LESSON 1

What is Ethics?
Ethics is from the Greek word "ethos" which means custom or a manner of acting and behaving.
What is Morality?

 Mores is the root word of morality that means custom or practice.

 Morality is a system of beliefs about what is right behavior and wrong behavior (Rubin,
2015).
 Morality deals with how a person relates with others and with the world to promote what
is good (Thiroux and Krasemann, 2009).
Ethics vs Morality
There is a thin line that makes the two terms different from one another. Ethics is focused on the
general principles, rules and theories on determining what is right on wrong. While morality is the
praxis, the application of those principles (Fernandez, 2012).
Two divisions of Ethics:
1. General Ethics and
2. Applied or Special Ethics.
General Ethics - morality of human act focuses on the basic concepts.
Applied or Special Ethics - the application of the moral principles, standards and norms in
various specific areas of human life and activity.
Moral principles must have the following characteristics:
1. Prescriptivity - refers to the action-guiding nature of morality. The principles should intend
to guide and direct people what to do or should not do. Like "obey your parents" or “thou
shall not kill."
2. Impartiality - means that moral rule should be neutral. It should apply to anyone
regardless of status or situation.
3. Overridingness - should mean that moral principles should tower over all other norms or
standards of evaluation. They must have hegemonic (over and above) authority.
Therefore, should be given primary and ultimate importance.
4. Autonomous from Arbitrary Authority - moral standards should be independent, hence
be able to stand on its own. Regardless of what the majority of people say and decide that
something is moral or immoral. An act should be based on the ethical principles and not
on what men say.
5. Publicity - since moral standards guide people what to do, they should be made public.
Reason dictates that rules are made and promulgated to advice, as well as, praise or
blame certain actions.
6. Practicability - rules are made for men to follow. Hence, moral standards exist in which
human beings are capable of doing. Otherwise, if they are too heavy it will be impossible
for individuals to obey in which it may result for men to do another act that is illicit in order
to obey the norms set forth.
Two Kinds of Moral Act:
1. Act of Man - refers to those acts of which man has no control. Therefore, it is involuntary
act like emotions, circulation of the blood, the pumping of the heart, grinding of the
stomach and breathing.
2. Human Act - within the control of man like walking, talking, thinking, eating and biting are
examples of the latter. They are deliberate, hence they are voluntary acts.
Three Essential Elements of Act of Man and Human Act:
1. Knowledge - where the doer is aware of what he/she is doing. Without the knowledge of
the doer, the act is ordinarily taken as an act of man.
2. Freedom - in which the act is not done by force. It is a state of being unrestricted from the
internal impulse and external pressure.
3. Will - which the doer has giver his or her consent to do the act. Consent can be seen as
something emanating from freedom.
Voluntariness is very much akin to consent. From the Latin word voluntas, voluntariness refers
to the act of the will. Without the action of the will, an act is considered involuntary, hence, the
doer in this case cannot be held liable for his action.
Four Kinds of Voluntariness:
1. Perfect voluntariness - where all the elements of human act are present. Man is fully
accountable of the act committed.
2. Imperfect voluntariness - where knowledge is absent. A man who is not aware of the act
that he has done may not be answerable of his act or no accountability at all. A boy giving
a box of chocolates to a lady not knowing it is poisoned is absolved from liability.
3. Simple voluntariness - it is simply doing or not doing the act since one has cannot do
anything about it. It is either positive or negative. A male student whose house is 10
kilometers from the school will either ride a jeepney or not. In most cases he needs to ride
otherwise he will be late. Or when he is inside a hospital and wanted to smoke but cannot
because of the No Smoking sign inside the premises or else he has to go out and smoke.
4. Conditional voluntariness - this is when the person is forced to do an act in which in normal
condition it should not be done. When a female employee was forced to give her cellphone
to the robber pointing a knife directly to her chest.
Morality of an Act

 Moral - it's a good act.

