GETHICS - there is a certain logic in analyzing
Role of Reason and Emotion in oral Decision-
Making
 In the corporate world, the
appropriateness of one’s action can be
decided via the organization’s vision-
mission together with its core values
 In religion, what is right is judged based
on the members’ code, creed, and
professed conduct.
 In legal matters, we can know the truth
based on what the law and jurisprudence
say
 In culture, what is right is adjudged
based on the good custom, beliefs, and
practices that members of the said
culture claim as acceptable
1. Feelings as Instinctive and Trained
Response to Moral Dilemmas
Feelings – it is an evidence of our being human
 If we don’t feel anything, our humanity is
questionable
 Emotion results in feeling and this
human ability to feel is wonderful
- gives color to our life
- comes as a natural reaction to our
encounter with ourselves, others, and anything
around us
 Our emotions which lead to all kinds of
feeling point to our humanity
 Emotion is an important aspect of our
humanity
Reason – is the basis of decision-making
 Our emotion that comes in terms of
situations of life
 In logical interpretation, we avoid
fallacies or errors in thinking, wishful
actions, invalid claims, and misjudgment
in determining rightful actions
 In logical thinking, priority is right
judgment and proper actions and not
based on mere intuitive knowledge and
hypothetical or assumptive analysis
 Conclusion is achieved by analyzing
premises that are logically coherent and
valid
Emotion Vs Reason
 Traditional understanding emphasized
that emotion is inferior to reason.
Emotion is said to be fleeting and can be
dangerous while reason is superior and
reliable
 Conventional thinking states that
emotion must be controlled and tamed
while reason must be improved and
perfected
Experience – tells us that feeling leads to
thinking and thinking will further push us to
reflect deeper on what to do and what not to do
Thinking – will trigger what we feel and this
feeling can push us further to think
 Emotion and thinking are interconnected
 Experience shows that emotion is
connected with thinking
 Our feeling will usually trigger us to think
and what we think will usually have an
impact to what we feel
what we feel serve as a triggering device
to make us think
 What we think can also result in what we
feel
Reason and Impartiality as Minimum
Requirements of Ethics
Impartiality – never takes personal stand since it
only pursues what is true and just
- neither plays favorites nor caters to
some people’s needs by giving in to their
demands while denying others from enjoying the
same because of personal preferences
- tells us never to manipulate rules,
power, and favor to achieve unjust advantage for
ourselves and those whom we favor
- fair-mindedness or being objective
- it rules against rendering decisions
based on bias, prejudice, and self-serving
interest
- it is a necessary element in any judicial
system
 One who is impartial is not biased, free
from prejudice, and allows objectivity to
rule at all times
Mohism – promoted “impartial care”
- emphasize that every person should
equally care for everyone.
- it is only when a person does not
discriminate on anyone that he/she becomes
truly righteous.
- a benevolent person must promote
what is universally good for all and refrain from
committing any societal evil action
Adam Smith (1723-1790) – “Impartial Spectator”
- highlight how a person can objectively
make a judgment on person’s behavior and
actions
- to be an “impartial spectator” is to
emphasize with the person who behaviors and
actions are subject to our judgment.
- we must imagine ourselves in the
circumstance of the person whom we should
judge
Scott Rae’s 7-Step Moral Reasoning Model
 It is necessary to execise careful thinking
when it comes to moral analysis,
evaluation, and decision-making
 Moral Choices (2018) – may guide an
individual to ask the right questions to
ethical deliberation
1. Gather the facts
2. Determine the ethical issues
3. Determine what virtues/ principles have
a bearing on the case
4. List of alternatives
5. Compare the alternatives with the
virtues/ principles
6. Consider the consequences
7. Make a decision (including one’s
justification for the decision)
Impediments to Ethical Decision Making
1. Egocentrism – every person generally
focuses on her own thinking and feeling
 Our experience is heavily
influenced by how we think and
feel and this thinking and feeling
influence a lot of our decision-
making
 When too much focus is given to
the self, we fail to see objectively
what surrounds us
 We lose our objectivity and
become one sided towards ou
personal concern
2. Failure to go with our development
Maturity – Our thinking and decision-
making capability grow side by side with
our age
3. Refusal to let go of our wrongful
thinking and see things objectively – If a
person refuses to believe, no amount of
convincing effort can change her/his
mind
 If we only base our decision on
what we have experienced, our
decision can turn faulty because
our experience is often times
very limited
Moral Courage and Will
Will – important to make knowledge possible
- this explains why we consider an action
to be a human act
Knowledge – is the first element of ethical
practice (Aristotle)
- provides a framework for deliberating
about the most appropriate technique(s) by
which the good can be attained
 Knowledge is a requirement for
considering an act to be a human
act, being knowledgeable or
being aware of what is ethical or
moral is not a guarantee that the
person is already considered as
an ethical or moral person
Freedom of Will – this is the power which
human beings have in determining their actions
according to the judgment of their reasons (St.
