Name: ___________________ Date: _______________

Course: ________________

Chapter 1 The Ethical Dimension of Human Existence

I. Introduction

In August 2007, newspapers reported what seemed to be yet another sad incident of
fraternity violence. Cris Anthony Mendez, a twenty-year-old student of the University of
the Philippines (UP), was rushed to the hospital in the early morning hours, unconscious
with large bruises on his chest, back and legs. He passed away that morning and the result
of autopsy report strongly suggests that his physical injuries were most probably the
result of “hazing” (the term colloquially used to refer to initiation rites in which
neophytes may be subjected to various forms of physical abuse). What exactly happened
remains an open question, as none of those who were with him that night came forward
to assume responsibility for the death of Cris.

II. Objectives

1. Identify the ethical aspects of human life and the scope of ethical thinking.

2. Define and explain the terms that relevant to ethical thinking; and

3. Evaluate the difficulties that are involved in maintaining certain commonly – held
notions on ethics.

III. Discussion

Activity 1.

 Read
ETHICS

 The good things to be done and the bad things to be avoided

 The right and wrong thing to do
 About what is acceptable or unacceptable human behavior
 Guidelines.

Kinds of Valuation

Aesthetic Valuation

 From the greek word “aisthesis” (sense or feeling) refers to the judgement of
personal approval or disapporoval that we make about we see, hear, smeell or
taste.

Etiquette Valuation

 Concerned with right and wrong actions

 Polite and impolite behavior

Technical Valuation

 The right and wrong way or method of doing things.

 ETHICS AND MORAL

ETHICS = describes behavior that is right or wrong.

MORAL = idea we believe about right and wrong.

DESCRIPTIVE AND NORMATIVE

Descriptive study of ethics reports how people particularly groups, make their moral
valuations without making any judgment either for or against these valuations.

Social Scientist;

* Historian- studying different moral standards over time

* Sociologist or Anthropologist- studying different moral standards across

cultures.

Normative study of ethics as is often done in philosophy or moral theology, engages the
question;

What could or should be considered as the right way of acting?

• Philosophy- the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of
life.

• Theology- the study of religious faith, practice and experience

- the study of God and God’s relation to the world.

In other words, normative discussion prescribes what we ought to maintain our standards
or bases for moral valuation.
Recognize:
“DESCRIPTIVE VIEW” “NORMATIVE PERSPECTIVE”

EX. EX.
Noting how filial piety and obedience are Studying how Confucian ethics enjoins us to
pervasive characteristic of Chinese culture obey our parents and to show filial piety

ISSUE, DECISION, JUDGEMENT AND DELIMMA

Moral issue- often used to refer to those particular situations that are often the source of
considerable and inconclusive debate.

Moral decision- one is place in a situation and confronted by the choice of what act to
perform

Moral judgment- a person is an observer who makes an assessment on the actions or

behavior of someone

Moral dilemma- an individual can choose only one from a number of possible actions
and there are compelling ethical reasons for the various choices.
 REASONING

PRINCIPLES- define as rationally established grounds by which one justifies and

maintains her moral decisions and judgments.

We can maintain principles, but we can also ask what good reasons for doing so.

A moral theory - is a systematic attempt to establish the validity of maintaining certain

moral principles

Framework - theory of interconnected ideas and at the same time, a structure through
which we can evaluate our reasons for valuing a certain decision or judgment

SOURCES OF AUTHORITY

LAW RELIGION CULTURE

“ETHICS? IT IS SIMPLE JUST FOLLOW WHATEVER _________________ SAY.”

