LESSON 4

SOURCES OF
AUTHORITY
 At the end of the lesson you are
expected to:
1. Recognized the importance but also
limit in the law as a determinant of
Ethics
2. Understand the difficulty in making
simplistic use of religion as
determinants of ethics
3. Assess the possible ways using culture
as a basis can help , but maybe also
hinder one’s efforts in thinking about
ethics.
Think

The Authority behind

Law, Religion and
Culture
Moral Standards
• INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING:
• MORAL NORMS. Kinds of actions we
believe are morally right and wrong
• “ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH”
• “IT IS WRONG TO KILL PEOPLE”
• MORAL VALUES. Principles or objects that
we hold important.
• “HONESTY IS GOOD.”
• “INJUSTICE IS BAD.”
Law

Law are the rules and regulation

that we have and must obey as a
human for it is an accurate and
right thing to do. Law is the one
that keeps everything in balance
because it stated the right and
wrong.
 JUSTICE & FAIRNESS

Concerned with the comparative treatment

given to the members of a group when
benefits and burdens are distributed, when
rules and laws are administered, when
members of a group cooperate or compete
with each other, and when people are
punished for the wrongs they have done or
compensated for the wrongs they have
suffered.
Three Categories of Justice
1. Distributive Justice. Concerned with the fair
distribution on society’s benefits and burdens.

Individuals who are similar in all respects relevant to

the kind of treatment in question should be given
similar benefits and burdens, even if they are
dissimilar in other irrelevant respects; and
individuals who are dissimilar in a relevant respect
ought to be treated dissimilarly, in proportion to
their dissimilarity.
Three Categories of Justice
2. Retributive Justice. Concerned with the justice of
blaming or punishing persons for doing wrong.
A. If people do not know or freely choose what
they are doing, then they cannot justly be punished
or blamed for it.
B. Certitude that the person being punished
actually did wrong.
C. Just punishments must be consistent and
proportioned to the wrong.
Three Categories of Justice
3. Compensatory Justice. Concerned with the justice
of restoring to a person what the person lost when
he or she was wronged by someone else.
A person has a moral obligation to compensate an injured party only if 3
conditions are present:
A. The action that inflicted the injury was wrong or
negligent.
B. The person’s action was the real cause of the
injury.
C. .The person inflicted the injury voluntarily.
 Religion
theological approach to ethics that posits
that ethical principles and moral obligations
are derived from the commands of a higher
power, usually seen as a deity or God.
According to this theory, what is morally
right or wrong is determined solely by the
divine will. Actions are deemed morally good
if they align with God’s commands, and they
are morally wrong if they go against God’s
will.
 Religion
This view often emphasizes the
importance of obedience to
religious teachings and the belief
that moral duties are grounded in
the authority of the divine.
raises questions about morality and the potential for ethical
dilemmas when different interpretations of divine commands
arise.
Culture
the way of life, especially
the general customs and
beliefs, of a particular
group of people at a
particular time
Culture
Can also be the
attitudes, behaviour,
opinions, etc. of a
particular group of
people