 Immoral – it is bad act.
 Amoral – neither good nor bad act.
The following are the determinants of morality:
1. The Object or Act itself - this refers to the deed done by the doer of the action. It is either
good or bad. The act of giving as to the act of killing are examples.
2. Motive or Intent - the purpose or reason of doing the act. Like a daughter gave a bouquet
of flowers to her mother celebrating a birthday. Whereas, due to revenge, a certain boy
stabbed his neighbor.
 3. Circumstances - this involves the situations that surrounds the commission of the act.
They are basically practical answers to particular questions. The key questions that will
help understand the situation and context.
a. Who - refers to the persons involved in the act committed, the doer and the receiver
or recipient of the act.
b. Why - it the reason or motive of doing the act.
c. By What Means - though the intention is good but attaining the end is unlawful or
illicit, then the act is still immoral
d. Where - refers to the setting of the action.
e. When - refers to the time of the commission of the act. Time element is important
and in most cases vital to assess and judge morally the human act.
f. How - raping a woman in front of her husband is a grave act. Stabbing a person
many times indicates an extreme hatred.
Following are the Modifiers:
1. Ignorance – absence of knowledge
Two Types of Ignorance:
a. Vincible ignorance - ignorance is where the lack of knowledge can easily be rectified.
There are some students who do not know the name of their teachers This can easily be
corrected by caring and asking the name of their instructors.
b. Invincible ignorance - is difficult to rectify. There is no way of knowing. A courier delivering
an item with no knowledge that what is inside the box is a bomb which killed a lot of people
inside a house.
2. Concupiscence or Passion – refers to emotions whether negative or positive desire.
3. Fear – disturbance of the mind when a person is confronted by danger or harm to oneself or
loved ones.
4. Violence – when physical force is exerted to a person by another for the purpose of
compelling or forcing the person to act against his will.
5. Habits – frequently repeated acts. It may be good or bad.
Moral Norm - is used to measure whether an act done is good or bad, right or wrong, moral or
immoral. It is a rule or standard in gauging the goodness or badness of an act.
Two Types:
1. Eternal divine law - which is objective and is the ultimate and absolute norm of morality. It
is governed by Divine Reason that reveals the necessary relations between the creator
and the creatures. Moral law is ordinance of reason promulgated by those who have the
authority and care of the community for promotion of the common good. Human laws are
those enacted by men.
2. Human reason is the second norm of morality. This is related to person's conscience which
is proximate norm of morality telling a person internally what to do and should not do. It is
like a signpost that guides and directs a person to their destination.is used to measure
whether an act done is good or bad, right or wrong, moral or immoral. It is a rule or
standard in gauging the goodness or badness of an act.
According to the harmony or disharmony with the objective truth, conscience can either be correct
or true, or erroneous or false.
An erroneous conscience - wrong can be:
a. Invincibly erroneous conscience - a kind of judgment where mistake cannot be avoid
regardless of the effort or attempt exerted to correct.
b. Vincibly erroneous conscience - person is moral accountable since the error could have
been avoided with ordinary diligence on his/her part
c. Perplexed conscience - this kind of judgment happens when a person has two alternative
options.
d. Pharisaical conscience - here the person magnifies - small offenses as grave and serious
ones as little.
Firm Conscience: - correct
a. Certain conscience - the judgment is sure that the action is morally good or bad.
b. Doubtful conscience - the person hesitates in making a particular judgment since he/ she
is not certain or unsure whether something is good or bad, moral or immoral.
c. Scrupulous conscience - this type of judgment is a described as very cautious or extremely
fearful that the person involved do not want to make any action in a given situation.
d. Lax conscience - is very different from the scrupulous conscience since the person takes
serious bad act very lightly and considers as morally acceptable.
Norms are formal or material as derived from natural law.
Formal norms refers to "what we ought to be" like we should be sensitive, giving and obedient.
Material norms refers to "What ought to be done". Examples are "do not lie, do good, and do not
be selfish".

Four Angles of Moral Evaluation:

1. Act Itself – human action
a. Intrinsic action – involves doing something because it's personally rewarding to you.
b. Extrinsic action - involves doing something because you want to earn a reward or avoid
punishment.
2. Intention – Premeditated motivation.
3. Circumstances – prevailing and prompting condition or situation behind the doing of the
act.
a. Aggravating moral circumstance – committed by an agent or doer in different
situation when there is an element of added factor/s contributing to the first or initial
action.
b. Mitigating moral circumstance – is understood as lessening or diminishing the
suppose moral gravity of the crime.
c. Justifying moral circumstance – In this situation, the act is justified. This means "as
if no moral offence is committed".
 d. Exempting moral circumstance - All actions done by human person are bound or
subject to moral evaluation whether it is good of bad action.
4. The End – End of the Action. Result of the Action.

Relevance of Studying Ethics in your Chosen Profession

Ethics ensure a generally agreed standard of work-related behavior that empowers
professionals to foster moral values through their work. Ethics gives a sense of justification in
one's judgment, and helps ensure that decisions at work are not made based on purely
subjective factors. Without the study of ethics, the practice of one's profession will fall prey to
vastly conflicting individual interpretations.

