ETHICS

“
Without ethics, man has no future. This
is to say, mankind without them cannot
be itself. Ethics determine choices and
actions and suggest difficult priorities.
What is Ethics?
 Ethics is the branch of philosophy that focuses on
morality and the way in which moral principles are
applied to everyday life.
 Ethics has to do with fundamental questions such as
“What is fair?”
“What is just?”
“What is the right thing to do in this situation?”
▸ Morality may refer to the standards that a
person or a group has about what is right
and wrong, or good and evil. Accordingly,
moral standards are those concerned with
or relating to human behavior, especially the
distinction between good and bad (or right
and wrong) behavior.
THE NEED TO STUDY ETHICS

▸ The Commission on Higher Education States “ethical

deals with principles of ethical behaviour in modern society
at the level of the person, society, and in interaction with the
environment and other shared resources.”
RELEVANCE OF STUDYING ETHICS IN YOUR CHOSEN PROFESSION

▸ Ethics ensure a generally agreed standard of work-related

behaviour that empowers professionals to foster moral
values through their work.

▸ Ethics gives a sense of justification in one’s judgement,

and helps ensure that decisions at work are not made
based on purely subjective factors.
IMPORTANCE OF RULES TO SOCIAL BEINGS

▸ Humans in general, do not live in

isolation.
▸ One of the systems that humans
developed are standards that guide
human activities, “rules.”

▸ Rule is defined as “a statement that tells

you what is or is not allowed in a
particular, situation.” (Merriam-Webster,
2017)
MORAL VS. NON-MORAL STANDARDS

▸ Moral standards involve the rules people have about the

kinds of actions they believe are morally right and wrong,
as well as the values they place on the kinds of objects
they believe are morally good and morally bad. Some
ethicists equate moral standards with moral
values and moral principles.
SIX CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL STANDARDS

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.
SIX CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL STANDARDS

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.
MORAL VS. NON-MORAL STANDARDS

▸ Non-moral standards refer to rules that are

unrelated to moral or ethical considerations.
Either these standards are not necessarily linked
to morality or by nature lack ethical sense. Basic
examples of non-moral standards include rules
of etiquette, fashion standards, rules in games,
and various house rules.
ETIQUETTE, POLICY, LAW AND COMMANDMENT

▸ Etiquette is a set of rules on how an individual should

responsibly behave in the society. (Taylor & Williams,2017)
▸ Policy is a clear, simple statement of how an organization
plans to handle its services, actions, or business.
▸ 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 Ten Commandments.
What is the advantage of owning moral standards over
merely abiding by moral standards?

“What should I do?” or “How should I act?”

Ethics presumed as a moral rules on how a person should

act. “Every person is obligated to do the greatest good for the
most number of people.”
 Queen Bee Alert Test
▸ How moral standards different from non-moral
standards?
▸ How do moral standards differ from etiquette, policy,
law and commandment?
▸ Give at least three school rules. Describe each. Why are
these rules important to your school?
▸ Give at least three community rules. Describe each. Why
are these rules important to your community?
 MORAL
DILEMMA
What would you do when faced with a
difficult moral choice?
Dilemma Defined
▸ Dilemma is a situation in which a
difficult choice has to be made
between two or more alternatives,
especially equally undesirable ones.
(Dictionary.com,2017)
A moral dilemma is a situation where:

▸ There are two or more actions that you can

possibly do.
▸ There is moral reason for doing such
actions.
▸ You cannot do all the possible actions
presented to you. You only need to choose
one.
Imagine that you are an employee working for the train company
as a switch operator. One day you see a train speeding down the
track, its driver is in obvious distress. You realize that the train has
had a malfunction and is unable to stop.
You look ahead of the train and see five workers working on the
track. If you allow the train to go ahead, it will surely kill all five.
However, you could divert the train by switching tracks. On the
alternate track, there is one worker, working alone.
If you switch the train, you cause the death of one worker; if you
do nothing, five will die. What will you do?
THREE LEVELS OF MORAL
DILLEMA
▸ 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.
Should you always tell the
truth?
▸ A murderer at the door is looking for your
friend who is hiding in your house.

▸ Your co-worker is cheating on her time-

sheet.

▸ You witness a parking-lot accident.

