Subject: Ethics (GE 118)

Time: 1:00-2:00 (MWF)

MODULE 1

LESSON 2
Moral and Non-Moral Standards

ACTIVITY 1:
Classify the following into groups: moral standards and non-moral standards.

● No talking when your mouth is full.

● Do not lie.
● Wear black or white for mourning; never red.
● The males should be the one to propose marriage not females.
● Don’t steal.
● Observed correct grammar when writing and speaking English.
● Submit school requirements on time.
● If you are a male, stay by the danger side (Roadside) when walking with a female.
● Go with the fashion or you are not “in”.
● Don’t cheat others.
● Don’t kill.
● When you speak pronounce words correctly.
● Focus the microscope properly.
● Maintai a
36-25-36
body
figure.

Moral Standards Non-Moral Standards

 Do not lie.  No talking when your mouth is
 Don’t steal. full.
● Don’t cheat others.  Wear black or white for
 Don’t kill mourning; never red.
 Submit school requirements on  The males should be the one to
time. propose marriage not females.
 Observed correct grammar when
writing and speaking English.
 When you speak pronounce
words correctly.
 Focus the microscope properly.
 Maintain a36-25-36 body figure.
 If you are a male, stay by the
danger side (Roadside) when
walking with a female.
 Go with the fashion or you are
not “in”.


 ANALYSIS

1. Analyze your groupings. Why do you classify one group as moral standards and another a non-moral
standards?
I classified it as moral standard for it is what the societies determine to be right and acceptable. As
for non-moral, it is because it is standards by which we judge manners as good or bad, standards that we
call the law by which we judge something as legal or illegal.

2. What is common to those listed under moral standards?

Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits; it is not established by authority
figures.
3. What is common to the list of non-moral standards?
Non-moral standards are standards that are made by us human beings, such as traditions, laws
and ordinances.

APPLICATION

1. Here are two questions:

a) Can one eat while praying?
b) Can one pray while eating?

Which is moral question? Which is non-moral question?

- The moral question is “Can one eat while praying?” and the non-moral is “Can one pray while eating?”

2. I did not dress appropriately formally for a formal party. Which did I fail to observe? Moral or non- moral
standards?.
- Non moral

3. Lady B dressed indecently to expose her body. Which did she violate moral or non-moral standard?
- Moral

4. In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brother Karamasoy, Ivan Karamasovone asserted the famous line, “If God
does not exist, everything is permitted.”

a) How does this relate to our lesson on source of moral standards? Based on this line, what is the
source of moral standards?
 If God does not exist, people will not have regrets for doing what is wrong and right and there
will be no peace and love. People will continue to kill, steal, destroy, and so on if there is no
God. In another words, I believe that if there is no God, anything is permitted. Because we do
everything we say we're not supposed to do, even though we know it's terrible.

b) The deeper and stronger one’s faith in God is, the deeper and stronger is his/her morality. Is this
an implication of this quoted line?
 Yes, because if you are terrified of God or have a deep faith in Him, you are fundamentally
afraid of doing anything wrong.

c) Using your Knowledge of logic, what will be the continuation of Karamasov’s syllogism?
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

1.Distinguish between moral standards and non-moral standards.

- Moral standards refer to the norms people have about what they consider to be morally correct and wrong
activities, as well as the values they place on what they consider to be morally good and terrible objects.
Moral standards are sometimes confused with moral ideals and moral principles, according to certain
ethicists. While Non-moral norms are regulations that are not based on moral or ethical principles. These
norms are either unrelated to morality or, by definition, lack ethical sense. Rules of etiquette, fashion
standards, game regulations, and various house rules are all instances of non-moral standards.

2. Does belief in God strengthen a person to be moral? Explain your answer.

- A person's morality has nothing to do with whether or not they believe in God. For example, despite the
fact that I was raised without religion, I was taught right from wrong, and since I am able to feel empathy for
others and have a conscience, I choose to treat others as I wish to be treated. All of this without the
presence of an unseen guy in the sky observing and criticizing my every move and thought. Some of the
most upright Individuals and morally upright people I've ever met have no religious affiliation or belief in any
god.

REFLECTION

It is more difficult to do only that which is moral than to do anything you want to do. But you keep on striving
to do only that which is moral, anyway, What makes you survive to do only that which is moral even if
difficult? Write your reflection.
 By simply being myself, even if I act morally, I may be doing anything needless or wrong; nobody is
flawless. I'm a human being seeking to be good not only to myself, but also to others around me; I
want people to appreciate me in the same way that I respect them. I wish to treat them fairly,
regardless of ethnicity, traditions, differences, skin colors, or other factors.