Hazel Shane Carumba

BSED II-Mathematics

Defective Norms of Morality: A Sentence Outline

I. What is defective norms of morality?

A. It refers to ethical principles or standards that are considered flawed or problematic because
they potentially lead to harmful or unjust outcomes, often due to being overly focused on
individual interests or not taking into account on broader societal considerations.

B. Some defective views on the nature of man, his actions, and purpose lead to a fallacious
answer to these questions, such as hedonism, utilitarianism, moral rationalism, moral positivism,
moral evolutionism, moral sensism, and communism.

II. The Different Defective Norms of Morality

A. Hedonism is an ethical theory that holds the supreme end of man consists in acquiring
pleasure and that actions are good or bad according to whether they give or do not give
worldly pleasure or temporal happiness to man.
1. In this view, Morality is based or grounded on the joy or satisfaction that an act
brings.
2. The good action is the pleasant action.
3. Bad action is that we produces pain.
B. Utilitarianism is very much akin to hedonism.
1. According to the utilitarian view, the goodness or badness of an action would depend
on the effects or consequences of the action.
2. Good acts give good results, if it work, if it makes you successful, makes you attain
your purpose, bad acts if it does not.
3. Individual or egoistic utilitarianism resides on the usefulness of an action for the
production of temporal happiness of the individual.
a. An act is good when it redounds the temporal welfare and happiness of the
individual, and bad if it hinders or hampers this happiness.
4. Social or altruistic utilitarianism is a type of utilitarianism which holds that an acts
is good when it is conductive to the social good or well- being
a. It is called altruism as distinguished from what first which is called egoism.
C. Critical appreciation of hedonism and utilitarianism involves the idea that Hedonism and
Utilitarianism explains very well on the emotion basis and aspects of human actions.
1. Hedonism and Utilitarianism also explains well the reason behind the doing of action
by most people.
 2. For there is no doubt that most of them are motivated in their action, by their desire
for satisfaction or happiness of their well-being.
3. Various defects are also considered.
a. Both propose an earthly goal for man; temporal welfare here on earth.
b. Both make morality relative which ideals lead to moral chaos and
destruction.
c. Both make morality extrinsic.
d. Both confuse the nature of the act and the effect of the act as if they
should mistake the symptom for the disease.
D. The theory of Herbert Spencer tries to reconcile the claims of egoism and altruism by
defining life as the continuous adjustment of internal to external relations, the adjustment of
self to other selves co-existing in society.
1. The essence of morality and so with life is the adjustment of the individual to his
fellows in a community.
2. Good therefore is that which furthers life and makes man well adjusted; and bad
which makes him miserable, and unhappy due to maladjustment.
E. Moral Rationalism is a theory of knowledge which maintains that all knowledge and all
truths are derived from human reason.
1. Human reasons, therefore, according to the theory, is the source of all truths, all laws,
and all principles.
2. Human reason is the source of all moral laws and all moral obligation.
3. According to Categorical Imperative, reason commands and the commands of reason
are absolute and unconditional, absolute binding on all men of all times.
4. “Good must be done simply because we must. Virtue must be practiced for virtue’s
sake; goodness’ sake.”
5. Why must we do good?
a. According to this theory, we must do well because we must, it is our duty to
obey.
b. Therefore, according to this theory, morality is grounded on moral
obligation or duty.
c. It is a Priors (not derived from experience).
d. Likewise, true morality according to Kant must be autonomous in character.
e. This theory is called Autonomy of Reason which means: it is the reason that
commands and at the same time it is the reason that obeys.
f. Therefore, reason makes the law and at the same time is governed by its
laws; so, according to this view, reason will be the lawmaker, the lawgiver,
and the law-obeyer at the same time.
 6. Criticism on Kantian Theory believes that merits on Kant’s theory resides in its due
emphasis on the absolute and immutable nature of morality.
a. In this way, Kant’s theory save morality from the destructiveness and
insanity of moral relativity and skepticism.
7. Duty as a norm of morality states that:
a. Duty cannot be the sole motivation in the performance of an act.
b. There are other motives that are more worthy and more noble, such as love,
pity, mercy, and etc.
F. Moral Positivism is a theory that holds that the basis or source of all moral level is the laws
of the state.
1. Good is that which is in accordance with all the laws of the state; bad is that which is
forbidden by the State.
2. Hobbes – an English philosopher, the greatest exponent of this theory.
3. Nature primitivism was in the state of universal war.
4. Man is a wolf unto his fellowmen (homo homini lupus).
5. There was no law, no morality, no distinction between right and wrong.
G. Moral Evolutionism is a theory of all those who hold that morality is never fixed or
absolute, but it is continually changing and evolving gradually into a perfect morality.
1. It is the application of the theory of biological evolution of morals.
2. Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, believed that morality; the distinction
between right and wrong, did not exist in the beginning, God is that which anybody
desired.
H. Moral Sensism is an ethical theory which holds that man is endowed with a special moral
sense (other than reason) by virtue of which man distinguishes between right and wrong in
much the same way that our sense of taste can distinguish between sour and sweet or as a
sense of sight distinguishes dark and bright.
1. This view is expressed when we say he has “no sense of morality,” “no moral taste,”
and similar expressions.
2. Entia non sunt multiplicanda sine necessitate is a sound maxim.
3. It is the basis of the principle of parsimony which demands that as far as possible we
must reduce to the minimum numbers of theories and hypothesis.
I. Communism is a primarily economic theory but, it has some of its basic teachings intimately
related and inextricably intertwined with fundamental moral principles.
1. It is a logical consequence of its metaphysics or view of reality known as dialect
materialism.
2. This theory believes the following:
a. The denial of the existence of God; since God is a spirit and nothing exist
but the material.
b. The denial of the freedom of the will in man; since matter, the sole
existence of reality, is determined in all its movements by the law of dialect
c. The denial of immortality; since communism denies the existence of the
spirit, and furthermore, teaches that the goal for a man is his earthly
happiness in a classless society.