Ethics is the branch of philosophy that deals with moral issues, including questions about what is right (or

wrong) to do and other intangibles, such as whether the intentions behind an action determine its goodness,
or whether the actual outcome is what is important.

Ethics is based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually
in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.

Also, a set of standards that a society places on itself and which helps guide behavior, choices and actions.

Three major areas of Ethics

• Meta ethics - The study of meta-ethics refers to the nature of ethical terms and concepts and to
the attempt to understand the underlying assumptions behind moral theories; therefore, it is
the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, statements,
attitudes, and judgments.

• Normative ethics- is the study of ethical action. It is the branch of ethics that investigates the set
of questions that arise when considering how one ought to act, morally speaking.

• Applied ethics- is a branch of ethics devoted to the treatment of moral problems, practices, and
policies in personal life, professions, technology, and government.

Four Ethical ‘isms’

• Moral realism- is based on the idea that there are real objective moral facts or truths in the
universe. Moral statements provide factual information about those truths.

• Subjectivism- moral judgments are nothing more than statements of a person's feelings or
attitudes, and that ethical statements do not contain factual truths about goodness or badness.

• Emotivism- is the view that moral claims are no more than expressions of approval or
disapproval.

• Prescriptivism- ethical statements are instructions or recommendations.

The Need to Study Ethics and the Importance of Rules to Social Beings

What is morality?

• “a system of beliefs about what is right behavior and wrong behavior” (Rubin, 2015).

• “the principles of right and wrong behavior or rightness and wrongness (that is, goodness and
badness) of human actions” (philonotes.com, 2018).

Relevance of Studying Ethics

College students already have developed a set of moral standards by which they use to understand the world
and a moral compass to navigate it. The end goal of studying Ethics is for the student to become a person who
makes sound judgments, sensitive to the common good (Gallinero, 2018).
The Importance of Rules to Social Beings

1. Rules protect social beings by regulating behavior.

Moral vs. Non-Moral Standards

What are standards?

• a level of quality of attainment.

• an idea or thing used as a measure, norm or model in comparative evaluation.

Why do we need to distinguish moral standards from non-moral ones?

Some values do have moral implications while others don’t.

How we address this cultural conundrum?

People have to understand the difference between moral standard and non-moral ones, to identify
fundamental ethical values that may guide our actions.

Moral Standards

• involve the rules people have about the kinds of actions they believe are morally right and
wrong

• some ethicists equate moral standards with moral values and moral principles.

Characteristics of Moral Standards

• Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits.

• Moral standards ought to be prepared to moral values.

• Moral standards are not established by authority figures.

• Moral standards have trait of universalizability.

• Moral standards are based on impartial conditions.

• Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.

Non-moral Standards

• refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical considerations.

• basic examples of non-moral standards include rules of etiquette, fashion standards, rules in
games, and various house rules.
What are Dilemmas?

It is a situation where a person force to choose between two or more conflicting options, neither of which is
acceptable.

Moral Dilemmas

- are situations where a person, who are called “moral agent” in ethics, are forced to
choose between two or more conflicting options, neither of which resolves the situation
in a morally acceptable manner.

Conditions to be called a moral dilemma

a. The person or the agent of a moral action is obliged to make decision about which course of action is
best;
b. There must be different courses of action to choose from;
c. no matter which course of action the moral agent chooses, there is always that moral principle that is
compromised.

Three Levels of Moral Dilemma

1. Individual- This level involves an individual's internal conflict when faced with two or more competing
moral values or duties.
2. Organizational- This occurs in the context of roles within an organization or profession, where ethical
decisions may conflict with rules, policies, or professional responsibilities.
3. Structural- This level involves ethical issues that affect a larger group or society as a whole. It typically
concerns justice, equity, laws, or public policy.

Foundation of Morality: Freedom and Responsibility for One’s Act and to Others

 Morality presupposes that the person is capable of choosing right from wrong.
 The person’s ability to choose is grounded on the idea that the person is free.

What is Freedom?

• Freedom distinguishes the person from other creatures, especially to his nearest kin – the brutes.

• Freedom sets the person apart from nature.

• Freedom is about making our way within the limits of physical and material entanglements.

• We either live in a life of virtue or vice. To live in either way depends on our choices.

• Ownership of actions means that:

a. we are responsible for our actions.

b. we are responsible to consequences whatever of our actions to others.

c. we are liable morally and legally.

• Morality lies on the idea that the person is free – that she is capable of doing or suspending some actions
deemed advantageous or inimical to her in the light of reason.

Minimum Requirement for Morality: Reason and Impartiality

Reason- Applies critical analysis to specific events to determine what is right or wrong, and what people ought
to do in a particular situation. Both philosophers and psychologist study moral reasoning.

Applies logic and moral theories, such as deontology or utilitarianism, to specific situations or dilemmas.

Impartiality- is a principle of justice holding that decisions ought to be based on objective criteria, rather than
on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person over the another for improper reasons.

It requires that we give equal and/or adequate consideration to the interest of all concerned parties. “Walang
kinikilingan…”)