ETHICS comprises all spontaneous, biological, and sensual

WHAT IS ETHICS processes like nutrition, breathing, and sensual

The human person has always been the basis of the existence of the impressions. This also include those actions done by
world is only through the human person that everything will come to lunatics, of drunken people and all spontaneous actions,
perfection in one's individual existence. Man's capacity to think has which precede the activity of intellect and will, like initial
brought him to inquire about the good life and the means to attain such reactions of anger or sympathy. For instance, a crime is to
life in order to fulfill the meaning of his existence. It is for this reason be considered a human act if there are knowledge and full
that man must focus on ethics as the ground for a good and beautiful consent of the will on the part of the criminal. This is in case
life. But in order to do this, it is necessary first to provide a definition of that the said criminal knows already that such action is bad
ethics. and he was not forced by anybody to do such an act, i.e., he
performs the said action through his own volition. In this
Ethics case, the person who did the evil act out of knowledge and
- comes from the Greek word ethos, which means customs, full consent of the will is held morally liable for such an act.
usage, or character.
- Generally speaking, it is the traditional manners, customs, Ethics particularly deals with the voluntary human conduct. This
habits, character, or attitude of a community or a group, voluntary human conduct includes all actions as well as non-actions
which pertains to the group's standards or norms. because the human person understands and wills these activities in
- In other words, ethics is a set of rules of human behavior, relation to some end that he has in view. This human conduct also
which has been influenced by the standards set by the society includes the involuntary activities that are unlikely performed, yet
or by himself in relation to his society (Reyes 1989, 1). involve a degree of personal approval.

