ORIGIN OF ETHICS

Ethics
 From ethos, which means custom. The Latin word for custom is mos, in plural mores
then we derive the term morality.
 A science and art dealing with the quality of human conduct.
 In ethics, we make “judgment”.
 Its purpose is to study the fact of experience.

Custom
- A product of habit.
Ethics as a Science
 Ethics has a systematic body of knowledge, moral principles, standards, and norms for us
to be guided on how to live our life morally.
 Intention is important.
ARGUMENTS:
1. It is not something that is scientific.
- Still, ethics is a science. It is not necessarily scientifically proven or it must undergo
an experiment.
2. Issue of Religion
- In religion, somebody is imposing of what to do or not to do that we only have to
follow unlike in ethics, no matter what, we are only guided by reason, our unaided
powers, our capacity to think, to be able to evaluate and appreciate whether the act is
morally good or morally bad, we are the one deciding and making our own choice.
Ethics as an Art
 We need to acquire and apply what we have learned in studying ethics in our day to day
undertakings in our life.
Human Conduct
 It is different from behavior because behavior is applicable to animals (animal behavior)
whereas there is no such thing as animal conduct, only human conduct.
 It is the same for all human beings, and is in agreement with the universal human values.
 We confined our actions only to those acts that:
 A man ought to do
Ex: ought to respect others
 A man ought not to do
Ex: ought not to discriminate other people
 In the light of its “oughtnes”, the quality of our actions whether morally good or
morally bad through CONSIENCE.

 Human acts that have moral significance.

Relation to Others
We study CUSTOM.
A more permanent type of custom is character.
Ethics and Sociology
 Sociology is more on tracing the origin on how a particular custom evolves or develops
but passes no judgment whether that primitive custom is acceptable morally or not unlike
in ethics, we make a judgment on a particular act or custom if it is acceptable or not
based on a certain norm or standard of morality.
Ethics and Psychology
 Psychology speaks of how does man actually behave to the actual behavior of man. We
tend to understand a person’s act because there are factors affecting his/her actual
behavior like maybe he/she is suffering from depression that triggers his/her way of
behaving or treating others but we are not making judgment.
 It is more on how does man actually behave but in ethics, it is how man ought to behave.
Ethics and Law
 For one to be legally responsible, there must be external act or manifestation. But having
evil desires in our mind, we are morally responsible.

2 Types of Ethics
1. Normative Ethics
 It prescribes a code of conduct.
Ex: For accountants, they have a Code of Conduct
For lawyers, they have a Code of Professional Responsibility
 Enumerates lists of acts ought to do or not to do of what is morally good or bad.

2. Meta-ethics
 It does not prescribe nor enumerate what are actions that we ought to do or not to do.
 It examines our moral judgments or moral decisions.
 Going beyond normative ethics.