ETHICS MORAL STANDARDS

CONSEQUENCE NON-
 The word ethics came from the Greek STANDARD CONSEQUENCE
word “ETHOS” which means custom or STANDARD
character.  Depends on result  Based on the
 Studies the righteousness or wrongness of or outcome. Natural Laws.
human action.  - Greatest good of  Law of God that
 How human person ought to act. greatest numbers is written in the
hearts of men.
Two Views on Ethics  Based on
goodwill
Greek Tradition Judeo-Christian Tradition
 Sense of duty that
 The main goal  The main goal is you wish to apply
is to have a “The ideas of to all human-
“Good Life” righteousness before person.
God”
 Being happy  Doing what is right.

Non-Moral standards:

Importance of rules - Rules are a set of • Social Rules

guidelines that got created in communities and
• Etiquette
countries and get used all as a standard. These
rules usually differ from one place to the other and • Good Manners
the differences are often determined by factors
such as social interactions, beliefs, policies, and COMPLIANCE OR NON-COMPLIANCE
the method of governance in place. Also, the MORAL NON-MORAL
violators of these rules are often handled by the STANDARD STANDARD
penalties which the laws of the land for the  Causes guilt  May only cause shame
and embarrassment.
violation.

Types of Applied Ethics

• Bioethics - This concerns with ethical

issues about life, biomedical researches, CLASSIFICATION OF THEORIES OF
MORALS STANDARDS – GARNER AND
medicines, health care, and the medical
ROSEN (1967)
profession.
CONSEQUENCE NOT-ONLY
• Business Ethics - It examines moral STANDARD CONSEQUENCE
principles concerning the business STANDARD
environment, which involves issues about  Teleological  Deontological
corporate practices and policies.  The act is wrong  Right and wrong
• Environmental Ethics - It deals with depending on the depends on the
moral issues concerning nature, consequences of sense of duty.
ecosystem, and its nonhuman contents. the act.  Natural Law
• Sexual Ethics - It studies moral issues
about sexuality and human sexual
behavior.
WHAT MAKES STANDARD MORAL?
MORAL - It is an adjective describing human act THEIST NON-THEIST
as either ethical right or wrong. • Moral standards • Based on sages
are like Confucius and
MORAL STANDARDS - Are norms that serves commandments Kant
as the frameworks for determining what ought to of • Don’t do unto
be done.  God revealed to others what you
man through don’t want others
 prophet to do unto you. – Regards for other Extreme personalism
Confucius Family centeredness Extreme family
• “Act only centeredness
according to that Hospitality Mañana habit
maxim whereby Sense of humor Ningas-Cogon
you can at the Faith and religiousity Kanya-Kanya
same time will Syndrome
that it should Creativity Crab Mentality
became a Hardwork Colonial Mentality
universal law” – Ability to survive Split Personality
 Immanuel Kant, Palusot Syndrome
Categorical Bahala na system
Imperative.

Universal Values:
FREEDOM • Happiness
• Peace
• Exercising our capacity to make decisions,
• Love
choose or life path and direct the course of
• Freedom
our live through our own steering/
• Safety
• Human has freedom.
• Intelligence
• Dilemmas presuppose Freedom
• Human Respect
• Without freedom it is impossible to make a
• Equality
moral choice
• Justice
• Making moral choice is a necessary
• Nature
consequence for being free, a consequence of
• Health
being human person.
CHARACTER - refers to a set of moral and
FACTICITY - Refers to the “givens” of our
mental qualities and beliefs that makes a person
situation.
different from others.
CULTURE
PERSONALITY refers to the combination of
• Total way of life. qualities, attitude and behavior, that makes a
• Ralph Linton (1945) defined the culture of a person distinct from others.
society as 'the way of life of its members: the
MORAL CHARACTER – refers to having or
collection of ideas and habits which they
lacking moral virtue
learn, share and transmit from generation to
generation' MORAL AGENT – It is the person who do moral
act.
How is culture transmitted?

