Subject: Ethics ETHICS – or moral philosophy, is a branch of
philosophy which deals with moral standards,
Lesson I. Understanding Morality and Moral
inquires about the rightness or wrongness of
Standards
human behavior or the goodness or badness
RULES – a prescribed guide for conduct or of personality, trait or character.
action.
Questions to Ponder:
1. What happens when students and
It deals with:
professors alike come to school in any
attire they want? Ideas
2. Imagine what happens in when in the Topics such as moral standards or
classroom everyone wants to talk at norms of morality
the same time. Conscience
3. What if there were no traffic rules? Moral values and virtues
4. What if the there were no Constitution
The term ETHICS comes from the Greek word
and other laws of the land?
ETHOS meaning CUSTOM, while the term
Rules are meant to set order. RULES (the MORAL is the Latin equivalent.
Philippine Constitution and other laws
ETHICS is a study of the morality of human
included) are meant for man.
acts and moral and moral agents, what
For the sake of order in society, everyone is makes an act obligatory and what makes a
subject to rules. person accountable. (STUDY OF MORAL
STANDARDS)
Rules are not meant to restrict your freedom.
They are meant to help you grown in Moral Standards are either CONSEQUENCES
freedom, to grow in your ability to choose STANDARDS or NON-CONSEQUENCE
and do what is good for you and for others.
CONSEQUENCES STANDARDS depends on
Any rule or law that prevents human persons results, outcome. An act that results in the
from doing and being good ought to be general welfare, in the greatest good of the
repealed. They have no reason to exist. greatest number is moral.
If you are a rule or law-abiding citizen, you NON-CONSEQUENCE STANDARDS are based
don’t feel the restricting presence of a rule or on natural law.
law because you do what the law or what the
Natural law is the law of God revealed
rule states everybody should do.
through human reason. ‘’It is the heart of
Assessment: God written in hearts of men.’’
1. Rules/laws are made for the good of Non-consequence standard may also be
man. State the good that is derived based on good will or intention, and on sense
from the following school rules: of duty. Respect for humanity, treatment of
a. No ID, No Entry the other as human person.
b. Student/Teacher Tardiness beyond
An act that is moral, springs from a sense of
15 minutes means absence
duty, a sense of duty that you wish will apply
c. Any form of cheating is punishable
to all human persons.
with dismissal
d. Use if illegal drug is punishable NON-MORAL STANDARS are social rules,
with dismissal. demands of etiquette and good manners.
In Sociology, non-moral standards or rules
Lesson II. Moral and Non-Moral Standards are called FOLKWAYS.
Non-moral standards are rules of good the same time will that it should become a
manners and right conduct, etiquette, rules universal law.
of behavior set by parents, teachers, and
Example: Does the maxim stealing is wrong
standards of grammar or language, standard
pass this test?
of art, standard of sports set by other
authorities. THE ORIGIN OG MORAL STANDARDS: THEIST
AND NON-THEIST
CLASSIFICATION OF THE THEORIES OF
MORAL STANDARDS by Garner and Rosen The theistic line of thought states moral
(1967) standards are of divine origin while 20 th
century thinkers claim that they simply
1. CONSEQUENCE STANDARDS
evolved.
(Teleological)
- An act is right or wrong depending The evolutionist claims that the sense of
on the consequences of the act, moral standards must have evolved with
that is the good that is produced in man not something that was implanted in
the world. every human person instantly at the moment
of creation.
Example: Will it do you good if you go to
school? Creation is a process ma have taken place
not only in 6 days as the creationist claims
2. NOT-ONLY-CONSEQUENCE STANDARD
but in billions of years as the evolutionist
(Deontological) – holds that the
asserts.
rightness or wrongness of an action
does not depend on sense of duty,
natural law, virtue and the demand on
consequences but on the natural law
and virtue.
Example: Never kill an innocent person.
WHAT MAKES STANDARDS MORAL?
The question means what obliges us to follow
a moral standard?
For Theists, believers in God’s existence,
moral standards are commandments of God
revealed to man through prophets. God is
the ultimate source of what is moral revealed
to human persons.
For non-theists, God is the source of morality.
Moral standards are based on the wisdom of
sages like Confucius or philosophers like
Immanuel Kant.
In China, Confucius taught the moral
standard, Do unto others what you like
others to do unto you.
Immanuel Kant, German philosopher,
formulated a criterion for determining what
makes a moral standard moral. Act only
according to that maxim whereby you can at
