Definition

 Morality- basically refers to the rightness or wrongness of an action.

 Ethics- refers to the set of rules for human behavior or a study of judgment of value, of good
and evil, right and wrong, desirable or undesirable.

The Importance of Ethics

 John Stuart Mill even pointed out in his book Utilitarianism that “From the dawn of philosophy,
the question concerning … the foundation of morality has been accounted as the main problem
in speculative thought” (1979,p.1). Highlighting the importance of knowing the correct
foundation of morality.
 W. D. Falk declared that the issue is “the problem of moral philosophy” (1944,p.6)
 The collapse of standard morality prompts the need to reassess and rebuild the dominant
edifices of morality.
 Foundation of morality should be examined and evaluate

The Need to Study Ethics

 William Kilpatrick in his book Why Johnny Cant Tell Right from Wrong discloses the numerous
crimes committed yearly on or near school property.
 Michael Josephson founder and president of Josephson Institute for the advancement of ethics,
“far too many young people have abandoned traditional ethical values in favor of self-absorbed,
win at any cost attitudes that threaten to unravel the moral fabric of American poetry.”
 self-absorbed based on a whole new set of assumptions about how people should adopt their
values and the right of individuals to construct their own values,
 Is cause by value system without solid foundation. if there are ethical system perhaps, they are
anchored on unstable.
 evaluate various moral theories and foundations
 youth are either unable or unwilling to act in an ethical manner, or just confused on what should
be considered as moral.

Basic Ethical Camps

Moral Supernaturalism

 believe in the existence of God

 we mean the theory that states that God, or someone supernatural is the moral lawgiver or is
the source of the human rules of decency.
 Ethics is believed to be in some sense grounded in and dependent upon religion.
 For the religious person, the true God constitutes the very foundation of morality that when
confronted with questions concerning rightness and wrongness or goodness and badness or
with decisions about what one ought to do or ought not to do.
 Christians particularly turns to God’s revelation to answer moral problems because they
generally consider God to be the ultimate foundation of morality.

Moral Secularism
  we refer to any theory that submits that morals come not from above but from men themselves
– human nature, needs, experience, society, culture, and the like.
 The secular ethicists contend that ethics should not be the God-based but is relative to non-
spiritual things like human experience and human nature.
 In short, secularist holds that there is no necessary connection existing between the ethics and
religion.
 The answer to moral problems, they claim need not be derived from theological or metaphysical
foundations.
 Doing the right thing based on past experience

A Short History of Ethics

 During the post-Socratic period, the Greek philosopher Plato contended that there must be
some universal or absolute forms under which individual things (the particulars or details) must
fit.
 The so-called moral supernaturalism- the belief that a supernatural being or God is the source of
morality-has been firmly advocated by the theist philosophers especially during the medieval
era.
 Non-believer and existentialist, Jean-Paul Sartre, realized that a finite point is absurd if it has no
infinite reference point. (Schaeffer, 1976 p.145) medieval era
 17th century philosopher John Locke claimed that all knowledge comes from sensation. The only
reality to him is that which we can see, hear, feel, smell, taste or measure.
 George Wilhelm, Friedrich Hegel, Charles Darwin and Karl Marx believed that all living forms and
social systems are nothing more than the result of progressive transformations over time.
 American historian Crane Brinton (1898-1968) in his book A History of Western Morals,
concluded, “The religion of the Enlightenment has a long and unpredictable way to go before it
can face the facts of life as effectively as does Christianity” (Brinton, 1990, p.462)
 Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) who further claimed that God was merely a human invention
 Karl Marx (1819-1883) who took the idea as a validation of his own views.
 Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) and communist Joseph Stalin (1879-
1953) were able to build a society around the power of ethics of political rationalism.
 German military and political leader Adolph Hitler (1889-1945) were also affected by Nietzsche’s
philosophy. leader alone to unify the universe
 Friedrich Nietzsche proposed to highlight the ethical implication of Darwinism
 Charles Darwin- God is not even necessary in the creation of living things
 Niccolo Machiavelli
 John Locke

Utilitarianism

 utilis-latin term means usefulness

 useful is good
 utility of consequences
 the ultimate end of action
 moral-favorable effects, immoral-damaging result
  the best arbiter

Moral Realism- modern philosopher, what you see is what you believe

Anti-Realism

Relativism

 submit moral facts depends on where he/she belongs

 applies in different groups of individual or person
 believing various culture has distinct standards of right or wrong
 standard of ethical norms can change
 moral principles are mere conscience

Ethics

the philosophy of life

study of philosophy of man

is to live well and happy we must know what we are living for

what is the sort of thing am I?

where do I come from?

whether am I going?

why I do exist in this world?

