LESSON 1

Philosophy Ethical Principles

– coined by Greek philosopher Pythagoras.  Truthfulness/Honesty - among the basic
- from the Greek words “philos” – love and “Sophia” – principle of natural moral law.
wisdom (lover of wisdom).  Loyalty – the willing, practical and
Three Classification of Love thoroughgoing devotion of a person to a cause.
1. Eros (erasthai) – intense love for something,  Respect – “respect for person”
sexual desire – erotic (erotikos).  Fairness – equity, respect, justice and
2. Agape – love of God for men. stewardship of the shared world.
3. Philia – love that seeks truth/appreciation of  Integrity – imposes an obligation on all
the other, of person or of reality individuals to be straightforward and honest in
all professional and business relationship.
Philosophy and other sciences
Rule/s
 Philosophy and Science – both discusses truths - an instruction that tell what we are allowed to do and
about the universe. not to do.
 Philosophy and History – history serves as the Why is that important?
breeding ground of philosophy while • 1. It organize relationship between individuals
philosophy defines history and interprets it. • 2. Rules make it clear on what is right to
 Philosophy and Religion – that one justifies the do/follow in a society and what re wrong to
other. refrain from.
• 3. It provides opportunity to achieve personal
Major Discipline in Philosophy
and societal goals
 Logic – the study of right and sound reasoning. • 4. It regulates various social institution to fulfill
 Epistemology – the study of the validity of their integral roles for the common welfare
knowledge. Moral
 Metaphysics – explain the fundamental - from the Latin word “mos” – custom
concepts of being. - Refers to social, cultural and religious beliefs/values
 Aesthetics – study of beauty. practiced overtime by individual/group to do what is
 Cosmology – study of real things in the universe right and refrain from doing what is wrong.
 Theodicy – study of God and his nature. 6 characteristics of moral standard
 Social Philosophy – study of human and their  It involves serious wrong/significant benefits
relation to society. (ex. Following/violating rules in a game)
 Ethics – science of the morality of human acts.  It ought to be preferred to other values (ex.
White lies, following one’s dream but leaving
one’s family, unbearable laws)
Axiology – study of the nature of value and valuation,  It is not established by authority figure
and of the kind of things that are valuable.  It has a trait of universality (Golden rule)
Ethics  It is based on impartial consideration
- from the Greek word “ethos” or “ethikos” – character.  It is associated with special emotions and
- According to CHED, “ethics deals with principles of vocabulary
ethical behavior in modern society at the level of the
person, society, and in interaction with the environment Moral vs Ethics
and other shared resources” (CMO 20 series of 2013). Moral Ethics
right or wrong good or evil
Imperative of Ethics general guidelines framed response to particular
 Human Freedom – be responsible for one’s by the society situation
dictated by society, culture chosen by a person under
action.
or religion the dictate of right reason
 Existence of God - God’s presence is the salient
vary from society to society remains the same
factor that makes sense in the study of ethics. and culture to culture regardless of any culture,
God alone can give the final judge. religion or society.
 Immortality of the souls – cornerstone of ethics expressed in a form of Translated into an explicit
statement. action
Morals 2. Organization Dilemma – best demonstrated by
- Principles of right and wrong through acts of fairness, compassion, integrity,
- knowledge, theory, custom honor, and responsibility.
3. Systematic Dilemma – predicated on moral rule
Ethics violations, which result in harm to another
- Right and wrong conduct in a particular situation person/s.
- wisdom, application, character
Foundation of Morality: Freedom as Requisite on
Moral vs Non-Moral Standard Moral Responsibility
Freedom – the power or right to act, speak or think as
one wants without hindrance or restraints.
- In philosophy, freedom involves free will as contrasted
with determinism.

Reason - enables us to think and reflect over actions

that we intend to do and decide which of them to take.

Morality – A mere knowledge of morality will not make

human moral (there has to be an application of it, by
obeying the rules).
LESSON 2
Impartiality – a principle of justice holding that
Dilemma decisions or judgement on something or someone
- a difficult situation in which an individual is confronted should be objective not on the basis of bias or prejudice
to choose between two or more alternative actions to to favor some irrationality.
resolve the problem.
LESSON 3
Types of Dilemmas
1. Classical Dilemmas – Different criteria, same Moral Agent – a being who can understand the
behavior. different between right or wrong.
2. Temporal Dilemmas – Same process, different
criteria applied at a different time. Culture – aggregate of beliefs, attitudes, etc.
3. Orthogonal Dilemmas – Different behaviors, - it also transmits some irrational and out of date
different criteria. attitudes included in it as a custom.
4. Sequential Dilemmas – Different behaviors, - it changes over time
different times.
5. Unequal Dilemmas – The dilemma is split among Types of Culture
unequal status. 1. High Culture – linked with the elite. It is often
associated with arts (opera, ballet, classical
Moral Dilemma music) and sports like polo.
- the person making the decision experiences a conflict 2. Cultural Diversity – it’s the fact that different
between the moral rightness of a decision and the cultures exist alongside each other.
quality of the results it produces. 3. Subculture – culture enjoyed by a small group
- it involves a morally wrong decision that produces a within a society.
desirable result or the person is forced to choose only - It is a minor part of a culture
one of two good things. 4. Popular Culture – it barrows ideas from high
culture and popularizes it.
Types of Moral Dilemma - a product of a media dominated world.
1. Personal Dilemma – situations in which the 5. Multiculturalism – different ethnic groups living
individual has a choice to be made between two alongside each other.
options, neither of which resolves the situation - very similar to cultural diversity.
in an ethically acceptable manner. 6. Global Culture – key feature of globalization.
Importance of Culture
1. Culture affects perception.
2. Culture influences behavior.
3. Culture shapes personalities.
4. Culture affects beliefs.

Moral Behavior
- what one believes to be the right thing to do.

Role of Culture in a Moral Behavior

- play a significant pseudo role within shaping moral
behavior and extends even further to social norms.
- the principle that surrounds the moral development of
the people that may not always promote what is good
and just for all.

Cultural Relativism
- principle of regarding the beliefs, values, practices of a
culture from the viewpoint of that culture itself.

Ethical Relativism
- theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms
of one’s culture.

Moral Relativism
- view that moral judgement is true or false only relative
to some particular standpoint.
- there are no universal or absolute set of moral
principles.
Moral Relativism can be understood in the following
ways:
a) Descriptive moral relativism/cultural relativism
– says that moral standards are culturally
defined, which is generally true.
b) Meta-ethical moral relativism
- there are no objective grounds for preferring
the moral values of one culture over another.
c) Normative moral relativism
- idea that all societies should accept each
other’s different moral values, given that there
are no universal moral principles.