Ethics is more clearly defined as "a practical and normative science, Consequently, if the person, who performed an immoral act, was only
based on reason, which studies human acts, and provides norms for forced to do such an act but against his own will, or merely unaware of
their goodness and badness (Timbreza 1993, 3). This definition is to be the fact that such an action is bad, he is not, therefore, to be held
explained as: morally liable. On the other hand, the person who performed such evil
act may be held responsible in terms of the human positive law. In the
I. Ethics is a science. case of an evil act, the victim, therefore, suffers from an act of man
Science is defined as a systematized body of knowledge. unless he provoked the criminal to do such an evil act against him.
As a science, ethics is a systematic study of the grounds and
norms of morality. However, ethics is first and foremost a e. Ethics provides norms for the goodness and badness of a
practical science. certain act. Ethics is a dimension of human existence whereby
man is always oriented towards. As mentioned in the previous
a. Ethics is a practical science. As a practical science, ethics deals chapter, every human person is in constant search for the
with a systematized body of knowledge that is applicable to meaning of his own life. In setting a meaning for his own
human action (Timbreza). For this reason, the primary existence, man has to have an ideal vision or goal. Such vision or
consideration of Ethics is the application of human knowledge goal is that which will lead him to happiness. Ethics is the one that
and its practicality to human experience. Therefore, Ethics is to be provides the guidelines for which a human person can know if he
considered a necessary part of life, i.e., a part of man's daily is still leading his life to the goal which he sets for himself. This
existence. makes ethics very important in the life of the human person.
 The ideal vision of man provides for him a sense of value.
b. Ethics is a normative science. As a normative science, ethics sets  Value - an individual deems to be useful, desirable, or
a basis or a norm for the direction and regulation of human significant. Value sets in man an idea of good that is inclined
actions. It sets its rules and guidelines to maintain a sense of towards that which is objectively the fulfillment of the being
direction to human actions. As a normative science, ethics aids of man. Consequently, a good action is that which imposes a
man in distinguishing whether ones action can be considered moral obligation or duty.
good or bad.
THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING ETHICS
c. Inasmuch as Ethics is a science, it should, therefore, be based on  Bible states that man is by nature good.
reason. For this reason, all ethical theories and all moral - Man - is created as an imago Dei, an image of God.
decisions must have its basis from the power of reason. Since the - God - is considered as the Summum Bonum or the Highest
human person is a rational being, he is, therefore, capable of Good, man is also naturally good (cf. Genesis 1, 26-27).
making moral decisions. In other words, man has the capacity to - In this case, it is the nature of the human person to incline
rationalize on whether a particular action can be considered himself towards the good. The human person naturally finds
proper or improper. beauty in doing good deeds. He will eventually obtain
meanings in his existence if he will be in constant search of
- Because Ethics is based on reason, it is, therefore, different goodness.
from religion or theology. Although both ethics and religion
may have the same subject matter, like the existence of God However, since the human person is endowed with a faculty of reason,
and the final retribution, as well as the afterlife, there is, which is sometimes inclined towards his passion, there is always the
however, a great difference in their approach to the same possibility that he may choose to turn away from goodness. Man will
topic. always have the tendency to cling instead to the goods of this earth
- While religion bases its truth on faith, philosophy accepts even it will mean the loss of his supreme end and purpose. When this
truth on the basis of reason. For instance, theologians believe happens, man will lead himself to perform morally evil acts.
that there can be no morality without God, ethicians,
however, would point out that even those who do not believe Man's inclination towards the earthly goods will oftentimes lead him to
in a God can as well have a moral life. There are even times envy and despair. For this reason, man needs to study ethics to be
when those who believe in a God can become more immoral guided so that he may be able to fully understand what real happiness
than those who do not believe that God exists. The point is is. Through ethics, the human person will be able to understand that
that ethics is not tied up with religion and theology. the goal of a human being is not merely the acquisition of material
goods. Rather, his actual fulfillment lies in the development of the
d. Ethics studies human acts. To explain this, it is necessary to moral quality, which places the human person above brute creation.
distinguish between human acts (actus humanus) and the acts of Ethics serves as the main instrument in the development of the
man (actus hominis). qualities needed to acquire such goal. Ethics provides for a person an
1. Human acts - are those actions that are done by the human idea of what right living is all about and the importance of acquiring
person based on knowledge and the full consent of the will. good moral character.
A human act is that which proceeds from the deliberate free
will of the human person. For example, is doing a human act Ethics is the very investigation of the meaning of life. It gives a person
if he knows what he is doing and if he is doing it freely and the necessary guidelines for the acquisition of his goal. It also provides
willingly irrespective of whether the action is good or bad. the person the meaning and purpose of daily living, as well as the
2. Acts of man - are those actions that are done in the absence meaning and purpose of life as a whole. As the human person is in
of either knowledge or will or of both knowledge and will constant search for goodness, knowing and doing what is good will lead
—the two conditions of human acts. In this case, this action
him to the attainment of this goal, which is goodness. In this regard, 4. Ethics and Economics.
education can serve as the means in order to teach the young people  The human person, by nature, is an economic being.
about what good is. Hence, education should not merely focus on  There is always a need for the human person to work in order to
teaching technological innovations and advancements. Moral training earn a living. The Bible mentioned this as God's punishment for
and development, which are not given due emphasis in our educational the people. Because of the disobedience and pride of Adam and
system, must be given greater priority. Students must be taught that Eve, man has lost his beauty in the eyes of God. As a punishment
moral training must be learned and must be integrated into our system for their disobedience, God made the human beings suffer by
inasmuch as they will serve as the future educators to the next making work turn into a labor. From then on, man has to work in
generations. order to eat and survive in this world. In order to gain back his
lost beauty, man has to work hard and perform good deeds so he
Because Ethics gives direction to people who are in search for can also find his way back to God. For this reason, Ethics became
goodness, teachers who teach this subject can make the teaching connected to economics because as one works to earn a living, he
profession more fruitful. Inasmuch as Plato considered Ethics a has to consider the others. As a social being, man should always
supreme philosophy, an Ethics teacher becomes more superior than bear in mind that he must also consider the welfare of others and
the other philosophy teachers. At the same time, a student who is able not only his own welfare.
to understand ethics and apply it in his life can be considered a
superior individual. 5. Ethics and Education.
 Education plays a very important role in the life of people as it
In this sense, the students of Ethics will have a great duty to gives direction, goal, worth and meaning to human beings. In
understand the different ethical principles so that they can be able to order to help the students in making his life's goal and direction
make a stand regarding moral decisions. Ethics will make the students clearer, it is necessary to integrate Ethics into the curricula.
understand that it is the duty of every individual to understand  Students must be taught the importance of correct living so that
certain ethical principles by heart as this will help them develop a by doing so, they will be able to realize that this life should be
moral way of life. for this reason, it is important that the students made truly worth living for.
should understand that Ethics has to be more practical and must be
based on the students' day-to-day living rather than academic and 6. Ethics and Law.
doctrinal.  Ethics and Law – both deal with the rightness and goodness.
 The only difference is that Law deals with the external acts of
In this case, the students of Ethics must endeavor to understand the man, while Ethics deals with the internal acts, which include his
ethical principles so that they will be able to make good decisions thoughts and desires.
regarding moral issues. It will be the duty of the students to  Law should, therefore, be connected with Ethics because a human
understand certain ethical principles by heart as this may help them person who follows a law must be able to understand why such
develop a moral way of life. law should be followed in order to make the following of the law
worthwhile and meaningful; otherwise, man will only follow a law
Oftentimes, the lack of definite ethical principles has been and is still just because he wanted to avoid punishment. Such following of
the cause of great disorders in the world today. In this great sense, laws will not be considered good in the ethical viewpoint. In this
careful study of Ethics must be given great considerations. case, Law and Ethics should go together in order to comprise the
holistic goodness of the human person.
ETHICS AND ITS RELATION TO OTHER SCIENCES
Ethics is particularly concerned with the study of man and the human 7. Ethics and Aesthetics.
conduct. In this sense, it is very much related to the disciplines that  Aesthetics comes from the Greek word Aisthesis, which means
deal with the study of human nature and human living. These "order" or "harmony."
disciplines include the following:  Ethics is aiming to obtain a harmonious life with the people in the
community. Ethics deal with moral goodness which can be
1. Ethics and Logic. obtained when one learns to live well in a community.
 Ethics is understood as the science of right living.  As Ethics deals with moral goodness, it is, therefore, proper to say
 Logic - the science and art which helps the human mind to that it is related to Aesthetics because goodness and beauty are
distinguish between the correct from the incorrect arguments . very much intertwined. This is because we consider the good as
- deals with the method of acquiring right thinking. beautiful and the beautiful as good.
 Ethics and Logic are very much connected because a human
person will not be able to acquire the knowledge of right living 8. Ethics and Politics.
without having obtained the knowledge of right thinking first. We  Politics aims towards the attainment of good government, which
all know for a fact that no person can live properly or morally centers on ensuring the temporal welfare of its citizens. However,
without first thinking rightly or logically. in order to attain good government, both the leaders and their
subordinates must necessarily learn to live a moral life.
2. Ethics and Psychology.  Hence, if we separate ethics from politics, the goal of politics,
 Etymologically speaking, Psychology comes from the Greek which is centered on the attainment of the common good, will
words psuche, which means "soul", and logos, which means never be realized. If a man will be able to base himself on
"study" or "science". experience, it will be observable that an unethical life can often
 Soul - from the point of view of the philosophers, it is the time lead to corruption and to other crimes. Hence, Politics devoid
principle of life and the principle of the human thoughts. of Ethics will always become disastrous.
- They believed that the soul is the source of reason, and
therefore, the source of the behavior of the human person. 9. Ethics and Religion.
- soul is that which makes a man think and behave.  It has already been mentioned that Ethics is not Theology.
 In this regard, ethics is connected with psychology because both Although just like religion, ethics may have also been considering
sciences deal with the study of man, the human nature, and the the existence of God.
human behavior. If psychology studies how a man behaves,  Ethics and Religion – both are connected to one another because
ethics deals with how man ought to behave. This oughtness in they are both based on the same postulates, i.e., the existence of a
behavior presupposes proper living. Ethics is the means in order Creator, the freedom of the will in man, and the retribution in the
for the human person to have a kind of behavior appropriate to a afterlife.
human person.  Ethics and Religion have the same end, i.e., the attainment of
man's supreme purpose on an ultimate end.
3. Ethics and Sociology.
 And both will definitely describe the right living as the means for
 Sociology is the study of the relations of man to a society. attaining the goal of man.
 This relation of man to his society is based on proper order, which
can only be acquired through the proper observance of the moral STANDARDS OF MORALITY: MORAL VS. NON-MORAL
laws and principles. Ethics focuses its concern on determining what good is and finding
 Since Ethics deals with the moral order, which necessarily ways on how to know whether ones action is leading to his goodness or
includes the social order, it is, therefore, proper to say that Ethics not. But in order to know what the good is, one has to have a principle
and Sociology are related to one another: that will set as the basis for determining the morality of one's act.
Three moral bases that will help one uphold an ethical principle determination as to whether an action is to be considered good or
(modern philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) evil, one should consider the three questions:
1. human freedom 1. Is the action a product of a free will?
2. immortality of the soul 2. Is it going to lead me to a better position in the afterlife?
3. existence of God. 3. Is the action according to the will of God, who is the Highest
Good?
Philosophers had indeed been questioning as to whether there is
really human freedom. From the said questions, one can make an assessment as to whether his
 No one can really prove whether the soul is really immortal and action is going to be considered ethical or not.
whether there is really a God.
 Indeed, one can say that there is freedom because man is capable WHY DO WE HAVE TO BE ETHICAL?
of deliberation as to whether to do or not a particular act and his From the aforementioned ethical bases, it can be said that a human
doing the action suggest that it was his personal choice. This could person needs to do what is ethical in order to obtain freedom and in
not be done unless one is free. order to prepare himself for an immortal life with God. In this regard,
 However, others would say that there is no freedom because the human person must be able to determine what is the right thing to
man's action is determined by socio-cultural factors, such as do as this will also determine what kind of person he will be.
religion, customs, education, and family upbringing. Ones
decision, thoughts and behavior are based on his own socio- However, determining what one wants to do can be contradictory to
cultural formation. When one's cultural formation has molded the what is the right thing to do and the right thing to do may not be the
person to become critical about the laws and customs, his practical thing to do. Because of this, determining what the proper
decisions and courses of actions will be determined by the said thing to do becomes difficult. One would become moral and yet
laws and customs and therefore, he is not anymore acting freely. impractical while the others are becoming practical while doing what
others would consider being immoral. For this reason, it becomes quite
Philosophers would also claim that in as much as the soul is difficult to determine the morality of ones action. It becomes difficult
spiritual in nature, it follows that it is also immortal. for a person to know whether he is acting morally or not.
 At the same time, following the principle nemo dat quod non This is the reason why there is a need to have a guide to moral action
habet (no one gives what he does not have), if the human person so that it will become easier for him to decide in certain situations.
is capable of thinking spiritual, and therefore, immortal things, There is a need to have an ethical principle that will make deciding a lot
part of him should necessarily be spiritual and immortal. easier. In order to develop ones character, there is a need to become
 Soul - immortal part of the human person. ethical.
 Although this is the case, there are still philosophers, like the
materialists, who would claim that the soul cannot be immortal. THE DIVISIONS OF ETHICS
They believed that once the body dies, the soul will die with the In order to know whether an action is ethical or not, it is important first
body. The Bible would even claim that "man is dust, and unto dust, to determine the types of ethics because ethics, as a discipline, will help
he shall return" (Genesis 3, 19). the human person determine whether his action is morally acceptable
 Death is the end of life and a liberation from all forms of or not. From the traditional point of view, ethics can be divided into
sufferings. two main divisions: (1) general ethics, and (2) applied ethics.
 Man is thinking about the immortality of the soul because of his
attachment to his physical life. Because he does not want to be According to Dr. Florentino Timbreza (1993),
detached from physical life, he is giving himself a hope that there
can be an immortal soul so that he can continue enjoying this life. 1. General ethics
 It refers to all the diverse ethical formulations of general and
In the idea of the existence of God, there are those who believe that universal concepts and principles which serve as the
there is a God who created everything, who gives order to all existing foundation of morality.
things and who is acting as the Supreme Intelligence who will cause the  It attempts to identify the moral norms that will determine
existence of all things. Everything that exists is being considered as a which actions are to be considered good and evil. Because
product of the goodness of God. However, the atheists would claim that the norms are considered to be the guide to action, the said
if everything is created by a God, who is the Highest Good, then why is norms are going to be considered valid in situations that will
it that there is evil in this world? If the world is a product of the infinite require the same ethical decisions.
goodness of God, then there should be no evil in this world. Because  Since general ethics deals with the issue of the norm of
there is evil in the world, therefore, an all-good God cannot exist. morality, it can, therefore, be referred to as the normative
ethics, which can be distinguished from the non-normative
It can be noted that the argument for and against the existence of God, ethics.
the immortality of the soul, and the human freedom are plausible. a. Non-normative ethics deals with a factual
These arguments must be postulated because this will be the basis of investigation of the social patterns of a society as
morality inasmuch as if these will not be given credit, then doing good compared to that of the other society. This refers to the
or evil will become meaningless. It should be noted that the cultural practices which a particular society will accept
individual's freedom can account for personal responsibility because as ethical.
if one is not free, then his action will neither be considered good nor b. Normative ethics - attempts to disclose the underlying
bad. This is because if one is not free, he cannot be held morally moral norm by which people act, judge, and decide on
responsible for his action. certain ethical matters.

At the same time, the immortality of the soul must also be considered 2. Applied Ethics
as a basis for morality as it provides meaning to ones life. Because life  It focuses on particular situations in life where the principles of
is full of evilness and sufferings due to the wickedness of other people, general ethics can be applied (Glenn 1968, xiii).
the immortality of the soul will make the human person understand the  It does not only apply the general moral concepts and principles
importance of doing good as this immortality will provide a but also specifies the particular situations in life in which they are
justification regarding the reason for doing good and avoiding evil. If valid and legitimate; hence it is also known as special ethics. In
one is able to do good deeds in this earthly life, all his sufferings will be an attempt to resolve specific moral problems, the principles of
rewarded but all the evil things he's done will receive retribution. If general ethics are going to be applied.
there will be no immortality of the soul, then doing moral actions will  From this applied ethics comes the other subdivisions like
become meaningless. professional ethics, which deals with the rules by which the
people would behave and act so that they can properly live their
If God does not exist, then who would give reward to those who do professional life.
good deeds and punish those who do evil deeds. It will become
pointless and meaningless if one is to die unrewarded for doing good  Legal ethics by which the people in the legal profession should
and go unpunished for doing evil things. If there is no God, then life and follow.
morality will become insignificant. But life cannot be meaningless. In  Code of ethics for teachers - so that they can follow the
this regard, the most reasonable thing to consider is the fact that God principles appropriate for educators.
exists in order to provide a meaningful life. For this reason, in the
 Bioethics - ethics for the medical profession. selfishness. The early people were once living in a state of nature, ie.,
 From all these ethical principles, one would be able to get some they were living their life according to how it should be lived inasmuch
guidelines in order to perform a moral action and eventually as man is, by nature, good. Does this mean that people during that time
become a person of moral character. These ethical standards will were not philosophizing yet?
serve as moral rules which everyone should follow in order to
provide order and in order to get things done. Without these Because the early people were living in harmony, issues about truth,
principles, no one else would know what to do and how to live goodness, and beauty were never a problem.' For one thing, the early
with others. From these ethical principles, one may be able to people did not find any problem as regards freedom because it was
know the importance of giving fair treatment to everyone, of already being exercised in their society. In this regard, people did not
providing gender equality, of understanding the rights of workers yet find the necessity of philosophizing.
and the children.
This was actually the case in the eastern world. For the eastern
 Ethical standards provide a basis why the actions that can people, questions on goodness and beauty were never considered a
seriously injure other fellow human beings, like theft, rape, fraud, problem because harmony, meaning, freedom, and existence were not
slander, and murder are considered evil. It also provides a yet an issue. They believed that man and nature were actually one and
justification why the rules of the majority do not always apply to inseparable. Although the early eastern people were already
moral principles. philosophizing, their aim in reasoning was not actually the attainment
 In other words, one should not consider an action as moral simply of material and even intellectual greatness. The aim of philosophizing
on the basis that it is being considered by the majority as was the perfection of the self.
acceptable even if it is not really moral. In this regard, the moral
values will be understood as more important than other values Even if mercantilism really started in the east, because of the
like cheating in order to obtain socio-economic improvement. harmonizing nature of the eastern people, normal activities that were
 The ethical standards, must, therefore, focus on respecting one's being done were only for the purpose of daily sustenance and not
relationship with others, which includes ones family and friends, merely for the perfection of being. In the east, metaphysical and
as well as the poor and the disabled. When a human person fails epistemological truths were not much of their concern because
to comply with the moral standards, he may have the tendency to knowledge on such things could only make their existence more
seriously injure his fellow human beings. In this sense, one fails to difficult. Existence, in its highest consideration, was their utmost
become truly human. concern. Hence, philosophy and religion in the east became
inseparable.
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Many claimed that philosophy is difficult. Indeed it is. However, this This was not, however, the case in the west during the Ancient
claim is only true for those who do not aspire to philosophize. But once period. Inasmuch as the early western people were living in a
starts to search for knowledge and realizes the importance of the diaspora, they did not only barter material goods. They were also
acquisition of truth, then philosophy will become a part of his life and bartering ideas or intellectual goods; although these intellectual goods
therefore, make philosophy a lot easier and very much enjoyable. were not bartered for a price. Since they were coming from different
regions and from different beliefs, people started comparing ones
What makes philosophy difficult? Philosophy can distinguish a customs and beliefs with the others. It is for this reason that they began
practical idea from a mere speculative one. Most people, who were not to realize that their idea of the beautiful was not any more to be
able to see the whole picture of philosophy, would often times consider considered beautiful when compared with others.
philosophy to be more focused on the speculative rather than on the
practical. Inasmuch as students are becoming more practical due to the People began to philosophize and think of the reason why there were
rise of science and technology, philosophy becomes all the more lives more beautiful than that of others.
inaccessible to the students. This is because students often think that Discrimination – arose because of their capacity to distinguish the
philosophy is only purely speculative and is, therefore, to be used for beauty of one from that of the others. People began to compare their
classroom discussions only. For this reason, students nowadays would own life with that of the others and investigate their social condition in
not want to philosophize anymore because they find it impractical to relation to the condition of the others.
devote time to thinking since it will only end up with nothing but pure Material evolution led the people to discriminate others and look
ideas. down on people whose were not as good as theirs.
In this case, we may say that when a man becomes civilized, the more
This misunderstanding of philosophy can be attributed to those he actually becomes uncivilized.
teachers who are pounding on their pride as intellectual people instead
of dissecting the text and exploring on it so that the students would be WHAT IS THE IMPLICATION OF CIVILIZATION?
able to understand it in the simplest possible way. Because of their self- Civilization has led man to think in time and space, i.e, in
imposing intentions, many philosophy teachers would often brag about spatiotemporal dimension. The people’s concept of time led them to
their intellectual capacities, leaving the students in great awe of their interpret nothing into something. This started all the trouble! People
teachers but in great fear of philosophy. began to fear a non-existing entity. Inasmuch as the human mind is
linear, there is always an issue on the "connected to." Human beings
Because philosophy is being considered as purely speculative, it has will always look for the cause and effect in all their actions; they will
lost its groundedness on the life of the modern people due to the always seek for the result in all their plans and activities.
question of necessity. The technological advancement has led the
people of today to seek for the tangible as they consider the intangible Because of this idea, goodness and beauty are considered always to
as senseless and impractical. People nowadays would consider the be connected with their daily activities. Inasmuch as we think in space
discussions on God, religion, non-material goodness, faith and other and time, i.e., in a spatiotemporal dimension, goodness, and beauty also
abstract discussions as inutile. became linear. In other words, it becomes causal and material. When a
Modern people would often consider that what is concrete is proper man thinks, he always seeks concrete answers to the problem of
and, therefore, what is abstract is often times neglected because of its human existence. In this regard, philosophy began to exist and started
lack of groundedness in life. to flourish. From the question "what was the cause of the existence of all
things?" man is led to question about himself and his capacity to think.
Philosophy also appears to be too technical due to the use of He is then led to asking the question: "what makes a man a human
philosophical jargons or highfalutin terms in intellectual discussions. In person?" From this question arose the different philosophers who gave
this regard, philosophy appears to be intended only to highly- different views and interpretations on the meaning of human life and
specialized individuals who do not ground themselves on life.' the importance of doing good deeds. The human person began to
philosophize about himself.
WHAT IS A GOOD LIFE?
Good life became a problem when man started thinking. This, MAN AS A PERSON OF GOODNESS AND TRUTH
therefore, implies that before man has become conscious of his When the human person became aware of himself, different
existence and became aware of his life, life was indeed good. People philosophers came out, each having a different view as regards what
before the ancient times never considered the self and the other person and who is a human person. The philosophers realized that man is
as a problem since they were living in a utopia. This state of life, being basically an animal due to his instinct and animalistic behaviors.
naturally good, upholds the welfare of one another. Their community However, man is also not an animal at the same time because, unlike
was never yet tainted by individuality and personal politics, i.e., by the animals, a human person is the only creature who has been
endowed with the capacity to reason out and to search for the reason
of his being in the world. The human person realized that he is the only THE NEED TO REDEFINE ETHICS
earthly creature who has the capacity to ask the question about the
meaning of his life. Because of the development of science and technology, man's concept
of goodness has changed. Before, his concept of goodness is related so
Because of the capability of the human person to reason out about his much to the norm of morality. But when the human person began to
own existence, different philosophers gave different views as regards taste a more pleasurable life brought about by technological
what and who is a human person. John Locke, for instance, considered advancements, man's concept of goodness is now related to the
the human person as "a thinking intelligent being, that has reason and physical pleasures. For this reason, the greatest issue in the modern
reflection and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking being in times now lies on the problem of morality. With the human person's
different times and places. He believed that every man will always inclination to pleasure, he began looking at things as moral if it
search for the good. Everyone will have the capability of distinguishing provides pleasure for the human person and if it prevents him from
the good from the bad. At the same time, everyone will always incline suffering pain.
himself towards goodness. But the concept of goodness will always be
in reference to pain. When the human person wills the good, then his For the modern people, the basis of morality does not anymore lie on
action is considered to be morally acceptable. the value of judgment but rather, on the measurement of pleasure and
pain. This is the reason why, in this modern times, there arose the need
Inasmuch as the human person is endowed with reason, Immanuel to redefine Ethics. This is because the human being's desire for
Kant considers the human person as an autonomous self-regulating happiness has led him to do activities that are contrary to what he
will who is capable of making moral decisions by and for himself. In ought to do. Due to the rise of major dilemmas concerning life, health,
this regard, every person has worth and dignity insofar as they are and death, and since the human values were greatly affected, man's
ends in themselves and are capable of making their own moral present life created a situation where Ethics has to be redefined and re-
decisions echoed at every individual.

Since a human person is an intelligent being, he, therefore, becomes Before understanding the different ethical principles, it is necessary to
aware of his own life. This awareness of his life has led him to ask the define ethics first. As an academic subject, ethics is not meant to teach
questions: students to justify any ethical theories or to make a judgment as to
 What sort of thing am I? which ethical theories will be better when compared with the others.
 Where do I come from? Rather, the ethical principles of the different moral philosophers will
 To where shall I be going? be assessed as to whether they will be capable of providing a particular
 Why am I in this world? moral standard in the justification of any moral issues as well as in the
 What am I living for? justification of a good life.
 What is my future and my destiny?
 What must I do to live well and happy? The study of the different ethical principles can be considered a
good tool for understanding human life. Since the early times, ethics
The human person is a being who is in constant search for the was looked up to, and turned to, for the solution of man's problems. It
meaning of all his actions. He will naturally strive hard in order to find was even considered as a means of curing the moral maladies that
a meaning in life and finding this meaning in his own life becomes the were afflicting the humankind. This was basically the reason why Plato
primary motivational force in a human person. According to Viktor called Ethics the Supreme Philosophy, the science par excellence.
Frankl, a human being is able to live and even to die for the sake of his Because Ethics deals with the attainment of man's highest good —
ideals and values (1984). He believed that a human being is ultimately happiness, Ethics is the only discipline that deals with the attainment
self-determining. In other words, the human person does not simply of the ultimate goal of a human person.
exist. Rather, he always decides what his existence will be and what he
will become in the next moment. Even in the early times, philosophy has been believed to give a solution
to world problems because philosophy can go into the cause of
Because the human person is a thinking being, he, therefore, is capable problems of man and can discover the answers to personal questions
of distinguishing the good from the bad. This is the very reason why a and to social afflictions. This is the reason why there should be a great
human person will orient himself towards the truth and goodness. This demand for the study of philosophy, most specifically of moral
truth and goodness become the source of value for the human person. philosophy.
Man's orientation towards the truth and goodness binds him towards
an affirmation of the spiritual freedom and dignity of the other person Confucius, Plato, and Aristotle held that philosophers must be the
and thereby makes him responsible for the welfare and dignity of other rulers of all peoples. In his Republic, Plato held that the ideal society
persons as well. must be ruled by the Philosopher-King. If one would consider the idea
of Plato, there is, therefore, the need to educate the young people to
As the human person is the only creature who is endowed with become future leaders of a community. Following the golden maxim
reason, he is the only creature who has the capacity to valuing and "salus populi est suprema lex," meaning, the welfare of the people is
loving especially to those things whom he will consider a source of the supreme law, there is, therefore, the need to teach the young
goodness. Because of the rationality of the human person, he becomes generations the necessary moral values so that they can become the
capable of knowing the importance of searching for truth and future leader-philosopher of the society.
goodness. Eventually, the search for truth and goodness become the
very reason why the human person exists. Inasmuch as philosophy uses the rational method as a means of
obtaining the truth and as a way to solve problems, it is, therefore,
Inasmuch as goodness became the very reason for his own existence, important that contemplation is combined with one's personal
Erich Fromm believed that conscience enables the person to know experiences, observation, reflection, and tradition in order to obtain
what ought to be done in order to become his own self. Conscience concrete and strong ethical beliefs and practices. Therefore, discussion
became also the reason why the human person becomes aware of the on the morality of human actions, human responsibilities, conscience,
goals of life, as well as the norms for the attainment of such goals the nature of man, and the foundations of morality will be given
(Timbreza 2000, 95). consideration in the next chapters of this book.

St. Thomas Aquinas believed that what constitutes the human person
as a moral subject is his conscience. The human person discovers the
moral law because of his conscience. It is also the means why the
human person aspires for the good and discovers the affirmation of the
spiritual freedom as well as the dignity of the other person. Man's
conscience is also responsible for making the human person aware of
the welfare and dignity of the other persons. In this regard, conscience
refers to the totality of the human person, i.e., the absolute structure of
the person. It is the conscience that makes human beings moral
persons.
DOING PHILOSOPHY  After a personal crisis has finally been resolved, you feel this
Antonette Palma-Angeles, PhD sense of peace which you cannot get anywhere else.
 Having disliked a person immensely and then one time, back
Maurice Boundel (French Philosopher) - “Philosophy doesn’t explain inside again, “alam ko na bakit ayaw ko siya” the feeling is
life but helps constitute it.” not replicable.

There are two very important concepts in his quote: “Tumitingkad ang pagka-AKO sa pakikipagkapwa-tao”
1. explain
2. constitute “I” Object - I can talk about “I” object)
“I” Subject - can only be lived and discovered in a network of
Example: How do you make a baguette (french bread). A baguette is relationships with other people)
more than its ingredients and baking instructions. No matter how
much I describe it to you. No matter how I show you pictures. You Mr. Spock - “if you reflect this is the only way you can really prosper”
cannot enjoy savor what a baguette is. A baguette is about baking it, Aristotle – “Go and thrive only because you reflect”
making a lot of mistakes until finally you get the perfect combination.
And most of all a baguette is about eating it, letting it dwell in your TAO PO! TULOY! Halina sa Loob ng Tao
mouth, enjoying the sensation. Fr. Albert Alejo, SJ

Let's compare it to life. What is life? Life is about our everyday  Loob - isang uri ng pagpapakatao ayon sa karanasang Pilipino na
mundane experiences. Like philosophers who love to say it in a more buong-buo ka, na mayroon kang pagmamalay, damdamin, at may
profound way, they call it “cotidien”. Yung ordinaryo na ginagawa natin katumbas rin itong kakayahan.
sa araw araw, yung mga malalaki at maliliit na desisyon, pag-iyak,  Hindi pwedeng husgahan ang loob sa pagtingin lamang ng labas.
paggising sa umaga. It means that these things make a life. There is no  Ang loob ay hindi isang sulok ng dibdib, kundi isang malawak na
concept about life that can really give us the definition of what life is. daigdig.
 Daigdig ng makahulugang ugnayan
Roque J, Ferriols, SJ - “Lundagin mo, baby!”  Tanaga: Sa ibabaw ng tubig, mga isla ay hiwalay. Pero kapag ikaw
- Just live it ay sumisid sa pusod ng daigdig, lahat ay magkaugnay.
 Kapag daigdig, hindi lamang ito abot malay kundi abot dama.
This is philosophy. This is what it does for you. It helps you live your  Ang tunay na tubo, matamis hanggang dulo
life. But how can it do it? We do it by teaching you what is famously  Dalawang uri ng dahas (Pagpasok na hindi kumakatok)
known as philosophical reflection (pagninilay, pagmumuni). 1. Panghihimasok
2. Pananakop
HOW DO WE PHILOSOPHIZE?  Abot malay, palawakin natin an gating kamalayan sa mga
A. Primary reflection nangyayari hanggang sa abot tanaw, palalimin natin sa abot
- dissolves the unity of experience by analyzing the parts. dama ang ating kakayahan na makiramdam sa mga
- dissolves the unity of an experience, an event or a thing. pinagdadaanan ng iba at pagtibayin natin ang ating abot kaya
- dissects an experience bilang pagsasabuhay ng ating pananagutan at pag-asa.
- Ex: To find out what a flower is, you break it up. It tells you
 Ngunit may limitasyon ito, hindi lahat ay kaya nating malaman,
that there are petals and whatever. It is obviously not enough
hindi lahat ay kaya nating maramdaman at hindi lahat ay kaya
to capture what makes a flower a flower.
nating gawin.
-
 Apolinario Mabini – “Kung gusto talaga natin ng rebolusyon, ng
B. Secondary reflection
totoong pagbabago, dapt binabago natin hindi lang ang sitwasyon
- put together what has been broken apart; locates it in the
kundi an gating kalooban”
bigger scheme of things.
- Ex: We smell the flower, we give it to other people
USAPANG TAPAT: TUNGO SA ISANG KATUTUBONG ETIKA
- tells us that only in relation do I in fact aware that I exist.
Remmon E. Barbaza, PHD
- the “I” here being not just the objective “I” but the “I” that I'm
trying to capture, the undissatisfied “I”
Wika – ang pinagmumulan ng lahat ng kahulugan. Hindi basta
- brings you back into a hole that is bigger than yourself and
instrumento, mahiwaga ang wika.
realize that the “I” is going to be discoverable only as it
communes with other people as intensely as it can
7 Kahulugan ng Salitang Tapat
-
1. bilang nasa harap; malapit
“Nasa tapat lang ng Ateneo ang KFC”
WHO AM I?
“Bili ka naman ng suka sa tindihan diyan sa tapat”
We cannot capture who we are with these categories singly or even
2. bilang totoo (honest) marangal at may integridad
putting them all together. Because in fact, and this is the irony of these
“Katapatan”, “tapat na empleyado”, “tapat na guro”
categories, I try to enumerate as many as I can but you can be sure that
3. bilang maasahan at laging nariyan (loyal, faithful)
any one of those categories will apply to a million other people. All of
“tapat na kaibigan”, “tapat na asawa”
these categories are meaningful only in relation to other people. Let me
4. bilang tamang presyo
explain. When I'm saying female, your femaleness is defined only
“May tawad ba? –tapat na po!” (hindi labis, hindi kulang)
because there is a man. How do you say you are a woman without a
5. bilang katumbas
man? All of these attempts at categorizing and putting categories to
“Maghanap ka ng katapat mo!”
who I am is supposed to be self-referential. But in the end, what did
6. bilang pagbubukas ng sarili
you do? You actually were other referential, you define yourself only in
“pagtatapat ng pag-ibig o kasalanan”
relation to others. So I tried to establish myself as a somebody by using
7. bilang pagtanaw ng utang na loob
categories that were supposed to be unique to me. What did I find out
“Paano ko matatapatan ang kabutihan mo?”
in the end? I found out that those categories apply to other people.
1. Unang hinihinga ng etika: Lumapit ka.
How am I different?
2. Maging totoo at marangal (huwag magkalat ng fake news)
Who am I beyond these categories and what can I say about myself?
3. Maging tapat na kaibigan. Maging laging handang tumulong.
4. Huwag manggulang. Huwag magpagulang.
What can I say about this I-subject when I can’t go behind it?
5. Gawing patas ang labanan. Huwag mangibabaw at huwag din
magpasailalim.
Moments of strongsense of self
6. Mangahas magtaya. Mangahas buksan ang sarili sa iba.
 A boy loves me really loves me and I have this wonderful
7. Kabutihan sa kabutihan. Pagpapala sa pagpapala.
feeling. I am on top of the world, I love life, everything
becomes beautiful because a boy loves me
 Gantimpala (Ganti + Pagpapala)
 A family reunion where you meet cousins, aunts, uncles,
everyone and you just sit in a corner and you say why do I  Ang tapat at tapatang pakikipagkapwa-tao bilang batayan ng ating
have this warm feeling? where is it coming from? I feel so katutubong etika.
affirmed, I'm so happy.  Manahimik. Makinig. Sa bawat saglit, ang ating katutubong etika
ay buo na at naririyan na.
HOW DO WE DECIDE : TOOLS FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
Antonette Palma-Angeles, PhD

I Just saw my father sitting in a corner of an expensive restaurant

kissing a woman on the lips. She is clearly not my mother. I do love my
father who I idolize. He has been a good provider and he always spends
time with us. But my mother does not deserve this. She is devoted to
him and us her children. I do love her very much, too.

What should I do?

Should I tell my mother? (it is not a dilemma, it is a solution)

 Dilemma – it happens because good and evil are not apparent.

These are not really about good and evil but it is about competing
values (not competing options). So that if you choose one value,
changes are, you will sacrifice the other. It means that values
should articulated first.
 Values and issues are the reasons for your actions. You do not in
fact choose an action, you in fact choose a value.
 Ethical problem – you have competing values, competing issues.
 Normal human being – when you have a problem, you
immediately phrase it in terms of competing solutions.
 Feelings – are always loaded and biased
 Ethical decision making – a reasoned process.
Why reasoned process?
5 Elements involved in decision making:
 Facts
 Stakeholders
 Values
 Options
 Consequences – different people will be affected
differently.

STEPS IN DECISION MAKING

Stop, Look, and Listen.
1. Gather the facts. (What do we know? What do we need to
know?)
2. Who are the stakeholders? (Who are the affected? What
are their interest?) (abstract stakeholders)
a. Primary stakeholders – ones who will be directly
hit
b. Secondary stakeholders - may not be directly hit.
3. Articulate the dilemmas as clearly as you can.
4. List your alternatives.
5. Compare the alternatives to the principles you have.
identified in the dilemma.
6. Weigh the consequences.
7. Make the decision.

 Being ethical is about character.

 Will – makes you carry out a decision.
 Aristotle – “In the end, we are what we repeatedly do”
 Ethics is character.