▸ You are an emergency worker that has just been called to the scene of an accident. When you
arrive you see that the car belongs to your wife. Fearing the worst you rush over to see she is
trapped in her car with another man.
▸ She sees you and although barely conscious, she manages to mouth the words “I’m sorry”…
▸ You don’t understand, but her look answers you question. The man next to her is her lover with
whom she’s been having an affair.
▸ You reel back in shock, devastated by what her eyes have just told you. As you step back, the wreck
in front of you comes into focus. You see your wife is seriously hurt and she needs attention
straight away. Even if she gets attention there’s a very high chance she’ll die.
▸ You look at the seat next to her and see her lover. He’s bleeding heavily from a wound to the neck
and you need to stem the flow of blood immediately. It will only take about 5 minutes to stop, but it
will mean your wife will definitely die.
▸ If you tend to your wife however, the man will bleed to death despite the fact it could have been
avoided.
▸ Who would you choose to work on?
THREE LEVELS OF MORAL
DILLEMA
▸ 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 (company, cooperative,
association) itself.
THREE LEVELS OF MORAL
DILLEMA
▸ Structural 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.
Based on what you have learned so far, how
will you decide when you are faced with a
dilemma? Why will you decide in such
manner? Cite a specific scenario, either a
personal, organizational, or a structural
dilemma to illustrate how you decide in
morally conflicting situations.
FREEDOM
“ FREEDOM IS NOT WORTH
HAVING IF IT DOES NOT
INCLUDE THE FREEDOM TO
MISTAKES
~MAHATMA GANDHI
“
RESPONSIBILITY IS THE
PRICE OF FREEDOM
What does
freedom
means to you?
FREEDOM & RESPONSIBILITIES

▸ FREEDOM connotes no ties, no

hindrances, no blocks.

▸ RESPONSIBILITY connotes doing

something, not because you want to but
because it is expected of you.
WHY ONLY HUMAN BEINGS CAN BE ETHICAL

▸ There has been some claim that

morality is not unique to human
beings.

▸ Dame Jane Morris Goodall DBE,

reported that sometimes
chimpanzees show a truly selfless
concern for the well-being of other
(Goodall,1990)
 WHY ONLY HUMAN BEINGS CAN BE ETHICAL

▸ Religious theories believe that only human beings

can be ethical. (Wilson, 2017)

▸ According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the fundamental

difference between animal ethics and human ethics
is that animals behave instinctively while human
behaviour is rational. (BBC,2014)
 WHY ONLY HUMAN BEINGS CAN BE ETHICAL

▸ Animal – Instinctive behaviour – kin selection

▸ Human – Rational behaviour – decision-making

“Only human beings can be ethical because only

humans have capacity for free moral judgement.”
THE FOUNDATION OF MORALITY
According to Lewis, though each ship
must sail, well on its own, each must
also coordinate with the other ships at
all times to stay in formation and avoid
collisions. Finally the fleet must have a
destination or purpose for the journey
because if the ship was just aimlessly
sailing then it has failed its ultimate
purpose, that of getting from one point
to the next.
WHY IS FREEDOM CRUCIAL
IN YOUR ABILITY TO MAKE
MORAL DECISIONS?
 WHY IS FREEDOM CRUCIAL IN YOUR ABILITY TO MAKE MORAL DECISION

▸ The personal aspect of morality is about developing virtue

so that thinking morally, performing moral acts, and
choosing to do what is good becomes a habit.
▸ Virtue is your thought or behaviour guided by, and
displays, high moral standards.
▸ Virtues are habits developed through learning and
practice.
▸ Once you have it your virtue will be your characteristics.
 WHY IS FREEDOM CRUCIAL IN YOUR ABILITY TO MAKE MORAL DECISION

▸ An efficiently run ship is like a virtuous person: both have

internalized the practices that make them weather
storms. However, a ship is under the control of a captain
while a virtuous person is free to cultivate his or her
values.

▸ Freedom, then, is the foundation of moral acts. For a

person to be virtuous, he or she must also be free.
 WHY IS FREEDOM CRUCIAL IN YOUR ABILITY TO MAKE MORAL DECISION

▸ Rules

▸ Harmony

▸ Free

▸ Rights
 What does
“human person”
mean?
 THE HUMAN PERSON AS A FREE BEING

▸ The human being is a person endowed with

characteristics that are material, spiritual, rational and
free.

▸ A human person is a being with inborn properties that he

or she uses to direct his or her own development toward
self-fulfilment. One of the inborn properties of the human
person is freedom.
The Aristotelian idea of being connotes actuality; existence; an actual condition.
Philosophical
Insights on
Freedom
FREEDOM IS A GIFT

▸ According to Gabriel Marcel, freedom is the ability to

act significantly. Free acts are significant because they
help to make us who we are as human beings.

▸ Freedom is the ability to make significant choices and,

according to Marcel, it is a gift given to us by God.
(Hernandez, 2009)
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.
FREEDOM IS ABSOLUTE

▸ Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s

concept of freedom to do something or anything.
In Sartre’s view, the human person is “absolutely
free”

▸ Freedom sets the human person apart from other

creatures
• Freedom from
restrictions.

