Ethics
Types of Virtue
HONESTY – MORAL UNITY AND INTEGRITY
PUBLIC SPIRITED VIRTUES – CONCERNING OTHERS
TEAM WORK VIRTUES – ENABLING OTHERS TO WORK
PROFICIENCY VIRTUES – MASTERY OF ONE’S CRAFT
THE WORTH OF LIVING (BUTLER, FOUR PHILOSOPHIES)
• Optimism – existence of good. Life is worth living. Our
outlook can be hopeful.
• Pessimism – existence of evil. Life is not worth the
struggle; we should escape it by some means.
• Meliorism – conclusions about goodness and evil of
existence cannot be made final; human effort may
improve human situation; we must face life, not escape it.
Conditions maybe good or bad can be bettered
– Dewey.
THE HIGHEST GOOD
• Summum bonum as the highest good. In absolutist
philosophies, it is the ultimate end which by its nature
cannot be a means to another end.
• Hedonism – the highest good is pleasure.
• Perfectionism – the highest good is the perfection of the
self, or self-actualization. It also embodies ultimate
objective of the society.
MORALITY
• Latin word “Moralis” which means custom or manner;
Actualized theory; The doing of ethics; referred to as “end”
• Determinants of Morality:
The end of action – the action itself is the determinant of
morality. Man has intellect therefore have an ability to
judge what is good or bad. The good actions are right
because the nature of human being is to do what is good.
Circumstances – the circumstances that follow the action
should be understood to determine the morality of an
action.
LAW OF MORALITY
• St. Thomas Aquinas viewed that the law of Morality
commands the intellect to do what is good for all.
• Eternal Law or Divine Law – God set all the
responsibilities and objectives of all creatures which is
based on it.
• Natural Law ( Batas ng Katalagahan, Karma, Que Sera
sera, Murphy’s
Law, Hindu) – natural process/ system that govern the
universe.
• Statutory Rights – laws made by humans to govern their
actions in
relation with other human beings and various aspects of
human life.
TWO KINDS OF EVIL
• Moral evil – sin such as murder, rape, abuse, terrorism,
or genocide.
• Natural evil – is what causes suffering and
unpleasantness; it is the result of moral evil such human
dies, animal suffers, natural disasters, and horrific
accidents.
CONSIDERATIONS AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THERE
IS A PURPOSE IN THE UNIVERSE
• Non teleological – the world is what it is because of a
chance, accident, or blind mechanism.
• Teleological – there has been purpose in the universe
from its beginning, and/or purpose can be discerned.
• Experimental – Something may happen because of an
imposed purposed and not due to a natural purpose.
ARISTOTLE 4 CAUSES
• Material Cause – pertains to the cause of something in
terms of the physical make-up.
• Efficient Cause – It explains something in terms of its
starting point of change; “the primary source of change.”
• Formal Cause – It pertains to the essence or “pattern” of
something.
• Final Cause – It explains the cause of something in terms
of its conceived end, or the purpose why it is made. To be
perfectly realized, a thing should be what it should
naturally be.
ETHICAL ABSOLUTISM
• There is a single moral standard that is absolute and
does not change.
• Some behaviors are always wrong no matter wherever
they are practiced.
• Believes that there is a single or universal moral standard
that is equally applicable to all people at all times, and
society must adhere them.
• There is one moral law, one universal code, and one
eternal standard that govern all people.
ETHICAL RELATIVISM
• Moral or cultural relativism
• Represents the position that there are no moral
absolutes, no moral right or wrong
• Morals evolves and changes with social norms over
period of time.
• There are no single code or standard, there are many.
Ethics
• We can only argue with people in rational way only if we
share certain common premises; when we run out of it,
rational arguments come to end.

Characteristics of Moral Standards

a. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant
benefits.
b. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other
values.
c. Moral standards are not established by authority
figures.
d. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability.
e. Moral standards are based on impartial
considerations.
f. Moral standards are associated with special emotions
and vocabulary.