Thomas Aquinas)
- involves a choice or an option of
whether to do or not to do a certain action
Voluntariness – it is an act of consenting or
accepting a certain action whether it is done
whole-heartedly, half-heatedly, or non-heartedly
 The moral evaluation of an
action presupposes the
attribution of responsibility to a
human agent; thus, responsible
action must be undertaken
voluntarily
Cultural Relativism – refers to the understanding
or belief that everything should be judged only
according to one’s own respective culture.
- Cultural relativist believes that there is
no superior or inferior culture; no culture is
better than the other
- All cultures are unique with their own
strengths and weaknesses, benefits and
detriments
Strengths Weaknesses
It recognizes cultural It fails to accept that
and human differences not all beliefs and
cultural or social
 practices are equally probability of things  In the Filipino Culture, it is based
admirable It recognizes that It discourages common on “group-centeredness” or
It promotes respect It leads to mediocrity, language is not neutral language for unity and “group-thinking”
and tolerance to moral indifference and because culture common standards to  “Conscience from the outside”
diversity or cultural- end of moral progress determines language judge moral belief or Teleological Ethics – also known as
sensitivity and actions Consequentialism
uniqueness It supports non- It makes the job of - derived from the Greek word telos
It produces a peaceful It promotes social judgmental attitude ethics as purely which means end
and harmonious anarchy because each that foster dialogue, descriptive (non- - the end result of the action is the sole
society despite mass culture claims and cooperation and perspective),thus, determining factor of its morality
migration and stands for “a true learning ineffective - the goodness of an act is based on the
differences culture” It allows one culture It rejects any end consequence (telos)
It rejects moral It upholds democracy, solve its own cultural interference by one - an action is morally right if the
absolutism, consensus and fairness problems and grow culture in the morality consequences of that action are more favorable
imperialism and to other ideologies naturally in morality of another than unfavorable
superior ideologies Accepts other ethical It fails to determine Consequentalist normative theories – correct
It recognizes the It seems culture has theories that bring a other ethical theories moral conduct is determined solely by a cost-
neutral sociality, the sole influence on good life that can bring a good benefit analysis of an action’s consequences
conformity and human life an morality life Consequentalist normative principles – require
interdependency  Cultural Relativism is not that we first tally both the good and bad
among peoples absolute consequences of an action. Second we then
It strengthens personal It weakens social Non-tenability of Cultural Relativism in Ethics: determine whether the total good consequences
responsibility: each is responsibility as if The Asian-Filipino Way outweigh the total bad consequences
fully responsible for his humans cannot do Globalization – opened and vastly exposed 3 Subdivisions of consequentialism emerge:
own moral actions and anything to change cultural diversity, people have recognized 1. Ethical Egoism – an action is morally
beliefs culture cultural variations over time periods, between right if the consequences of that action
It advocates true It leads to individuals, organizations, structures, countries are more favorable than unfavorable
multiculturalism and deterioration or and continents only to the agent performing the action
adjustments for corruption of moral - has allowed different people of diverse Two Types:
changing factors in values, institutions and cultures to constantly check and balance their a) Psychological egoism – assets
society societies beliefs and standards that action is good since the
It promotes humility It promotes skepticism Culture – reflect the moral and ethical standards consequence of the action is
and acceptance of and atheism and beliefs that determine decision, actions and beneficial to the person who
limitation or interactions performs the act
 - asserts that each
person does in fact pursue his or
her own self-interest alone
b) Ethical egoism – is the radical
idea that the principle of self-
interest accounts for all of one’s
moral obligations
- a person ought to do
what really is in his or her best
interests, over the long run
- is a consequentalist
ethical theory that contends that
we act morally when we act in a
way that promises our own bets
long-term interests
2. Ethical Altruism – an action is morally
right if the consequences of that action
are more favorable than unfavorable to
everyone except the agent
3. Utilitarianism – an action is morally right
if the consequences of that action are
more favorable than unfavorable to
everyone
Jeremy Bentham
Utilitarianism – the only motives of human
actions are pleasure and pain, the former
prompting us to perform an act, the latter
compelling us to avoid an action
- a utilitarian’s only motive of action is
pain and pleasure, “seek good and avoid pain”
- the property of any act that produces
pleasure or happiness “utility”
Two Kinds:
a) Act utilitarianism – is the position that
an action is moral if it produces the
greatest happiness for the most people
- tally the consequences of each
action we perform and thereby
determine on a case by case basis
whether an action is morally right or
wrong
