GENERAL OVERVIEW OF ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY
Ethics is a body of study that focuses on the moral principles that
influence human behavior.
Philosophy is the study of knowledge, truth, and meaning.
The two disciplines are intertwined, as philosophy often considers
ethical questions, and ethics often use philosophical ideas to better
explain phenomena.
PHILOSOPHY
 the systematic study of ideas and issues, a reasoned pursuit
of fundamental truths
 a quest for a comprehensive understanding of the world.
 a study of principles of conduct, and much more.
ETHICS
 The word ethics comes from the Greek word "ethos" which
means "character."
 The study of ethics in philosophy goes back to the ancient
Greeks, where historians have discovered the first usage of
the word.
 Ethics exists as a branch of philosophy, called moral
philosophy.
ETHICS AS A BRANCH OF PHILOSOPHY:
Utilitarian ethics - This ethical theory focuses on the impact of
decisions on people. Utilitarianism considers a situation and tries to
make a choice that would create the greatest amount of good for
the greatest amount of people. This can prove difficult when the
outcome of a choice is unknown.
UTILITARIANISM
If you are choosing ice cream for yourself, the utilitarian view is that
you should choose the flavor that will give you the most pleasure. If
you enjoy chocolate but hate vanilla, you should choose chocolate
for the pleasure it will bring and avoid vanilla because it will bring
displeasure.
Deontological Ethics - This ethical theory argues that every human
being should be treated kindly and with respect on the basis of their
humanity. This can be difficult to apply when a "good" choice that
intends to treat people with respect has negative consequences for
another group.
DEONTOLOGY
An example of deontology is when a businessperson decides that it's
their obligation to pay suppliers on time. If the businessperson is a
deontologist, ethical behavior dictates that they always pay
suppliers on time, failure to which they act unethically.
Another perfect example is the ten commandments.
Virtue Ethics - This ethical theory aligns with the beliefs of many
early Greek philosophers. It emphasizes focus on an individual's
character and character development. However, the theory can be
critiqued for not accounting enough for the impact of living in a
larger society.
VIRTUE
A person who has developed the virtue of generosity is often
referred to as a generous person because he or she tends to be
generous in all circumstances.
Moreover, a person who has developed virtues will be naturally
disposed to act in ways that are consistent with moral principles.
Culture: Defining Moral Behavior
Culture: integrated pattern of human knowledge, beliefs, and
behaviors.
the set of means used by mankind to become more virtuous and
reasonable in order to become fully human.
The Human Person and Culture:
Human Person
We are the moral agent. We are born into a culture; a factual reality
we have not chosen. We are not born nothing.
Culture
Culture may change or evolve. There are variousways b which
culture change -by enculturation, inculturation, and acculturation.
ENCULTURATION - "Enculturation is a process of learning from
infancy until death, the components of life in one's culture."
Example:
South African girls grow up leaning that as a woman, she has less
rights and privileges.
• A woman can only marry one man, but the man
can have more than one woman.
• levirate marriage: marriage between the widow and the
brother of a deceased husband as the woman remains as a property
of the family.
INCULTURATION – “Inculturation [is] the incarnation of the Gospel
in native cultures and also the introduction of these cultures into the
life of the Church."
Rooting the Gospel to the African Culture:
• From a culture of oppressing women into a culture where
men and women are treated as equal.
• The human development of women, created like her male
counterpart in the image and likeness of God.
ACCULTURATION – “Acculturation is the cultural modification of an
individual group or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from
another culture."
An NGO tried to introduce to Africa good health facilities as an
approach to gradually stop the circumcision of women.
Culture definitely affects the way we evaluate and judge things.
• Some societies consider it alright gathering vegetables at the
backyard of their neighbor considering that as getting a share, but
for some, it is stealing
 In ancient times, human sacrifice was not wrong, but today,
it is a criminal act
• In Islamic culture and African culture (South of Sahara), having
several wives is allowed but in other cultures, it's concubinage.
Culture has a very long-lasting hold on an individual.
A person may have become highly educated imbued w ith Christian
Values but if he comes from a society w ith a culture of vengeance
having the sense of obligation to make an act of revenge when a
member of his tribe has been killed or harmed, he becomes
ultimately vindictive and joins his tribe seeking revenge.
No amount of graduate education can prevent him from joining his
tribe to seek revenge. He forgets his VALUES.
Filipino Character:
Extreme Family Centeredness
- using one's power to promote family interests resulting in lack of
concern for the common good.
Extreme personalism
- "take things personally" cannot separate objective tasks from
emotional involvement.
Lack of Discipline
- Impatience results in short cuts, palusot, ningas cogon. It may
also result to inefficient work systems, violation of rules.
Passivity and lack of initiative
waiting to be told what to do, reliance on others, complacence, lack
of sense of urgency
Colonial Mentality
- Lack of patriotism and love of the Philippines and an actual
preference for things foreign. Mentality
Kanya-kanya syndrome, talangka mentality
- done by chismis, intriga, unconstructive criticism. Results in
the dampering of cooperative and community spirit.
Lack of self- analysis and self- reflection
- The tendency to be superficial and somewhat flighty.
