DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

CHED Center of Excellence for Philosophy

ETHICS
WEEKLY COURSE MODULE
Asst. Prof. John Vincent Ignacio, MALT

ETHICS: Module 1
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 WELCOME NOTE
Welcome to a new Academic Term!

Yeah, I know that this isn’t the way you thought your college life would be. Probably
you envisioned a vibrant university life filled with new adventures and enjoying a new
sense of freedom and responsibilities. But as you all know, we are now living in a “new”
world amidst the threat of the Coronavirus Disease 2019.

First, allow me to congratulate you for your courage and desire to pursue your chosen degree despite the
problems and challenges that this pandemic has caused. This “new normal” will truly test our resolves to move
forward as individuals, as citizens, and as a nation.
BIONOTE. Asst. Prof. John Vincent
As we work towards another academic year of virtual learning, Ignacio is a tenured faculty member of
there will be a lot of challenges ahead. Rest assured that I, the University of Santo Tomas
together with the other faculty members from the different Department of Philosophy. He took his
academic units, will do everything we can to ensure to deliver Bachelor of Arts Major in Philosophy
quality education as this Royal and Pontifical institution has been from the same university and a Master
giving for the past 400 years. We will be facing some challenges of Learning and Teaching at De La Salle
from time to time like connectivity and communication issues, University. He is currently a research
but so long as we maintain to be patient with each other and try fellow at the UST Research Center for
to resolve such challenges together, we would be able to Culture, Arts and Humanities and focuses
accomplish our learning objectives. his studies on Philosophy of Education
specifically by combining Philosophical
This course, although offered by your college, is serviced by the Theories and current pedagogies.
Department of Philosophy.

We will be following the rules and policies of the Department of Philosophy with regards to grading, pedagogy,
and other academic practices consistent with the Humanities. We will follow a two-grading period system –
Prelims and Finals- unlike the common practice of CRS (Monthly, Prelims, Finals). Moreover, there will be NO
DEPARTMENTALIZED EXAMS.

Lastly, ETHICS will be one of the “intensive courses” for this semester. It means that instead of having a
three hour per week for 18 weeks of input and output, we will have a six hours per week for nine weeks
workload. This does not mean that we will have to meet each other for six hours per week via online platforms,
rather, it means that the course is designed for you to accomplish certain weekly tasks that is good for six hours.

Thank you for your time for reading this, the Course Plan will fill you in with the
details. It is my hope and prayer for us to work together and make this semester
productive and help you pursue your degree.

ASST. PROF. JOHN VINCENT IGNACIO, MALT

COURSE FACILITATOR

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A. Course Weekly Content:
1. Philosophy and Human Nature
2. Essential Concepts & Principles of Ethics

B. Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to…

1. Understand the importance of Philosophy in the development of one’s self.

2. Begin acquiring a philosophical standpoint in learning.
3. Understand the basic concepts of Ethics.

C. Graded Tasks / Assessment Tools:

TASK / ASSESSMENT TOOL EQUIPMENT / TECHNOLOGY / MATERIALS NEEDED
Article: “Why be a Superhero? Why be Moral?
Case Paper
See Case Paper Rubric for guidance

D. Teaching-Learning Activities:

Facilitator-led Activities:
ACTIVITY DELIVERY VIA UST CLOUD CAMPUS
BB Collaborate Session Synchronous
Video-Lecture Asynchronous

Student-led/Independent Learning Activities:

ACTIVITY RESOURCES NEEDED
Accomplish Module 1 Module 1
Ch. 2; Philosophy: A Text with Readings;
Independent Reading
Velasquez, M. (e-Book)
Ch. 1; Ethics: Theory & Practice; Thiroux, J.P.
Independent Reading
(e-Book)
Watch a Video Clip: Trial of Socrates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=380KSdkV6zY

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E. Supplementary Notes

What is Philosophy?

The term “Philosophy” comes from two Greek words, φιλοσ (philos) and Σοφια
(Sophia) and it was coined by the ancient Greek philosopher-mathematician,
Pythagoras.

“Philos” means “to love” and “Sophia” means “Wisdom.” Philosophy then means “love of Wisdom”
and a philosopher is a lover of Wisdom. “To love” means to be constantly drawn towards that
object/person of one’s affection; and “Wisdom” is something we cannot fully define since no man
can truly came to be wise.

To formally define philosophy is a challenging task since there could be as

many definitions of philosophy as there are as many philosophers
throughout history. For our intent and purposes, we shall use the
operational definition given to us by St. Thomas Aquinas, the patron of our
University.