LESSON 2
Moral Standards - "a code of what is right or wrong without reference to specific behaviors or
beliefs" (O'Connor, Lynn, 1997).
Moral standards have six characteristics:
1. Moral standards involve behaviors that seriously affect other people's well- being.
2. Moral standards take a more important consideration than other standards, including self-
interest.
3. Moral standards do not depend on any external authority but in how the person perceives
the reasonableness of the action.
4. Moral standards are believed to be universal.
5. Moral standards are based on objectivity.
6. Moral standards are associated with vocabulary that depicts emotion or feelings.
Non-moral standards can be considered as relative standards by which something or someone
is judged as either good or bad.
Etiquette is a set of rules on how an individual should responsibly behave in the society. (Taylor
and Williams, 2017).
Policy is a clear, simple statement of how an organization plans to handle its services, actions,
or business. Policies are guiding rules to help with decision making
Law is a rule created and enforced by the government and its agencies to maintain order, resolve
disputes, and protect a person's liberty and rights.
Commandment is a rule that is to be strictly observed because it was said to be set by a divine
entity, such as those in the Ten Commandments (Stahl, 2009).
Dilemma - "a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives,
especially equally undesirable ones".
Three Levels of Moral Dilemma:
1. Personal moral dilemma - is when your decision in a situation where there is moral conflict
is the cause of either your own; that of another person; or a group of people's potential
harm. Our sample situation of Jane versus Ana was an example of a personal dilemma.
2. An organizational dilemma - is 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
members of the group or the entire organization.
3. Structural moral dilemma - is when a person or group of persons who holds high- level
positions in the society faces a morally conflicting situation wherein the entire social
system is affected.
The Human Person as a Free Being
A human person is a being (the Aristotelian idea of being connotes actuality; existence; an actual
condition or circumstance) with inborn properties that he or she uses to direct his or her own
development toward self- fulfillment. One of the inborn properties of the human person is freedom.
1. Freedom is a Gift - Freedom is the ability to make significant choices and, according to
Marcel, it is a gift given to us by God. (Hernandez, 2009).
2. Freedom is Complementary to Reason - One of Aristotle's ethical doctrines asserted that
freedom and reason are complementary. In Aristotle's view, the human person as a moral
agent must exercise practical rationality in order to determine how to pursue his or her
ultimate end (telos).
3. Freedom is Absolute – We are free to decide. And we are free to use this freedom to attain
goals higher than satisfying basic needs.
4. Freedom demands Responsibility - responsibility follows freedom (Gallinero, 2014).
The Moral Agent
Edward Taylor – Father of Cultural Anthropology
Culture – shared human experiences.
According to Karl Marx, culture served to justify inequality because the ruling class determines
what is right and wrong while the rest merely follow.
Elements of Culture:
1. Symbols - can be anything that a group of people find meaningful.
2. Language - complex symbol system that enabled human beings to communicate either
verbally or through writing.
3. Beliefs - are assumptions or convictions held to be true by an individual or a group of
people.
4. Values - culturally acceptable standards of behavior. It is what a person considers
important or beneficial in life.
5. Norm - informal guideline by a particular group of people or social unit about what is
considered normal or correct/incorrect social behavior.