• Enculturation
• Acculturation ST. THOMAS AQUINAS – Medieval
• Assimilation Philosopher
CULTURAL RELATIVISM - The idea that a • Summum Bonum - “Every human act is
person’s beliefs, values and practices should be directed toward an end”
understood based on that person’s own culture,
rather than be judged against the criteria of • THREE THOMISTIC PRINCIPLES:
another.
According to ALFREDO PANIZO (1964):
THE FILIPINO CHARACTERS
a. Every agent that performs an action acts
POSITIVE TRAITS NEGATIVE
for the sake of the end purpose to be
TRAITS
attained.
 b. Every agents acts for an ultimate end. The determinants of the morality of human act:
c. Every agent has the power of moving for
an end which is suitable or good for him. 1. The object of the act

2. The end, or purpose

According to 20th Century thinkers – there 3. Its circumstances

were NO Pre-fixed plan for man. For an act to be morally good, all three
• JEAN PAUL SARTRE - A human person is determinants must be without flaw.
or becomes what he/she makes of him/herself
by choice.
• TEILHARD DE CHARDIN (1948) and FEELINGS AND MORAL DECISION
ALFRED NORTH WHITEHEAD (1946) – MAKING
believers of Process Philosopher – For them,
FEELINGS - Is an emotional state or reaction,
whatever a human person is or will be a result
experience of physical sensation like feeling of
of creative process.
joy, feeling of warmth, love affection, tenderness,
• MARTIN HEIDEGGER, GABRIEL
etc.
MARCEL and MARTIN BUBER. - See
themselves as being-with-others, inseparably FEELINGS as Instinctive response to moral
related to their fellow man, dilemma - Several studies conclude that up to
90% of the decisions we made are based on
emotion. They can be obstacle but they can also
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL help in making right decisions.
CHARACTER OF THE MORAL AGENT
Ethical Subjectivism
DEFINING MOMENTS - Refers to the life
• Moral statements cannot be objective because
changing event or moment that reverberates
it is only people’s perception and attitudes
throughout your career and personal life and so
that makes them right or wrong.
changes everything.
• It highlights the subjectivity of morality it is
Relationship between moral acts and character - always dependent on feelings.
“The person who has moral character does moral • It allows us to see convicting intentions
actions more readily” behind moral statements.
• People may get involved in an argument by
Stages of moral development: ethical subjectivism to persuade the opponent
1. Pre-Conventional to follow their point of view but not to
2. Conventional disprove their objective truth.
3. Post-Conventional 2 Versions:
Human Act Act of Human 1. Simple subjectivism - One can only
• Acts of moral • Actions merely approve or disapprove of the things that he
agent. happen in the states to be good or bad in aspects of
• Involves body without the
morality.
reasoning. awareness of
2. Emotivism - Moral Statements simply
• Observing mind.
prescribed diet, • Breathing, reflects preference. Moral Statements are
tutoring the slow blinking of the neither used to state facts nor to convey
learners and eyes, dilation of information instead it serves as means of
preparing the pupil of the eye, affecting human behaviour and expressing
board exam. perspiring and one’s feelings and emotion. Known as
jerking of the Boo-Hooray Theory.
knee.
RULE OF REASON - When we make any Dominant Mental Frames:
kinds of judgment we must reinforce them for
valid reason. 1. Virtue or Character Ethics
2. Natural Law or Commandment
• Feelings can help in making right decision - Ethics
Subjective feelings sometimes matter when 3. Deontological and Duty Framework
deciding between right and wrong. Emotions, like 4. Utilitarianist, Teleological and
our love for our friends and family, are a crucial Consenquentialist Approach
part of what gives life meaning, and ought to play 5. Love and Justice Framework
a guiding role in morality.

1. ARISTOTLE VIRTUE ETHICS

Reason and Impartiality as Minimum • This question focuses on the character traits
Requirement for Morality one is supposed to have in order for that
person to be considered as ethical.
• REASON – is the basis or motive for an action, • An ethical person is a virtuous person.
decision, or conviction. • Virtue ethics is Person-based Rather than
• IMPARTIALITY – is a principle of justice action-based.
holding that decisions ought to be based on ARISTOTLE - A Philosopher from Stagira, he
objective criteria, rather than on the basis of bias, wrote a lot of ranging topics in various
prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person disciplines.
over another for improper reasons.
• “Good character is the indispensable
condition and chief determinant of happiness,
The 7-step model is as follows: itself the goal of all human doing. The end of
all action, individual or collective is the
1. Gather the facts greatest happiness of the greatest number.” –
2. Determine the ethical issues Ethics, 350 BCE
3. Determine what virtues/principles have a • “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of
bearing on the case life, the whole aim and end of human
4. List the alternatives existence”
5. Compare the alternatives with the • We must cultivate virtues because they are the
virtues/principles qualities that will help the people to live well.
6. Consider the consequences • Telos – End / Ultimate Goal:
7. Make a decision • Happiness = Eudamonia
WILL – refers to that faculty of mind which
chooses, at the moment of making decision, the
strongest desire from among the various present. 2. ST. THOMAS NATURAL LAW ETHICS

