INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS

It is important that some concepts that are commonly accepted for use in
the study of Ethics should first be discussed for proper understanding.

The Concept of Ethics

The term, Ethics, is derived from the Greek word “ethos” which means
“behavior” or “custom.” This behavior is more specifically attributed to human
behavior and is therefore understood as inherent to human being. The term
“ethos” has an equivalent meaning in Latin’s “mos” or “moris”, hence, the
derivative word of “morals” or “morality.” Therefore, “ethos” or “moris” does not
refer to etiquettes, social manners, conventions or fashions which are understood
according to a specific culture. Rather they are to be understood as basic human
behaviors that are specifically and inherently human as in the case of respecting
life and property, honoring parents, helping those in distress or taking care of
one’s offspring.
In view of the above, Ethics or Morals of man therefore can be understood
as a mental-set, disposition or set values and convictions to which is attributed “a
sense of right and wrong.” As a science, Ethics or Morals, deals with the study of
the morality (the rightness or wrongness) of the human act.

The Material and Formal Objects of Ethics

The material object of science is the subject matter with which science deals
in its study. In the case of Ethics, the material object is the human act. It is the
subject matter with which Ethics deals in its study.
The formal object of science is the very viewpoint or perspective employed
in dealing with its material object. In the case of Ethics, the formal object is the
moral rectitude (the rightness or wrongness) of human acts.
The Concept of Good and Evil
Goodness, generally speaking, is a transcendental quality which means that
it is found in everything. Thus, St. Thomas Aquinas explains what was a well
established dictum in the Middle Ages: “the good is what everything desires.”
What every being desires, i.e. inclines toward, is the good.
Evil is a privation, that is, a lack of some due goodness in a thing. So to
understand evil, one has to understand goodness. Nothing can be absolute evil,
for if it exists, it has some share of goodness. Absolute evil would be the total lack
of good, and so would be the lack of existence, i.e. it would be nothing. Therefore,
murder is considered evil not just because it is against the ten commandments but
because it deprives or removes someone of life, which is desired as a good.

The Divisions of Ethics

Ethics has two principal divisions:
1. General Ethics presents truths about human acts and from these truths
deduces the general principles of morality.
2. Special Ethics is applied ethics. It applies the principles of general ethics in
different aspects of human activity, both individual and social.

Sources:

Manlangit, OP, Jerry. Fundamental Concepts, Principles and Issues in Bioethics

Vol. 1. Manila: UST Publishing House. (2010).

Sambajon, Marvin Julian, Jr. Health Care Ethics. Manila: C & E Publishing,
Inc. (2007).