ETHICS AS A SUBJECT

 This is a subject about being human.

 It is a reflection on what it means to exist as a person, who is
rational and free and seeks to do the good.
 It aims to help each student understand the implications of
human freedom and the basis for acting in a way that
recognizes and honors that freedom.
 However, in order to truly understand what it means to live a
free human being, the various conceptions of the good where
actions are based should be explored.
ETHICS: AN INTRODUCTION
BASIC CONCEPTS
 Introduction to Philosophy:

 Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning

matters such as existence, knowledge, values and reason.
 Philosophy means philo sophia or love of wisdom
 Philosophers raise questions about moral behaviors such as:
1. what is good?
2. How is good distinguished from evil?
3. What is the difference between moral and immoral?
4. What is justice?
 Learning the factors that influence moral or immoral, good or bad behaviors,
and apply this knowledge to understand the nature of humans and society.
ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY
(WHAT IS ETHICS)
 Ethics is a branch of Philosophy
 Philosophy and Ethics form a more complex relationship which provides
people with different perspectives of reasoning in order to understand how
right differs from wrong.
 Ethics is a philosophical reflection on the realities of life for a fuller and
more meaningful human experience.
 Ethics, as a branch of Philosophy, involves systematizing, describing, and
recommending concepts of right and wrong.
 As such, ethics takes on the essence of Philosophy which is to address what
happens once what is right is distinguished from what is wrong.
 In ethics, we find a clear illustration that dispels the common perception of
philosophy as a study of concepts that are either too complicated or detached
from reality.
 Ethics is philosophical because it emerges from our basic desire to make sense
of the complexities of human condition.
 MAJOR AREAS OF
ETHICS
 META-ETHICS
 NORMATIVE ETHICS
 ETHICS OF RELIGION
 MAJOR AREAS OF ETHICS
1. METAETHICS
• METAETHICS- Attempts to determine the meanings of terms such as
right, good, virtue, justice, etc
• Examines the validity of standards that makes judgments of right or
wrong possible.
AMONG THE APPROACHED IN METAETHICS ARE:
1. Cognitivism- maintains that moral judgment can be true or false and can be a
subject knowledge of cognition.
2. Intuitionism- suggest that human knowledge of what is considered good and
bad is immediate and self-evident.
3. Naturalism- suggest that moral terms are complex matters and can be
established through scientific investigation.
4. Subjectivism- holds that moral judgments are subjective and that there are no
objective moral truths. Subjectivism is a form of moral skepticism and doubts
absolute moral truth and asserts that no one can have absolute knowledge of it.
 MAJOR AREAS OF ETHICS
1. NORMATIVE ETHICS
 The study of ethical actions and questions the standards of
what is considered morally good or bad.
 It is concerned with questions such as why should one be
moral and how can one tell what is right or wrong.
 (THREE MAJOR THEORIES OF NORMATIVE

1. Consequentialism ETHICS)
2. Deontological Ethics
3. Virtue Ethics

Consequentialism- The moral worth of an action is determined by its

potential consequences. Thus, from a consequentialist perspective, an act is
considered morally good if it produces a positive outcome.
Deontological Ethics- is the study of the rightness and wrongness of the
actions themselves regardless of their consequences. Simply put,
deontological ethics is the study of duty.
Virtue Ethics- is the study of a person’s character and the virtues for
determining or evaluating ethical behavior
MAJOR AREAS OF ETHICS
(Ethics of Religion)
 Religion is a system of beliefs and practices by which people
relate their lives to a supernatural force or being such as God.
 Most religions possess and ethical code.
 Thus, some philosophers regard that there can be no morality
without religion as it is necessary to live ethically.
 Ethics and religion are best viewed as complementing
systems.
 THE STUDY OF ETHICS AND CULTURAL

CONCEPTIONS OF THE GOOD

 Why is there a need to study ethics at all as a subject in college?
 People mostly think that they know exactly their basis of the
good and that it is reasonable.
 However, a person’s understanding of the good hardly ever goes
unquestioned, especially in today’s world.
 Example-
 The subtle harassment of women, such as throwing lewd jokes,
seems harmless until a woman files a case against an offender in
Quezon City where ordinances against harassment exist.
 ETHICS AND MORALITY
 MORALITY- Proceeds from commandments , rules of traditions
commonly considered as authoritative and unchangeable.
 ETHICS- Attempts to confront, as a starting point, the situation
at hand without making any “premature judgment” that might
obscure the main issue in question.
Morality determine what is right or wrong based on a pre-
ordained standards (commandments, rules, or traditions)