Law
 Law is one’s guide to ethical behaviour.
 Law is enforced by a way of a system of sanction.
 The law cannot tell us what to pursue, only what to avoid.
It is supposed that the law is one’s guide to ethical behaviour. In the Philippines,
Filipinos are constrained to obey the laws of the lands of the land as stated in the
country’s criminal and civil codes. The term positive law refers to the different rules and
regulations that are posited or put forward by an authority figure that requires
compliance. This seems to make a lot of sense. We recognize that there are many acts
that we immediately consider unethical which we also know are forbidden by law. The
law is enforced by way of a system of sanctions administered through persons and
institutions, which all helps in compelling us to obey. Taking the law to be a basis of
ethics has the benefit of providing us standard that is obligatory and applicable to all.
Religion
 The divinity called God, Allah or Supreme Being commands and is
obliged to obey his creator.
 Religion is not simply prohibitive, but also provides ideals to pursue.
 “Is the holy loved by God because it is holy? Or it is holy because it is
loved by gods?” – Socrates
Many of us had been brought up with one form of religious upbringing or another, so it is
very possible that there is a strong inclination in us to refer to our religious background to
back up our moral valuations. We are presented with one more-or-less clear code of
prohibitions and many of these prohibitions given by religion—“Thou shall not kill”,
“Thou shall not steal” and “Though shall not commit adultery”—seem to intuitively
coincide with our sense of what ethics should rightly demand. Further, taking religion as
basis of ethics has the advantage of providing us with not only a set of commands but
also a Supreme Authority that can inspire and compel our obedience in a way that
nothing else can.
Culture
 What is ethically acceptable or unacceptable is relative to one’s culture.
 Cultural relativism is premised on the reality of difference.
It encompasses the social behaviour and norms found in human societies, as well as the
knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities and habits of the individuals in this
particular group of people.
- our exposure to different societies and their cultures makes us aware that there
are always of thinking and valuing that are different from our own, that there is in fact a
wide diversity of how different people believe it is proper to act.
 Several common ways of thinking about ethics are based on the idea that the
standard of
 valuation are imposed by a higher authority that commands our obedience. In the
following
 section, we will explore three of such ideas; the authority of the law, authority of
one’s religion,
 and the authority of one’s own culture.
Cultural Relativism
- it is ethically acceptable or unacceptable is relative to, or that is to say dependent
on one culture.
- tempting as this idea is, there are problems . In a classic exposition of this topic
by JAMES RACHELS :
•First, the argument of cultural relativism is premised on the reality of difference.
Because different culture have different moral code , we cannot say that any one moral
code is the right one.

 Second, under cultural relativism we realize that we are in no position to render

any kind of judgement on the practices of another culture this seems to be
generous and open minded way of respecting others.

 Third, we realize that we are in no position to render judgement on the practices

of even our own culture.

 Fourth, perhaps the most evident contemporary difficulty with cultural relativism
is that we can maintain it only by following the presumption of culture as a single
clearly defined substance or as something fixed and already determined.

SENSES OF THE SELF

It is sometimes thought that one should not rely on any external authority to tell oneself
what the standard of moral valuation are, but should instead turn inwards.

3 theories about ethics that center on the self

 Subjectivism
  Psychological egoism
 Ethical egoism

Subjectivism

Is the recognition that the individual thinking person (the subject) is at the heart of all
moral valuation.

Example:

No one can tell me what is right and wrong."

"No one knows my situation better than myself."

"I am entitled to my own opinion."

"It is good if I say that is good."

There is something appealing about these statements because they seem to express a
cherished sense of personal Independence.

Psychological Egoisms

It is the empirical doctrine that the determining motive of every voluntary action is a
desire for one’s own welfare. It is the view of “Humans are naturally born self-centered,
so all our doctrine are always already motivated by self-interest. It points out that there is
already underlying basis for how one acts.

For example:

An act of generosity in which someone makes help a friend with her thesis rather than
play video games, or someone makes use her free Saturday to help building houses for
Gawad Kalinga. This theory has a couple of strong points the first is that of simplicity; it
has a unique appeal to it. The second is that of plausibility, it is clearly the motivation
behind many of the action one performs which are obviously self-serving.

Ethical Egoism

Ethical egoism differs from psychological egoism in that it does not suppose all actions
are already inevitably self-serving. Instead, ethical egoism prescribes that we should
make our own ends, our own interests, as the single overriding concern. We may act in a
way that is beneficial to others but we should do that only if it ultimately benefits us.