Aquinas defines philosophy as:

“The Science of all beings, of their ultimate causes and principles Pythagoras of Samos
Capitoline Museums, Rome
known through the natural light of human reason alone.”
- St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae

Aquinas’ definition can be understood by dissecting the important concepts within his definition:
SCIENCE, ALL BEINGS, ULTIMATE CAUSES & PRINCIPLES, HUMAN REASON
ALONE.
1. SCIENCE: Philosophy is a science, but not like Chemistry or Physics.
Philosophy is a science because it is a systematic body of knowledge.
Philosophy contains certain truths that humanity has used for the past
2, 500 years.
2. ALL BEINGS: Every science has an object of study; Chemistry studies
substances and Physics studies forces. Philosophy studies “all beings”
and a “being” is something that “exists.” Therefore, the object of study
of philosophy is everything in existence.
3. ULTIMATE CAUSES & PRINCIPLES: Philosophy aims to
St. Thomas Aquinas discover the deepest origins and most fundamental reasons why things
exist or happen.
4. HUMAN REASON ALONE: Each science utilizes specific tools to accomplish their tasks; in
chemistry you can use beakers and test tubes, and in physics you can use tools of measurement.
But in philosophy, the only tool needed is our capability to think and to rationalize. Philosophy is
the pure speculative science unaided by any cultural or religious biases.

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By Aquinas’ definition, we can clearly see that Philosophy has a “huge” scope as it can study almost
anything, even itself. And this is the reason why in Philosophy there are more questions than answers,
and the questions raised 3,000 years ago are still being raised today.

THE TRIAL OF SOCRATES. At this point you should’ve already

watched the YouTube clip of the Trial Socrates. It depicts how Socrates
was falsely accused of “corrupting the youth” of Athens; but during his
defense, Socrates laid down the purpose of philosophizing and the role
of a Philosopher in Society.

How did Socrates present the role of a philosopher in society? Do you think his idea of what a
philosopher is, is still relevant in today’s Society? (Defend your idea)

The video outlined Socrates' views on the role of a Philosopher quite concisely. A Philosopher
is, as Socrates described in the cave allegory, one who is freed from the
shackles of the interior, open to a variety of ideas and views. Thus, the philosopher was
expected to bring out
the other 'prisoners' or rather to begin the process exposing the people to consider other
viewpoints, other
ideas no matter how foreign it may be in the pursuit of a judicial system based on reason.
Unfortunately, much like the allegory, those too blinded and resistant to change reached out
and falsely branded Socrates. In my view, this idea of what a philosopher should aspire to be
still remains true to this day. The modern world has given various groups with different
ideologies and beliefs a tool to spread their ideas yet remain steadfast in rejecting the
perspectives of the opposing camp, no matter the value of the objective truths contained
within each argument. This effectively creates an echo chamber where the allegory of the
cave is reborn a new. Those who stray from the status-quo find themselves ostracized. Thus,
Socrates' brand of philosophers are needed more than ever to release these modern
cave-dwellers from their dark, damp and shackled states to further develop a society where
different perspectives are analyzed rationally and debated upon.

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 Five Major Branches of Philosophy
 EPISTEMOLOGY – The study of human knowledge.
Epistemology questions the source of human knowledge, the
process of acquiring knowledge, the certainty of human
knowledge, and the limitation of human knowledge.

 METPAHYSICS – Also called the Queen of the Sciences,

Metaphysics examines the very nature of Reality. However,
some philosophers in the 20th century changed the approach
to Metaphysics and questioned the validity of the traditional
method.

 ETHICS – The philosophical study of the morality of

human actions. (See “morality” in the proceeding pages)

 AESTHETICS – The philosophical study of values in art From the fresco entitled, “School of
Athens” made by the Italian Renaissance
and beauty artist, Rafaello Sanzio da Urbino
(Raphael), in 1509.

 LOGIC – The science and art of argumentation and Notice the way they are pointing their
reasoning. hands. Can you guess why?

Theories of Human Nature

In this course, we will need to have some basic understanding of some

theories on human nature. Human nature pertains to defining and
understanding who and what we really are and what we can do in this
plane of existence. A good understanding of human nature provides
a better context of understanding the different theories of Ethics.

Since Ethics is about determining the morality of human actions, it

means that we need first to understand human action per se. Why do
people do things? Why certain people act in different ways in different
times and in different places?