Emphasis on form rather than substance
- lack of analysis and emphasis on form is reinforced by an
educational system that is more form than substance.
BRANCHES OF ETHICS
THE REFEREE –
NORMATIVE ETHICS focused on the creation of theories that
provide general moral rules governing our behavior, such as
Utilitarianism or Kantian Ethics. The normative ethicist, rather than
being a football player, is more like a referee who sets up the rules
governing how the game is played.
NORMATIVE ETHICS The normative ethicist is like a referee
interested in the rules governing play. What interests him is the
general theories that govern our moral behavior; how do we work
out what is right and what is wrong?
THE COMMENTATOR –
METAETHICS is the study of how we engage in ethics. Thus, the
metaethicist has a role more similar to a football commentator
rather than to a referee or player. The metaethicist judges and
comments on how the ethical game is being played rather than
advancing practical arguments, or kicking the football, themselves.
For example, the metaethicist might comment on the meaning and
appropriateness of ethical language, just as the football
commentator might remark on the appropriateness of particular
tactics or set piece routines.
METAETHICS The metaethicist is like a football commentator. What
interests her is how the very practice of ethics works. For example,
the metaethicist might discuss how people use moral language; or
comment on the psychology of immoral people; or ask whether
moral properties exist.
THE PLAYER –
APPLIED ETHICS 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. To use the football analogy, the applied
ethicist kicks the philosophical football around just as a footballer
kicks the ball on the field. A good, applied ethicist might score goals
and be successful by offering specific arguments that convince us to
change our moral views in a particular corner of our lives.
APPLIED ETHICS The Applied Ethicists are like the players. They “get
their hands [or feet] dirty” . They take the general rules of normative
ethics and “play” under them. What interests them is how we
should act in specific areas. For example, how should we deal with
issues like meateating, euthanasia or stealing.
STANDARDS OF MORALITY Ethics focuses its concern on
determining what good is and finding ways on how to know whether
one's action is leading to his goodness or not. But in order to know
what the good is, one has to have a principle that will set as the
basis for determining the morality of one's act. The modern
philosopher IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) held that there are three
moral bases that will help one uphold an ethical principle: HUMAN
FREEDOM, IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL, and THE EXISTENCE OF
GOD.
STANDARDS OF MORALITY
HUMAN FREEDOM - One can say that there is freedom because
man is capable of deliberation as to whether to do or not a
particular act... This could not be done if he is not free. However,
because man's action is determined by socio-cultural factors such as
religion, customs, education, and family upbringing... and his
decisions and course of actions are determined by these, he is not
anymore free.
IMMORTAL SOUL - A person has a spiritual nature way different
from its physical form. And being spiritual is being immortal and the
immortal part of a human person is the soul. Materialists oppose
this thought as they claim that our physical body is a 'material' and
when it dies, the soul also dies. However, because man does not
want to be detached from physical life, he is giving himself a hope
that there can be an immortal soul so that he can continue enjoying
his life.
EXISTENCE OF GOD - There are those who believe that there is a
God who created everything, who is acting as the Supreme
Intelligence. Everything that exists is being considered as a product
of the goodness of God. However, non-theists would claim that if
everything is created by a God, who is the HIGHEST GOOD, then why
is that there is evil in this world? Because there is evil in the world,
therefore, an all-good God cannot exist.
Virtiue Ethics
- character based ethics.
-the quality of moral excellence, righteousness, and responsibility ...
a specific type of moral excellence or other exemplary quality
considered meritorious, a worthy practice or ideal.
-employed in Aristotle's philosophy as being "that state of a thing
which constitutes its peculiar excellence and enables it to perform
its function well ... in man [it is] the activity of reason and of
rationally ordered habits."
Virtue Ethics- derives from Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (named
for his son, Nicomachus).
HAPPINESS- -that the end of human life is happiness, and the basic
activity of human beings is to reason-a virtuous activity; therefore,
the aim of human beings, according to Aristotle, is to reason well for
a whole or complete life.
"Every art and every inquiry, every action and choice, seems to aim
at some good [and] the good has rightly been defined as that at
which all things aim."
What is now virtue and how does it relate to vices?
-a person must determine what a "practically wise, virtuous man"
would choose in any circumstance calling for moral choice and then
do the right thing
-vices refer to negative character traits or habits that are considered
to be morally wrong or socially unacceptable. These can include
behaviors such as lying, stealing, cheating, being lazy, being selfish,
being greedy, being cruel, being disrespectful, and so on. Vices are
seen as character flaws that can lead to harmful actions and have
negative consequences for individuals and society as a whole.
"Development of Good or Virtuous of Human being"
Four Disciplines / Divisions in Philosophy
1. Descriptive or Speculative (Metaphysics): What is the nature of
reality?
2. Normative (Moral): What is good and what is bad? Or what is
right action and wrong action?
3. Practical Philosophy (Logic): Which reflects upon truth in relation
to action.
4. Critical philosophy: What is truth??(Epistemology)
Ethics MORALITY AND HUMAN EXISTENCE