MORAL COURAGE – means doing right thing • “Some truths about God exceed all the ability
even at the risk of inconvenience, ridicule, of human reason... but there are some truths
punishment or loss of job, security or social status. which natural reason also is able to reach.
Such as that God exists” -Summa contra
Gentiles
• He was from a noble family in Naples and
ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS
early in his life he decided to join the
• Is a set of codes that an individual uses to Dominican Order.
guide his or her behavior • “We call this man a dumb ox, but his
• Also known as “Moral Standard”. bellowing in doctrine will one day resound
• It is what people use to distinguish right from throughout the world.”- Albertus Magnus in
wrong in the way they interact in the world. defense of Aquinas
• “REASON” is the source of the moral law; it • Born in 1724 in Konigsberg, Prussia. He is a
directs us towards the “GOOD” Philosopher that published books entitled
• GOOD – is the ultimate GOAL of the Critique of Pure Reason and Prolegomena
person’s actions. The good is discoverable to any Future Metaphysics
within the person’s nature. • “I had to deny knowledge in order to make
• An act is morally right if it is done room for faith.”
according to moral law. • Deontological – means duty. It focuses on
• What is MORAL LAW? Do good and “duty, obligation and rights” instead of
avoid evil consequences or ends.
• How do we know that one is acting in • The duty-based approach argued that doing
accordance with good? An action is Good if what is right is not about the consequences of
it is done in accordance with our action (something over which we
CONSCIENCE. ultimately have no control) but about having
• How do we know that one’s action obeys the proper intention in performing the action.
conscience? If it satisfies the three-fold • THE ETHICAL ACTION IS ONE
natural inclination of the human person. TAKEN FROM THE DUTY.
• How important is the intention in the analysis
THREE-FOLD NATURAL INCLINATION of one’s ethical behavior?
OF THE HUMAN PERSON • Whatever result may happen as consequence
1. Self-preservation - Natural inclination to of the act is not included in this moral
take care of one’s health or not to kill or assessment. Thus, it is possible that though
to put one’s self in danger. the consequence was not the desired result, or
2. Just dealing with others - Treat others may result in something bad, still- the act can
with the same respect that we accord be considered good.
ourselves • A person should be morally judged only on
3. Propagation of human species - The things that are within his control, in short
reproductive organ is by nature designed those that he willed.
to reproduce and propagate human • An action is legally right if it is the same in
species. accordance with a universal law, that is , in
accordance with the categorical imperative

4. UTILITARIANISM: THE
• An act does not obey conscience; It is CONSEQUENTIALIST ETHICAL
therefore immoral. FRAMEWORK
• Circumstance - The CONDITIONS affecting • An action is morally right if it maximizes
the morality of a action. overall well-being and happiness.
• “The said truth is that it is the greatest
Classification:
happiness of the greatest number that is the
o Quality of person (Who) measure of right and wrong” -Jeremy
o Quality/Quantity of the moral object Bentham
(What) • Bentham studied law and wrote on ethics,
o Circumstances of place (Where) politics, economics and the law. He is known
as the founder of Utilitarianism.
o Circumstances of mean (By what means)
• The primary motivation of human behavior is
o Circumstances of end (Why)
the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of
o Manner in which the action is done
pain.
(How) • Hedonism – The pursuit of pleasure.
o Time Element (when • “I have learned to seek my happiness by
limiting my desires, rather than in attempting
3. KANT’S DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS to satisfy them” -John Stuart Mill
• He continued Bentham’s legacy and generally
credited for having popularized it. As
 utilitarian, he lived its tenet and found that
one of the secrets of happiness is the
limitation of desire.

5. JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS PROMOTING

COMMON GOOD

• SOCIAL JUSTICE is equal access to

wealth, opportunities and privileges within
society.
• Promotion of Social Justice is equivalent to
promotion of the common good.
• COMMON GOOD – refers to those facilities
that the members of community provide to all
members in order to fulfil a relational
obligation they all have to care for certain
interests that they have in common.
• When the government improves public
property and services, and develops the
natural resources, it simultaneously promotes
equal access to wealth, opportunities, and
privileges within society.