Hedonistic utilitarianism – we tally the
pleasure and pain which results from
our actions
- pleasurable consequences are
the only factors that matter
Ideal utilitarianism – involves tallying
any consequence that we intuitively
recognize as good o bad
Preference utilitarianism – involves
tallying any consequence that fulfills
our preferences
b) Rule utilitarianism - is the ethical
position that we should act so that the
rule governing our actions produce the
greatest happiness for the most people
- a behavioral code or rule is
morally right id the consequences of
adopting that rule are more favorable
than unfavorable to everyone
 Man acts to gain pleasure or to avoid
pain
 Man is selfish and will not act unless to
produce his own pleasure
Hedonism – philosophy on pleasure
- “Hedone” in Greek means “pleasure”
Aristippus – happiness is based on
sensual pleasure which is a short term pleasure
Epicurus – happiness is based on rational
pleasure
Felicific calculus – happiness calculator or
counter
- way of balancing the pros and cons of
an envisaged act
Quantity of Please (Bentham)
7 Variables of Pleasure of Calculus:
1. Intensity
2. Duration
3. Certainty
4. Propinquity
5. Fecundity
6. Purity
7. Extent
John Stuart Mill – The end of moral action is not
merely one’s own happiness but the greatest
amount of happiness for all
Quality of Pleasure
Quality – is important in terms of durability,
elegance, and longevity of anything important
- the inherent value or worth of such
product
Deontological Ethics and Rights Theories
Deontology – came from the Greek word “deon”
which means “duty” or “responsibility”
- view of the foundational nature of our
duty or obligation
- sometimes called non-consequentialist
- these principles are obligatory,
irrespective of the consequences that might
follow from our actions
Deontological theories – assert that the morality
of an action depends on its intrinsic nature, its
motives, or its rules or principles and not on its
consequences
Immanuel Kant – “Groundwork of the
Metaphysics of Morals”
- a person who fruitfully resists the
temptation of desire has willpower while the
individual who gives in and acts to satisfy the
desire does not have willpower
Kantian ethics – giving more preference
on the performance of duty and intention of the
act rather than its consequences
- desire often conflict
- if we are rational, then our will must
not be the slave of our desires by merely doing
the request or command of our desires
Good will – is good in all circumstances
and in that sense is an absolute good or
unconditioned good
2 main functions:
1. Is to secure the individual’s own
happiness
2. To manifest a will that is good in itself
3 propositions about morality rooted on duty:
1. A human action is morally good, not
because it is done from immediate
inclination still less because it is done
from self-interest but because it is done
for the sake of duty
2. An action done from duty has moral
worth, not from the results it attains or
seeks to attain, but from a formal
principle or maxim
3. Duty is the necessity to act out of
reverence for the law
5 Formulations of the Categorical Imperative:
1. The Formula of Universality or the
Principle of Universal Law – acts only on
that maxim through which you can at the
same time will that it should become a
universal law
2. The Formula of the Law of Nature – act
as if the maxim of your action were to
become through your will as a universal
law of nature without contradiction
3. The Respect for People Formulation or
The Principle of an End in Itself – act in
such a way that you always treat
humanity, whether in your own person
or in the person of any other, never
simply as a means but always at the
same time as an end
4. The Formula on Autonomy or the
Principle of Freedom (Freedom of Will
as Rational Agents) – so act that your
will can regard itself at the same time as
making universal law through its maxim
5. The Formula of the Kingdom of Ends –
so act as of you were through your
maxims a law-making member of a
kingdom of ends
Different Kinds of Rights
Right Theory – duty-based approach to ethics
Right – justified claim against another person’s
behavior
Rights and duties are related in such a way that
the rights of one person imply the duties of
another person
4 features traditionally associated with moral
rights
1. Natural – they are invented or created
by governments
2. Universal – they do not change from
country to country
3. Equal – in the sense that rights are the
same for all people
4. Inalienable – I cannot hand over my
rights to another person, such as by
selling myself into slavery
A. Legal Right – is a conditioned parameter
of human act
- emanates from the rightness of
act based on the legislated law
- are human rights that are
derived from the moral law
Rules of Human Conduct
1. Iron Rule – rule of power and
force
- might makes right
2. Silver Rule – the golden rule in a
negative form
- what you do not wish
done to you, do not do to others
3. Golden Rule – al things
therefore whatsoever you would
that men should do unto you,
even so do you also unto them:
for this is the law and the
prophets
B. Moral Right – is an attribute to a system
of beliefs that help the individual define
right versus wrong, good versus bad
Fidelity – the duty to keep promises
Reparation – the duty to compensate others
when we harm them
Gratitude – the duty to thank those who help us
Justice – the duty to recognize merit
Beneficence – the duty to improve the
conditions of others
Self-improvement – the duty to improve our
virtue and intelligence
Non-maleficence – the duty to not inquire others