-ethics is taken to mean as a philosophical science that deals with • There is morality because there is man.
the morality of human conduct or human acts.
1. Man is the only Moral Being by virtue of the following reasons.
-Ethics is a philosophical science. This means that ethics is one of the
a. Man is a being of action.
many disciplines in philosophy.
b. Man has intellect.

c. Man has will.

Character
2. Man as an Animal
-It is objective in nature. it is within a person.
3. Man as a Rational Animal
-A particular system of trait that is permanent to each person.
4. Intellect compared with will
-It is molded depending on his environment.
5. Concrete Basis of Morality
-One's character shows on how the person acts and reacts to his or
her peers and how she or he deals with everything that happens
around him or her
Values

 The good in a glass of water - because it satisfies our thirst -

Personality
-It is subjective. It changes at point in time.
-A set of characteristics that each person possesses.
-It influences how one behaves as well as one's motivation.
does not quality water as moral.
 The good in food - because it satisfies our hunger - does not
make food moral as well.
 The contention can be justified in view of the fact that not
everything which is good is moral or ethical.

-The image that one presents in front of other.

Values are the object of human desire and striving; they are also the Max Scheler’s Hierarchy of Values:
subjective assessment of a particular object insofar as it is good.
- VALUES OF THE HOLY
Values are our beliefs, those beliefs which we hold to be true. Thus,
- SPIRITUAL VALUES
values inspire us to struggle towards our proximate and ultimate
ends. - VITAL VALUES
Values refer to things, person, ideas or goals which are important to - PLEASURE VALUES
life; they enable us to direct, understand, and evaluate our lives.

Properties of Values:

1. Values are subjective

2. Values are objective

3. Values are relative

4. Values are bipolar

5. Values are hierarchical

Morality - Moral integrity is the only true measure of what man

ought to be.