On the next page, you need to refer to Chapter 2 of “Philosophy: A

Text with Reading” by M. Velasquez and do the following activities.

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I. DEFINE THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN NATURE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING
THEORIES.

TERM DEFINITION
The Rationalistic theory proposes that reason stands above all else in human
RATIONALISM nature. Reason dominates man's passions and desires (appetite and
aggression), keeping it on a tight leash, therefore leaving reason as sole
dictator of man's actions and behaviour.
The Judeo-Christian view posits that human nature strives to live up to the idea
JUDEO-CHRISTIAN VIEW of 'Imago Dei', made in the likeness and image of God whom bestowed reason to
man. Thus, its main principles are to love, obey and follow God and His
OF HUMAN NATURE commandments which bares a strong social message in behaving towards others.
r
Evolutionism stems from Darwin's arguments that the purpose and uniqueness
of humans are non-existent and are merely echoes through the constant
EVOLUTIONISM struggle for existence and subsequent evolutions of primitive organisms.
Human nature is merely a trait that has adapted throughout millenia.

Existentialism denies the inherent and constant human nature and argues
EXISTENTIALISM that each human is capable of creating his or her own nature through their
actions, ultimately responsible for what they become. In this case, existence
is mutually exclusive with essence

The Feminist theory posits that the traditional western views on human
FEMINISM nature (especially Aristotle's views) are skewed against women. Thus in
this view, rationality is shared equally between men and women.

The Materialist views argue that human beings are merely material bodies.
MATERIALISM Mental activities are not existent and are merely a human response to the
desires of the flesh in which one merely acts in accordance to the body's desires.

Behaviorism puts forward an experiential view on human nature. This posits that
BEHAVIORISM ones mental functions can be deduced through the observing outward and external
behavior of the being.

Functionalism deals with the idea that mental activities and states can be equated
to perceptual and behavioral outputs, an input-output system where-in the human
FUNCTIONALISM being reacts to a particular situation they find themselves in through the link of a
mental concept or belief that provides the
necessary path of action/

II. Which theory of Human Nature best suit your personal views? State your reasons.

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III. Which theory of Human Nature is in opposition to your personal views? State your
reasons.

Basic Concepts in Ethics

At this point, you should’ve read Chapter 2 of “Ethics: Theory and
Practice” by Jacques Thiroux. On the next activities, you may refer back
to the text.

I. Define the following key concepts using our textbook as your reference.

TERM DEFINITION PAGE

The study of morality and what is good, bad, right, and wrong human conduct and behavior in
Ethics a moral sense. More so pertains to the 2
individual character of a person

Morality customs or manners. whereas morality seems to point to the 2

relationships between human beings. N

Hedonism Hedonism is the view that equates what humans perceive as good with
those that bring pleasure and happiness 3

Happiness Happiness is often defined as what human beings perceive as good, equated to 3
pleasure

Amoral means having no moral sense or being indifferent to right and wrong 4

Nonmoral means out of the realm of morality altogether.

5

Descriptive Ethics Descriptive ethics is concerned with how human beings behave. For 5
example: Human beings often act in their own self-interest
The normative, or prescriptive, is concerned with what “should” be or what
Normative Ethics people “ought to” do. Generally acting upon one's self-interest
5

(a) It analyzes ethical language.

Metaethics (b) It analyzes the rational foundations of 6
ethical systems or of the logic and reasoning of various ethicists
Situational Ethics

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II. Essay Questions

1. How does morality differ from etiquettes, law, religion, or custom?

2. What is your position regarding the Philippine Congress’ move to lower the age of criminal liability
from 18 years old to 12 years old? Defend your position using Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development.
Minimum of 800 words and a maximum of 1,200 words.

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F. Online Quiz 1
Once you’ve reached this point, you are ready to take Online Quiz 1. Access your Blackboard Account and
open the MODULE 1 Folder, inside is the link for the quiz. Good Luck!

G. Case Paper Instructions

Things you need:

ITEM LOCATION IN BLACKBOARD COURSE SITE

“Why be a Superhero? Why be Moral?” by C.
eBooks & Journal Articles
Stephen Layman
Case Paper Rubric
Course Documents
Case Paper Template (with instructions)

DEADLINE OF SUBMISSION: ________

I strongly recommend that you start the Case Paper as soon as you
can so that you can still consult with me regarding your progress!

Plan your work ahead of time! Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail!

- Sir Jay Vee

END OF MODULE 1

“The unexamined
life is not worth
living.”
- Socrates

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