Getalado, G. (2020). Ethics. Siena College of San Jose.

UNIT 1
MODULE 1
What is Ethics?

Introduction

As early as childhood, we were taught things and actions that are right and wrong. For example,
our parents may have told us that it is right to respect the elders, and it is wrong not to do house
chores. Later in our lives, we may have encountered more complicated situations and whether we
will choose between right or wrong – to cheat or not to cheat in exams, to engage in vices (smoking,
alcohol, etc.), and so on and so forth. But, why is there right and wrong in the first place?

In this module, we will cover the definition and general idea surrounding Ethics.

At the end of this module, you must be able to:

1. Understand the basic concept and definition of Ethics

2. Appreciate the value and role of Ethics in our lives

Definition

The word “ethics” comes from the Greek word “ethos” which means “character.” Ethics is the
study of human actions and decisions. Specifically, ethics is concerned about what actions are
morally good and what actions are morally bad.

Ethics covers these problems:

1. How to live a good life.

Since Ethics is concerned with good and bad actions and decisions, we ask the question
“How should we live?” (Paano ba tayo dapat mabuhay?). We can easily answer this by
saying “By living a good life.” But what does a good life mean? A good life means that we
are doing good for ourselves and for other people. This ultimately means that in order to
live a good life, we have to consider making good decisions and actions.

2. Our rights and responsibilities

Doing good for ourselves and for others entails different rights and responsibilities. Just
because we are doing something good does not mean that we are already exempted from
some responsibilities.

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Getalado, G. (2020). Ethics. Siena College of San Jose.

For example, we know the story of Robin Hood – he steals from the abusive rich people in
order to give to the poor and the needy. Does this mean that Robin Hood has the right to
steal? Is stealing justified when it is done for the good of people?

3. Moral decisions - what is good and bad?

Every day, we encounter situations where we have to choose between good things and bad
things. Is this dress good? Is this food bad for my health? However, these are not our
concern in in studying Ethics. Our focus is not simply good versus bad, but rather we focus
on the morality of our actions.
Morality can be defined as the set of norms or code of conduct or behavior that most people
follow. Each group of people and every society have different set of moral beliefs, and we
follow these. For example, we have been taught that killing a human being is wrong, so as
stealing.

ETHICAL OR NOT? Listed below are situations that you may have faced or encountered at least once in
your lives. Though all of these talk about the “good” and the “bad,” not all of these are concerning
Ethics. Refer to the list to help you understand the things that are discussed in Ethics.
ETHICS NOT ETHICS
How good or bad the food you ate Whether your food is
good or bad does not
concern morality or
how we will behave. It
is just a personal
preference.
Yelling at the person who cook your food because it is This concerns Ethics
bad because it is about a
behavior that can be
judged as right or
wrong. In this case,
most of you will say
that this behavior is
bad, and it will
affect the person
being yelled at.
What dress is good to wear, and what is not Again, although the
idea of “good” and
“bad” is stated here,
this is just a matter of
taste or preference
Judging a person as good or bad based on what This is an ethical
he/she wears, and overall appearance problem since we
are talking about
judging other
people, which is an
action that we can
identify as either
good or bad.

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Getalado, G. (2020). Ethics. Siena College of San Jose.

Why Do We Need to Study Ethics?

“Why does Ethics even matter? We already know which things are good and which are bad.”
These may be obvious answers, but in order for us to appreciate the value of studying Ethics, let
us examine this case:

If we [already] know good versus evil, and we know that we have to choose good,
why is evil still around? Why do some people still do evil actions?

The above questions indicate the importance of discussing Ethics.

Here are the reasons why we need to study Ethics:

1. Ethics and morality provide order in society.

When people are ethical and moral, they avoid doing evil – they do not cheat, they do not
steal, and they will not harm each other. If you know and you are informed of what is good,
then you will always choose to do good.

2. The idea of right and wrong is different for every culture and tradition.
Although we have the basic knowledge of what is good and what is evil, it is different with
every culture. We need to identify these differences in order to understand them. For
example, while it generally unacceptable to marry more than one person, other cultures
allow it.

3. Ethics may help you to become successful and a better person.

Knowing what is good from evil increases your chance of becoming successful in life.
Ethical people (i.e. those who do more good than bad), have the traits and characteristics
of successful people, such as being honest, respectful, trustworthy, loyal, etc. In contrast,
unethical people make the wrong decisions in life and often doing bad things.

References

Panza, C. and Potthast, A. (2010). Ethics for Dummies. Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Singer, P. (2020). Ethics. Encyclopædia Brittannica. Encyclopædia Brittannica Inc.

Ethics: a general introduction. (n.d.). BBC. Retrieved August 16, 2020, from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml