LESSON 2. THE PHILOSOPHICAL actually differ in their behavior.

What is good or
BACKGROUND OF BUSINESS ETHICS bad, depends on people’s own culture.

Philosophy, came from two Greek words “philos,” 2. Normative Ethics

(love), and “sophis,” (wisdom) Philosophy means “love → moral judgment based on ethical norm or theory.
of wisdom.” → consists of the basic moral principles that govern
people’s behavior.
Philosophy is interested with the meaning of reality,
including our human experiences. It seeks to explain the 3. Metaethicsis
ultimate cause of everything by the use of human reason → branch of Normative Ethics
alone. To philosophize means to wonder about life, to → concerned with analysis of the meaning of words
question reality and to find sense in what we do as human → analyses moral terms like, “good”, “bad”, “moral”,
beings. “immoral”
• Plato, is the highest form of inquiry. → simply analyses the usage and meaning of words.
• William James, philosophy is a collective name for
questions that have not been answered. DEONTOOGICAL VERSUS TELEOLOGICAL
→ Philosophy is also defined as the science that studies APPROACHES TO ETHICAL EVALATION OF
the ultimate causes or explanation of things. THE
HUMAN CONDUCT
DEFINITION OF ETHICS 1. Deontological Ethics or non-consequentialist
→ practical science of the morality of human acts. approach
→ study conduct from the standpoint of morality. → evaluates the nature of a moral act based on the
→ practical science that guides us in our actions validity of the motive. This means that as long as
→ lays down the principles of right living. the motive or intention is good, then regardless of
the consequences, the whole action is good.
ETHICS AND MORALITY → Example: Kantianism and Divine Command Theory
Morality
→ quality of goodness or badness in human act. 2. Teleological Ethics or consequentialist theory
→ Good as moral and bad as immoral. → measures the morality of an action based on its
→ It is conformity to the rules of the right conduct. consequences. If the consequences is good,
→ implies judgment and refers to moral standards and regardless of the motive, then act is always morally
conduct good.
→ Example: Hedonism (measures is the only good as
Ethics an end) and Utilitarianism (“greatest good is the
→ the formal study of those standards and conduct. greatest happiness or pleasure of the greatest
number.”)
→ often called “moral philosophy.
→ assumes that the standards exist and seeks to
THE “MORAL SENSE” IN US
describe them
→ basically, indicates the nature of moral principles 1. The Synthesis of Man According to St. Thomas
Aquinas
ETHICS AS NORMATIVE SCIENCE
→ considered as a normative science because it is → Man is able to distinguish or to know what is good
concerned with the systematic study of norms of or what is bad.
human conduct. → Man is always obligated to do good and to avoid
→ it involves a systematic search for moral principles evil.
and norms
→ Man knows that he is accountable for his actions-
good or bad (reward or punishment)
There are three categories of General Ethics;
2. Freud’s Theory of the Id, Ego, and the Superego
1. Descriptive Ethics Freud believes that the human mind has three
→ consists of studying and describing the morality of important components, that of the preconscious,
people, culture, or society. conscious, and unconscious. He founded the
→ makes comparisons and contrasts on the different Psychoanalysis Theory where the approach is to
values. understand human behavior.
→ does not prescribe or attempt to assess the moral
soundness → Man must learn to control his inborn desires.
Examples: → Man must achieve fulfilment in ways that are
→ a. Psychological Egoism - declares results based harmonious with others.
on various scientific studies
→ b. Cultural Relativism- does not prescribe how 3. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
people should act, rather it describes how people
→ Kohlberg believe that the people progressed in their
moral reasoning through a series of stage
→ Kohlberg help to clarify the general cognitive
development approach of Plaget, through the
analysis of changes in moral reasoning.

Kohlberg Classification of the Person‟s Moral

Development
→ Pre-conventional (Stages 1 2) Obedience and
Punishment - Individualism, Instrumentalism, and
Exchange
here are two stages in this level;
• Stage 1 reaction to punishment, explains the
concept of being good by following
commands and avoiding being punished
• Stage 2 desire for the right behaviour that
will satisfy the person’s self-interest. It is
the stage of individual instrumental
Purpose of Exchange.
→ Conventional (Stages 3 4) “Good Boy/Girl Image”
Law and Order .
• Stage 3 attitude which seeks to do what will
gain the approval of others
• Stage 4 the stage of Social System and
Conscience Maintenance wherein one is
oriented by the law and responding to the
obligations of duty.
→ Post-conventional (Stages 5 6 7) Social Contact
Rights, Principled Conscience, Transcendental
Morality
• Stage 5 is the Stage of Prior Rights and
Social Contract Utility. It is the stage of
understanding of rights and values. Gives
the person a sense of democracy but
relativity of rules. People at this stage
realize that there are fundamental concepts
of right and wrong.
• Stage 6 is the Stage of Universal Principles.
It is based on respect of universal
principles and the demands of individual
conscience.
CHAPTER 3 THE RELATIONSHIP OF • economic actors (consumers, workers,
ETHICS WITH OTHER SCIENCES AND business owners) have ethical values that
OTHER PHASES OF HUMAN LIFE help shape their behaviour.
• economic institutions and policies impact
Ethics and Logic people differentially and thus, ethical
evaluations, in addition to economic
Ethics evaluations, are important.
→ study of correct action
Relationship of Ethics with Other Phases of Human
→ aimed at the right doing
Life
→ focuses on the demands of the subjective human
world
Ethics and Law
→ studies people’s feelings and emotional states based
on non-verbal information
Ethics
→ people oriented
→ deals with morality, primarily the moral law.
→ focused on enhancing relationships → investigates and probes the internal disposition of
man such as his thinking.
Logic
→ studies the process of correct thinking. Law
→ aimed at the right thinking → may be defined as crystallized ethics
→ focused on the demands of the material, nonhuman → intended to regulate the external actions of man
world
→ focuses on and studies what is done and said Ethics and Religion
→ task oriented
→ focused on not misleading a person Ethics
→ disciple or set of moral principles and values
Ethics and Psychology
→ evaluate the behaviour of man against his values
→ seeks the absolute truth by using human reason
Ethics
alone
→ studies how man ought to behave.
→ concerned with man’s moral obligation Religion
→ study of human behaviour from the perspective of → service and worship of God
morality. → can create an impact on individuals
→ tries to understand his same absolute truth by virtue
Psychology
of one’s faith
→ studies how man behaves
→ not interested in the morality of human behaviour Ethics and Professional Code of Conduct
→ scientific study of mental and behavioural → Professional is relating to or characteristics of a
characteristics profession; engaged in one of the professions
→ Professionalism is the conduct that characterizes a
Ethics and Sociology profession
→ Professional code of ethics is a set of behavioural
Ethics
guidelines that members of a profession are
→ deals with the study of moral order in the society required to observe
Sociology Ethics and Education
→ deals with the study of social order
→ deals with human relations in a society, but human Education
relations are based on the proper order and the → instruction or training by which people learn to
proper order comes only with the proper develop and use their abilities
observance of moral laws and principles → gaining experience about human life.
Ethics and Economics Ethics and Art
Art
Economics
→ concerned with the use of imagination to make
→ deals with the study if wages, labor, production, things
and distribution of wealth
→ According to Wilber (1988), there are 3 ways in Ethics
which Ethics enters → aimed at conforming to an accepted standard of
• economists have ethical values that help good behaviour
shape the way they do economics. → also stands for moral goddess, art, and beauty