning using
universal ethical principles.
▪ Laws are valid only insofar as
they are grounded in justice,
and a commitment to justice
ETHICS
carries with it an obligation to ● Choose, decide.
disobey unjust laws. ● Monitor and modify.

MORAL REASONING PROCESS, AND IMPARTIALITY

AS REQUIREMENT FOR ETHICS
● Reason
o a cause, explanation, or justification for
an action or event.
o the analytic faculty of the human mind
that maintains objectivity unto
inspecting and organizing perceptions.
o may also refer to:
▪ Rationality

▪ Reason

▪ Cause
● Impartiality
o evenhandedness or fair – mindedness
o principle of justice holding that
decisions should be based on objective
criteria, rather than based on bias,
prejudice, or preferring the benefit to
one person over another for improper
reasons.
● Moral Courage
o the capacity to initiate and sustain your
resolve whenever you are certain of
doing the good.
o the courage to act for moral reasons
despite the risk of adverse
consequences.
o result of morally developed will.
● Moral Imagination
o means envisioning the full range of
possibilities in a particular situation in
order to solve an ethical challenge.
● Reason and feelings must constructively
complement each other whenever we are
making choices.
● Feelings without reason are blind.
● Moral situations often involve not just one but
others as well. Our decisions have
consequences, and these have an effect on
others.
● Simply put, morality involves impartiality
because it ensures that all interests are
accounted for, weighed rationally, and assessed
without prejudice. Prejudices make decisions
impartial.

7 STEP OF MORAL REASONING POWER

● Stop and think.
● Clarify goals.
● Determine facts.
● Develop options.
● Consider consequences.