MORAL

ACTIONS
 • Attribute the role of emotions in

Today's moral actions;

•  Explain some philosophical
Discussion insights on feelings, and its
influence in decision-making.
• Compare reasonable and emotional
responses
• Discuss how reason and impartiality
become a requirement for morality
• Present real-life cases against the 7-
step model that uses reason and
impartiality
 in the following slides
you will be ask to guess
Activity
possible emotions as
portrayed by the icons
RSUFTRD
GYNAR
ADS
AXELRED
HYPAP
DSEPRISU
DEFUSCO
ZEDAMA
FIRADA
SEEDBLS
 ANALYSIS

How do you feel right now?

When was the time you made a decision at
the height of your emotion?
What were the consequences of your
decision?
Was there regret after you have decided ?
 FEELINGS AS INSTINCTIVE AND
TRAINED RESPONSE TO MORAL
DILEMMAS
"A man does what he must - in spite of personal
consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers
and pressures - and that is the basis of all human
morality.“
- John F. Kennedy
Feelings and Moral Decision Making
FEELINGS AS INSTINCTIVE AND TRAINED RESPONSE TO
MORAL DILEMMAS
• No person has the capacity to be unaffected or
separate himself or herself completely from
one’s feelings or emotions
• . Where there is a need to make moral decisions,
it is impossible to purge the individual of one’s
feelings or emotions that may derail him or her
from making the most appropriate one
Feelings and Moral Decision Making

Moral virtue is the character of the person through

which a moral agent is able to have control over
one’s emotions or feelings.
Aristotle does not suggest the elimination of feelings
but the cultivation of
one’s character at the basis of learning how to be
able to control them.
 Some Philosophical Insights on
Feeling
According to David Hume in his Ethics: “Theory of the Mind”
• 1. Reason alone cannot be a motive to the will, but rather is the “slave
of the passions”
• 2. Moral distinctions are not derived from reason. \
• 3. Moral distinctions are derived from the moral sentiments: feelings of
approval (esteem, praise), disapproval (blame) felt by spectators who
contemplate a character trait or action.
• 4. While some virtues and vices are natural, others (including justice)
are artificial. Although reason is needed to discover the facts of any
concrete situations, reason alone is insufficient to yield a judgment that
something is virtuous or vicious
Some Philosophical Insights on
Feeling

• According to Hume’s “Theory of Mind”, humans have what he

called as passions (which he used to describe emotions or
feelings). \
• Direct- passions are caused directly by the sensation of pain and
pleasure; the passion that arises immediately from good or evil,
from pain or pleasure
• Indirect- passions are caused by the sensation of pain or pleasure
derived from some idea or impression.
Some Philosophical Insights on
Feeling
MAX SCHELER'S PHILOSOPY OF FEELINGS
• Scheler sought to know what comprised the structures of consciousness,
including that of mental acts such as feeling, thinking, resolve, etc.
• emotion is the most important aspect in human existence (Dy, 1986).
• Scheler asserted that emotions/feelings are inherent, objective, and it exists
even if you have not experienced it before (a priori)
 Difference between
Responses based on
Reason and on Feelings

Dr. James Rachels asserted that in moral reasoning, you

could not rely on your feelings no matter how powerful these
feelings may be
Feelings can be irrational and merely a product of your prejudice,
selfishness, or cultural condition. An argument is reasonable if:
A. The facts are correct.
B. The moral principles are correctly
applied
C. Everyone’s well-being is treated
equally important.
What is the Role of Feelings
in Decision-making?
Reasons play a role in making decisions.
Reasons play a role in making decisions.

it should be noted too that our moral compasses are

also powerfully influenced by feelings.

