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ETHICS
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COURSE OUTLINE
CONCLUSION: Ethics through thick and thin, and ethics and religion
1. The challenges of Pluralism and fundamentalism
2. Search for universal values
a. Globalization and Pluralism: new challenges of Ethics
b. Challenges of Felinnials
c. The role of religion in ethics. 2
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ORIENTATION TO THE COURSE
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Morality pertains to the standards of right and wrong that an individual
originally picks up from the community. The course discusses the context and
principles of ethical behavior in modern society at the level of individual,
society, and in interaction with the environment and other shared resources
The course also teaches students to make moral decisions by using dominant moral
frameworks and by applying a seven –step moral reasoning model to analyze and
solve moral dilemmas.
The course is organized according to the three (3) main elements of the moral
experience:
• (a.) Agent, including context – cultural, communal, and environmental,
• (b.) The act and
• (c) Reason or framework (for the act )
• This course includes the mandatory topic or taxation.
Assessment:
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Related information
Brief Review:
What is the difference between Moral, Ethical and Legal Behavior?
Moral - Concerning or relating to what is right or wrong in human behavior. Most of
the time based on what you think is right and good.
Ethical – concerning to accepted standards of conduct. Usually group regulated
Legal – conforming to or permitted by laws.
What are some moral theories and topics?
Relativism – a view that ethical truths depends on individuals and groups holding
them.
Example; If one’s practice (bribe) is accepted in one culture it doesn’t mean that all
culture will accept it.
Subjectivism – a doctrine that the supreme good is the realization of the subjective
experience or feeling.
Example; Individual conscience is the appropriate standard for moral judgement
such as premarital sex.
Divine Command – the theory the asserts that what is moral is determined by God’s
command and that a person to be moral he is to follow God’s command
Example: Obeying the Ten Commandments
Ethical Egoism – is the normative theory that the promotion of one’s own good is in
accordance with morality; to act in their self-interest.
Example: doing good because there is a heaven and hell.
Social Contract theory– is the view that person’s moral
and or political obligation are dependent upon a contract or agreement among them
to form a society in which they live.
Example: taxation
Utilitarianism – is an ethical theory that determine right from wrong by focusing on
outcome. It holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the
greatest good for the greatest number.
Example: System of government
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Kantianism- says that something should never be done no matter what good
consequence they produce.
Example: euthanasia
Deontological ethics – is a theory that suggests actions are good or bad according
to a clear set of rules.
Example: holds that let justice be done do the heavens fall.
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KEY CONCEPTS
Topics:
1. Moral vs. Non-Moral Standards
2. Dilemmas
3. Three levels of moral dilemmas
4. Foundation of Morality
5. Minimum requirements for Morality
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❖ Systematic –are problems due to issues inherent in the overall system rather
than due to specific individual isolated factor
Foundation of Morality:
Freedom as foundation for moral acts
Freedom – responsibility for one’s act and to others
Ask yourself:
1. Have I understood to what are moral standard and how they differ from other
rules of lives?
2. Have I learned to what are moral dilemmas and how to deal with it.?
3. Why is freedom crucial in our ability to make moral decision?
4. Why is owning moral standards an advantage over merely abiding moral
standards.
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Part 1: The Moral Agent
Topics:
1.Cultures and its role in moral behavior
2. What is cultural relativism?
3. What are Asians and Filipinos understanding of moral behavior. Strength and
weaknesses.
4. How is moral character develop?
5. The circular relation of acts that build character and acts that emanate from
character.
6. The stages of moral character.
7. How do we get to the highest-level conscience base moral decision.
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2. What is cultural relativism? why is it not tenable in ethics?
Cultural relativism is the idea that a person beliefs, values and practices
should be understood based on that person’s own culture, rather than be judge
against the criteria of another. (wiki)
3. Are there an Asian and Filipino understanding of moral behavior: strengths and
behavior. (open discussion).
How is moral character develop? The circular relation of acts that builds
character and acts that emanate from character.
How to build character:
1. Take risk
2. Surround yourself with people with high character
3. Get out of your comfort zone.
4. Get a job that isn’t fun, at least once.
5. Commit to self-improvement.
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Moral development
A. The stages of moral development
Leve l / stages
I. Obedience / punishment - no difference between doing the right thing and
avoiding punishment.
Self- interest – interest shift to reward rather than punishment, effort is made to
secure benefits to oneself.
II. Conformity and interpersonal accord- the good boy / good girl level. – effort is
made to secure approval and maintain friendly relation with others.
Authority and social order – orientation towards fix rules. The purpose of morality is
maintaining the social order.
Moral development
III. Social contract – mutual benefit, reciprocity. Morally right and legally right is not
always the same.
Universal principle - morality is based on principle that transcends mutual benefits.