The Advantages and Dangers of Cultural Relativism

Rachels identified two positive lessons we can learn from cultural relativism.
1. It warns us from assuming that our preferences are the absolute rational standard.
2. It teaches us to keep an open mind and to be more amenable in discovering the truth.
The dangers of cultural relativism are:
1. We cannot call out societal practices that promote harm.
2. We cannot justifiably criticize our own culture's harmful practices.
3. The idea of social progress becomes doubtful.
Peace Education
Peace as defined in relation to culture according to UNESCO is a set of beliefs, values, attitudes,
traditions and modes of behavior and ways of life based on:
1. Respect for life
2. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
3. Rejection of all forms of violence
4. Adherence to the principles of justice, democracy, tolerance, solidarity, cooperation,
diversity, dialogue and understanding in all levels of society.
Three phases to accomplish peace:
1. Cognitive phase which is understanding and being aware to the happenings in the society.
2. Affective phase which is being concerned and responsible learning to value peace since
rational beings are species of social interaction.
3. Active phase which is taking practical action in which a course that will lead us to what is
good for the benefit of the majority.
Two types of peace:
1. Negative peace - Absence of direct/physical violence (both macro and micro) Direct
Violence War, Torture, child and woman abuse
2. Positive peace - Presence of conditions of well-being and just relationships.
Six Dimensions and Operative Values by: Archbishop Antonio Ledesma
1. Personal & Family (Spiritual) - Values formation starts in the family. These are taught to
children by the parents. Family is the basic unit of the Society. Every individual learns to
understand the concept of peaceful and non-violent by the Ideal Character traits shown
by the parents.
2. Human Rights & Democracy (Justice) - indicates that political respect is the key towards
human viability and sustainability in achieving peace and mitigating conflict in the complex
and dynamic society.
3. Poverty Eradication (Compassion) - Poverty might be inevitable, however with the help of
lowering the poverty borderline, peace can somehow be attainable.
4. Intercultural Understanding & Solidarity (Dialogue) "What is right for you might be wrong
for me, what is wrong for me might be right for you" Dialogue is one of the important factors
towards attainable peace.
5. Disarmament & Cessation of Hostilities (Active/non-violence). In promoting the culture of
peace, we must share the same idea of cease fire towards active/ non-violence.
 6. Environmental Protection (Stewardship). The concepts of stewardship must be universal
to all regardless of the status, influence, and power. This connotes taking care of the
environment and nature, economics, health to mitigate conflict and eventually a culture of
peace may follow.
Peace education is broadly defined as education that seeks the transformation of people's
mindsets, attitudes and behaviors toward peace, justice and environmental care.
Peace education is important. It is an ethical imperative since it upholds core ethical principles
such as value of life, love and human dignity.

Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan wrote that the strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino character are
rooted in factors such as:
1. The home environment - Licuanan said that in the home environment, Filipino children are
taught to value family and give it primary importance.
2. The social environment - characterized by depending on one another to survive. This
dependence on relationships and the struggle for survival make Filipinos group oriented (1994).
3. Culture and language - language depict openness to foreign elements with no basic
consciousness of our cultural core (Licuanan, 1994).
4. History - regarded as the culprit behind our colonial mentality.
5. The educational system - also instrumental in molding the strengths and weaknesses of the
Filipino character.
6. Religion - Religion taught us optimism and resilience.
7. The economic environment - Several Filipino traits are rooted in our economic environment.
The hard life drove Filipinos to work hard and take risks, such as leaving our families to work
abroad.
8. The political environment
9. Mass media, and
10. Leadership and role models

Strengths of the Filipino Character

The strong aspects of the Filipino character are:
1. Pakikipagkapwa-Tao - is demonstrated in the Filipino's openness, helpfulness, and generosity;
in the practice of bayanihan or mutual assistance; and the famous Filipino hospitality (Licuanan,
1994; Guevara & Gripaldo [Ed.] 2005).
2. Family Orientation
3. Joy and Humor
4. Flexibility, Adaptability, and Creativity
5. Hard work and Industry
6. Faith and Religiosity
7. Ability to Survive

Weaknesses of the Filipino Character

1. Extreme Personalism
2. Extreme Family-Centeredness
3. Lack of Discipline
4. Passivity and Lack of Initiative
5. Colonial Mentality
6. Kanya-Kanya Syndrome
7. Lack of Self-Analysis and Self-Reflection

What is Moral Character?

Moral is "concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior or the goodness and badness
of the human character" (Merriam-Webster 2017)
Character is defined as "the mental and moral qualities distinct to an individual" (Merriam-
Webster 2017).
But in Philosophy, the term character usually denotes to the moral dimension of a person (Timpe,
2007).
Moral character refers to the "existence (or lack of) virtues such as integrity, courage, fortitude,
honest, and loyalty". (Merriam-Webster ©2017)
Philosophical Views on Moral Character
Confucian Traditions
The four beginnings in Confucian traditions are:
1. The heart of compassion, which leads to Jen.
2. The heart of righteousness, which leads to Yi.
3. The heart of propriety, which leads to Li.
4. The heart of wisdom, which leads to Zhi.
Jen means goodwill, sympathy towards other and generosity.
Yi means righteousness and the respect of duty, that is, respect your position as guardian towards
nature and humanity.
Li deals with outward behavior such as etiquette, customs, and rituals.
Zhi means wisdom, and this wisdom is a product of practicing Jen, Yi, and Li in one's life (Liu,
2002).