This theory acknowledges that is a dog-eat-dog world out there and given that everyone
ought to put her at the center. One should consider herself as the priority and not allow
any other concern, such as the welfare of other people, to detract from this pursuit.

FINAL ACTIVITY (Case Analysis)

Name: ___________________ Date: ___________________

Course: __________________

Art and Offense

 In 2011, the Cultural Centre of the Philippines (CCP) mounted an exhibit that
included Mideo Cruz’s “ Politeismo” and instillation comprised of an amalgam of many
images including a statue of Jesus wearing Mickey Mouse ears, a crucifix adorned with a
bright red phallus, and a picture of the face of Jesus with a wooden ash tray with penis
tacked on the middle. Apparently conceived as a piece to promote critical thought and
perhaps debate on idolatry, it was seen by many in this predominantly catholic country to
be a deliberate insult to their faith. Given the public outcry and the strong denouncement
from various religious and secular leaders the exhibit was abruptly closed. In addition to
being threatened and having his work vandalized, Cruz was charged with obscenity.
However, he (as well as the administrators of the CCP) was acquitted of these charges by
the courts in 2013.

A case such as this allows us to consider questions on aesthetics, such as “Is it the
point of the work of art to be appealing or to be thought – provoking?” It also allows us
to consider political questions, such as “Who gets to decide which artist and which
projects may or may not receive funding from the state?” Our concern here is ethical and
perhaps we can recognize that a number of highly significant ethical questions can be
raised: Does the artist have an ethical obligation to the sensibilities of his audience? Or
does he have a moral obligation only to the faithful to his vision and his art? What
constitute offense, and at what point is offensive severe enough as to acquire control or
justify retribution? Does religious majority have a monopoly on the understanding of
what is right or wrong? Does an artist have absolute freedom of expression, or are there
proper restrictions to this right?

Activity 1 (Prelim requirement)

Instruction: Discuss briefly and concisely the following questions (copy

and answer) Write – yellow paper – 10 pts. each

Let’s apply what you have learned.

1. Imagine that you are a legislator. What rules or law that currently prohibit certain
acts or practices would you want to amend or repeal? Also, are there certain acts
or practices currently permitted by the law that you would want to prohibit? Think
of this on the level of your school, your city, and the nation.

2. Look for another example of an artistic creation – a painting, poem, or song – that
is a source of either actual or potential conflict between the expression of the artist
and a sensibility that finds offensive. Present the significant details and the
reasons that the conflicting sides might have on this issue.

VI. REFERENCES

Bulaong, Oscar G. Jr., “Ethics: Foundations of Moral Valuation” Published &

Distributed by REX Book Store. 856 Nicanor Reyes Sr. St., 1977 C.M. Recto
Avenue Manila. Tel. Nos. 735-1364, 736-0567.
Calano, Mark Joseph T. “Ethics: Foundations of Moral Valuation” Published &
Distributed by REX Book Store. 856 Nicanor Reyes Sr. St., 1977 C.M. Recto
Avenue Manila. Tel. Nos. 735-1364, 736-0567.
Lagliva, Albert M. “Ethics: Foundations of Moral Valuation” Published &
Distributed by REX Book Store. 856 Nicanor Reyes Sr. St., 1977 C.M. Recto
Avenue Manila . Tel. Nos. 735-1364, 736-0567.
Mariano, Michael Ner E. “Ethics: Foundations of Moral Valuation” Published &
Distributed by REX Book Store. 856 Nicanor Reyes Sr. St., 1977 C.M. Recto
Avenue Manila. Tel. Nos. 735-1364, 736-0567.
Principe, Jesus Deogracias Z. “Ethics: Foundations of Moral Valuation” Published &
Distributed by REX Book Store. 856 Nicanor Reyes Sr. St., 1977 C.M. Recto
Avenue Manila. Tel. Nos. 735-1364, 736-0567.