B. How do we get to the highest level, conscience – base moral decision?
(Open discussion)
Ask yourself:
1. How does culture shape your moral behavior?
2. Why should culture not be ultimate determinant of values.
3. What is your understanding as a Filipino of right and wrong?
4. Why is this interpretation and what are its influences?
MIDTERM EXAMINATION
NOTE : Submit all instructions to the learner requirements:
( Typewritten in A4 paper and compiled inside a sealed brown
envelop) to the office of the Department of Teacher Education
(DTE), ATTENTION: Instructor of GEC 8 - Ethics
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PART 2: The Act
Topics:
1. Feelings and moral decision making
2. Reason and impartiality as minimum requirement for morality.
3. Moral courage
day to day dealing with others. As the saying goes “don’t do unto others what you
don’t want others to do unto you.”
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Michael Davis the seven steps to moral reasoning model.
(1999) Identified seven (7) steps guide to ethical decision-making in reasoning
model.
1. State the problem
▪ For example, “there’s something about this decision that makes me
uncomfortable” or “do I have a conflict of interest?”
2. Check the facts.
▪ Many problems disappear upon closer examination of the situation, while
others change radically.
▪ For example, person involved, laws, professional codes, other practical
constraints
3. Identify relevant factors.
4. Develop a list of options
▪ Be imaginative, try to avoid dilemma: not “yes’ or “no” but whom go to, what to
say.
5. Test the options. Use some to the following tests.
▪ Harm test: Does this option do less harm than alternatives?
▪ Publicity test: Would I want my choice of this option published in the news
paper?
▪ Defensibility test: Could I defend my choice of this option before a
congressional committee or committee of peers?
▪ Reversibility test: Would I still think this option was a good choice if I were
adversely affected by it?
▪ Colleague test: What do my colleagues say when I describe my problem and
suggest this option as my solution?
▪ Professional test: what might my profession’s governing body for ethics say
about this option?
▪ Organization test: what does my company’s ethics officer or legal counsel say
about this.
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▪ Is there any way to have more support next time?
▪ Is there any way to change the organization (for example, suggest policy
change at next departmental meeting) ?
C. Moral courage
1. . The difference between reason and will.
Reason – a fact that make something right or fair to do. I have reason for what I did.
Will – expressing desire, consent or willingness.
Moral courage
Ask yourself:
1. Do I know the role of feelings in moral decision? What are the disadvantages of over –
reliance on feelings?
2. How can I make reasonable and impartial decision?
3. Do I understand why reason is not enough in carrying moral decisions.
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PART 3: Framework and Principles behind our moral
disposition frameworks.
Topics:
1. Virtue ethics (Aristotle, St. Thomas)
2. Kant and Rights theorist
3. Utilitarianism
4. Justice and fairness: promoting the common good
A. Virtue ethics
1. Aristotle
a. Telos
b. Virtue as habit
c. Happiness as virtue
According to Aristotle, virtue is a habit:
“Ethics is not merely a theoretical study for Aristotle. Unlike any intellectual
capacity, virtues of character are dispositions to act in certain ways in response to
similar situations, the habits of behaving in a certain way. Thus, good conduct
arises from habits that in turn can only be acquired by repeated action and
correction, making ethics an intensely practical discipline.”
The key question Aristotle seeks to answer in these lectures is "What is the ultimate
purpose of human existence?" What is that end or goal for which we should direct
all of our activities? Everywhere we see people seeking pleasure, wealth, and a
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good reputation. But while each of these has some value, none of them can occupy
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the place of the chief good for which humanity should aim. To be an ultimate end,
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an act must be self-sufficient and final, "that which is always desirable in itself and
never for the sake of something else”. Aristotle claims that nearly everyone would
agree that happiness is the end which meets all these requirements. It is easy
enough to see that we desire money, pleasure, and honor only because we believe
that these goods will make us happy. It seems that all other goods are a means
towards obtaining happiness, while happiness is always an end in itself.
discovered his or her natural end is. Accepting the medieval dictum “happiness is
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what all desire” person is happy when he or she achieves this natural end.
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Aquinas think about the cardinal virtues and which are Prudence, Justice, Courage
and Temperance: St. Thomas Aquinas ranked prudence as the first cardinal virtue
because it is concerned with the intellect. It is the virtue that allows us to judge
correctly what is right and what is wrong in any situation. Next is justice, according to
Aquinas it is concerned with the will. Justice is connected to the idea of rights. In
justice occurs when we as individuals or
by law deprive someone of that which he\she is owed. Legal rights can never
outweigh natural ones. The third cardinal virtue is fortitude or commonly called
courage. Courage allows us to overcome fear and to remain steady in our will in the
face of obstacle. Courage gives us the strength to do it. Fortitude is the only one of
the cardinal virtues that is also a gift of the Holy Spirit, allowing us to rise above or
natural fears in defense of the Christian faith. Lastly, is temperance the fourth and
final cardinal; virtue. Temperance is the restraint of our desires or passion. Food,
drink, and sex are all necessary for our survival. Temperance ids the virtue that
attempts to keep us from excess, and, such as, requires the balancing of legitimate
goods against our inordinate derive for
Good Will
The will, Kant says, is the faculty of acting according to a conception of law. When we act,
whether or not we achieve what we intend with our actions is often beyond our control, so the
morality of our actions does not depend upon their outcome. What we can control, however,
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is the will behind the action. That is, we can act according to one law rather than another. The
morality of an action, therefore, must be assessed in terms of the motivation behind it. If two
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people, Smith and Jones, perform the same act, from the same conception of the law, but
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events beyond Smith’s control prevent her from achieving her goal, Smith is not less
praiseworthy for not succeeding. We must consider them on equal moral ground in terms of
the will behind their actions.
The only thing that is good without qualification is the good will, Kant says. All other
candidates for an intrinsic good have problems, Kant argues. Courage, health, and
wealth can all be used for ill purposes, Kant argues, and therefore cannot be
intrinsically good. Happiness is not intrinsically good because even being worthy of
happiness, Kant says, requires that one possess a good will. The good will is the only
unconditional good despite all encroachments. Misfortune may render someone
incapable of achieving her goals, for instance, but the goodness of her will remains.
Categorical Imperative
The Categorical Imperative is a rule for testing rules of conduct. It will exclude as
immoral any rule of conduct that implies that one person may do something but
another, in relevantly similar circumstances, may not. In other words, it demands
consistency. This is relevant to human rights, because we think of human rights as
universally applicable to human beings. And Kant says that what is morally permissible
applies to all rational beings. It is also relevant that this test tends to endorse rules of
action that protect our most basic interests, just the sorts of things that rights protect.
C. Utilitarianism
1. Origins and nature of theory
2. business fascination with utilitarianism.
ORIGIN:
Started at 18th-19th century
Founder: Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
What is Utilitarianism?
- it is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong and by focusing on
outcomes.
Utilitarian is term that used to the people who study it. Utilitarian believe that the
purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the amount of good things
such as pleasure and happiness and decreasing the amount of bad things such as
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❖ Their theory has a big impact to the economic, political and social policy.
❖ Many people criticize this theory but at many supports it in 21st century.
Professional Ethics
• the code of ethics for the profession.
• Rationale
• The content of code of ethics
• Consequence in violating ethical standards
Ask yourself:
1. Do I know and understand the overarching framework that dictates the way
we make our individual moral decision?
2. What is my framework in making my decision?
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Instruction to The Learner;
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CONCLUSION: Ethics through thick and thin, and ethics and
religion
A. The challenges of Pluralism and fundamentalism: the search for universal
values.
1. Globalization and pluralism: new challenges to ethics.
2. challenges of fillennials
3. the religious response: the role of religion in ethics.
Topics:
1. The challenges of Pluralism and fundamentalism
2. Search for universal values
a. Globalization and Pluralism: new challenges of Ethics
b. Challenges of Felinnials
c. the role of religion in ethics.
FINAL EXAMINATION:
NOTE : Submit all instructions to the learner requirements:
( Typewritten in A4 paper and compiled inside a sealed brown
envelop) to the office of the Department of Teacher Education
(DTE), ATTENTION: Instructor of GEC 8 - Ethics
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ETHICS Resources and other Requirements
Angeles, Antonette and Azada, Rowena, "Medicine Prices, Price Controls and
the Philippine Pharmaceutical Industry"
Monograph produced by the Jose B Fernandez, Jr. Ethics Center and Ateneo
graduate School of Business, 2011.
Aquinas, Thomas: On Law, Eternal Law and Natural Law, Summa Theologiae,
vol. 28, Blackfriars in conjunction with
McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1966, Pp. 5-97.
Aristotle, Book 1-11, Nicomachean Ethics trans. Martin Oswald, Indianapolis:
Bobbs-Merrill Educational Publishing, 1983
Friedman, Thomas. The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding
Globalization. 1st ed. New York: Anchor Books, 2000. Gula, RM. Reason
Informed by Faith. New York: Paulis! Press, 1989.
Kant, Immanuel, "Categorical Imperative," in Groundwork of the Metaphysic of
Morals, Trans H.J Paton,
Kohlberg, Lawrence, Essays on Moral Development, Vol 1 The Philosophy of
Moral Development.
Kubrick, Stanley. Clockwork Orange (video clip). Burbank, CA: Warner Bros.,
1971.
Ucuanan, Patricia et al. "A Moral Recovery Program: Building a People-
Building Nation." In Values in Philippine Culture and
Education: Philippine Philosophical Studies I, edited by Manuel B. Dy Jr., 31-
48. Washington, DC: The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 1994.
Palma-Angeles, Antonette. "Cultural Drivers of Corruption in Business and
Governance." In Business Ethics in Asia: Issues
and Cases, edited by Oscar G. Bulaong Jr., Ike Danita Dewi, and J. Sedfrey
Santiago, Quezon City, PH: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2014.
Que, Nemesio S, S.J. "Notes on Moral Deliberation." Introduction to course
notes for PH104: Foundations of Moral Value.
Ateneo de Manila University
Rachels, James "What is Morality", Chapter 1 and "The Challenge of Cultural
Relativism", Chapter 2 in The Elements of Moral
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Rae, Scott, "A Model for Moral Decision Making· Chapter 16, Beyond Integrity.
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Werhane, Patricia H. Moral Imagination and Management Decision Making.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
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