ETHICS

(1ST LECTURE Sept. 10, 2021)

Ethics- about matters such as: the good thing that should pursue and the bad things that one
should avoid.

JUDGEMENTS THAT ARE NOT CONSIDERED TO BE PART OF ETHICS

 Aunt Julie says that a new movie she had just seen was a “good” one because she
enjoyed it.

Aesthetics- Greek word “Aisthesis” (sense of feeling)

- People’s approval or disapproval based on 5 senses.

Technique- from Greek word “techne” meaning “right way”

WHAT THEN INCLUDED IN THE DISCUSSION OF ETHICS?

- Matters that include life and death such as war, abortion and matters that
concern human well-being such as poverty, inequality and sexual identity.

ETHICS VS. MORALITY

- No distinction
- Often used interchangeably by philosophers.

DESCRIPTIVE CLAIM

- Describes what and how something is or could be.

- Without evaluation relative to a standard, ideal or alternative.

NORMATIVE CLAIM

- With evaluation
- Includes words like: good or bad, better than, should or shouldn’t, right or wrong.

INDUCTIVE REASONING

- Logically true
- Realistically may or may not be true
 - Specific-general

DEDUCTIVE REASONING

- Logically true
- Realistically true
- General-specific

ISSUE, DECISION, JUDGEMENT AND DILEMMA

 Moral issue- situations that call for moral valuation

 Moral decision- involves choosing what act one will perform
 Moral judgment- making an assessment based from someone’s actions.
 Moral Dilemma- torn between choosing lesser evil.

REASONING

 Principles- grounds by which one justifies and maintains her moral decisions and
judgments.
 Moral theory- systematic attempt to establish the validity of maintaining moral
principles.
 Framework- theory of interconnected ideas.

DILEMMA- situation where a person is forced to choose between two or more conflicting
options neither of which is acceptable.

ETHICAL/MORAL DILEMMA- involve human actions which have moral implications. A person is
forced to choose between two or more options which will lead to results that is neither morally
acceptable.

MOST COMMON MORAL DILLEMAS

 Epistemic and Ontological Dilemmas

 Self-imposed and World-imposed Dilemmas
 Obligation and Prohibition Dilemmas
 Single agent and Multi-person Moral Dilemmas
EPISTEMIC DILEMMA- of knowledge, relating to knowledge

- oral agent here does not know which option is morally right or wrong

ONTOLOGICAL DILEMMA- of existence, relating to existence

- Neither of the conflicting moral requirements overrides each other.

SELF IMPOSED MORAL DILEMMA- Caused by the moral agent’s wrongdoings.

WORLD IMPOSED MORAL DILEMMA- certain events in the world place the moral agent in a
situation of moral conflict.

OBLIGATION DILEMMAS- more than one feasible action is obligatory.

PROHIBITION DILEMMA- all feasible actions are forbidden

SINGLE AGENT DILEMMA- the moral agent is compelled to act in two or more equally the same
moral options but she cannot choose both.

MULTI PERSON MORAL DILEMMA- the moral agent has to decide with certain people.

TOPIC 2: SOURCES OF AUTHORITY

1. Law – supposedly, is one’s guide to ethical behavior.

- The law cannot tell us what to pursue, only what to avoid.

4 TYPES OF LAW ACCORDING TO AQUINAS

 Eternal Law - Eternal law is identical to the mind of God as seen by God himself. i.e. in
its unchanging, eternal nature, it is eternal law.
 Divine Law - Divine law is derived from eternal law i.e., when it appears to human
beings as divine commands. Divine law is divided into the Old Law and the New Law.
The Old and New Law roughly corresponding to the Old and New Testaments of the
Bible.
 Natural Law - Natural law is a theory in ethics and philosophy that says that human
beings possess intrinsic values that govern our reasoning and behavior. Natural law
maintains that these rules of right and wrong are inherent in people and are not created
by society or court judges.
 Human Law - sometimes called positive law, the laws actually enacted and put inforce in
our human communities.

2. Religion - a particular system of faith and worship.

- One is obliged to obey his/her God in all things. (divine command theory)
3. Culture - the patterns of learned and shared behavior and beliefs of a particular social,
ethnic, or age group.

 Cultural relativism - what is ethically acceptable or unacceptable is relative or

dependent on one’s culture.