• It is primitive
kind of
freedom.

• It is freedom
for mere
survival.
 FREEDOM DEMANDS RESPONSIBILITY

▸ Jean-Paul Sartre said “You are free” because he believed a

person always has a choice. (You must choose)
▸ His idea was that freedom is the capacity to choose, that
even not choosing is a choice.
▸ Concept of Responsibility to freedom.
▸ According to Sartre, even though individuals must take their
own choices because they’re free, these choices also have
consequences. These consequences to freedom are
something that the person must endure. Therefore,
responsibility follows freedom.
 FREEDOM DEMANDS RESPONSIBILITY

▸ Lao Tzu discussed freedom and responsibility.

▸ He advocated that a person can and should choose the act,
but his or her actions should be that which would result in
harmony.
▸ Lao Tzu’s idea that the person is free to do anything; but it
is not without consequence of one’s actions.
▸ Responsibility, as a moral quality serves as a voluntary
check and balance of one’s freedom.
CULTURE
 WHAT IS CULTURE?
▸ Culture is the social behavior and norms found in
human societies. 

▸ Culture is a complex phenomenon. It contains

nearly all aspects of shared human experiences.
“ How does culture
affect human
behaviour?
“
ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

▸ SYMBOLS
Symbols can be anything that a
group of people find a meaningful.

▹ LANGUAGE
Language is a complex symbol
system that enabled human beings to
communicate either verbally or
through writing.
 ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
▸ BELIEFS
Beliefs are assumptions or convictions held
to be true by an individual or a group of
people. These assumptions/convictions could
be about events, people, or things.

▹ VALUES
Values are culturally acceptable standards
of behaviour. It is what a person considers
important or beneficial in life.
ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

▸ NORM
Norm is an informal guideline by a
particular group of people or social unit
about what is considered normal or
correct/incorrect social behaviour. For
instance, the Filipino norm in relating to
other people is to get along well with
others, even with complete strangers.
This Filipino trait is called pakikisama.
HOW DOES CULTURE DEFINE MORAL BEHAVIOR?

▸ Plato in his famous philosophical work,

The Republic cited three critical
elements that jointly influence the
human person’s moral development.
These elements are native traits; early
childhood experience; and one’s cultural
surroundings.
PRELIM REQUIREMENT

Write of a story of somebody you personally know

that displayed desirable moral values and then
reflect on why he/she should be a model for
everybody.

-output should not exceed 500 words. -present a

picture of the person you choose
CULTURAL
RELATIVIS
M
 What is cultural relativism?
is the view that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are relative to the
individual within his own social context.
word s, “Different cultures have different
In o tghhet” and
r
“ri ng ” are moral codes” often is used as a key
“wlturo
re -specific to understanding morality.
cu
Proponents argue that there is not as
universal truth in ethics; there are
only the various cultural codes and
nothing more. The customs of
different societies is all that exist
Why can’t all cultural practices be always correct?

All moral and ethical standards (or the judgement

of what is right or wrong) is valid and there is not
“one” standard that is “better” among all others.
▸ In America, eye
contact suggests that
you are paying
attention and
interested in what a
person has to say.
Yet, in other cultures,
eye contact can be
considered rude and a
challenge of authority.
▸ In Bolivia, 14-year-old
girls can legally get
married. In China,
men have to wait until
they're 22.
Why can’t all cultural practices be always correct?

▸ Philosopher and university

Professor Dr. James Rachels
(1941-2003), in his book The
Elements of Moral Philosophy,
laid out five claims of cultural
relativists as to why right or
wrong is only a matter of
cultural standards.
Why can’t all cultural practices be always correct?

1. Different societies have different moral codes.

2. The moral code of a society determines what is right or
wrong. There is no objective standard considered better
than others.
3. There are no universal moral truths.
4. The moral code of a particular society has no special
status. It is but one among many.
5. It is arrogant for one culture to judge another culture.
There should be tolerance among cultures.
THE ADVANTAGE AND DANGERS OF 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.

Cultural relativism makes us understand that we think as

truth may actually be just the result of cultural conditioning.
The Dangers of Cultural Relativism

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.
THE FILIPINO
WAY
QUALITIES OF THE FILIPINO MORAL IDENTITY
Psychologist, educator, and
former Chairperson of the
Commission on Higher
Education

Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan

 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

1. The Home Environment

2. The Social Environment
3. Culture and Language
4. History
5. The Educational System
6. Religion
7. The Economic Environment
8. The Political Environment
9. Mass Media, and
10.Leadership and role models
 STRENGTHS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

The strong aspects of Filipino character are:

1. Pakikipagkapwa-tao
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
“ Matutong mamaluktot
habang maikli ang
kumot
 WEAKNESS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

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