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GRADUATE SCHOOL

Course: VE 104 Philosophical and Ethical Foundations of Values Education

Topic: Philosophical Foundations
 Ethical Theories
- Virtue Ethics
- Utilitarianism
Deontological Ethics
 Meta-Ethical Considerations
- Moral Realism vs Moral Relativism
- Objectivity vs Subjectivity in moral judgements

Graduate Student: MaryAnn P. Abanil

Lecture Notes
A. Definition of Terms:
1. Philosophy – is a science whose essence is founded on reason, experience, reflection, intuition,
meditation, imagination and speculation that leads to critical thinking which embraces questioning,
analyzing, criticizing, synthesizing, evaluation and judging a given phenomenon of reality.
- "the love of exercising one's curiosity and intelligence. This makes philosophy not a
thing or a finished text, but the process of asking questions and finding answers no matter how
tentative these answers may turn out to be.
2. Foundations – A basis (such as a tenant, principle or axiom) upon which something stands or is
supported.
3. Ethical Theories – are philosophical attempts at explaining and systemizing human morality.
Generally, most ethical theory is an attempt to describe or prescribe what philosophers called “right
action” and “wrong action”. Most modern ethical theories can be classed as either deontological or
consequentialist
B. Discussion
Ethical Theory
Ethical Theories are attempts to provide a clear, unified account of what our ethical obligations are. They are
attempts, in other words, to tell a single “story” about what we are obligated to do, without referring directly to
specific examples. It is common in discussions of business ethics to appeal to one or more ethical theories in an
attempt to clarify what it is right or wrong to do in particular situations. Some of the philosophical ethical theories
commonly appealed to include:
 Virtue – The virtue ethical theory judges a person by his or her character rather than by an
action that may deviate from his or her normal behavior. It takes the persons moral, reputation
and motivation into account when rating an unusual and irregular behavior that is considered
unethical.
 Utilitarianism, which says that the right thing to do in any situation is whatever will “do the
most good” (that is, produce the best outcomes) taking into consideration the interests of all
concerned parties.
 Deontology – The deontological class of ethical theories states that people should adhere to
their obligations and duties when engaged in decision making when ethics are in play. This
means that person will follow his/her obligations to another individual or society because
upholding one’s duty is what is considered ethically correct. The person who adheres to
deontological theory will produce very consistent decisions since they will be based on the
individuals set duties.

DARWIN D. BARGO, EdD, PhD Sem: Summer

Professor No.: _____________ Year: 2024 Revision Status: 01
drdarwindbargo@gmail.com June 7, 2024
09208032273; 09171361397
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GRADUATE SCHOOL

Meta – Ethical Considerations

is that part of philosophy concerned with the ultimate status and grounding of ethics, whether in external
metaphysical terms, or in internal, psychological terms. It is commonly contrasted with Normative Ethics (the part
of philosophy devoted to elucidating and defending very general ethical principles), and Applied Ethics (which is
devoted to offering and defending solutions to practical moral problems).

 Moral Realism VS Moral Relativism

- Moral realism is the notion that good and evil exist. They are not matters of opinion. If two people
disagree about a moral issue, they cannot both be right.
- If I do something nice for you, you should do something nice for me.
- Moral Relativism is the idea that there are no absolute rules to determine whether something is right or
wrong. Moral relativists argue that good and bad are relative concepts – whether something is
considered right or wrong can change depending on opinion, social context, culture or number of other
factors.
- Moral relativism states that morality is determined by a culture or a society, such as a religious group.
Moral objectivism states that there is a set of valid rules and principles which should be adhered to by
all people no matter what.

 Objectivity VS Subjectivity in Moral Judgements

- Subjectivism is when morality is not dependent on set rules or societal norms, but rather on the
individual. An individual gets to decide what is good or bad based on their own principles, feelings,
and beliefs
- Subjectivism are based on personal tastes, feelings and opinions.
- Moral Objectivism maintains there’s a single set of moral standards that should be adhered to. There
are rights and wrongs which are universal.
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References: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://dsef.org/wp-content/uploads/
2012/07/EthicalTheories.pdf
https://philpapers.org/browse/meta-ethics

DARWIN D. BARGO, EdD, PhD Sem: Summer

Professor No.: _____________ Year: 2024 Revision Status: 01
drdarwindbargo@gmail.com June 7, 2024
09208032273; 09171361397
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 2 of 2