ETHICS: FOUNDATIONS OF MORAL VALUATION

ACTIVITIES CHAPTER 5 (NATURAL LAW)

Instructions: Please do the following activities below.

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Post- Truth

We find the lines blurred between fact and fiction, between news reports and
advertisements. We are accustomed to hearing and reading fake news. We are inundated by
figures and statistics that we can barely comprehend, much less confirm. We are told to consider
alternative facts and to not take seriously everything we might hear our political leaders say. We
read and revel in and then repost the most hyperbolic and hysterical statements without asking
ourselves whether we or anyone else should reasonably maintain this. We are now in the "post-
truth" era. This label of "post-truth" means that we are more and more becoming habituated to
disregard or at least to devalue the truth. It is a tendency to think of truth as insignificant view
of other concerns. This is a significant question in the field of media ethics, as practitioners
in that field-(news reporters, writers, investigative journalists, and advertisers-ought to ask the
question as to what extent the integrity of their work might be compromised in view of other
interests, such as popularity, profit, higher viewership, or stronger sales. Yet, this issue is not
limited to people working in media. It should be recognized as relevant by anyone who makes
use of social media, caught up in statements and exchanges of dubious worth. It should be
considered by anyone who wants to take seriously Aquinas' claim that reason and a concern for
truth are what make us human.

1. Go online and look for an instance of what might be a “fake news”. See whether you are
able to determine the veracity of the news report. Detail your findings and opinion.
Fake news is false or misleading information intended to deceive readers into believing it is
credible and true information. Fake news creates an immediate, emotional reaction in readers. It
doesn9t stand up to scrutiny or cold, hard logic. For this reason,research is the best way to
disprove fake news and to gain a better, more contextualized understanding of an issue.

FALSE: Photo of Robredo receiving COVID-19 vaccine in Marikina

The woman in the photo is not Vice President Leni Robredo. It's Dr. Flordeliza Grana, a
pediatric surgeon at the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center.

At a glance
• Claim: Vice President Leni Robredo received a COVID-19 vaccine while wearing a
long-sleeved blouse.
• The facts: The woman in the now-viral photo was not Robredo. It was Dr.
Flordeliza Grana, a pediatric surgeon at the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical
Center (ARMMC).

 I fact-checked this: The photo and other related posts falsely identifying Robredo
have been widely shared on Facebook and Twitter.

Complete details
Some pro-administration bloggers posted a photo mocking Robredo for receiving a
COVID-19 vaccine while wearing a long-sleeved blouse. Krizette Laureta Chu wrote on her
Facebook post, "Because Leni Robredo doesn't and has never rolled up her sleeves for
anything."

2. In view of Aquinas assertion that reason is what makes us uniquely human and that being
reasonable opens up both an epistemic concern for truth and also a social concern of being in
relation with others, provide an assessment on the value or disvalue of post- truth phenomena
such as fake news or alternative facts.

3. Consider other topics within the realm of media ethics. Select one and give an initial
presentation of the significance of discussing this topic. Write it down.

4. Are there other ways that the word “natural” is used to justify a particular way of
behaving? How do these approaches compare to the theory of Aquinas?

5. Can you think of human laws that are proper extensions of the natural law? Explain how
this is so. Can you think of other human laws that violate the natural law? Explain how this is
so.
6. Are there other forms of harm- short of killing another person- that may be taken as a
violation of the natural inclination to preserve one’s being? Justify your answer.

7. Are there current scientific developments- for example, in biology-that challenge the
understanding of nature presented by Aquinas?

8. Is it possible to maintain a natural law theory without believing in the divine source? Why
or why not?