Aristotle & Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics is an approach that reduces the emphasis on rules, consequence, and particular
acts. Instead, virtue ethics focus on the quality of the person.
The principle of being virtuous is called the "Doctrine of the Golden Mean" - that moral behavior
is the one that is in the middle of two extreme behaviors (or what he called vices).
The Act
According to Hume's "Theory of the Mind", humans have what he called passions (which he used
to describe emotions or feelings).
The direct passions are caused directly by the sensation of pain or pleasure; the passion that
"arises immediately from good or evil, from pain or pleasure" that we experience or expect to
experience. For example, desire is a direct passion because it is an immediate response to the
pleasure we expect to feel. Other direct passions include aversion, hope, fear, grief, and joy.
Indirect passions are caused by the sensation of pain or pleasure derived from some other idea
or impression. For example, pride is a passion that emanated from the pleasure you get for
possessing something admirable (it could be intellect, physique, property, family, etc.).
Scheler and the Philosophy of Feelings
In Max Ferdinand Scheler's philosophy, the emotion is the most important aspect in human
existence.
Scheler presented four strata of feelings. He called these levels of feelings as the "stratification
model of emotive life".
1. Sensual feelings - involve bodily pleasures or pain.
2. Vital feelings - the life functions such as health, sickness, energy, fatigue, etc.
3. Psychic feelings - are about aesthetics, justice, and knowledge (scientific).
4. Spiritual feelings - deal with the Divine.
What is the Role of Feelings in Decision making
Reason plays a role in making a moral decision. Philosophers encourage the use of reason in
making moral decisions.
Our moral compasses are also powerfully influenced by feelings.
Two elements in moral judgement:
1. The emotive element in moral decisions meant expressing positive feelings towards a
particular act. For example, "Kindness is good" meant you feel positive about acts of
kindness. When you feel positively about an act, you do not only do the act you also feel
this act should be encouraged that others may follow.
2. Prescriptive element comes in such as saying, "Be kind to others." The prescriptive
element, in a sense, is an instruction or prescription of a particular behavior.
The Partial Nature of Feelings
Emotions notoriously play favorites. It operates on a principle called "the law of concern" (Fridja,
1988) where emotions give focus only on matters of personal interest.
Emotions influence our attention. Thus, it governs what attracts and holds attention.
Impartiality is commonly understood as a principle of justice. It denotes that decisions should be
"based on objective criteria rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring to benefit one
person over another for improper reasons" (Jollimore, 2011);
What is Moral Courage?
Moral courage is the courage to put your moral principles into action even though you may be in
doubt, are afraid, or face adverse consequences.
Moral imagination is "ability in particular circumstances to discover and evaluate possibilities not
merely determined by that circumstance, or limited by its operative mental mode or merely framed
by a set of rules or rule-governed concerns (Werhane, 1999)."
Johnson added it is important to have "an ability to imaginatively discern various possibilities for
acting within a given situation to envision the potential help and harm that are likely to result from
a given action (Johnson, 1994)." – Moral Imagination.
What is "will"?
Generally, "will" is the mental capacity to act decisively on one's desire. It is the faculty of the
mind to initiate action after coming to a resolution following careful deliberation (Joachim, 1952).
Within Ethics, "will" is an important topic along with reason because of its role in enabling a person
to act deliberately.
Why is the "will" as important as reason?
Aristotle believed that "will" is the product of intellect and sensation; and that "will" gave the person
the capacity for "exciting movement in space”.
Aristotle
Aristotle was born in a small colony of Stagira in Greece. That was fifteen years after the death
of Socrates, the teacher of Plato. His father was Nicomachus, who happened to be the court
physician during the reign of King Amyntas. Because of this affiliation, Aristotle became the tutor
of Alexander the Great, who was the grandson of the king. When Aristotle's father died, he left
Stagira and went to Athens to join the Academy, a famous school of Plato, and became student
of Plato for twenty years. He joined the school at the age of seventeen. His known works that are
related to moral philosophy are: Nicomachean Ethics (NE), Eudemian Ethics (EE), and the Magna
Moralia. Most of the ideas related to the framework he conceived are taken from his first two
works

USTP VISION
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link between education and the economy.
USTP MISSION
The mission of the University is to:

 Bring the world of work (industry) into the actual higher education and training of students,
 Offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to maximize their business potential through a gamut
of services from product conceptualization to commercialization, and
 Contribute significantly to the National Development Goals of food security and energy
sufficiency through technological solutions.