ETHICS

PHL 1B
WHAT IS ETHICS?

 ETHICS is the branch of Philosophy that studies morality or the rightness or

wrongness of human conduct.
 The word ‘ethics’ is derived from the Greek word ethos, which means
‘character’ or in plural, ‘manners’. Click to add text

 MORALITY speaks of a code or system of behavior in regards to standards of

right or wrong behavior.

*take note: The 2 terms (ethics and morality), especially their adjective form
(ethical and moral) are used interchangeably.
Importance Of Ethics

Montemayor (1994) proclaims that the importance of the study of ethics follows immediately from
the importance of ethics itself. His idea is manifested in the following:
 1. Ethics means right living and good moral character and it is in good moral character that man
finds his true worth and perfection. All the great teachers of the ages maintain that the
supreme purpose of human living lies not in the acquisition of material good or bodily
pleasures, nor in the attainment of bodily perfections such as health and strength; nor even in
the development of intellectual skills but in the development of the moral qualities which lift
man far above brute creation.
 2. Education is the harmonious development of the whole man-of all man’s faculties: the
moral, intellectual, and physical powers in man. Now then highest of man’s power are his
reason and will. Hence, the primary objective of education is the moral development of the
will.
Questions that are ethical in nature:

 What is good?
 Who is a moral person?
 What are the virtues of human being?
 What makes an act right?
 What duties do we have to each other?
I. The importance of RULES
I. The importance of RULES

 RULES refer to explicit or understood regulations or principles governing

conduct within a specific activity or sphere.
Rules tell us what is or is not allowed in a particular context or situation. In many
ways, rules serve as a foundation for any healthy society. Without rules, society
would fall into anarchy.
*not all rules are moral.
How rules can benefit social beings?
(The importance of RULES)
 Rules protect social beings by regulating behavior.
 Rules help to guarantee each person certain rights and freedom.
 Rules produce a sense of justice among social beings.
 Rules are essential for a healthy economic system.

In short, society could not soundly functions without rules and regulations. Rules
are necessary to protect the greater good. Even the freest societies ought to
have rules in order to avoid exploitations and tyranny.
II. MORAL STANDARDS
VS. NON-MORAL
STANDARDS
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, i.e. table etiquette, fashion standards, rules
in games, various house rules. Technically, we can also include some
religious rules, traditions, and legal statuses (i.e. laws and ordinances) are
non-moral principles though they can be ethically relevant depending on
some factors and contexts.
*not all standards are moral standards.
II. MORAL STANDARDS 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 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.
Moral standards normally promote “the good”, that is, the welfare and well-
being of humans as well as animals and the environment. Moral standards,
therefore, prescribe what humans ought to do in terms of rights and obligations.
Characteristics of Moral Standards
 Moral standards deal with matters we think can seriously injure or benefit humans,
animals, and the environment, such as child abuse, rape, and murder;
 Moral standards are overriding, that is, they take precedence over other standards
and considerations, especially of self-interest; (Moral standards ought to be
preferred to other values)
 Moral standards have the trait of universalizability
 Moral standards are not established or changed by the decisions of authoritative
individuals or bodies.
 Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.
 Moral standards are associated with special emotions (such as guilt and shame) and
vocabulary (such as right, wrong, good, and bad).
III. Dilemma and
Moral Dilemma
III. Dilemma and Moral Dilemma

DILEMMA refers to a situation in which a tough choice has to be made between 2

or more options, especially more or less equally undesirable ones.
*not all dilemmas are moral dilemmas.
MORAL DILEMMA (ETHICAL DILEMMA) refers to situations in which a difficult
choice has to be made between 2 courses of action, either of which entails
transgressing a moral principle.
Key features of Moral Dilemma

 A. the agent is required to do each of 2 or more actions

 B. the agent can do each of the actions; but the agent cannot do both (or all)
of the actions.

In a moral dilemma, the agent thus seems condemned to moral failure; no

matter what he does, he will do something wrong or fail to do something that he
ought to do.
3 levels of Moral Dilemma
 1. Personal Dilemmas are those experienced and resolved on the personal level.
Example: a husband who had to choose between the life of his child who is about to
be delivered by his wife.
 2. Organizational Dilemmas refer to ethical cases encountered and resolved by
social organization. This category includes moral dilemmas in business, medical
fields, public sector, etc.
Example: a doctor that had to administer euthanasia (mercy killing). The doctor
would be conflicted on his professional oath of saving lives but then had to kill the
patient.
 3. Structural Dilemmas refer to cases involving network of institutions and
operative theoretical paradigms, this encompasses multi-sectoral institutions.
Example: The President of a country who had to choose between allowing businesses
to operate in order for the economy to recover to support those who are in need or
continue the lockdown for people to be safe from the virus.
IV. ‘Only human beings can be ethical’

 Only human beings can be Ethical (lifted from the book of De Guzman, (2017) -Ethics:
Principles of Ethical Behaviour in Modern Society)
a. Only human beings are rational, autonomous, and self-conscious
b. Only human beings can act morally or immorally
c. Only human beings are part of the moral community

Freedom as a foundation of Morality*

 RECITATION (questions based from recent topics and discussions)
 QUIZ on Thursday
 Assignment (find pictures or images of 2 opposing cultures, with description
below the images)
PART I: THE MORAL AGENT
LESSON I: Culture in Moral Behavior

 Culture is a ‘way of life’ of a group of people and this so-called ‘way of life’ actually includes
moral values and behaviors, along with knowledge beliefs, symbols that they accept, “generally
without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from
one generation to the next”.
 People learn morals and aspects of right and wrong from transmitters of culture: respective
parents, teachers, novels, films and television. Observing or watching them, people develop a
set of ideas of what is right and wrong, what is acceptable and what is not.
 Social Learning is the process by which individuals acquire knowledge from others in the groups
to which they belong.