Meta-ethics- what we mean when we use the words like good, bad, right depend on moral values and
the foundation of the moral

Cognitivism- involves mental. True/ false merely matter of facts. what is reality/facts

Moral realism- based on what you can see, touch. based on real existence. based on reference. moral
judgment is based on thoughts of people

Non-cognitivism- based on emotions. using feeling/emotions. no assurance if your decision is

right/wrong. sometimes heart is deceiving.

Universalism- apply to all, set of norms.

Relativism- not apply to everyone, different people-different understanding/practice

Moral objectivism-all are understood

Empiricism- based on experiment, experience, knowledge

Rationalism- based on correct way of thinking, prior knowledgeable, no reference/experience.

knowledge about reality. more on knowledge/principle
Intuitionism- based on expertise, instinct

Normative ethics-golden rule

Deon- means duty/obligation regardless of consequence. how man act morally speaking. abide with
does/don’t

Telos-consequentialism, consequence

virtue ethics- self-control, fairness

Bioethics- ethical issues with biology/life, surrogate mother, euthanasia, invert fertilization

Environmental ethics-relation of people and environment, illegal logging, pollution

Business ethics- secret of the company should not be share to other, employee’s rights, policies about
business behavior, social responsibility

Sexual ethics- fidelity, homosexual, polygamy, premarital sex

Social ethics- racial discrimination, bullying, nuclear weapon, issues under people and society

PPT: ETHICS: GENERAL SUBJECT AREAS AND FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

 Ethics – is the branch of philosophy that studies morality or the rightness or wrongness of
human conduct.
 Greek ‘’ ethos ‘’ – which means character or manners’.

Meta – Ethics

 is the branch of ethics that studies the nature of morality. As such, it talks about the meaning,
reference, and truth values of moral judgments.
 Studies the meaning of ethical language, the methods for choosing ethical principles and doing
normative ethics.

Meta Ethics – deals with the questions like the following:

 Are there objective moral truths?

 What do the words ‘good ‘bad’ right and wrong’ mean?

Three General subject areas of ethics & morality:

1. Meta Ethics

2. Normative Ethics

3. Applied Ethics

Meta Ethical Theories:

1.Cognitivism vs. Non – cognitivism

2. Universalism vs. Relativism

3. Empiricism vs. Rationalism vs. Intuitionism

Normative Ethics – is the branch of ethics that studies how man ought to act, morally speaking.

Normative Ethical theories: three kinds:

1. Deontology – is an ethical system that bases of morality on independent moral rules or duties. Greek
word deon – which means duty’, implying the foundational nature of man’s duties or obligation.

2. Teleology – refers to moral system that determines the moral value of actions by their outcomes or
result. The Greek word telos which means ‘end’.

3. Virtue Ethics – is a moral system , places emphasis on developing good habits of character , like
kindness and generosity.

Applied Ethics – philosophically examines specific, controversial moral issues. Ethics attempts to
determines the ethically correct course of action in specific realms of human action.

Subfields – Applied ethical issues:

1. Bioethics

2. Environmental Ethics

3. Business Ethics

4. Sexual Ethics

5. Social Ethics

Relation of ethics with other sciences:

1.Ethics and Logic

Logic - is the science of right thinking. Ethics - is the science of right living.

2. Ethics and Psychology – both deal with the study of man, human nature, and human behavior.

What is the difference?

 Psychology is not interested in the morality of human behavior, unlike ethics.

 Psychology studies how man behaves
 Ethics studies how man ought to behave.

3. Ethics and Sociology – ethics deals with the moral order which includes the social order.

Sociology deals with human relations in a society, but human relations are based on a proper order and
proper order comes only with the proper observance of moral laws and principles , regulate our actions.

4. Ethics and Economics

Economic and Ethics – are two aspect of one and the same human nature.

5. Ethics and Education

Education develops the whole man, his moral, intellectual and physical capacities.

6. Morality and Law

Morality and Law are intimately related Right and wrong, good and bad in human actions presuppose a
law or rule of conduct.

7. Ethics and Art – Ethics stands for moral goodness, art for beauty.

8. Ethics and Politics

Man owes allegiance to the State

Politics aims at good government for the temporal welfare of the citizens.

The two are inseparable in man’s present state of existence, where the material and the spiritual , the
body and the spirit form one person.

9. Religion and Ethics

Both of are based on the same postulates:

- The existence of a creator

- Freedom of the will in man
- Immorality

Both have the same end – the attainment of man’s supreme purpose.

Both prescribe the same means for attaining the goal of man right living

The importance of Ethics:

1. Ethics means right living and good moral character, and it is in good moral character that man finds
his true worth and perfection.

2. Education is the harmonious development of the whole man – of all man’s faculties:

The moral, intellectual and physical powers in man and will. The primary objective of education is the
moral development of the will.

3. According to Socrates ‘’ The unexamined life is not worth living for man’’

Moral Relativism and Cultural Relativism

Moral relativism

 Holds that ethical judgments have their origins either in individual or societal standards. It
fundamentally believes that no act is good or bad objectively , and there is no single objective
universal standard through which we can evaluate the truth of moral judgments.
 Acknowledging that various cultures have distinct standards of right and wrong.

Cultural relativism

 The most dominant form of moral relativism.

  Defines ‘’ moral as what is socially approved’’ by the majority in a particular culture.
 It is maintains that an act is ethical in a culture that approves of it , but immoral in one that
disapproves of it.
 Most cultural relativists place the notion of right in the folkways and consider the tradition as
morality’s warrant.

Analysis: valuable lessons from relativism:

 Moral relativism does encourage tolerance.

 Without a doubt, tolerance is necessary for people of different cultural origins to co – exist and
live peacefully in society.
 The theory also teaches us to be open – minded. Being more open to discovering truth.
 The theory makes us understand that our feelings and beliefs do not necessary reflect the truth
– they may be mere products of cultural conditioning.
 Cultural relativism warns against being judgmental as it reminds us that some of our beliefs and
practices are mere conventional, and thus not absolutely and exclusively correct.
 The theory errs in assuming that all our practices are cultural products.

The theory’s ethical faults:

 According to the theory ‘’Moral ‘’ simply means – socially approved.

 Cultural relativism discourages analytical thinking and independent decision – making in Ethics
as it requires unsuspecting compliance and subscription to social norms.
 Endorsing traditionalism, one is not supposed to think for himself.
 To be ethical, folkways and cultural norms should be followed uncritically.
 Logically, cultural relativism is inconsistent in promoting tolerance while teaching that no culture
is morally superior or more progressive than others.
 Moral relativism is fundamentally self – defeating

Rachels evaluation of cultural relativism:

1. The Cultural Differences Argument:

a. The Greeks believed it was wrong to eat the dead, whereas the Callatians [ Indian tribe ] believed it
was right to eat the dead.

b. The Eskimos see nothing wrong with Infanticide.

 ‘’Therefore different cultures have different moral codes, and there is no objective truth in
morality.
 Cultural Relativism goes wrong in drawing a sweeping conclusion about an issue form the mere
fact that people disagree about it.
 The theory thus fails because it derives a substantive conclusion about morality from the
observation that people disagree about ethical issues.

2. The Disagreement among Cultures

 Cultural Relativism capitalizes on the observation that cultures differ dramatically in their views
of right and wrong.
  Rachels, take the case of a culture in which people believe it is wrong to eat cows.
 Such society would appear to have values very different from our own.
 Upon learning that its people believe that after death human souls’ dwell in the bodies of
animals – so that a cow may be someone’s grandmother.
 The difference lies in belief system, not in values.
 It is wrong to conclude that there is a disagreement about values and morality just because
customs differ.

3. The Case of Eskimos and Callatians.

 The Eskimos, who often kill perfectly normal infants [ especially girls ] appear to posses a
significantly different values from ours.
 As Rachels – explain – it is not that Eskimos have less affection for their children or less respect
for human life. Eskimos live in a harsh environment where food is in short supply that ‘’ life is
hard and the margin of safety small’’.

4. Some Values Shared by Cultures –

Rachels submits the following sound argument:

 ‘’ Human infants are helpless and cannot survive if they are not given extensive care for a period
of years. Therefore, if a group did not care for its young, the young would not survive, and the
older member of the group would not be replaced.
 After a while the group would die out.
 Therefore, any cultural group that continue to exist must care for its young. Infants that are not
cared for must be the exception rather than the rule.

5. The Bad Consequences of the Theory:

a. We could no longer say that the customs of other societies are morally inferior to our own.

b. We could decide whether actions are right or wrong just by consulting the standards of out society.

c. The idea of moral progress is called into doubt.