Hume claimed that in any given situation, a person

would act based on emotions rather than reason
 Its partial nature (Been Zeev,
1997)
Emotions notoriously play favorites.
emotions give focus only on matters of personal
interest.
However, emotions are quiet when it is of no

Feelings as personal concern

1. Decisions based on feelings focus only on a
Obstacles narrow area, and
2. It reflects personal and self-interest
perspectives.
The Non-deliberate Nature of
Feelings It is capricious (Pizarro, 2000)
Deliberate means the act was intentional,
planned, with conscious effort. Non- t rises up for arbitrary reasons.. Aspects or
deliberate denotes spontaneous actions. It situations that have nothing to do in moral
is doing something without thinking it situations could rile up your emotions, and
through this emotion will certainly influence your
subsequent moral judgment (Pizarro,
2000)
 How emotions
Help in Making
Emotions are the foundation of all our the Right
cognitive and behavioral processes; and
emotional responses often guide a person in
Decisions?
making beneficial choices without any
conscious reasoning
3 ways that feelings help in making the right
decisions:
1. It signals the need to adjust behavior.
2. It can help us learn from our mistakes.
3. Emotional responses can be reshaped as time pass by.
Counterfactual thinking is a psychological concept
about the human tendency to create possible or
alternatives scenarios other than what had actually
happened.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ETHICS
WHY SHOULD I BE ETHICAL?
Here are some compelling reasons:
a. It is enlightened self-interest- “I will be better off”
b. It is traditional law- “Because some authority says so”
c. It is a responsibility- “It is expected of me”
d. It is what is fair and equitable- “It is about fairness and justice”
But most of all,
e. People have shared human needs, goals, desires, and/or
objectives; and these are better met when people treat each other
in a manner that promotes what is right and good.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ETHICS

REASON AS Requirement for Morality

• Reason- is the power of the mind to think, understand, and
form judgments by a process of logic.
• Immanuel Kant argued that reason alone is the basis for
morality, and once the person understood this, he or she
would see that acting morally is the same as acting rationally
• You, as a person, are able to think and reflect on different
actions and then choose what action to undertake. You acted
by the power of your will.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ETHICS
IMPARTIALITY AS Requirement for Morality
• commonly understood as a principle of JUSTICE
• decision should be “based on objective criteria rather than on
the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring to benefit one person
over another for improper reasons

“At the very least is the effort to guide one’s action based on the
most logical choice (reason) while giving equal importance to the
interests of each person affected by your decisions (impartiality)”
(Rachels, 2004)
 7 STEP MORAL
REASONING
PROCESS
1. Gather the Facts
Do not jump to conclusions., Gather as many facts as you can. Clarify what
assumptions you are making

2. Identify the Stakeholders

Identify all the persons involved and will be affected in an ethical situation. Try to see
situations through the eyes of the people affected.
3. Articulate the Dilemma
you express the ethical dilemma. articulating the dilemma is to make sure that you
understand the situation and the moral conflict you are facing. Awareness and
comprehension are important in making the right decision, especially when there are
lives that will be affected.

4. List the Alternatives

Think creatively about potential actions, as they may be choices you neglected.
This will help ensure that you have not been pushed back into a corner
 7 STEP MORAL
REASONING
PROCESS
5. Compare the Alternatives with the Principles
specify the relevant values that you want to uphold in making your decision. Then
compare whether your alternative actions are in line with your values. Identify and
compare your action with these values are important because it will help identify if
your alternative action is illegal or unethical.
6. Weigh the Consequence
yWhen considering the effects of your actions, filter your choices to determine if
your options will violate ethical values. Determine all the stakeholders will be
affected by your decision.

7. Make a Decision
You must avoid “paralysis by analysis” or the state of over analyzing (over-
thinking) a situation so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect
paralyzing the outcome. It is important that the decision you make reflects
the value you want to uphold.
courage to put your moral principles into action Moral
even though you may be in doubt, are afraid, or Courage
face adverse consequences.
• involves careful deliberation and mastery of
self
• essential for only a virtuous and happy life

Moral Imagination- An ability to imaginatively

discern various possibilities for
acting within a given situation to envision the
potential help and harm that are likely to result
from a given action
 “Will”
• is the mental capacity to act decisively on one’s
Moral
desire. Courage
• It is the faculty of the mind to initiate action after
coming to a resolution following careful
deliberation
• enabling a person to act deliberately.

• IF reason guides us as we choose the appropriate or

proper way of acting, will is the one responsible in
actualizing what our reason came up withthe proper
action
• gave the person the capacity for “exciting
movement in space”.
 Moral
“Developing the Will” Courage
• As to Aristotle, there[s the difference between
what people decide to do and what they actually
do.
• The resolve to put the decision into action is the
role of the “will”.
• we become just by the practice of just actions;
self-control by exercising self-control; and
courageous by practicing acts of courage
THANK
YOU
See you next time!